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Utah big game hunting units: deer, elk, draw and harvest data

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources runs big game hunting by unit, with a separate map of units for each species and hunt type. Hunters took 22,367 bucks on Utah's general-season deer hunts in 2025 and 2,188 bulls on its limited-entry elk hunts in 2025, by DWR's harvest reports. The 2026 general-season rifle deer hunt runs October 17 to 25 (DWR field regulations, page 8).

Data updated October 2026. Seasons: DWR's 2026 guidebooks. Harvest: DWR's reports, 2013 to 2025. Draw: DWR's 2024 and 2025 results. Land: UGRC, 2023.

Map of Utah's 2026 general-season deer units and DWR's five regions; units with a FilledTag page shaded
Utah's 31 general-season deer units for 2026, shaded where they have a page, with DWR's five region lines. Ground left white is outside every general-season deer unit.

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When are Utah's 2026 general-season deer and elk hunts?

Utah's general-season buck deer permits are drawn by unit; general-season bull elk permits are sold over the counter for the any bull and spike units. These are DWR's statewide dates; each unit page lists its own hunts.

General-season buck deer, 2026Dates
ArcheryAugust 15 to September 11
MuzzleloaderSeptember 23 to October 1
Restricted muzzleloaderSeptember 23 to October 1
Early any legal weapon (rifle)October 7 to 11
Any legal weapon (rifle)October 17 to 25
Restricted rifleOctober 17 to 25
General-season bull elk, 2026Dates
Any bull units: archeryAugust 15 to September 16 (no general-season archery elk hunt on the Paunsaugunt)
Any bull units: early any legal weapon (rifle)October 3 to 9
Any bull units: late any legal weapon (rifle)October 10 to 16
Any bull units: muzzleloaderOctober 28 to November 5
Spike units: archeryAugust 15 to September 4
Spike units: any legal weapon (rifle)October 3 to 15
Spike units: muzzleloaderOctober 28 to November 5
Draw-only youth any bull or hunter's choice elkSeptember 12 to 22
Extended archery areas, 2026Dates
Deer: Nine Mile, Green River Valley; Sanpete Valley; South WasatchSeptember 12 to October 15
Deer: Box Elder, West Bear River; Herriman South Valley; Ogden; Uinta Basin; Utah Lake; Wasatch Front; West CacheSeptember 12 to November 30
Elk: Uinta Basin; Wasatch FrontAugust 15 to December 15
Elk: West CacheAugust 15 to January 31

Source: 2026 Utah Big Game Field Regulations Guidebook, pages 8 and 9.

When is the Utah big game draw?

Application, 2026OpenedClosedResults
Big game drawing application: general-season buck deer, limited-entry and CWMU deer, elk and pronghorn, once-in-a-lifetime moose, bison, bighorn sheep and mountain goat, draw-only youth elk, and big game bonus or preference pointsMarch 19, 2026April 23, 2026May 31, 2026
Second chance to apply for big game bonus or preference points only (during the antlerless application period)June 9, 2026June 23, 2026
Antlerless drawing application (antlerless deer, antlerless elk, doe pronghorn and other antlerless permits)June 9, 2026June 23, 2026July 8, 2026

Source: 2026 Utah Big Game Application Guidebook. These are the 2026 dates and fees, the latest DWR has published. DWR sets the 2027 dates in its 2027 Big Game Application Guidebook, which comes out before the drawing opens in the spring; as of October 17, 2026 the guidebook on DWR's site is still the 2026 edition. Fees and every deadline: Utah draw deadlines and fees.

How many deer and elk do Utah hunters take?

Utah's general-season buck deer hunts, every unit added up by FilledTag from DWR's harvest reports (archery, muzzleloader, early rifle and rifle; youth, Dedicated Hunter and extended archery rows left out):

YearHunts reportedPermitsHunters afieldBucks harvestedHarvest per 100 hunters
202510569,34360,14022,36737
202410464,03055,77318,31633
202310451,41342,49112,10528
20229666,58754,99519,91136
20219659,68348,69315,97433
20209564,63054,73414,34426
20199571,96559,86715,45526
20189473,87861,83621,41335
20178771,27060,85019,77733
20168774,13962,96723,54037
20159071,48261,35722,28136
20149070,08259,14619,41133
20139070,48360,33519,09232

Source: DWR harvest reports, 2013 to 2025; 2025 is DWR's preliminary report.

Utah's limited-entry bull elk hunts, every unit added up the same way (CWMU, landowner, conservation and sportsman permits left out):

YearHunts reportedPermitsHunters afieldBulls harvestedHarvest per 100 hunters
20251453,5633,5102,18862
20241473,5103,4692,04259
20231423,4323,3891,94357
20221233,1953,1512,04765
20211243,0693,0111,88563
20201293,0493,0051,87362
20191282,9222,8851,79562
20181282,8822,8431,82364
20171282,8802,8511,89867
20161262,7652,7291,78565
20151233,0443,0101,95065
20141232,8752,8451,92968
20131212,8762,8511,90367

Source: DWR harvest reports, 2013 to 2025.

DWR's 2025 report also gives the over-the-counter general-season elk hunts statewide, not by unit:

HuntWeaponPermitsHunters afieldBulls harvestedDWR's percent successAverage daysSatisfaction (1 to 5)
EB1001Any bull units: Rifle (any legal weapon)10,8909,4431,41615%3.92.9
EB1002Any bull units: Muzzleloader2,0911,77927615.5%4.63
EB1003Spike units: Rifle (any legal weapon)10,0818,9381,39615.6%4.83.1
EB1004Spike units: Muzzleloader8087019413.4%4.63
EB1005Any bull units: Archery11,79710,6141,25611.8%7.93.3
EB1009Spike units: Multiseason3,9963,68892525.1%8.93.3

Source: DWR 2025 harvest report (preliminary).

Utah's hunt units with a page of their own

148 units have a page, each with DWR's 2026 hunts, its harvest year by year, the 2024 and 2025 draw and the public land measured inside it. 17 more were left out because DWR's data for them is too thin for a page (fewer than 3 years of harvest under the unit's name, or no 2026 hunt).

General-season deer (28)

Limited-entry deer (14)

Limited-entry bull elk (26)

Limited-entry buck pronghorn (26)

Once-in-a-lifetime bull moose (12)

Once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn sheep (14)

Once-in-a-lifetime Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (11)

Once-in-a-lifetime mountain goat (13)

Once-in-a-lifetime bison (4)

Which units are Utah's general-season elk units?

General-season bull elk permits are sold over the counter and good on every unit of their type, so these units have no draw. DWR does not report their harvest unit by unit. Size and public land, measured from DWR's 2026 boundaries:

Any bull units, 2026 (29)
UnitSquare milesPublic land
Beaver, West98774%
Book Cliffs, Floy Canyon43892.4%
Box Elder, Hansel Mountain3,63824.8%
Box Elder, Sawtooth37538.7%
Cache, East Rich37236.1%
Cache, Wellsville50411.7%
Cedar/Stansbury2,22252.9%
Chalk Creek61710.1%
East Canyon63118.7%
Fillmore, Oak Creek South1,47867.5%
Henry Mountains1,29988.6%
House/Tintic7,59369.7%
Kamas34359.1%
Morgan-South Rich93014.1%
Nebo, Moroni Hills9514.8%
Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench1,02765.6%
Nine Mile, Range Creek1,54671.4%
North Slope, Summit60688.9%
North Slope, West Daggett39385.7%
Ogden63325.5%
Oquirrh1,59229.1%
Paunsaugunt1,49580.4%
Pine Valley2,60671%
San Juan, Montezuma Canyon72569.6%
San Rafael, North1,68285.5%
Valley Mountains41252.8%
Vernal/Bonanza2,06272.8%
Yellowstone1,94749.8%
Zion1,72450.7%
Spike only units, 2026 (24)
UnitSquare milesPublic land
Beaver, East79987.1%
Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East3,05269.3%
Book Cliffs, Little Creek Roadless8999.9%
Boulder/Kaiparowits5,34475.7%
Box Elder, Grouse Creek87650.5%
Cache, Meadowville28554.8%
Cache, North23973.5%
Cache, South43178.2%
Diamond Mountain41667.9%
Dolores Triangle18395.6%
Fillmore, Pahvant84975.6%
Fishlake/Thousand Lakes1,19174.5%
La Sal Mountains2,47778.4%
Manti2,56173.5%
Monroe69075.4%
Mt Dutton65987.6%
Nebo/San Pitch Mountains96550.9%
Panguitch Lake88277.9%
San Juan4,36576.8%
San Rafael, South-Dirty Devil3,41085.5%
Southwest Desert5,20588.8%
Wasatch Mountains2,56857.6%
Wasatch Mountains, North28344.7%
West Desert, Deep Creek65684.5%

Utah's DWR regions

RegionOfficeSquare milesPublic landUnit pagesWMAs
Northern RegionOgden12,70234.1%3227
Central RegionSpringville15,32854.9%2048
Northeastern RegionVernal9,20161.9%2426
Southeastern RegionPrice21,08672.4%339
Southern RegionCedar City26,56578.3%3922

How much of Utah is public land?

64.2% of Utah is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules, measured from UGRC's land ownership map. BLM land alone is 41.9% of the state.

ManagerAcresShare of Utah
BLM22,752,60041.9%
National forest8,188,72515.1%
State trust land (SITLA)3,342,5206.2%
Tribal land (tribe's rules)2,448,1254.5%
National park or monument (NPS, no hunting)2,096,7773.9%
Military land (closed)1,812,5823.3%
State sovereign land (lake and river beds)1,468,7592.7%
DWR wildlife land491,0100.9%
State park (park rules)130,5790.2%
National wildlife refuge99,7730.2%
Bureau of Reclamation9,014under 0.1%
Other public land (highways, other state land)7,387under 0.1%
Private and other land not shown11,476,16821.1%

Measured by FilledTag from UGRC's statewide land ownership map (last edited 2023).

Utah wildlife management areas with a page

79 of DWR's wildlife and waterfowl management areas have a page, each 1,000 acres or more. Every region page lists all of its WMAs.

Questions hunters ask

When is the 2026 Utah general-season deer hunt?

Rifle (any legal weapon): October 17 to 25, 2026. Archery: August 15 to September 11. Muzzleloader: September 23 to October 1. Early rifle, on the units that have it: October 7 to 11. Source: DWR's 2026 Big Game Field Regulations Guidebook, page 8.

When is Utah's 2026 general-season elk hunt?

On any bull units: archery August 15 to September 16, early rifle October 3 to 9, late rifle October 10 to 16 and muzzleloader October 28 to November 5. On spike units: archery August 15 to September 4, rifle October 3 to 15 and muzzleloader October 28 to November 5. Source: DWR's 2026 field regulations, page 8.

How many deer were harvested in Utah in 2025?

22,367 bucks on Utah's general-season archery, muzzleloader and rifle hunts, with 60,140 hunters afield, by DWR's 2025 harvest report (preliminary) added up by FilledTag. In 2024: 18,316 bucks. Limited-entry, CWMU and youth hunts are counted separately by DWR.

When is the Utah big game draw deadline?

DWR's 2026 big game application opened March 19, 2026 and closed April 23, 2026, with results by May 31, 2026. DWR sets the 2027 dates in its 2027 guidebook. More: Utah draw deadlines and fees.

How much of Utah is public land?

64.2% of Utah is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules, measured from UGRC's land ownership map: BLM 41.9%, national forest 15.1%, state trust land (SITLA) 6.2% and DWR wildlife land 0.9%. National parks, military land and tribal land are not counted.

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Where these numbers come from

FilledTag is not part of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. DWR is the final word on every rule.

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