Fillmore, Oak Creek LE Mule Deer Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 348 sq mi
Elite — 20+ points
The easiest of the main limited-entry hunts here (Archery) for a Utah resident, by the bonus points that drew reliably. The other main hunts take more. 3 limited-entry hunts, plus a multiseason permit.
What hunting Fillmore, Oak Creek LE is like
The Fillmore, Oak Creek unit is rolling country with some steeper breaks, running from about 4,700 feet up to 9,700 feet, most of it gentle to moderate ground rather than sheer terrain. Access comes from two main points on the mountain: up Oak Creek canyon and the Fool Creek Peak road. Summer and fall storms can roll in quickly off the desert, so hunters should be ready for changing weather regardless of which hunt they draw.
Roughly 70 percent of the unit, about 245 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across National Forest, BLM, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Area ground, with most state trust parcels open to hunting under a standing state access agreement, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted. Private land makes up about 29 percent of the unit. There is a campground up the main Oak Creek canyon, and wilderness camping is available elsewhere on the mountain; permit holders cannot hunt CWMUs on this unit.
Two recent fires have reshaped parts of the north side. The Canal fire burned about 47,000 acres, roughly 21 percent of the unit, back in 2020, and this fall sits five to eight years out — that burn is now thick with regrowth and deadfall, offering cover but tougher walking. The Wild Horse fire burned about 7,000 acres, close to 3 percent of the unit, in 2026, and this fall is within its first year after the burn, so deer displaced by it are likely re-establishing patterns on ground with water and feed nearby. Hunters should check current fire closures and restrictions before heading out. None of this unit's three buck seasons fall during the November rut, all landing earlier in the fall.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | August 15 – September 11 | Buck | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Muzzleloader | September 23 – October 1 | Buck | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition, Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Any Legal Weapon | October 17 – October 25 | Buck | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
| Multiseason Usable in this unit's limited-entry archery, muzzleloader and any legal weapon hunts; the dates span all of them. | August 15 – October 25 | Buck | — |
This band describes the easiest of the unit's main limited-entry buck deer hunts (Archery) 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. Other weapons, and nonresidents, can take substantially more points.
Archery · August 15 – September 11
Through the archery season bucks are still working through the Summer Range and Bachelor Pattern phase into the Velvet Shed and Early Fall Transition phase, meaning they hold in familiar summer country in small groups before shedding velvet around mid-September. The mountain runs dry in August, so water is the key variable — a mature buck needs very little, just a seep or the memory of a recent rainstorm, so glassing near any water at higher elevation pays off. Mornings are for finding a bedded buck and watching where he settles into shade, then closing the distance at midday while he's bedded; evenings are for relocating him and either making a play or marking him down for the next morning. A buck that seems to vanish is usually still there, tucked into a nearby crevice or draw, and once velvet sheds behavior barely changes beyond bedding a bit earlier and staying down later.
Muzzleloader · September 23 – October 1
By the muzzleloader hunt in late September, bucks are finishing the Velvet Shed and Early Fall Transition phase and sliding into the Early Fall Migration and Nocturnal Buck phase, which means the glassing game gets harder as bucks grow more nocturnal by the day. The mountain stays dry, but cooling temperatures mean deer are visiting water less predictably than they did in August, so covering known summer haunts matters as much as watching seeps. The same first-light-and-last-light glassing routine still works — find a buck at dawn, track him to his bed, and either stalk him at midday or wait him out until he moves again in the evening. Most bucks are still holding near where they summered, so the ground scouted in August remains the right starting point.
Any Legal Weapon · October 17 – October 25
The late-October any legal weapon hunt catches bucks deep in their nocturnal phase and edging into the Early Pre-Rut and Migration Corridor Staging phase, when some animals start drifting toward rutting ground. Deer can still turn up at higher elevations, but by this point many have started dropping into lower country as well, so it pays to check both instead of assuming they've stayed put. The most productive approach is glassing the stretch of country between summer range and where deer are headed for the rut, since staging animals are often caught moving through rather than holding still. Cooling conditions late in the month can push more movement, so extra time glassing transition routes between known summer ground and lower elevations tends to turn up bucks that daytime glassing alone would miss.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,700–9,700 ft, typically around 5,700 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 51% gentle · 29% moderate · 19% steep · 2% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~245 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
- Sagebrush57%
- Grass and meadow32%
- Other cover8%
- Conifer2%
- Riparian1%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush47%
- Grass and meadow32%
- Conifer20%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush43%
- Conifer35%
- Grass and meadow19%
- Aspen2%
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, Oak Creek LE. 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.
- Canal fire, 2020 — about 47,000 acres in the unit (21%), mostly on its north side.
- Wild Horse fire, 2026 — about 7,000 acres in the unit (3%), mostly on its north side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 70% of Fillmore, Oak Creek LE is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Areas.
- National Forest52%
- BLM14%
- State Trust Land4%
- Wildlife Management Areas<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.
Where deer live in the unit
Utah's statewide deer habitat mapping, by layer: how much of Fillmore, Oak Creek LE 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
- Summer Range35%used in summer
Fall weather
- September — highs around 78°F, lows around 48°F
- October — highs around 64°F, lows around 36°F, about 0.2 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 50°F, lows around 26°F, about 2.2 in of snowfall
Fillmore, Oak Creek LE deer hunting FAQ
Do I need bonus points to draw a limited-entry buck tag on the Fillmore, Oak Creek unit?
Points are never required to apply — half of the permits go to applicants with the most bonus points, but the other half are drawn at random with one extra entry per point held, so an applicant at any point level can draw. The archery hunt, the easiest of the unit's three main limited-entry buck hunts, reliably draws for residents around 20 or more bonus points, but that describes the reliable level, not a requirement, and the muzzleloader and any legal weapon hunts take more points than that to draw reliably.
Is there a general-season buck deer hunt on this unit?
No. This unit carries no general-season buck deer hunt in the current season structure, so all of its buck deer hunting runs through the limited-entry draw instead.
Which hunts on this unit fall during the rut?
None of the three buck seasons — archery, muzzleloader, or any legal weapon — fall during the November rut; all three run earlier in the fall, from mid-August through late October.
How much of the Fillmore, Oak Creek unit is public land I can count on hunting?
About 70 percent of the unit, roughly 245 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across National Forest, BLM, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Area ground. That's the figure to plan around, though public ownership doesn't mean access is automatic or easy everywhere, since some state trust parcels can still be leased or restricted.
What kind of terrain and access does this unit have?
The unit is rolling country with some steeper breaks, spanning elevations from about 4,700 to 9,700 feet, and most of the ground is gentle to moderate rather than severe. The two main ways onto the mountain are up Oak Creek canyon and the Fool Creek Peak road, with a campground in Oak Creek canyon and wilderness camping available elsewhere on the unit.
Do the recent fires on this unit affect deer hunting?
Yes. The Canal fire from 2020 burned about 21 percent of the unit and is now five to eight years post-fire, meaning it has grown back thick with brush and deadfall that can hide animals well but slow foot travel. The Wild Horse fire burned about 3 percent of the unit in 2026 and is within its first year, so deer there have likely relocated to ground with water and feed nearby rather than being lost to the fire itself; checking for current closures before hunting either burn is worthwhile.
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.