Nebraska Elk — Unit 9

Nebraska Unit 9 covers 1,068,591 acres and lies 40 miles east of Chadron and 49 miles north-east of Alliance. 0% of it is public land. In 2025, hunters took 13 elk here. Its biggest hunt, U9-ANTLERLESS, put up 20 resident tags in the 2026 draw.

Resident tags (2026):35 Applicants:76 Public land:0% Size:1,068,591 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 9, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice resident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

4 licenses on offer · 35 tags · 76 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
  • U9-ANTLERLESS U9 Antlerless 20 tags · Standard
    32% Long shot
  • U9-ANTLERLESS-LO U9 Antlerless (landowner) 15 tags · Landowner
    — Cut level
  • U9-BULL U9 Bull — · 76 applicants · needed 6 pts · Standard
    <1% Point builder
  • U9-BULL-LO U9 Bull (landowner) — · needed 1 pts · Landowner
    0% Point builder
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 the percentage is flagged, 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

Chadron Alliance Valentine Ogallala Kimball
Unit 9 within Nebraska
U1 U10 U2 U3 U6 U8 Chadron Alliance
Unit 9 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.

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 13
2024 15
2023 15

What the agency says about the area

NGPC elk hunting unit "Unit 9"; permits drawn as U9 Antlerless; U9 Antlerless (landowner); U9 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