Outdoors with Don Q: It’s that time of the year for Nevada big game hunters

This is a reminder that if you're one of many tens of thousands of big game hunters interested in drawing a 2014 hunting tag for Pronghorn Antelope, Black Bear, Mule Deer, California Bighorn Sheep, Desert (Nelson) Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain Elk and Rocky Mountain Goat in the State of Nevada, be advised it is now time to submit your application(s) to hunt one or more of the big game species.

The 2014 application period began Monday, March 24 at 8 a.m.

The final deadline for RECEIVING your application(s) will be 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 21, if submitted by mail; or by 11:00 p.m. on Monday, April 21, if submitted via the internet.

Big game tag applicants will be officially notified by mail of the computer drawing results by mid-June.
The drawing results will be posted on-line at www.huntnevada.com within 48 hours of the drawing which is normally held in late May.

If you would like to apply, you can do so by one of two methods: 
01. An authorized mail service (the good old “Snail Mail”) or
02. Via the web at www.huntnevada.com. 
Here is some important information about each method of submittal:

01. An authorized mail service: 
If you choose to use an authorized mail service, you must use a service such as the U.S. Mail, UPS or FedEx.
Your application(s) must be mailed to: Wildlife Administration Office, P.O. Box 1345, Fallon Nevada 89407.
Application(s) must be received by no later than 5 p.m., Monday, April 21.

Do not send your application(s) to the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). If you do, they will just mail your application(s) back to you. And, if you are one of those poor souls who procrastinate until the last moment, by the time NDOW mails your applications(s) back, you could miss that all important deadline date. Don't say you weren't warned. 


Before you submit your paperwork, have a relative or a close friend double check your application(s) to ensure you did not make any errors, which will cause your application(s) to be rejected.

Once all the information has been verified as being accurate, write a check for the exact amount for all of the various tags and their associated fees.
Then, mail everything to that Fallon address.

You are done and good luck to you in the computerized drawings.

However, you will be in a very distinct and very tiny minority if you do use an authorized mail service.
Less than two percent of all the applications use that “Snail Mail” method.

And, I have a sneaky suspicion that those few paper applications are by an ever-dwindling number of older hunters (AKA “Old Geezers”) who do not have a personal computer or who do not know how to use one.  

02. Via the Internet: 
You can submit your application(s) via the Internet and in my less-than-humble opinion and in the opinion of many tens of thousands of other would-be big game hunters it is the only way to go.

Two reasons to apply via the Internet:
If you are not aware, there are two very important reasons for being a part of that huge majority that submit each year via the Internet: 


Reason No. 1: 
The data you enter is automatically checked by the computer system as you key it in. If you make a mistake, the computerized system will not accept your application until the error has been corrected. If the data is valid, the computer will instantly accept it.

However, be advised that if you enter a wrong number for a hunt area and that number is a valid number, the computer will accept it. So, be careful.


Reason No. 2: 
At the time the computer accepts your application information, you must also provide credit card data for the necessary money amounts. 
Once your application and credit card amounts have been accepted, you are officially in the 2014 computerized drawings.
Presto Magic! It's that easy!
 To apply via the Internet go to www.huntnevada.com, and follow the easy-to-follow-instructions.
You'll have plenty of company at that website, including yours truly.

Application changes for 2014:
Application eligibility changes and several new elk hunt/harvest strategies were approved by the Nevada Wildlife Commission to increase elk harvest to meet population objectives.

Application Eligibility and Draw changes allow an applicant to either:
Apply for and draw both an Antlered Elk and Antlerless (Cow) Elk Tag in same draw.
Apply for and draw both a Spike Elk Only and Antlerless Elk Tag in same draw.
Apply for all antlerless elk hunts (Antlerless Elk,  Antlerless Elk Management, and Antlerless Elk Depredation) in the same draw but only draw one (1) of these tags in the same year.

You are not allowed to apply for both an Antlered Elk and Spike Elk hunt in the same draw.
Spike Elk Only rifle and archery hunts in all Area 6 unit groups. Combination Antlerless Elk Management hunt and Mule Deer hunt - allows a successful mule deer tag applicant to draw an antlerless elk management tag for the same season dates and within the same unit group as the mule deer tag. This will hopefully increase cow elk harvest without additional hunters and added hunter congestion.

Combination Antlerless Elk Management hunt and Antlered Elk hunt — allows a successful antlered elk tag applicant to draw an antlerless elk management tag for the same season dates and within the same unit group as the antlered elk tag.

With the new Ewe hunts a person will need to choose between applying for ram or ewe hunts in the same subspecies. They will not be able to apply for both in the same subspecies.

Big game season changes for 2014:
Added an additional pronghorn doe hunt for Units 131 and 145.

The early antlerless elk rifle season was moved to Sept. 17 – Oct. 6 in place of the elk muzzleloader season to have a more successful weapon class to increase cow elk harvest to meet population objectives.
The primary October antlerless elk rifle “mid” season runs Oct. 7–20.

A late antlerless elk season was added for Unit Groups 061, 071 and 062, 064, 068, running Nov 21–Jan 15.
Shift both Area 6 unit group’s bull muzzleloader hunts and the Unit Group 062, 064, 066-068 antlerless elk muzzleloader hunt to Sept. 1–16, and eliminate Unit 061, 071 antlerless elk muzzleloader season due to too much congestion with bull muzzleloader hunt.

Shift Area 6 unit group’s bull archery season to Aug. 16–31 and antlerless elk archery to Aug. 1-15.
All late antlerless elk rifle seasons were extended to January 15 to allow for more elk harvest.

“Wilderness Only” antlerless elk rifle seasons were established in Unit 162, 222, and 231 where hunters may only hunt within the designated wilderness areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management or U.S. Forest Service.
Unit 144, 145 Depredation Bull Elk Hunt was expanded to 3 consecutive seasons to accommodate more tags.
For Hunt 4107, Antlerless Elk Depredation hunt, multiple season set for Unit 121 and Units 144, 145 to accommodate more tags and increase cow elk harvest and for Units 101–103 only a single long season due to very low hunter success in past years.

For desert bighorn ram hunt in Unit 212, Lone Mountain, 2 split seasons to reduce hunter congestion. Nonresident desert bighorn ram hunts closed in Units 262 and 266. Nonresident California bighorn ram hunt closed in Unit 033. Resident Rocky Mountain bighorn hunt closed in Unit 091.

Bighorn Ewe Hunts initiated in desert bighorn Units 212, 213, and 268 and in California bighorn Unit 068 due to herds exceeding their sustainable management levels and limited acceptable transplant opportunities.

Finally: 

No matter how you apply or where you apply, remember that all-important, final deadline for receiving your 2014 Nevada big game application(s) is Monday, April 21.

Don't miss that deadline if you would like to hunt big game this year. 
Good luck in the 2014 drawings, unless you are drawing for the tags I want. 


Bet Your Favorite Pigeon

Bet your favorite pigeon he can't tell you which Nevada big game hunting tags I will be applying for this year.
If he grins and says, "Heck, Don Q won't even tell me," he could be one of my hunting partners who keep bugging me for that secret information.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. Don's wife, Elaine, is the Outdoor section photographer. They live in Carson City and can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com.