New for 2023

State Information

The Utah Draw System

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Utah's Elk Breakdown

Utah's Antelope Breakdown

Utah's 2023 Elk and Antelope Application Overview

Note: The application deadline for all Utah species is April 27, 2023 at 11 p.m. MST. Applicants wishing to purchase preference and/or bonus points only can do so prior to the April 27 deadline or if they miss that deadline they can apply for points only during the antlerless application timeframe from June 7 to 22. You may apply online here.

Insider features

HUNT PLANNER

To aid in your research and planning efforts, we created a brand new tool for Insiders called Hunt Planner. This tool will help you be more efficient at planning for hunts and also keeps all your research data organized. No more notepads getting lost or headaches when trying to remember what units caught your eye during your research! Everything you need is always in one place at GOHUNT.

What can you do in Hunt Planner?

Learn more about Hunt Planner here

POINT TRACKER

Point Tracker allows you to enter the number of points you have for each state and species and, as you research through Filtering 2.0 and Draw Odds, your point total will automatically be highlighted. Learn more about Point Tracker here.

Access Point Tracker 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

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

Hunting License to Apply

Every applicant will need to have a valid hunting license to apply for hunts or even bonus points only. That hunting license is valid for 365 days from the date of purchase. Applicants can buy one hunting license every two years and apply if they time it correctly. For example, if you purchase a hunting license and apply on the last day of this application period and then apply early in next year's application period, you could apply for two years on one hunting license. You do not need a valid hunting license to actually hunt; you only need it to apply in the draw.

Permit Split/allocation

The permit split offers 90% to residents and 10% to nonresidents. For limited entry elk units with three weapon types, permits are allocated in the following percentages: 25% for archery, 15% for muzzleloader and 60% for any legal weapon. Within the any legal weapon elk season, percentages of permits will be recommended as 10% for the early any weapon season, 30% for the mid any weapon season, 17% for the late any weapon season and 3% for the multi-season.

Important notice: The percentages of permits allocated for each season has changed from previous years with the new statewide elk plan. This change will reduce the number of permits primarily for the early rifle (any weapon) season. The application period in 2023 was moved back to give applicants a chance to review tag allocations for the hunts they plan to apply for. UDWR will release the number of recommended permits for each hunt on April 5, 2023. Be aware that these permit numbers may be different from the number of permits that were allocated in 2022, which is what is currently displayed in your Insider account. When you evaluate the odds of the hunts you are planning to apply for it is imperative to review the detailed draw odds pages for those hunts and compare the number of permits that were allocated at each point level with the 2023 UDWR recommended permit numbers. In some cases (primarily early rifle limited entry elk seasons), the number of permits is going to be less than it has been. This change is very likely going to impact draw odds negatively. The mid-October seasons are probably going to have the best odds for rifle hunters. The new late season archery hunts probably have the best archery season odds; however, be cautious as those are late season spot and stalk hunts that will have lower harvest success rates.

Bonus Points

Utah has a hybrid draw system for limited entry elk and antelope permits where they allocate 50% of the permits for each hunt to the applicants with the most bonus points and 50% are randomly allocated. The random draw takes into consideration the number of points each applicant has, meaning you get more chances in the random draw with each point you have. For example, if I have zero points I get one chance, but if I have ten points I get 11 chances (one for each point I have and one for this year’s application). If there is an odd number of permits (for example, three), the bulk go to high point holders and only one will be randomly allocated. If there is one permit only, it will be randomly drawn.

Bonus points are given for each year an applicant applies for a limited entry or once-in-a-lifetime species and is unsuccessful in the draw. Applicants can also apply for bonus points only until the April 27 deadline. Applicants who miss the deadline can apply for bonus points only during the antlerless application timeframe from June 7 to 22. Bonus points are species specific, meaning you cannot apply bonus points for limited entry elk that an applicant has accrued toward a limited entry deer or antelope hunt.

Group Applications

Applicants can apply as a group for limited entry elk and antelope. Up to four applicants can apply on a group application. Group applicants will have their bonus points totaled and averaged and rounded down to the whole number. For example, if a group of three applies with three, five and nine bonus points, that application will go into the draw with five points (3+5+9=17/3=5.666 rounded to 5). Residents and nonresidents can apply as a group together on the same application. A group application is treated as a single application in the draw, meaning that if an application is successful in the draw, all applicants on that application will receive permits. Be aware that Utah will not over allocate their permit quotas to satisfy a group application. For example, if there is one permit remaining for any given hunt and a group application of two is drawn, they will bypass that application and move to the next single applicant. For resident/nonresident combo group applications, there must be enough nonresident permits to cover the nonresident applicants on the application. If there was an application with two nonresidents and two resident applicants and there was only one nonresident permit available for the hunt they applied for, that application has no chance at being successful in the draw.

Hunt Choices

Applicants can select two hunt choices when applying for limited entry hunts. Every single applicant's first choice is considered before moving to any applicant's second choice. Essentially, it is very rare for a limited entry permit to be drawn as a second choice. To draw a hunt as a second choice, it would mean that there were permits remaining after every single applicant's first choice was considered. Be aware that if you draw a permit as a second choice you will lose any accumulated bonus points.

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. In the rare case that an applicant has enough points to draw both a limited entry permit and a once-in-a-lifetime permit, they should decide which hunt they want to pursue. With the order of the draw, they would draw the limited entry hunt and their once-in-a-lifetime species application will not be considered in the draw.

Permit Return

Successful applicants who wish to return a permit that they have drawn can do so 30 days prior to the start of their hunt. In this case, they can have their bonus points reinstated; however, they would not earn one for that year's application. The cost of the limited entry permit will be refunded as long as it is returned 30 days prior to the hunt. If applicants drew a permit as part of a group, all members of the group must surrender their permits in order to have all of the applicants’ bonus points reinstated. Hunting licenses and application fees are nonrefundable.

Snowpack and Drought in Utah

Utah gets approximately 95% of its water from snowpack and the amount in 2023 is quite possibly the highest in the last 30 years. Every portion of the state is over 150% of normal snow water equivalent and the southern portion of the state is over 200% in most areas. The southern two-thirds of the state has larger chunks of higher quality winter range and far fewer people. Because of that, wildlife populations in those portions of the state have fared better this winter while the Wasatch Front and northern portions of the state will likely see mortality in the calf and fawn crop at a higher rate than normal. The good news is that 2023 is likely to yield one of the best antler growth years in the southern end of the state in several years. The northern Utah units will not have great antler growth due to the long winter and deep snows. Bulls will be putting initial nutrition into recouping body condition and with the lack of early green growth, antler growth is likely to be stunted.

Antelope shed their shealth/horn in mid-November. Before they shed the horn, a new horn will have begun to grow from beneath it from the bone core. From the time bucks shed the sheath until late March, the bucks will be putting growth into the prong and upper portion of the horn. From early April to July, the growth is added below the prong and mass is added near the base of the skull. By late July and into early August, the horn will have finished growing and bucks will begin to rut from as early as mid-August to late September. The time from December to the end of March is critical for prong length and height in general. The months of April to July are critical for mass and length below the prong. With that, it is understandable that more mild conditions from the months of November to April are beneficial for antelope horn growth. If the winter is more severe and the bucks are putting more nutrition into maintaining body condition, the long prongs and mass above the prong are not likely to be there. Generally speaking, this winter has been more severe and I would not anticipate a great growth year for antelope for some higher elevations herds and northern Utah. The desert units of southwestern and eastern Utah should fare much better and, with continued moisture, the horn growth in those units should be great.

2023

Utah snow water equivalent update from April 3, 2023. Source: National Resources Conservation Service

Utah drought monitor status from March 28, 2023. Source: United States Drought Monitor

2022

Utah snow water equivalent update from February 7, 2022. Source: National Resources Conservation Service

2022 Utah drought monitor status from February 1. Source: United States Drought Monitor

2021

Utah snow water equivalent from February 9, 2021. Source: National Resources Conservation Service

2021 Utah drought monitor status from January 11. Source: United States Drought Monitor

Over the last 20 plus years, Utah has been — and remains — a phenomenal elk state. It’s well known for producing record book bulls and offering some of the highest quality elk hunting in the West. The allure for elk in Utah really began in the early to mid 2000s and, from approximately 2003 to 2010, several 400” plus bulls were taken almost every year. Since then, the trophy quality has slipped. As we move into a brand new 10-year elk plan, we are unlikely to see the number of trophy bulls available again in the foreseeable future.

In late 2022, Utah signed a new 10-year elk plan. The overarching objective was to increase the opportunity for more hunters to experience elk hunting in Utah. The demand to hunt elk has increased and more hunters are willing to sacrifice some quality to hopefully obtain a permit. In order to offer more hunters the chance to hunt elk, the state had to find ways to offer more permits and maintain harvest at a level that remains within objectives. One of the management adjustments the state has adopted is that they have a new age class management strategy for limited entry elk units. They have also created new hunts and adjusted the percentage of tags that are allocated across the rifle hunts. They have also created a new hunt structure for the OTC any bull hunt and transitioned under-performing limited entry units to OTC any bull units. I’ll dive into those later. For now, let’s look at the changes in age class for limited entry units.

Limited entry elk units have been managed for a desired age class of bulls that are harvested from each unit. New studies suggest that most bulls reach approximately 96% of antler growth by age 6.5. Data comparing age and main beam antler length for elk harvested in Utah show similar trends with 97% of length being achieved by 6.5 years old and length not increasing after an elk reaches 8.5 years old. With this information, Utah has determined that they likely have a surplus of bulls that could be harvested in some units. Previously I have included the age objectives for each unit within this strategy article. When a hunter draws a limited entry elk permit they receive a packet with instructions to return teeth from the bull they harvest. Returned teeth are tested to determine the age of the bull. UDWR would then average the age of bulls harvested for each year with recommended permit numbers for the coming year based on a three-year rolling average age. The new management plan still utilizes the same system, but they have adjusted the age class for the units, lowering some of the top units. Generally speaking, adjusting the age class should allow UDWR to allocate more permits in some of the better known units. More permits have the potential to lower the age class over time and, in reality, the trophy quality of those units is likely to dip slightly. Below are the age class structures for 2023 for each unit and the previous age class prior to this year.

Statewide, the elk population is estimated at 84,390 in 2021 with an objective of 78,990.

Limited Entry Elk Seasons

Utah has created new limited entry elk seasons for this upcoming year. The biggest additions are October mid rifle hunts and December archery hunts. In addition to those hunts, they have also made some adjustments to season length and date. The early archery season will now run later into September, offering the best rut hunt days bowhunters in Utah will have ever had. The bow hunt will start Aug. 23 and end Sept. 19. Given the later dates, I would anticipate that many applicants with a good number of bonus points will be tempted to burn those on an archery hunt where they get the first crack at bulls and have much better rut dates. I anticipate seeing higher point creep than normal in the early archery hunts.

The early rifle elk hunt begins just after the archery hunt with season dates of Sept. 20 to 24. The early rifle hunt was shortened this year to just five days. The dates are prime for bugling bulls and I would anticipate that harvest success will still be very high. Data suggests that 80% of tag holders fill their permit within the first three days of the early rifle hunt. The early rifle season is still the best rifle hunt, but preseason scouting is going to make the difference with the shortened season.

Many years, one the best rut hunts occurs during the limited entry muzzleloader dates, which are Sept 25 to Oct. 6. It’s not uncommon for the archery and early rifle dates to be extremely hot and elk movement can be limited. Later muzzleloader dates sometimes cool off and calling is still very effective. Additionally, as of now, muzzleloader hunters can still utilize a modern muzzleloader with magnified scope. Once again, harvest success is typically very high and the quality is good during the muzzleloader hunts.

The mid-season October rifle hunt is new in 2023 to limited entry elk areas. The season dates will run Oct 7 to 19. A few factors worth noting are that these dates occur along with the general season rifle spike elk hunt, which has the same dates. The October limited entry hunt will generally have better odds than both the early rifle and late rifle hunts, but hunters will be sharing the field with potentially hundreds and even thousands of general season spike hunters. The added hunting pressure will move elk around and it will be challenging to continue to find a target bull day after day. I anticipate that harvest success will still be high for this hunt, but the quality of bulls available will be lower. One consideration worth noting is that the OTC spike elk hunters in the field are often good resources for information since limited entry tags are so hard to come by.

The late limited entry rifle hunts run Nov. 11 to 19. During this timeframe, the bigger bulls will have transitioned away from cow/calf herds and often find remote, secluded feeding and bedding pockets to attempt to put weight on before winter. Depending on the unit, the late hunts can be very good if there is open country to glass. Many of the mature bulls will have broken and chipped tines after the rut. The late hunts traditionally require a few less points to draw; however, be aware that they can be challenging with cold weather and finding a target bull is tough. The late hunts occur after the early seasons and, in many cases, the biggest bulls on the units will have been harvested.

New for 2023: there will be late season archery elk hunts. The limited entry late archery hunts will occur Dec. 2 to 17. Arizona and New Mexico have been utilizing late archery hunts to offer hunters a chance to draw with fewer points than the early hunts. I would anticipate the late archery hunts to require fewer points, but for the better units it may still require eight to 15 points. In Arizona and New Mexico, the harvest success for these types of hunts is often 10% to 20% and I believe it will be similar in Utah. However, in saying that, most of the areas of Utah are more open and bulls are more susceptible to spot and stalk hunting. Once again, the weather will be cold, snowy and the bigger bulls will likely be broken and hard to find. I would suggest die-hard spot and stalk archery hunters with a few points strongly consider these hunts. I am hearing the permit number for the late archery hunts is likely to be low — perhaps five or fewer.

Utah also offers multi-season and handgun, archery, muzzleloader and shotgun (HAMS) hunts for some units. Multi-season allows the lucky applicants to hunt all of the seasons on a unit until they have filled their permit. These permits allow those individuals to be very selective and they represent the best opportunity to hunt and harvest a big bull. Some units have HAMS hunts. Those hunts have long season dates, are in tougher units to hunt and you are limited to using a handgun, archery equipment, muzzleloader or a shotgun. The HAMS units might be good hunt options for applicants who do not have a lot of points and are more interested in the opportunity to hunt with primitive weapons than killing a trophy bull.

*Random odds vary by the number of bonus points. Review the odds within your Insider account. *New season permit quotas are likely to impact maximum point draw odds. Review the proposed 2023 permit numbers and compare them to the number of permits allocated in 2022 to further evaluate chances of drawing.

September Archery and Hams Hunts

In 2021, Utah began offering some new hunts on the Cache/North, Plateau/Barney Top/Kaiparowits, Southwest Desert/North and West Desert/DeepCreek. The archery hunts in these units run Sept. 1 to 30. These same units also offered a HAMS hunt Nov. 11 to 30. These hunts are included in the table above.

Looking at the draw odds, those hunts have required close to the same number of bonus points of other limited entry mid-tier archery hunts. Something to consider when considering the archery hunts in these units is that the harvest success is generally good. The added days in the heart of the rut produce higher chances of success. The HAMS hunts also have had very good harvest success. In both cases, the trophy potential is generally less than it is on other limited entry units since the populations are lower. The HAMS and archery hunts on these units are intriguing, but they may not be a good fit for everyone. Weapons are limited to handgun, archery, primitive muzzleloader, or shotgun. For applicants who are looking for a unique hunt where pressure is limited, these may be worth considering.

OTC Elk Hunt Options

As previously stated, one of the primary goals with the new elk plan was to increase elk hunting opportunity. In 2023, there has been a significant amount of change in the OTC elk hunting in Utah. Utah offers OTC elk hunts under two different categories: general any bull and general spike elk. There are archery, rifle, muzzleloader and, even, multi-season spike bull permits. For spike bull, there is a multi-season permit option. The multi-season spike elk permit allows the hunter to hunt all seasons until they have harvested a spike.

The general archery permits are not specific to a unit and hunters who purchase a general season elk permit can hunt either spike elk units and/or any bull units. Archery hunters can harvest a spike or cow elk on almost every spike elk unit or they can harvest any bull or a cow elk on any bull units. The number of archery general season permits is unlimited.

Rifle and muzzleloader hunters must choose between buying a spike elk permit or any bull permit. Rifle hunters or muzzleloader hunters who buy a general spike tag can harvest a spike only on any of the open spike elk units. The general any bull elk rifle or muzzleloader permits are only valid for bull elk in general any bull units. In 2023, there will be an early rifle any bull hunt and a late rifle any bull hunt. There is a 15,000 permit cap that is shared between the early rifle any bull hunt and the any bull muzzleloader hunt. The 15,000 permits will sell out quickly. The late any bull rifle hunt is unlimited in the number of permits that can be sold.

The rifle spike bull and muzzleloader spike bull permits have a shared cap of 15,000 permits. Out of those 15,000 permits, 4,500 can be sold as multi-season permits. Once again, these permits will sell out quickly. Hunters should plan on buying permits the day they go on sale in order to have the best chance at getting a permit.

The following table breaks down hunt dates and the dates that permits go on sale.

* At this time UDWR doesn't have the sale date listed

Insiders can explore the general season any bull and spike elk hunts in Utah by selecting Utah under Filtering. They can then select Elk, Any Bull or Elk, Spike to research the units, harvest success, season dates and public land percentages to help them finetune their search for an OTC elk hunt opportunity.

In the table below are the top general season rifle spike units with the most current harvest data from 2021. The muzzleloader and archery hunts reflect a similar pattern in the top units for those hunts as well. If you are considering an OTC spike elk hunt, consider one of these areas.

Below are the top general season any bull elk units based on the most recent harvest success from 2021. These areas also reflect the best options for archery and muzzleloader any bull elk. Also, it should be noted that for 2023, there have been additional units that were previously limited entry elk units that are now general any bull units. Those units were either not meeting management objectives as limited entry units or the populations are low. The additional hunts that are now general any bull are: Paunsaugunt (rifle and muzzleloader), Nine Mile/Anthro, Book Cliffs/Floy Canyon, Box Elder/Sawtooth, Central Mtns/Moroni Hills. The West Desert/Deep Creek unit will become an OTC any bull unit in 2024. Please refer to your Insider account or UDWR booklet or website for boundary descriptions.

Managing elk points and expectations

2023 maximum bonus points for elk: 30

No applicant applied for a hunt with more than 28 points in 2022.

Utah is a good antelope destination — although in terms of trophy potential and overall permit numbers, it doesn’t compare to a state like Wyoming. It does offer ample amounts of public land to hunt and while there are not a good number of book caliber bucks harvested every year, there are always a few. In 2023, throughout the Southern and east and west desert units the trophy potential is likely to be very good due to the amounts of moisture the state has received this winter. In recent years, UDWR has begun to offer more permits in the draw based on studies that suggest that bucks achieve growth potential at a younger age than previously thought (seems to be a trend here.) Utah offers archery, muzzleloader and rifle hunts and manages for high harvest success rates. Hunts occur from early August to September, meaning that every hunter will have the opportunity to hunt during the rut. It’s worth noting that the archery hunt success is generally very good across the board and the odds of drawing those hunts is better.

Most nonresident applicants are buying a hunting license to be able to apply for deer, elk and once-in-a-lifetime species and may not consider antelope. I highly suggest nonresidents also apply for antelope for the minimal $15 application fee. With half of the permits randomly allocated, you have a chance in the draw and antelope hunting is good in Utah.

Resident applicants have to pick the limited entry species that they apply for. They cannot apply for limited entry deer, elk and antelope in the same year. In my opinion, I recommend resident applicants pick either limited entry elk or deer until they draw and only apply for limited entry antelope in the years where they are on a waiting period for the other species. Of course, there are those of you who are just antelope enthusiasts and, in that case, apply for antelope!

*There are several more hunts that applicants can apply for that are not within the table above. Be aware: no limited entry antelope hunt had 100% draw odds for nonresidents with less than 12 bonus points in 2022.

Managing Antelope Points and Expectations

2023 maximum bonus points for antelope: 24

Conclusion

Utah is a great elk and antelope state, but for nonresidents, permits can be hard to draw. The cost to apply is relatively inexpensive in comparison to some other western states and with random odds to draw I believe it’s worth applying. With the new elk hunt structure and options, some hunts will be easier to draw. If you are new to applying for elk hunts in Utah, I would suggest the archery hunt(s) and possibly the new mid-season rifle elk hunts. Several units have large elk populations and issue more permits and those are typically your best best for better odds. The trophy potential is not quite as good on those units as it is on the top tier options, but it’s still really good if you are willing to scout and hunt hard.

I would consider antelope as a great option for residents to apply for while they are on waiting periods for either limited entry deer or elk. The odds are good to draw an antelope hunt with very few points. The archery odds are very good and harvest success rates are high. Nonresidents should consider applying for antelope hunts as well. The cost is only $15 for the application fee if you are already applying for the other species that Utah offers. The odds of drawing an antelope permit for a nonresidents is not good, but once again, with random odds I believe it’s worth the cost. Good luck in the 2023 draw!