Book Cliffs, Floy Canyon Mule Deer Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 438 sq mi
Premium — 10–19 points
The HAMSS hunt, the only limited-entry hunt here, for a Utah resident, by the bonus points that drew reliably. 1 limited-entry hunt; it falls during the November rut.
This page covers the hunt area of the unit's restricted-weapon (HAMSS) limited-entry hunt. The area overlaps other deer units, so other deer hunts may be held on the same ground.
What hunting Book Cliffs, Floy Canyon is like
The Book Cliffs, Floy Canyon unit covers 438 square miles of mixed country, with substantial steep ground worked in among the gentler stretches. Roughly a third of the unit is gentle, another quarter moderate, and the remainder split between steep and rugged slopes, so hunters can find easier walking country as well as demanding terrain within the same hunt area. Elevation runs from around 4,100 feet up to 9,500 feet, with most of the unit sitting near 5,700 feet, and the higher country carries conifer cover while sagebrush dominates lower down. This boundary serves as the hunt area for a restricted-weapon limited-entry buck hunt, though it overlaps with other deer units where additional hunts may occur on the same ground.
About 92 percent of the unit is generally open to public hunting, split between BLM land and State Trust Land. A standing state access agreement opens most of that trust ground to hunters, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted, so it pays to check before counting on a specific piece. Private land makes up a small share of the unit at roughly 7.2 percent. None of this makes access straightforward — steep and rugged ground still requires real effort to reach, and permit holders should note that this hunt is not valid on CWMUs and is not eligible for extended archery hunts.
Seasonal range mapping shows winter range and crucial winter range each covering 42 percent of the unit, while yearlong range covers about a quarter, meaning a meaningful share of the unit sees deer using it year-round rather than only seasonally. Summer range and crucial summer range each cover a smaller 7.3 percent share. These figures describe how much of the unit falls into each category, not where on the ground deer will be found in a given month, so they're best used alongside on-the-ground scouting rather than as a substitute for it.
Limited-entry buck deer (2026)
Limited entry is Utah's drawn buck hunt, managed for older bucks, with far fewer permits than the general season. It is drawn with bonus points: half the permits go to the applicants holding the most points, and the other half are drawn at random with one extra entry for every point held — so applicants below the reliable level do draw. A Utah resident may apply for only one limited-entry species a year.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| HAMSS (restricted weapons) Restricted to handguns, archery, muzzleloaders, shotguns and straight-walled rifles. | November 7 – November 30 | Buck | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging, Primary Rut, Late Rut / Winter Consolidation |
This band describes the HAMSS limited-entry buck deer hunt, the only one on this unit, for a Utah resident in the 2026 draw: the lowest bonus-point level that drew reliably. Half of Utah's limited-entry permits go to the applicants with the most bonus points and half are drawn at random, with an extra entry for each point, so applicants below this level can draw. Nonresidents can take substantially more points.
HAMSS (restricted weapons) · November 7 – November 30
By the time this hunt opens in early November, bucks are moving into the rut, and the season runs through the Early Pre-Rut and Migration Corridor Staging phase into the Primary Rut and finally the Late Rut and Winter Consolidation phase by its late-November close. Early on, deer may still be settling into their rutting ground after migrating from summer country, so glassing the ground between summer range and rut range can pay off before bucks fully commit to does. Once the Primary Rut takes hold, the most reliable approach is finding does, since bucks will most likely be nearby or with them. Weather moving through in November can push deer down out of the high country onto more open, easier-to-glass ground, and a fresh snowfall is worth watching closely for tracks revealing buck movement; working the early and late hours of the day tends to produce the most sightings. This hunt is restricted to handguns, archery, muzzleloaders, shotguns and straight-walled rifles, and any buck is legal, though permit holders cannot use this tag on CWMUs or in extended archery hunts.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,100–9,500 ft, typically around 5,700 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 35% gentle · 26% moderate · 30% steep · 9% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~405 sq mi
Habitat & cover
What grows here, by elevation. Each band adds to 100% on its own — these are shares of that band, not of the unit.
Lower elevations
- Sagebrush82%
- Other cover13%
- Grass and meadow5%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush68%
- Conifer31%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer75%
- Sagebrush20%
- Aspen3%
- Other cover2%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land — left unnamed rather than guessed at.
Land & access
About 92% of Book Cliffs, Floy Canyon is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land.
- BLM82%
- State Trust Land10%
- military land<1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private7%
Most Utah State Trust Land is open to hunting under a standing state access agreement. Individual parcels can be leased or restricted, so check the parcel before planning around it.
Where deer live in the unit
Utah's statewide deer habitat mapping, by layer: how much of Book Cliffs, Floy Canyon each one covers. The layers overlap, so they do not add to 100%, and a layer that is small or missing here says nothing on its own about where deer are.
- Winter Range42%used in winter
- Crucial Winter Range42%the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it
- Yearlong Range26%the only layer that means year-round use
- Summer Range7%used in summer
- Crucial Summer Range7%the part of Summer Range considered essential to the herd — inside Summer Range, not added to it
Fall weather
- September — highs around 80°F, lows around 51°F
- October — highs around 66°F, lows around 39°F
- November — highs around 51°F, lows around 27°F, about 0.3 in of snowfall
Book Cliffs, Floy Canyon deer hunting FAQ
Do I need bonus points to draw a limited-entry buck tag on the Book Cliffs, Floy Canyon unit?
Points are not required to apply. Utah's limited-entry draw splits permits in half: half go to applicants with the most bonus points, and the other half are drawn at random with one extra entry per point held, so an applicant at any point level can draw, just not reliably every year.
How hard is it to draw the HAMSS limited-entry hunt here?
The HAMSS restricted-weapon hunt is classed as Premium draw difficulty, with 10 to 19 bonus points being the level that has drawn reliably for Utah residents in recent draws. Nonresidents typically need substantially more points to reach that same reliable level.
Is the Book Cliffs, Floy Canyon buck hunt during the rut?
Yes. The limited-entry HAMSS hunt runs across the Early Pre-Rut, Primary Rut, and Late Rut phases in November, putting it squarely inside the rut window for this unit.
How much of this unit is public land I can actually hunt?
About 92 percent of the unit, roughly 405 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through BLM and State Trust Land. Most trust land is covered by a standing state access agreement, though some individual parcels can still be leased or restricted.
What weapons can I use on the limited-entry tag here?
The HAMSS hunt restricts hunters to handguns, archery equipment, muzzleloaders, shotguns, and straight-walled rifles. Any buck is legal to take on this permit.
Is the terrain here mostly flat or mostly steep?
Neither dominates outright. The unit is mixed, with substantial steep ground: about 35 percent gentle, 26 percent moderate, 30 percent steep, and 9 percent rugged by area, so hunters encounter a real range of terrain across the unit.
Data sources & methodology
- Utah Division of Wildlife Resources — Big game hunting — limited-entry, general-season and antlerless deer permits
- Utah DWR — What hunters should know for the 2026 deer and elk hunts — 2026 buck deer hunt dates and changes
- Utah DWR — Big Game Application Guidebook — how bonus points and the limited-entry draw work
- Utah DWR — Hunt Planner — unit boundaries, and the DWR's unit and biologist notes the written guide draws on
- Utah DWR — Supporting Utah's mule deer — mule deer habitat and seasonal range
- Utah Trust Lands Administration — Trust Lands & You — the hunter access agreement that opens most state trust land
- USGS / MRLC — National Land Cover Database — habitat and cover classes by elevation band
- USGS PAD-US — Protected Areas Database of the United States — land ownership and access
- Daymet daily climate, 1991–2020 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) — fall weather
- National Interagency Fire Center — wildfire perimeters — recent fires, their size and where they burned
Limited-entry draw difficulty is a qualitative band, not published odds — the note under the limited-entry seasons states exactly which hunt it describes. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories. Confirm current dates and rules in the Utah Big Game Field Regulations guidebook before you hunt. Unit data last updated September 28, 2026.