New for 2020

State Information

Utah Snow Water Equivalent as of Feb. 20, 2020. Source: Natural Resources Conservation Service Utah

---

Utah Snow Water Equivalent as of Feb. 17, 2019. Source: Natural Resources Conservation Service Utah

---

The Draw System

Utah's Elk Breakdown

Utah's Antelope Breakdown

Utah's 2020 Elk and Antelope Application Overview

Note: The application deadline for all Utah species is March 5, 2020 at 11 p.m. MST. Applicants wishing to purchase preference and/or bonus points only have until March 19, 2020 at 11 p.m. MST. You may apply online here.

To view important information and an overview of Utah’s rules/regulations, the draw system and bonus points, tag and license fees and an interactive boundary line map, check out our State Profile. You can also view the Utah Elk Profile and Antelope Profile to access historical and statistical data to help you find trophy areas.

Important Dates and Information

Fees and Permit Costs

Note: Applicants need to buy either a hunting license or combination hunting/fishing licence to apply. Applicants will not be charged the cost of the permit unless they are successful in the draw.

Snowpack in Utah

The entire state is currently at over 100% of normal snowpack. It’s shaping up to be a very good water year and the antler growth should reflect that. If spring snow/rain are good through the months of March, April and May, antler growth could be exceptional in 2020.

2020

Utah Snow Water Equivalent as of Feb. 20, 2020. Source: Natural Resources Conservation Service Utah

2019

Utah Snow Water Equivalent as of Feb. 17, 2019. Source: Natural Resources Conservation Service Utah

Utah issues 10% of their draw permits to nonresidents. Limited entry elk and antelope hunts are allocated through a modified bonus point system. Half of the permits for each hunt are given to applicants who apply with the most bonus points. The other half are allocated through a random draw with weight given to the number of points you have. Essentially, the more points you have, the more chances you get in the drawing. If there is an odd number of permits, the bulk go to high point holders. If there is one permit only, it will be randomly drawn.

Applicants that are unsuccessful in the draw will get a point for each species they applied for. You can also apply for a point only. Only apply for a point only if you cannot afford the permit or the time off to hunt should you draw. With a portion of the permits being randomly drawn, you always have some chance.

Hunt Choices

Applicants can select two hunt choices when applying for limited entry hunts. Every applicant’s first choice is considered before moving to anyone's second choice. It is extremely rare for a limited entry permit to be drawn as a second choice. In recent years, the very few hunts that could be drawn as a second choice are not hunts we would advise applicants to apply for unless they have a guide/outfitter lined up for those areas. If you draw a permit as a second choice, you will lose all accumulated points.

Group Applications

Up to four applicants can apply for limited entry hunts on one application. Nonresidents and residents can apply together. Points are averaged for a group application and rounded down to the nearest whole number. There must be enough permits to cover the number of applicants on your group application; otherwise it will be rejected. That goes for residents and nonresidents who apply together as a group. Nonresident permits will come out of the nonresident pool for that hunt — make sure there are enough.

Draw Order

Utah’s draw goes in the following order from first to last:

Utah does not allow applicants to draw multiple limited entry tags in the same draw/year. You also cannot draw a limited entry and a once-in-a-lifetime (moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat or bison) permit in the same year.

Utah manages their elk herds by individual units. Each unit has a desired age class objective for harvested bulls. Age class is determined by analyzing teeth from bulls harvested each year. The average age over a three year period guides the number of permits offered.

The GOHUNT Hit List Units for Utah Elk

The San Juan, Beaver/East, Plateau/Boulder and Fillmore/Pahvant (to a slightly lesser extent) are the best trophy units in the state. Those four units are your best bets if you are looking for a bull in the 370”+ range. It’s not that all hunters will harvest a bull of that caliber, but every year a few bulls are available in those units.

Genetics are good throughout the state and the feed should be excellent during the 2020 antler development season. Trophy potential statewide is not what it was 2005 to 2010 and 350”+ bulls are not nearly as common; however, there is still decent trophy potential generally.

Trophy trending is a general consensus based on age class data and opinions of hunters/guides/biologists. Each unit can still offer that caliber of bull, but they may be more or less readily available as in years past.

Boone & Crockett (b&c) Entry Trends for Utah Elk

Units listed below may not have a current hunt for this species. Units in this table are included if any part of the unit is found within the county. Data provided below courtesy of the Boone and Crockett Club.

Managing Points and Expectations

2020 maximum bonus points for elk: 27

The point creep in Utah is significant — most notable is the number of nonresident applicants at the 11 point level and below. That bubble represents the year that Utah allowed nonresidents to apply for all species instead of having to pick only one limited entry species. Consider that there are 6,212 nonresident applicants with 12 points or more and 26,101 below that. In 2019, there were 269 nonresident limited entry permits allocated and, of those, 115 of them were bonus point permits. With that, it could take 54 years to guarantee every applicant with 12 points or more to draw a license of some kind. If you just began, the truth is you are not going to be guaranteed a license in your lifetime if trends remain the same.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that there were 154 nonresident permits allocated randomly and everyone has a chance at those. The more points you have, the better the chance. The cost to apply is Utah is still relatively cheap, but is it worth it? You’ll have to decide!

Find your draw odds

I Have 0 to 4 Elk Points. What Can I Expect?

Residents and nonresidents that have never applied have a chance to draw. For nonresidents, there has to be at least one permit available for the hunt you apply for, but as long as that is the case you have a chance to draw. However, odds for the vast majority of the hunts are less than 1%. As noted, applicants should still apply for a hunt. Do not apply for a point only unless you cannot afford the cost or time to hunt. You never know when you might draw.

A couple of strategies:

1) Find the best hunts/units in the state and take a swing for the fences approach knowing that odds are long; however, should you draw, you will have one of the best hunts in the West.

2) Review the odds and apply for the hunt with the best odds.

Review the unit profile and other statistics to see if that is a hunt that can meet your expectations. Archery permits for residents in the Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South, Cache, North, Central Mtns, Manti, La Sal, La Sal Mtns, Nine Mile, Anthro, Wasatch are worth some research. The Paunsaugunt hunts are also worth review. We do not recommend that applicants apply for the Cache, Meadowville unless they have a guide booked already as this movement is almost entirely private.

Find your resident elk draw odds with 0 points here

Find your nonresident elk draw odds with 0 points here

What Can I Do with 5 to 9 Elk Points?

Residents

The archery hunts on the Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South, Cache, South, Central Mtns, Manti, Central Mtns, Nebo, Mt Dutton, Nine Mile, Anthro, North Slope, Three Corners, Plateau, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes, Southwest Desert are all worth a look.

The muzzleloader hunt on the Paunsaugunt and Cache, North would also be worth considering. The Paunsaugunt early rifle hunt and the Cache, North, La Sal, La Sal Mtns and the Nine Mile, Anthro late rifle hunts are interesting. Make sure that your expectations are realistic if you apply for one of these hunts.

Nonresidents

For the most part, a nonresident in this point range should utilize a similar strategy as applicants with zero points. There are a few hunts worth thinking about if you just want a chance to hunt including, the archery Paunsaugunt, Oquirrh-Stansbury, Cache, North, Cache, South or even the Wasatch Mtns. The same units should be considered by muzzleloader or rifle hunters — all of which have better random odds than the premier units.

Find your resident elk draw odds with 6 points here

Find your nonresident elk draw odds with 6 points here

What Can I Expect with 10 to 14 Elk Points?

Residents

There are many archery hunts that were drawn with 10 or 11 points, most notably among those: Central Mtns, Nebo, Mt Dutton, Panguitch Lake and the Southwest Desert. Muzzleloader hunts on the Book Cliffs, Cache, South, Central Mtns, Manti, Nebo and Plateau, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes are good hunts.

Central Mtns, Manti, Plateau, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes and the Wasatch Mtns rifle hunts are worth some research.

Nonresidents

The Wasatch Mtns and La Sal, La Sal Mtns archery and late rifle hunts are interesting within this point range.

Find your resident elk draw odds with 10 points here

Find your nonresident elk draw odds with 10 points here

What Can I Expect with 15 to 19 Elk Points?

Residents

With 15 points, almost every archery hunt is available; those unavailable would be the San Juan, Plateau, Boulder/Kaiparowits, Beaver, East and Monroe. The Fillmore, Pahvant is likely the most interesting archery option at that level. At 17 points, every archery hunt was available.

Muzzleloader hunts on the Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South, Plateau, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes and the Central Mtns Manti and Nebo are good hunts near the bottom of this point range. For rifle hunters, Wasatch Mtns, Central Mtns and Fishlake/Thousand Lakes, Nine Mile, Anthro are good hunts.

Nonresidents

Central Mtns, Manti, Plateau, Fishlake/Thousand Lake, Southwest Desert and the Mt Dutton archery hunts are good options within this range as well as Wasatch Mtns muzzleloader. The Central Mtns, Manti, Nebo, Plateau, Fishlake/Thousand Lake and the Wasatch early rifle hunts are good hunts for the rifle hunters.

Find your resident elk draw odds with 15 points here

Find your nonresident elk draw odds with 15 points here

What Can I Expect with 20 to 27 Elk Points?

Residents

Every archery hunt is available at the 20 point mark. Every muzzleloader hunts is available at the 23 point mark. Every early rifle hunt had 100% odds at the 24 point level except the San Juan. All late rifle hunts had 100% odds at the 21 point level. Other hunts worth considering if you are within this range are the multi-season hunts, which allow tag holders to hunt every season until they have harvested a bull. Most interesting among those is Plateau, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes at 21 points, Mt. Dutton at 23 points, and Plateau, Boulder/Kaiparowits at 25 points.

Nonresidents

Remember that if there is only one permit for a hunt, it will be randomly allocated so you may want to look for hunts that have at least one bonus point permit if you are within this range. There are some good options and some of the more intriguing ones include the Plateau, Boulder/Kaiparowits archery at 23 points and the San Juan archery at 21 points. The Mt Dutton and Southwest Desert muzzleloader hunts are also good hunts within this range. Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South, Fillmore, Pahvant, Plateau, Boulder/Kaiparowits, San Juan and Southwest Desert early rifle hunts are worth looking into. Finally, the Central Mtns, Manti and the Wasatch Mtns multi-season required 23 points and 19 points to draw, but those would be good options for a nonresident with the time and means to hunt every season.

Utah is not a trophy antelope state. There will be a handful of 80” bucks taken across the state each year; however, for the most part, Utah does not have the quality that you see from states like Arizona, New Mexico or Wyoming. If you are a nonresident who is already applying for other species, it’s worth the $10 to apply for an antelope permit also. For residents, if you are on a waiting period after having drawn another species, antelope is a good option. If not, it makes more sense to apply and build points for limited entry elk or deer and hunt antelope in other states like Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho or Montana.

Current Antelope Herd Condition

Utah antelope populations and hunting opportunities continue to increase. In 2018, there were a total of 2,494 hunters afield and 2,046 antelope harvested. Those numbers represent the highest harvest and hunters in the state’s history. The statewide population was also up once again with over 17,000 total. Utah has had good moisture this winter with the bulk of the state over 100% of moisture and temperatures that should not negatively impact adult or fawn survival. Going into 2020, populations should continue to be stable to growing.

*Population counts were not conducted in 2018.

The GOHUNT Hit List Units for Utah Antelope

A trophy buck could pop up in a lot of units, but there is a handful that continually provides a better chance at a record book buck. The best units have been the San Rafael/North and the Book Cliffs/South. There are a few others that have produced bigger bucks including the Southwest Desert, Nine Mile/Anthro-Myton Bench, Book Cliff/Bitter Creek and the La Sal/Potash/South Cisco. Box Elder County in northwestern Utah has also produced a decent number of trophy bucks although private/public land may be worth some research before you apply in these areas.

Boone & Crockett (b&c) Entry Trends for Utah Antelope

Units listed below may not have a current hunt for this species. Units in this table are included if any part of the unit is found within the county. Data provided below courtesy of the Boone and Crockett Club.

Doe Antelope Opportunity

Utah offers doe antelope hunting opportunities in most units. INSIDERs should take note that we offer draw odds for doe antelope hunts. You can find those on the standalone Draw Odds page. Utah has a preference point system for doe antelope that allows the applicants with the most points to draw the permits. Most units can be drawn with one or two preference points. If you want to do a doe antelope hunt in Utah, plan on applying during the June antlerless/doe draw. This is a separate draw from the regular big game draw. Points are separate and will not be impacted.

Find your resident doe antelope draw odds here

Find your nonresident doe antelope draw odds here

Managing Points and Expectations

2020 maximum bonus points for antelope: 21

Find your draw odds

I Have 0 Antelope Points. What Can I Expect?

Residents

With no points, residents had 100% odds for archery Box Elder/Promontory and many others had 20% plus odds that included good trophy potential units like the Book Cliffs, La Sal, Potash/South Cisco. The Plateau, Parker Mtn also had 53% odds with no points.

The muzzleloader hunts on the Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench had 43% odds with no points and two other units had 20% odds as well.

Nonresidents

If your goal is to try to harvest a trophy buck then you should only focus on those trophy units that have a nonresident permit available. If you want to maximize odds, the highest odds were for archery permits in the South Slope, Vernal and South Slope, Bonanza/Diamond Mtn at 9.5% and 5.6%.

The odds are dismal pretty much across the board, but, then again, for the $10 application fee, you have some chance. Review the odds, pick your weapon and apply!

Find your resident antelope draw odds with 0 points here

Find your nonresident antelope draw odds with 0 points here

What Can I Do with 3 to 6 Antelope Points?

Residents

All but two archery hunts are available to residents with six points. The only two that were not were the West Desert, Rush Valley and the West Desert, Riverbed. Some of the best trophy units, San Rafael, North and the Book Cliffs archery hunts were available with three points.

Every muzzleloader hunt was able to be drawn with six points and three of the six hunts had 100% odds with three points. With six points, the San Rafel, North is your best bet; with three or four points, the Southwest Desert muzzleloader is likely your best option.

For rifle hunters, there were nine hunts that could have been drawn at six points. Some of the most interesting of those are the Book Cliffs hunts, La Sal, Potash/South Cisco, Pine Valley, and the South Slope, Vernal. No hunts had 100% odds at three points. The La Sal, Potach/South Cisco had 100% odds at four points and the Pine Valley and Book Cliffs units had 100% at five points.

Nonresidents

The Plateau, Parker Mtn archery had 100% odds at five points. No other hunts had 100% odds within this range. Once again, archery hunts had better odds so use the draw odds to find the units that meet your objectives. The highest odds for firearms permits were for the muzzleloader Plateau, Parker Mtn and the rifle on the North Slope, Summit and the Box Elder, Promontory.

Find your resident antelope draw odds with 6 points here

Find your nonresident antelope draw odds with 6 points here

What Can I Expect with 7 to 10 Antelope Points?

Residents

Every hunt was available to applicants with 10 points except for the West Desert, Riverbed and the West Desert, Rush Valley. There are many quality hunts that applicants can draw within this point range. Use the GOHUNT hit list and Filtering to find the best opportunity that meets your objectives.

Nonresidents

Check out archery hunts on the Fillmore, Oak Creek South, South Slope, Bonanza/Diamond Mtn or the Southwest Desert. All had relatively good odds. Several others also had reasonable odds. Muzzleloader odds for the Southwest Desert were good and the Plateau, Parker Mtn had 100% odds at nine points. Many rifle hunts have good odds — most notable among those are the Beaver, Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek, Pine Valley and the West Desert, Rush Valley. The South Slope, Vernal rifle hunt had 100% odds at nine points.

At the 12 plus point level, there are many quality options that open up for nonresidents. Use the GOHUNT hit list and Filtering to find the best fit for you.

Find your resident antelope draw odds with 10 points here

Find your nonresident antelope draw odds with 10 points here