General Deer Hunt Begins Oct 22

The general-season rifle buck deer hunt is the most popular hunting event in Utah and about 60,000 hunters are expected to participate this year. There may still be permits available for Utah’s northern region. Other regions are sold out.

If weather conditions are favorable, hunter success is expected to be good because the deep population is up. "The number of deer in Utah is continuing a slow but steady climb," said Craig McLaughlin, big game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

Range conditions have been good this year and so animals have been spread out. But most mountain areas picked up heavy snowfall early this week, and more is expected to fall Saturday and Sunday. The snow may push the deer off the mountain peaks. It may also concentrate them and make them easier to locate and track. Scouting just before the hunt will be particularly important this year.

A major storm on opening weekend usually reduces hunter success.