Morgan-South Rich Mule Deer Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 931 sq mi
Moderate — 1–2 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 Morgan-South Rich is like
The Morgan-South Rich unit is rolling to moderately steep country, running from valley bottoms around 4,800 feet up to about 9,300 feet, with most of the hunting happening in the 7,000-foot middle ground. It's a general-season unit built for opportunity, not for growing old bucks, and the ground itself explains why: most of it is private, carved up by a large number of CWMUs that manage separately for bigger bucks. Permit holders may not hunt those CWMUs, which pushes public hunters onto a smaller share of the unit and can actually push some quality bucks onto that public ground as they move off the managed properties seasonally.
Only about 11 percent of the unit, roughly 105 square miles, is ground a hunter can count on — National Forest, Wildlife Management Area, BLM, and State Trust Land, the last of which is mostly open to hunting under a standing state access agreement even though individual parcels can be leased or restricted. Highway 39 gets into the Forest Service land, with limited ATV access south of the highway. Interstate 84 with the Henefer Road or Echo Road exits reaches the Henefer/Echo Wildlife Management Area, which does not allow motorized vehicles at all. Forest Service campgrounds are strung along the Monte Cristo Highway. With private land making up roughly 89 percent of the unit, getting permission ahead of time matters as much as knowing the public boundaries.
Through the fall deer generally hold at higher elevations unless weather pushes them down, with the Henefer/Echo WMA holding young bucks year-round and picking up more mature bucks as the season progresses, the Forest Service ground near Causey Reservoir working well depending on temperature, and the country south of Monte Cristo Peak holding good numbers of deer into the fall.
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 | Easy — often 0 points | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Muzzleloader | September 23 – October 1 | Buck | Easy — often 0 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 | Easy — often 0 points | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Any Legal Weapon | October 17 – October 25 | Buck | Moderate — 1–2 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, spanning the tail of the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase and the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, so bucks are still in or just out of velvet and holding in small bachelor groups. Summer scouting pays off here more than anything else — glass at first light to find a buck, mark where he beds for a midday stalk, then glass again in the evening to either set up a stalk or simply pattern him for a return trip. Bucks feed into the morning and bed in shade for most of the day, so shady pockets and north-facing slopes are worth working, and a buck that seems to vanish is usually still tucked into a nearby crevice or draw. On this unit that means working the Forest Service land near Causey Reservoir, the country south of Monte Cristo Peak, and the Henefer/Echo WMA, all of which hold deer near water early in the season.
Muzzleloader · September 23 – October 1
The muzzleloader hunt runs from late September into early October, crossing the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, and bucks noticeably shift toward nocturnal habits as October begins. Deer may not be sitting in exactly the same spots that turned up in summer scouting, but that earlier work still gives a good read on what's on the unit. Glass early and late, watch shady bedding pockets and north-facing slopes, and expect to spend more effort finding daylight movement as the month goes on. An early cold snap can push more mature bucks onto the Henefer/Echo WMA, while the Causey Reservoir ground and the country south of Monte Cristo Peak still hold deer if conditions stay warm, with colder temperatures pushing deer onto south-facing sagebrush slopes.
Early Any Legal Weapon · October 7 – October 11
The Early Any Legal Weapon hunt is a short five-day rifle season in early October, its own separate permit from the later any-legal-weapon hunt, falling entirely within the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase. Bucks are increasingly nocturnal and mostly still near their summer ground, though a snowstorm before or during the hunt can start pushing deer down into lower-elevation oak and sagebrush. The Henefer/Echo WMA, the Forest Service ground near Causey Reservoir, and the area south of Monte Cristo Peak remain the go-to spots, with an early cold snap tending to bring more mature bucks onto the WMA.
Any Legal Weapon · October 17 – October 25
Running from mid to late October, the Any Legal Weapon hunt spans the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase into the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, so bucks are not only harder to catch moving in daylight but may also start drifting toward the ground they'll use during the rut. Glassing the country between summer range and likely staging ground pays off late in this season. A snowstorm during the hunt can trigger a push toward lower-elevation oak and sagebrush, while warm weather keeps deer higher and more scattered across the Forest Service land, the Causey Reservoir area, and south of Monte Cristo Peak, with the Henefer/Echo WMA again picking up more mature bucks as temperatures drop.
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, entirely within the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, when deer are working toward their rutting ground rather than settled into it. Most years bring a snowstorm before or during the hunt that starts pushing deer out of the high country into oak and sagebrush at lower elevations, and cold, snowy conditions generally work in a hunter's favor by getting deer moving in daylight. Deer that stay on the unit through this stretch tend to winter on the Morgan county side. The Henefer/Echo WMA continues to hold more mature bucks as the season progresses, an early cold snap can push additional bucks onto it, and the Causey Reservoir ground still produces if conditions stay relatively mild, while glassing the corridor between summer range and staging ground is the core approach as the rut approaches.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,800–9,300 ft, typically around 7,000 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 40% gentle · 43% moderate · 16% steep · 1% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~105 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
- Sagebrush64%
- Aspen15%
- Other cover13%
- Conifer3%
- Grass and meadow3%
- Riparian2%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush64%
- Aspen23%
- Conifer7%
- Grass and meadow5%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Aspen52%
- Sagebrush33%
- Conifer13%
- Grass and meadow1%
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 11% of Morgan-South Rich is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, Wildlife Management Areas, BLM and State Trust Land.
- National Forest6%
- Wildlife Management Areas3%
- BLM2%
- State Trust Land<1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private89%
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 Morgan-South Rich 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.
- Summer Range63%used in summer
- Crucial Summer Range63%the part of Summer Range considered essential to the herd — inside Summer Range, not added to it
- Winter Range28%used in winter
- Crucial Winter Range28%the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it
- Yearlong Range8%the only layer that means year-round use
Fall weather
- September — highs around 69°F, lows around 42°F
- October — highs around 56°F, lows around 32°F, about 1.5 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 43°F, lows around 23°F, about 12 in of snowfall
Morgan-South Rich deer hunting FAQ
Do I need preference points to draw a general-season buck permit on Morgan-South Rich?
No. Points are not required to apply for any of the general-season hunts here, and the archery, muzzleloader, and early any-legal-weapon hunts draw easily, often at zero points. The any-legal-weapon rifle hunt is a step tighter, typically drawing in the one-to-two-point range, but an applicant with fewer points can still apply.
How does the general-season draw work compared to the limited-entry late muzzleloader draw?
General-season permits go first to whoever holds the most preference points, with random order among applicants tied at the same point level, and there is no random half set aside. The limited-entry late muzzleloader hunt works differently: half its permits go to the highest bonus-point holders and the other half are drawn at random with an extra entry per bonus point, so someone below the typical band can still draw, just not reliably.
Which hunts on this unit fall during the November rut?
None of them. Every hunt on Morgan-South Rich — the archery, muzzleloader, early any-legal-weapon, and any-legal-weapon general-season hunts, along with the limited-entry late muzzleloader hunt — closes before the Primary Rut phase begins, with the latest of them ending in the pre-rut staging period in early November.
How much of the Morgan-South Rich unit is public land?
About 11 percent of the unit, roughly 105 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through National Forest, a Wildlife Management Area, BLM, and State Trust Land. The remaining roughly 89 percent is private, and a large number of CWMUs are layered across the unit as well, though permit holders may not hunt those CWMUs.
Is Morgan-South Rich managed for trophy bucks?
No. It's run as a general-season unit intended to maximize hunting opportunity rather than to produce older-age-class bucks, though the limited-entry late muzzleloader hunt on the same ground is managed for older bucks under its own separate bonus-point draw.
What's the legal animal on a limited-entry late muzzleloader permit here?
Any buck. The limited-entry designation refers to the much smaller number of permits and the older buck age structure the hunt is managed toward, not to any antler-point restriction on what can be taken.
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 29, 2026.