Nebraska Elk — Unit 12

Unit 12

Nebraska Unit 12 covers 2,102,346 acres and lies 17 miles east of Ogallala and 34 miles west of North Platte. 1% of it is public land, mostly state land (1%). In 2025, hunters took 1 elk here. The 2026 draw put up 16 resident tags here.

Resident tags (2026):28 Applicants:101 Public land:1% Size:2,102,346 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 12, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice resident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

4 licenses on offer · 28 tags · 101 applicants in the 2026 draw

Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice resident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level
  • U12-ANTLERLESS U12 Antlerless 16 tags · Standard
    24% Long shot
  • U12-ANTLERLESS-LO U12 Antlerless (landowner) 12 tags · Landowner
    Cut level
  • U12-BULL U12 Bull — · 101 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard
    <1% Point builder
  • U12-BULL-LO U12 Bull (landowner) — · needed 0 pts · Landowner
    100% Likely draw
What these columns mean
Your odds
the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
The badge
plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
Points needed
the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
Tags / applicants
tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.

What it costs to apply (2026 resident fees)

License Up front Gone if you miss If you draw
Standard license $11 $11 $232
Landowner license $11 $11 $77

Application window: opens Jun 1, closes Jun 12, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

Ogallala Cozad McCook Broken Bow Alliance
Unit 12 within Nebraska
U10 U11 U131 U132 U5 Ogallala North Platte Gothenburg Sidney Lexington
Unit 12 and its neighbours
Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

  • Private 2,085,369 ac · 99%
  • State land 12,046 ac · 1%
  • County or city land 4,931 ac · 0%

Source: NGPC Public Access Atlas land layers: Other Public Recreation Lands, NGPC Properties 2024-2025, Park Areas, Conservation Partner Lands

How the hunting has gone

What Nebraska Game and Parks Commission publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season.

Season Harvest
2025 1
2024 6
2023 10

What the agency says about the area

NGPC elk hunting unit "Unit 12"; permits drawn as U12 Antlerless; U12 Antlerless (landowner); U12 Bull; ...

Source: Nebraska Big Game Guide 2026 (unit names, public-land statements)

Boundary: Elk Hunting Units (NGPC hosted feature layer, Elk_Hunting_Units_2022)

Harvest: 2026 Big Game Recommendation Book (2025 season harvest; comparisons 2021-2025)

Harvest: 2025 Big Game Recommendation Book (2024 season harvest; comparisons 2020-2024)

Harvest: 2024 Big Game Recommendation Book (2023 season harvest; comparisons 2019-2023)

How we compute draw odds · All Nebraska elk hunts