Nevada Elk — Unit 221

Menghini

Nevada Unit 221 covers 490,146 acres and lies 34 miles south of Ely and 81 miles north of Caliente. 96% of it is public land, mostly BLM (88%) and national forest (8%). In 2025, 35 people hunted elk here and took 4 — 11% of them killed something. The 2025 draw put up 8 nonresident tags here for 337 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2025):32 Applicants:2,243 Hunter success (2025):11% Public land:96% Size:490,146 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 221, 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

4211-221.222.223-0801 Elk antlerless | NR | Archery | 221 - 223 2 tags · 22 applicants

<1% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
4251-221.222.223-1106 Elk antlered | NR | Any Legal Weapon | 221 - 223 Early 7 tags · 1,167 applicants

<1% Point builder <1% as 2nd choice
4251-221.222.223-1121 Elk antlered | NR | Any Legal Weapon | 221 - 223 Late 8 tags · 337 applicants

<1% Point builder <1% as 2nd choice
4256-221.222.223-1022 Elk antlered | NR | Muzzleloader | 221 - 223 3 tags · 91 applicants

<1% Point builder <1% as 2nd choice
4261-221.222.223-0825 Elk antlered | NR | Archery | 221 - 223 4 tags · 591 applicants

<1% Point builder <1% as 2nd choice
4276-221.222.223-0917 Elk antlerless | NR | Muzzleloader | 221 - 223 4 tags · 4 applicants

1% Point builder 9% as 2nd choice
4281-221-0925 Elk antlerless | NR | Any Legal Weapon | 221 3 tags · 17 applicants

<1% Point builder 4% as 2nd choice
4281-221-1205 Elk antlerless | NR | Any Legal Weapon | 221 Late 1 tags · 14 applicants

<1% Point builder 1% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
4211-221.222.223-0801 ↗ Elk antlerless \| NR \| Archery \| 221 - 223 Archery	<1% Point builder	0%	—	2 / 22	Aug 1–24, 2026
4251-221.222.223-1106 ↗ Elk antlered \| NR \| Any Legal Weapon \| 221 - 223 Early Rifle	<1% Point builder	<1%	—	7 / 1,167	Nov 6–20, 2026
4251-221.222.223-1121 ↗ Elk antlered \| NR \| Any Legal Weapon \| 221 - 223 Late Rifle	<1% Point builder	<1%	—	8 / 337	Nov 21 – Dec 4, 2026
4256-221.222.223-1022 ↗ Elk antlered \| NR \| Muzzleloader \| 221 - 223 Muzzleloader	<1% Point builder	<1%	—	3 / 91	Oct 22 – Nov 5, 2026
4261-221.222.223-0825 ↗ Elk antlered \| NR \| Archery \| 221 - 223 Archery	<1% Point builder	<1%	—	4 / 591	Aug 25 – Sep 16, 2026
4276-221.222.223-0917 ↗ Elk antlerless \| NR \| Muzzleloader \| 221 - 223 Muzzleloader	1% Point builder	9%	—	4 / 4	Sep 17–26, 2026
4281-221-0925 ↗ Elk antlerless \| NR \| Any Legal Weapon \| 221 Rifle	<1% Point builder	4%	—	3 / 17	Sep 25 – Oct 4, 2025
4281-221-1205 ↗ Elk antlerless \| NR \| Any Legal Weapon \| 221 Late Rifle	<1% Point builder	1%	—	1 / 14	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.

13 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 221

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

The country

Unit 221 within Nevada

Unit 221 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 430,920 ac · 88%
National Forest 38,596 ac · 8%
Private 17,205 ac · 4%
Tribal 2,576 ac · 1%
State land 847 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.