Nevada Elk — Unit 163

Bennett

Nevada Unit 163 covers 753,369 acres and lies 87 miles south-west of Ely. 99% of it is public land, mostly BLM (76%) and national forest (22%). In 2025, 161 people hunted elk here and took 28 — 17% of them killed something. The 2025 draw put up 6 nonresident tags here for 61 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2025):24 Applicants:822 Hunter success (2025):17% Public land:99% Size:753,369 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 163, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2025 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

4211-161.162.163.164-0801 Elk antlerless | NR | Archery | 161 - 164 4 tags · 7 applicants

10% Point builder 17% as 2nd choice
4251-161.162.163.164.171.172.173-1106 Elk antlered | NR | Any Legal Weapon | 161 - 164, 171 - 173 Early 3 tags · 190 applicants

<1% Point builder <1% as 2nd choice
4251-161.162.163.164.171.172.173-1121 Elk antlered | NR | Any Legal Weapon | 161 - 164, 171 - 173 Late 4 tags · 92 applicants

<1% Point builder <1% as 2nd choice
4256-161.162.163.164.171.172.173-0917 Elk antlered | NR | Muzzleloader | 161 - 164, 171 - 173 1 tags · 276 applicants

<1% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
4261-161.162.163.164.171.172.173-0825 Elk antlered | NR | Archery | 161 - 164, 171 - 173 1 tags · 127 applicants

<1% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
4276-161.162.163.164-0816 Elk antlerless | NR | Muzzleloader | 161 - 164 2 tags · 5 applicants

2% Point builder 6% as 2nd choice
4281-161.162.163.164-1001 Elk antlerless | NR | Any Legal Weapon | 161 - 164 Early 3 tags · 64 applicants

<1% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
4281-161.162.163.164-1205 Elk antlerless | NR | Any Legal Weapon | 161 - 164 Late 6 tags · 61 applicants

<1% Point builder 2% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
4211-161.162.163.164-0801 ↗ Elk antlerless \| NR \| Archery \| 161 - 164 Archery	10% Point builder	17%	—	4 / 7	Aug 1–15, 2026
4251-161.162.163.164.171.172.173-1106 ↗ Elk antlered \| NR \| Any Legal Weapon \| 161 - 164, 171 - 173 Early Rifle	<1% Point builder	<1%	—	3 / 190	Nov 6–20, 2026
4251-161.162.163.164.171.172.173-1121 ↗ Elk antlered \| NR \| Any Legal Weapon \| 161 - 164, 171 - 173 Late Rifle	<1% Point builder	<1%	—	4 / 92	Nov 21 – Dec 4, 2026
4256-161.162.163.164.171.172.173-0917 ↗ Elk antlered \| NR \| Muzzleloader \| 161 - 164, 171 - 173 Muzzleloader	<1% Point builder	0%	—	1 / 276	Sep 17–30, 2026
4261-161.162.163.164.171.172.173-0825 ↗ Elk antlered \| NR \| Archery \| 161 - 164, 171 - 173 Archery	<1% Point builder	0%	—	1 / 127	Aug 25 – Sep 16, 2026
4276-161.162.163.164-0816 ↗ Elk antlerless \| NR \| Muzzleloader \| 161 - 164 Muzzleloader	2% Point builder	6%	—	2 / 5	Aug 16–24, 2026
4281-161.162.163.164-1001 ↗ Elk antlerless \| NR \| Any Legal Weapon \| 161 - 164 Early Rifle	<1% Point builder	0%	—	3 / 64	Oct 1–20, 2026
4281-161.162.163.164-1205 ↗ Elk antlerless \| NR \| Any Legal Weapon \| 161 - 164 Late Rifle	<1% Point builder	2%	—	6 / 61	Dec 5 – Jan 1, 2027

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2025 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.
As 2nd choice: Nevada lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2025 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.

20 hunts not offered in 2025 are hidden — show discontinued hunts.

What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Per application	$173	$173	$673

Application window: opens Mar 23, closes May 13, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Other licenses valid in Unit 163

Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2025 draw.

The country

Unit 163 within Nevada

Unit 163 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

BLM 572,267 ac · 76%
National Forest 169,228 ac · 22%
Private 7,112 ac · 1%
Other public 2,601 ac · 0%
Department of Defense 2,158 ac · 0%

Source: BLM Nevada Surface Management Agency

Nearby areas

How the hunting has gone

What Nevada Department of Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Nevada Department of Wildlife 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. Nevada Department of Wildlife reports this unit inside the group 161-164, so the figures below cover the whole group, not Unit 163 alone.