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Nevada

Big Game Hunting

Big Game Hunting

Director's Message

Tony Wasley, Director, Nevada Department of Wildlife

Here we are again, it’s big game tag application season and 2024 comes with some new opportunities. This year we are pleased to announce Nevada’s first Antlered Moose hunt. While records indicate that moose began their exploration of our state dating back to the 1950s the modern establishment seemed to start in 2013. Years of tracking and monitoring our moose population has demonstrated that we have a very healthy and productive population that can sustain the proposed conservative harvest. While the number of public sightings across much of Elko County has exploded in recent years, the information gathered from this hunt will provide substantial benefit to the agency’s future management of this amazing animal.

In review of this guide, you will see the realized impact of the hard 2022-2023 winter. Antlerless mule deer hunts have been discontinued until herds can recover. An associated consequence will be a reduction in junior mule deer opportunity. To assist in offsetting this impact to youth opportunity, we are piloting primitive junior hunt seasons in eight different hunt units for 2024. This will provide juniors who wish to challenge themselves by restricting their gear to either archery or muzzleloader another chance at a tag while creating some additional opportunity in the traditional three season hunt. To ensure junior are well informed and prepared for the use of these primitive weapons NDOW will be offering advanced archery and muzzleloader education classes before and after the tag application deadline.

While I have highlighted just a couple new big game opportunities, Nevada continues to provide incredible big game hunting opportunities for deer, elk, bear, pronghorn antelope, mountain goat and three bighorn sheep sub-species. To ensure you are prepared to submit your applications please review this application guide for season dates, quotas and required processes. If you are looking for additional information to evaluate and inform your choices please visit our TOP 10 BIG GAME RESOURCES (https://www.ndow.org/get-outside/hunting/plan-your-hunt/). Should you need additional assistance after reviewing the guide and our website (www.ndow.org) please call or visit your local NDOW office.

As always, I wish you all the best of luck with your hunt choices and again ask that you consider bringing your wildlife passion beyond your application and into the field. Nevada’s wildlife needs your support in any manner you can provide from donations or membership in a sportsmen’s organization, to volunteering on wildlife projects or to being part of the County Advisory Board and Wildlife Commission public input process. There is opportunity for all to Support Nevada’s Wildlife. For more information please visit our volunteer page at https://www.ndow.org/learn-discover/get-involved/.

Sincerely,

Alan Jenne – Director, Nevada Department of Wildlife