Utah General Season Deer Draw Odds by Unit
Every general-season buck deer hunt in the 2026 draw, by unit and weapon. General-season deer uses preference points, not bonus points.
In the 2026 Utah draw, 98,698 resident applications went to 105 general-season buck deer hunts for 54,733 resident permits, about 1.8 applications per permit (Utah DWR data). The longest resident odds were Vernal/Bonanza rifle (DB1552) at 1 in 5.9; the best were Wasatch Mountains West archery (DB1526) at 1 in 1.0.
Units
Statewide extended archery only permit
Hunt DB0008 lets you hunt only the extended archery areas during the extended archery seasons, instead of a specific unit. The 2026 guidebook says an annual extended archery ethics course is required.
Hunt DB0008: Statewide
Utah extended archery only deer draw: key facts
- Every resident point level that applied, down to 0 preference points, drew at least half its applicants in 2026.
- Resident odds of 1 in 1.0 were the tied 1st best of 106 general-season buck deer hunts with resident permits in 2026.
- Resident applicants rose from 373 in 2025 to 461 in 2026 (+24%).
- Resident permits went from 367 in 2025 to 455 in 2026.
- Nonresidents were 7% of applicants (36 of 497) and drew 35 of 490 permits in 2026.
- Statewide, 31 general-season archery deer hunts drew 15,563 resident applicants for 10,878 resident permits in 2026 (1.4 per permit); this hunt had 1.0 per permit.
- Across the 31 general-season archery hunts where every resident at the top levels drew, the median point level from which all drew was 2 in 2026; on this hunt it was 3.
Computed from Utah DWR draw odds (utahdraws.com/drawodds, 2026) and earlier DWR drawing odds reports. Past draws do not predict future ones.
Odds by point level, 2026
Resident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 4 | all drew |
| 3 | 5 | 5 | all drew |
| 2 | 17 | 16 | 1 in 1.1 |
| 1 | 55 | 55 | all drew |
| 0 | 380 | 375 | 1 in 1.0 |
| Total | 461 | 455 | 1 in 1.0 |
Nonresident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | all drew |
| 1 | 4 | 4 | all drew |
| 0 | 31 | 30 | 1 in 1.0 |
| Total | 36 | 35 | 1 in 1.0 |
Source: Utah DWR draw odds, utahdraws.com/drawodds (2026). utahdraws.com/drawodds. "Odds" is applicants per permit at that point level, first-choice applicants and permits as DWR lists them.
Youth draw
Resident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | all drew |
| 0 | 20 | 20 | all drew |
| Total | 24 | 24 | 1 in 1.0 |
Nonresident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | all drew |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 |
Source: Utah DWR draw odds, utahdraws.com/drawodds (2026). utahdraws.com/drawodds. "Odds" is applicants per permit at that point level, first-choice applicants and permits as DWR lists them.
2 years of history
Residents, 2025 to 2026, hunt DB0008. The DWR reports we hold (2018 onward) first list this hunt code in 2025. Earlier hunts on this unit may have run under other codes or boundaries; we do not merge them.
| Year | Res. applicants | Res. permits | Res. odds | Top res. points drawn | Lowest res. points drawn | All res. drew from | Nonres. applicants | Nonres. permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 461 | 455 | 1 in 1.0 | 4 | 0 | 3+ | 36 | 35 |
| 2025 | 373 | 367 | 1 in 1.0 | 5 | 0 | 3+ | 34 | 34 |
2026 general-season deer dates
| Weapon | 2026 season |
|---|---|
| Archery | Aug. 15 to Sept. 11 |
| Muzzleloader | Sept. 23 to Oct. 1 |
| Restricted muzzleloader | Sept. 23 to Oct. 1 |
| Early any legal weapon (rifle) | Oct. 7 to 11 |
| Any legal weapon (rifle) | Oct. 17 to 25 |
| Restricted rifle | Oct. 17 to 25 |
General-season deer: all applicants by year
DWR prints a species summary block in each odds report. It counts every applicant for general-season deer across all hunts in that report.
| Year | Res. applicants | Res. permits | Res. odds | Res. applicants with 10+ points | Top res. point level | Nonres. applicants | Nonres. permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 99,159 | 55,188 | 1 in 1.8 | 12 | 14 | 7,093 | 4,110 |
| 2025 | 94,835 | 47,970 | 1 in 2.0 | 7 | 14 | 8,133 | 3,780 |
| 2024 | 102,324 | 43,750 | 1 in 2.3 | 11 | 16 | 8,768 | 3,962 |
| 2023 | 104,528 | 40,043 | 1 in 2.6 | 6 | 12 | 9,146 | 3,552 |
| 2022 | 110,818 | 45,560 | 1 in 2.4 | 9 | 13 | 10,332 | 3,571 |
| 2021 | 114,606 | 46,340 | 1 in 2.5 | 2 | 10 | 10,870 | 3,626 |
| 2020 | 104,353 | 50,383 | 1 in 2.1 | 3 | 16 | 10,490 | 4,038 |
| 2019 | 108,719 | 57,477 | 1 in 1.9 | 3 | 10 | 10,823 | 4,673 |
| 2018 | 108,930 | 58,276 | 1 in 1.9 | 2 | 13 | 10,064 | 4,385 |
| Year | Residents | Nonresidents | Top point level listed (res / nonres) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 20,710 | 18,109 | 24 / 26 |
| 2025 | 19,633 | 16,832 | 23 / 25 |
| 2024 | 18,410 | 18,576 | 22 / 24 |
| 2023 | 17,325 | 17,413 | 21 / 23 |
Questions
Does Utah general-season deer use bonus or preference points?
Preference points. Each time you apply for a general-season buck deer permit and do not draw, you get a preference point. If you draw, you lose your preference points. The point code to buy a point without applying is GDR (2026 DWR guidebook).
How many hunters applied for general-season deer in 2026?
Summed across the 105 unit and weapon hunts in DWR's 2026 general-season deer report, 98,698 resident applications drew 54,733 permits in the main draw. Youth and lifetime license holders draw separately and are shown on each hunt page.
How much of the general-season deer permits go to youth?
Twenty percent of general-season buck deer permits are allocated to youth in the big game drawing, per the 2026 DWR guidebook. A youth is anyone 17 or younger on July 31 of the hunt year.
Is this the official Utah draw site?
No. Utah Draw Guide is independent and not affiliated with Utah DWR. Apply only at utahdraws.com.
Get the 2027 deadline
We plan to email when DWR announces the next application dates and before the deadline. Delete any time via [email protected].