Fillmore Mule Deer Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 1,979 sq mi
Hard — 3–5 points
The any legal weapon hunt, for an adult Utah resident, by the preference points that drew reliably in the 2026 draw. Each general-season weapon is its own permit with its own draw — the table below rates every one.
The unit also has a limited-entry late muzzleloader hunt, a separate draw that uses bonus points. Its dedicated-hunter buck hunt is separate and not covered here.
What hunting Fillmore is like
The Fillmore unit covers nearly 2,000 square miles centered on the Pahvant Mountain Range, with the hunt boundary stretching west across I-15 as well. Most of the hunting pressure lands on the east side of the interstate, on the Pahvant itself. Terrain across the unit runs rolling, with some steeper breaks — gentle ground dominates by area, but there's enough moderate and steep country cut by canyons to make for real hunting rather than a walk in the park. Deer show up across the entire unit on both sides of I-15, with most concentrated at higher elevations through the early seasons, and bucks are commonly spotted off the main roads — which draws the bulk of the hunting pressure right there. Getting off those roads and walking the ridgelines is consistently the way to find deer and fewer other hunters.
Access comes from a handful of real routes: Willow Creek south of Scipio off Highway 50 and mountain roads out of Joseph and Elsinore on the east side; Kanosh Canyon Road out of Kanosh and Canyon Road out of Fillmore through Chalk Creek on the west side. ATVs can run the main roads and a network of trails concentrated in the southern half of the Pahvant. About 70% of the unit — roughly 1,394 square miles — is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Area ground, with most state trust parcels open under a standing state access agreement; the remainder is private and closed. Established campgrounds sit at lower elevations and get busy on summer weekends: Maple Grove on the east side, and Maple Hollow, Meadow Creek, and Adelaide on the west side.
Two recent fires are worth knowing before heading out. The Widemouth 2 fire burned roughly 130,000 acres, about 10% of the unit, mostly on the south side, and is in its first year after the fire this fall — deer displaced by it are likely to be found on ground with water and feed rather than in their usual spots, though green-up can already be pulling them back through the burn. The Wild Goose fire burned about 12,000 acres on the northeast side and is also in its first year. The Halfway Hill fire (east side, 2022) and the Canal fire (north side, 2020) are older burns now filling back in or growing thick with brush and deadfall. Check current fire closures and restrictions before heading out.
General-season buck deer — drawn with preference points (2026)
General-season buck deer in Utah is drawn, and each weapon is its own permit with its own draw. It uses preference points: permits go first to the applicants holding the most points, in random order within each point level. Every year an application does not draw earns a point, and drawing a permit uses them all. A fifth of the permits are set aside for youth hunters. Applying here does not affect limited-entry deer bonus points, so a hunter can apply for both in the same year.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Draw (adult resident) | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | August 15 – September 11 | Buck | Moderate — 1–2 points | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Muzzleloader | September 23 – October 1 | Buck | Moderate — 1–2 points | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition, Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Early Any Legal Weapon Its own permit and draw, separate from the later any-legal-weapon hunt. | October 7 – October 11 | Buck | Moderate — 1–2 points | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Any Legal Weapon | October 17 – October 25 | Buck | Hard — 3–5 points | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
Draw bands are for an adult Utah resident in the 2026 draw: the lowest preference-point level that drew each hunt reliably. There is no random half in this draw, so hunters well below a band should expect to wait.
Archery · August 15 – September 11
Archery season opens in mid-August and runs into mid-September, catching bucks still bachelored and in velvet before shedding late in the season. Summer scouting pays off here — glass at first light to locate a buck, mark where he beds in the shade or on a north-facing slope, and either stalk him at midday or come back the next morning. Deer are found across the entire unit on both the east and west sides, with most concentrated at higher elevations, and water sources like the creeks in canyon bottoms and the scattered springs and stock ponds on top are worth watching since the Pahvant runs dry overall. Bucks are commonly seen off the main roads, which pulls hunting pressure there, so walking out ridges and away from the roads turns up both more deer and fewer hunters.
Muzzleloader · September 23 – October 1
By the muzzleloader hunt in the back half of September into early October, bucks have shed velvet but kept much the same daily pattern, bedding shady pockets and north-facing slopes through the day and feeding into the morning and again at dusk. A buck that seems to vanish midday is usually still tucked into a nearby crevice or draw rather than gone. Deer remain spread across the entire unit on both sides, still concentrated at higher elevations, and the same dry-country water sources in canyon bottoms and on top continue to hold animals. Main roads still draw the bulk of the pressure and the bucks seen along them, so glassing canyons and working ridges away from traffic remains the better strategy.
Early Any Legal Weapon · October 7 – October 11
The short early any-legal-weapon hunt in mid-October lands as bucks are turning increasingly nocturnal, with most still holding near the same high country they used through summer. Glassing early and late for any daylight movement, and focusing on the terrain bucks have favored all along, is the practical approach given how little of their activity now happens in open daylight.
Any Legal Weapon · October 17 – October 25
Running from mid to late October, the any-legal-weapon hunt finds bucks still largely nocturnal but beginning to drift toward their rutting ground as the month closes, making it worth glassing the country between summer range and where deer will gather for the rut. Deer can be found at all elevations now, and while much of the herd is still up on the mountain, more animals have started shifting onto winter range compared to the earlier hunts. Pressure remains concentrated up high and along the main roads and easily glassed canyons, so working other ground still helps.
Limited-entry late muzzleloader 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late Muzzleloader A separate limited-entry permit, drawn with bonus points. | October 28 – November 5 | Buck | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
This band describes the Late Muzzleloader 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.
Late Muzzleloader · October 28 – November 5
The limited-entry late muzzleloader hunt runs from late October into early November, overlapping the start of migration toward rutting ground, and is a good time to glass a lot of different bucks moving through the country between summer and winter range. Temperatures are cooling into the 50s with lows near freezing and light snowfall possible, and a good number of deer have already dropped onto winter range by this point, though animals can still be found at all elevations. Pressure from permit holders is light, but expect company in the form of other people glassing winter range during the same stretch. This is a separate, bonus-point limited-entry draw from the general seasons, and any buck is legal.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,600–10,200 ft, typically around 5,100 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 69% gentle · 19% moderate · 11% steep · 1% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~1,394 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
- Sagebrush61%
- Other cover18%
- Grass and meadow18%
- Riparian2%
Mid elevations
- Grass and meadow41%
- Sagebrush39%
- Other cover11%
- Conifer10%
Higher elevations
- Conifer55%
- Sagebrush26%
- Aspen11%
- Grass and meadow6%
- Other cover1%
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.
Recent fires
Wildfires in the last several seasons that burned a meaningful share of Fillmore. Fire perimeters show where a fire burned, not how hot — and closures change through the year, so check current fire closures and restrictions before you go.
- Widemouth 2 fire, 2026 — about 130,000 acres in the unit (10%), mostly on its south side.
- Halfway Hill fire, 2022 — about 12,000 acres in the unit, mostly on its east side.
- Wild Goose fire, 2026 — about 12,000 acres in the unit, mostly on its northeast side.
- Canal fire, 2020 — about 11,000 acres in the unit, mostly on its north side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 70% of Fillmore is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Areas.
- BLM33%
- National Forest29%
- State Trust Land7%
- Wildlife Management Areas2%
- tribal land<1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private29%
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.
Tribal land requires the tribe's own permission and licence — a state deer permit is not valid there.
Where deer live in the unit
Utah's statewide deer habitat mapping, by layer: how much of Fillmore 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 Range21%used in winter
- Summer Range21%used in summer
- Crucial Winter Range20%the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it
- Crucial Summer Range<1%the part of Summer Range considered essential to the herd — inside Summer Range, not added to it
Fall weather
- September — highs around 82°F, lows around 49°F
- October — highs around 67°F, lows around 37°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 53°F, lows around 27°F, about 1.7 in of snowfall
Fillmore deer hunting FAQ
Do I need preference points to hunt deer on the Fillmore unit?
No points are required to apply for any of the general-season buck hunts here — archery, muzzleloader, early any legal weapon, and any legal weapon are all drawn using preference points, with permits going first to the highest point holders and randomly within a point level. An applicant with zero points can still be entered in that random order, so points improve the odds rather than being a requirement to apply at all.
How hard is it to draw the general-season rifle hunt on the Fillmore unit?
The general-season Any Legal Weapon hunt (October 17–25) has drawn reliably for adult Utah residents holding 3 to 5 preference points, which falls in the Hard band. The earlier Early Any Legal Weapon hunt and the Muzzleloader and Archery hunts are all Moderate, drawing reliably around 1 to 2 points.
How does the general-season draw differ from the limited-entry Late Muzzleloader draw here?
General-season buck permits are awarded by preference points, ranked highest-first with random order within a point level, and drawing one uses up all of a hunter's preference points. The Late Muzzleloader hunt is a completely separate limited-entry draw using bonus points, where half the permits go to the highest point holders and the other half are drawn at random with an extra entry per bonus point — so an applicant well below the reliable level can still draw, just not routinely.
Which Fillmore unit hunts fall during the November rut?
None of them. The archery, muzzleloader, early any legal weapon, and any legal weapon general seasons and the limited-entry late muzzleloader hunt all fall before the Primary Rut phase, which runs November 11–25 on this unit.
How much of the Fillmore unit is public land a hunter can count on?
About 70% of the unit, roughly 1,394 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Area ground. Most state trust parcels are opened by a standing state access agreement, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted, and being open doesn't mean access is simple — roughly 29% of the unit remains private.
Where does most of the hunting pressure concentrate on the Fillmore unit?
Most pressure lands on the east side of I-15, on the Pahvant Mountain Range itself, even though the hunt boundary extends west across the interstate. Within the Pahvant, bucks are commonly spotted off the main roads, which concentrates hunters there, so walking ridgelines away from roads consistently produces fewer other hunters.
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
Draw difficulty is a qualitative band, not published odds — the notes under each season table state exactly which hunts the bands describe. 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.