Unit 261 - 268 (Spring Mountains, McCullough Range and Highland Range)
Nevada Hunting Guide — Mule Deer
Units 261 - 268 cover about 5,655 square miles of southern Nevada around Las Vegas, but NDOW says most of Area 26's mule deer live in the Spring Mountains of Unit 262. Large parts of the area are wilderness, the early seasons are hot and dry, and the November rifle hunt finds bucks lower, near doe groups.
Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 261 - 268
Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Nevada Unit 261 - 268 guide around your hunt: three ranked spots with morning, afternoon and evening plays, a day-by-day plan, topo maps with every pin numbered, a camp and access plan, the legal and retrieval rules for this unit, shot discipline, a meat-care and pack-out plan, and a pre-trip checklist. Every coordinate sits on land recorded as public.
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Mule Deer Hunting in Unit 261 - 268
Units 261 - 268 cover about 5,655 square miles of southern Nevada around Las Vegas, but NDOW says most of Area 26's mule deer live in the Spring Mountains of Unit 262. Large parts of the area are wilderness, the early seasons are hot and dry, and the November rifle hunt finds bucks lower, near doe groups.
Where to Find Mule Deer in Units 261 - 268: Cold Creek, Wheeler Pass and the Spring Mountains
Cold Creek, Wheeler Pass, Lovell and Trout canyons
Most of Area 26's mule deer live in the Spring Mountains of Unit 262, and very few live outside Units 262 and 263. Many tagholders hunt near the community of Cold Creek, around Wheeler Pass, or in the major canyons on the south and west side of the range, Lovell and Trout canyons among them.
South McCullough and Highland ranges
In Unit 263, the south McCullough Range and the Highland Range also hold deer, at lower densities. NDOW doesn't name specific spots there.
Hot early seasons, a cooler November
The archery and muzzleloader seasons come while the weather is still usually hot and dry, and NDOW recommends hunting higher elevations near water then. During the later November rifle season, bucks are easier to find near doe groups and at lower elevations in the cooler weather.
The biologist adds context on water. Lower elevations have been hit by long drought and get rain only now and then. Late spring and early summer are usually dry, with little rain in June, but from July monsoon storms can bring heavy rain that sometimes lasts into August. The late green-up that follows spreads deer away from water sources, so a wet monsoon can loosen the early-season link between deer and water.
The ground NDOW draws for this tag
A mule deer tag for this group is good in units 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267 and 268, about 5,655 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Clark County and Nye County. The named ranges inside the line are McCullough Range, Spring Mountains, Last Chance Range, Lucy Gray Mountains, Frenchman Range and Dry Lake Range. The highest named points are Charleston Peak (11,910 ft), Mummy Mountain (11,516 ft) and Griffith Peak (11,043 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 489 feet. We don't print a land-status split for Nevada groups, because the figures we held didn't come from BLM's surface-management data; check BLM's current map for private parcels before you cross a fence or a cattle guard. GNIS names 240 springs inside it, White Rock Spring, Shovel Spring, Mesquite Spring and Fairbanks Spring among them.
Unit 261 - 268 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Spring Mountains (11,910 ft), Mummy Mountain (11,516 ft), Griffith Peak (11,043 ft), McFarland Peak (10,719 ft)
Holding ground: Scout Canyon (8,299 ft), Trail Canyon (7,735 ft), Wheeler Pass (7,683 ft), Bitter Spring, Getchel Spring
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Mule Deer in Units 261 - 268: Spring Mountain roads and wilderness rules
Mule Deer Success Rates
Antlered, any legal weapon: 17 of 30 hunters afield (57%); Junior, seasonal weapon restriction: 11 of 18 hunters afield (61%); Antlered, archery: 2 of 18 hunters afield (11%); Antlered, muzzleloader: 7 of 14 hunters afield (50%). Figures are NDOW's own, from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.
Mule Deer Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — Late Season bull/buck only (resident) | 30 | 765 | 3.9% | — |
| Rifle — Late Season bull/buck only (nonresident) | 3 | 77 | 3.9% | — |
| Rifle — Limited Entry either sex (resident) | 20 | 106 | 18.9% | — |
| Rifle — Limited Entry antlerless (resident) | 30 | 195 | 15.4% | — |
| Rifle — Early Season either sex (resident) | 20 | 97 | 20.6% | — |
| Archery — Early Season bull/buck only (resident) | 17 | 55 | 29.1% | — |
| Archery — Early Season bull/buck only (nonresident) | 2 | 9 | 22.2% | — |
| Muzzleloader — Early Season bull/buck only (resident) | 15 | 32 | 46.9% | — |
| Muzzleloader — Early Season bull/buck only (nonresident) | 2 | 4 | 50.0% | — |
Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number. This agency publishes no point thresholds, so the Pts column stays blank and these are pool odds, not what a point total draws.
Open in Draw Odds EngineFrom NDOW's 2025 Big Game Hunt Data. Demand is NDOW's count of tags awarded plus first-choice applicants who did not draw; its draw rate is tags over demand.
- Antlered, any legal weapon — Residents: 765 demand for 30 tags, a 3.9% draw rate; Nonresidents: 77 demand for 3 tags, a 3.9% draw rate.
- Junior, seasonal weapon restriction — Residents: 97 demand for 20 tags, a 20.6% draw rate.
- Antlered, archery — Residents: 55 demand for 17 tags, a 29.1% draw rate; Nonresidents: 9 demand for 2 tags, a 22.2% draw rate.
- Antlered, muzzleloader — Residents: 32 demand for 15 tags, a 46.9% draw rate; Nonresidents: 4 demand for 2 tags, a 50.0% draw rate.
- Guided antlered, any legal weapon — Nonresidents: 7 demand for 2 tags, a 28.6% draw rate.
NDOW's hunt data publishes no points-required figure, so none is given here.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Which units does a Nevada mule deer tag for 261 - 268 cover?
What was hunter success for mule deer on units 261 - 268 in 2025?
How hard is the mule deer draw for units 261 - 268?
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Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-25.
- Hunt Information Sheet — Mule deer, 261-268 — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Access, Recommended hunting areas, Biologist comments · accessed 2026-10-25
- 2025 Nevada Big Game Hunt Data — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Seasons, quotas and tags issued, Demand and draw rate by residency, Hunters afield, successful hunters and hunter success, Days hunted · accessed 2026-10-25
- NDOW Hunt Unit Boundaries — unit groups (ArcGIS) — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Units 261 - 268, 5,655 square miles · accessed 2026-10-25
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the group — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: McCullough Range, Spring Mountains, Last Chance Range, Charleston Peak 11,910 ft, Mummy Mountain 11,516 ft · accessed 2026-10-25