Unit 283 - 284 (Sheep Range, East Desert Range and Elbow Range)
Nevada Hunting Guide — Bighorn Sheep
Units 283 - 284 are the Sheep Range, East Desert Range and Elbow Range, about 845 square miles of Clark and Lincoln counties inside the Desert National Wildlife Range. NDOW's desert bighorn sheet describes jagged peaks, sheer outcrops and very steep canyons, from creosote flats up to bristlecone pine. Access is fair at best, and refuge rules on access and camping apply.
Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 283 - 284
Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Nevada Unit 283 - 284 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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Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit 283 - 284
Units 283 - 284 are the Sheep Range, East Desert Range and Elbow Range, about 845 square miles of Clark and Lincoln counties inside the Desert National Wildlife Range. NDOW's desert bighorn sheet describes jagged peaks, sheer outcrops and very steep canyons, from creosote flats up to bristlecone pine. Access is fair at best, and refuge rules on access and camping apply.
Where to Find Desert Bighorn Sheep in Units 283 - 284: Joe May Canyon, Sheep Pass and the Black Hills
The Black Hills, Joe May Canyon and Wagon Canyon
NDOW's list of hunt areas for the Sheep Range group starts in the Black Hills, west of Joe May Canyon and north to Wagon Canyon. It also names Dead Horse Ridge, the country around Sheep Pass, Peek-a-boo Canyon and Lamb Spring.
Woody Guzzler and East Pahranagat #5
Two water developments make the list as well: the Woody Guzzler area and the East Pahranagat #5 guzzler area. The sheet doesn't explain how sheep use them through the season, but naming them alongside the canyons tells you they're worth checking.
The ground around all of these places is hard. NDOW describes much of the Sheep Range as jagged peaks, precipitous outcrops and very steep canyons, climbing from the valley floor to the top of Hayford Peak. Habitat changes with height: creosote bush scrub and blackbrush scrub low down, then pinyon-juniper woodland, fir-pine forest, bristlecone pine forest and, at the top, pseudo-alpine. The named areas can sit in very different cover from one another, so match your glassing to each one, and expect plenty of climbing between them.
The ground NDOW draws for this tag
A bighorn sheep tag for this group is good in units 283 and 284, about 845 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Clark County and Lincoln County. The named ranges inside the line are East Desert Range, Sheep Range, Black Hills and Elbow Range. The highest named points are Hayford Peak (9,902 ft), Sheep Peak (9,736 ft) and Johns Peak (9,648 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 2,907 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 34 springs inside it, Wiregrass Spring, Cherry Spring, Holly Spring and Basin Spring among them.
Unit 283 - 284 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Sheep Range (9,907 ft), Sheep Peak (9,736 ft), Johns Peak (9,648 ft)
Holding ground: Evergreen Flat (2,907 ft), Wildhorse Pass (6,862 ft), Horse Canyon (6,770 ft), Sawmill Spring, Cherry Spring, Coyote 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 Desert Bighorn Sheep in Units 283 - 284: Desert National Wildlife Range Rules and Steep Ground
Bighorn Sheep Success Rates
Any ram, any legal weapon: 4 of 4 hunters afield (100%). Figures are NDOW's own, from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.
Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — Late Season ram only (resident) | 3 | 70 | 4.3% | — |
| Rifle — Late Season ram only (nonresident) | 1 | 286 | 0.3% | — |
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.
- Any ram, any legal weapon — Residents: 70 demand for 3 tags, a 4.3% draw rate; Nonresidents: 286 demand for 1 tag, a 0.3% 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 bighorn sheep tag for 283 - 284 cover?
What was hunter success for bighorn sheep on units 283 - 284 in 2025?
How hard is the bighorn sheep draw for units 283 - 284?
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Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-25.
- Hunt Information Sheet — Desert bighorn sheep, 283, 284 — 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 283 - 284, 845 square miles · accessed 2026-10-25
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the group — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: East Desert Range, Sheep Range, Black Hills, Hayford Peak 9,902 ft, Sheep Peak 9,736 ft · accessed 2026-10-25