Nebraska Elk — Unit 4

Unit 4

Nebraska Unit 4 covers 2,221,038 acres and lies 26 miles south-east of Gering and 35 miles south-west of Alliance. 1% of it is public land, mostly state land (1%). In 2025, hunters took 63 elk here. The 2026 draw put up 60 tags here.

Tags (2026):140 Applicants:687 Public land:1% Size:2,221,038 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 4, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice resident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

5 licenses on offer · 140 tags · 687 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
  • U4-ANTLERLESS-LO U4 Antlerless (landowner) 60 tags · Landowner
    Cut level
  • U4-BULL U4 Bull — · 687 applicants · needed 2 pts · Standard
    <1% Point builder
  • U4-BULL-LO U4 Bull (landowner) — · needed 1 pts · Landowner
    0% Point builder
  • U4-EARLY-ANTLERLESS U4 Early Antlerless 50 tags · Standard
    23% Long shot
  • U4-LATE-ANTLERLESS U4 Late Antlerless 30 tags · Standard
    23% Long shot
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

Alliance Sidney Chadron North Platte Valentine
Unit 4 within Nebraska
U10 U11 U12 U8 U9 Alliance Gering Sidney Ogallala
Unit 4 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 2,195,548 ac · 99%
  • State land 14,393 ac · 1%
  • National Wildlife Refuge 11,096 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 63
2024 71
2023 84

What the agency says about the area

NGPC elk hunting unit "Unit 4"; permits drawn as U4 Antlerless (landowner); U4 Bull; U4 Bull (landowner); ...

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