Deer permits sell out

18,000 bull elk permits are still available, though

Permits to hunt buck deer in Utah this fall sold out on June 13.

Deer permits have sold out, but plenty of permits are still available to hunt bull elk during Utah's general seasons.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Photo

"All of the state's deer permits are gone, but plenty of general bull elk permits are still available," says Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. "This should be a great year to hunt elk."

The state's general archery elk season starts Aug. 15. General archery elk permits are unlimited in number, so there's no problem getting one.

In addition to the archery permits, more than 8,100 permits to hunt on spike bull elk units were still available on June 16. More than 10,600 permits were also available to hunt on the state's any bull elk units.

Elk permits are available at the DWR's Web site, from more than 300 license agents across Utah and at any DWR office.

Elk hunting advice

"If you're new to elk hunting, I'd encourage you to buy a permit to hunt on the spike bull units," says Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the DWR. "There are plenty of spike bulls in Utah, and there's a lot of public land to hunt them on."

If you decide to chase mature bulls on an any bull unit, Aoude says the two Uinta Mountains units—the North Slope unit and the South Slope unit—are your best bet.

"Even though the map on pages 80 and 81 of the 2009 Utah Big Game Guidebook shows a lot of any bull elk units in the state, many of these units are covered by private land, or they're units that don't have a lot of elk on them," Aoude says.

For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR's Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.