The Hunt is On

Prospects look promising as hunters
prepare for opening of buck deer hunt

More young bucks should be roaming Utah’s forests when the state’s general rifle buck deer hunt kicks off Oct. 20.
More than 60,000 hunters, along with their family and friends, are expected in Utah’s forests and hills for the state’s most popular hunt.
“Since 1998, the buck-to-doe ratio has been right around 15 bucks per 100 does. But we’ve had a couple of years where it’s peaked at 17 bucks per 100 does—2000 and now again this year,” says Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.
DWR biologists determine the ratio by conducting on-the-ground surveys after the hunting seasons are over in the fall. This past winter was mild in Utah, so most of the bucks biologists saw last fall, and many of the buck fawns they saw, should be available to rifle hunters on Oct. 20.
Aoude says more than 320,000 adult deer were in Utah this spring. That’s up from about 296,000 adult deer in the spring of 2006.
“Conditions for deer in Utah started improving in about 2003,” Aoude says. “We’ve had fair moisture over the past few years, and the winters have been mild.”
While deer were affected by some of the wildfires in Utah this summer, the biggest fire—the Milford Flat fire in south-central Utah—burned an area that few deer use during the hunting season. “If you’ve traditionally hunted in an area that burned this past summer, I’d strongly encourage you to get out before the hunt and see what the area looks like,” Aoude says.
Unless it snows before Oct. 20, many of the deer will be in the same place they’ve been for the past few months—at higher elevations.
“The only thing that will move deer out of the high country during the rifle hunt is snow,” Aoude says. “If we get some snow before the hunt, that could push the deer down to lower elevations.”
If it doesn’t snow, and the weather gets warmer, the deer may not feed very long in the morning. “In that case, you need to get into the cover and find the places where the deer are hiding,” Aoude says.
Aoude says many areas in Utah have received some good moisture recently. That moisture has moistened the vegetation. And that should make it easier for hunters to move around without making noise. “But that could change if it gets hot again before the hunt,” Aoude says.
Aoude also provides the following tips and reminders:
- Get a good pair of binoculars, and spend time during the hunt glassing areas for deer. “The leaves are usually off the trees during the rifle hunt, and that allows you to see a long distance,” he says. “A good pair of binoculars can save you a lot of walking.”
- Practice with your rifle. If you do, the chance goes up that you’ll take a deer when that perfect shot presents itself.
- Make sure there’s a backdrop behind any deer you shoot at. For example, don’t shoot at a deer that’s standing on the top of a hill. If you miss, your bullet will sail over the hill. It could hit someone on the other side.
- Get away from the hunting pressure near the roads.
- Be aware of the direction the wind is blowing. If you’re stalking an animal, or waiting near a water hole or trail, make sure the wind is blowing across your body or into your face. That way, your scent won’t be carried to the deer.
- Get an OHV riding map for the area you plan to hunt. These maps are available from the agency—usually the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management—that manages the land you’ll be hunting on.
“It’s extremely important—to the deer and their habitat, and to other hunters—that you don’t take an OHV into an area that’s not open to their use,” Aoude says. “You might be surprised to learn where OHVs are not allowed.”
- Watch out for thunder storms and lightning. If you get caught in this type of storm, make sure you’re not the tallest object on the landscape.
Rifle hunters will find more bucks in southeastern Utah this year, says Bill Bates, Southeastern Region wildlife manager.
“Moderately good fawn production and winter survival over the past few years have strengthened herds across the region,” Bates reports. “Most units show both short and long-term upward trends in the total number of deer.”
While the number of deer is up in the region, the total number of deer on all of its herd units is still below the management objective. Wildlife habitat in southeastern Utah faces a long road to recovery after many years of drought. And that drought continues unabated in the region. “If the weather returns to a normal pattern, the vegetation in the region will rebound, and the deer herds should continue to grow,” Bates says.
Regarding the buck-to-doe ratio for each unit, Bates indicates the Range Creek unit hovers around 31 bucks per 100 does. Along the Central Mountains-Manti unit in Carbon and Emery counties, Bates says the deer population is gradually rising, with a buck-to-doe ratio of 17 bucks per 100 does.
Farther south in the LaSal Mountains by Moab, the deer population is on the upswing with a buck-to-doe ratio of 15 bucks per 100 does. And the Abajo Mountains in San Juan County support a growing herd, with a buck-to-doe ratio of 22 bucks per 100 does.
Bates says hunters found mixed success during the archery hunt. Rain that fell on the LaSal and Abajo mountains during the hunt dispersed the deer. Hunters found very good success in these areas.
However, late summer rains did not fall on the northern part of the region until late in the hunt. The opening weekend was hot and dry, which kept the deer near water sources deep in the canyons. As a result, the success hunters found on the Manti unit was somewhat lower.
“With the recent changes in the weather pattern, deer should be dispersed throughout the region during the rifle hunt,” Bates says. “I think hunters will find some good success.”

Lot of Bull

Danny Daley from Lawrence took three days of hard hunting in the LaSalle Mountians to take this 6x7 limited entry bull elk.