Pine Valley Mule Deer Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 2,605 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 Pine Valley is like
The Pine Valley unit covers 2,605 square miles of southwestern Utah, running from low desert benches at 2,200 feet up to peaks near 10,400 feet, with a typical elevation around 5,300 feet. Most of the ground is gentle to moderate — 59% gentle and 29% moderate slope by area — with rolling country broken by some steeper draws and canyons; only 11% is steep and 1% rugged. Lower elevations run heavy to sagebrush with grass and meadow mixed in, mid elevations stay sagebrush-dominated with more conifer showing up, and the higher country switches over to conifer with sagebrush, meadow, and a little aspen worked in.
Access runs through BLM and Dixie National Forest roads and ATV trails, and all motorized routes are governed by those agencies' travel management plans, so it's worth checking current designations before heading out rather than assuming a road or trail is open. About 71% of the unit — roughly 1,844 square miles of BLM, national forest, State Trust Land, and Wildlife Management Area ground — is generally open to public hunting, with most State Trust Land parcels included under a standing state access agreement, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted. A little under 2% is tribal land, closed to state-licensed hunting, and the rest, about 27%, is private. Campgrounds on the unit include Baker Dam near Veyo on BLM ground, and Oak Grove, Honeycomb Rocks, and Pine Valley Reservoir on Forest Service land.
Four wildfires have burned into the unit in recent years: the Forsyth fire (2025) on the southeast side, in its first year after burning this fall; and the Flatt fire (2021), Turkey Farm Road fire (2020), and West Valley fire (2018), on the northwest, south, and east sides respectively, all now five to eight years out and grown back in thick with brush and deadfall. Each burned about 1% of the unit's total acreage. Fire closures and restrictions can change, so it's worth checking current status before hunting near any of these burns.
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 | Hard — 3–5 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
Through the archery season bucks are still finishing out the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase and moving into the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, so they're still bachelored up or just starting to separate as velvet comes off. Summer scouting pays off here — glass at first light to locate a buck, watch where he beds for the day, and either stalk him at midday or come back the next morning after watching him into the evening. Water is the key resource in this semi-desert country; livestock tanks, springs, and guzzlers concentrate deer, and hunting oak brush and serviceberry near those sources produces. Deer densities taper off toward the Nevada line, so the vehicle-accessible ground around Bumblebee Mountain and the more remote, foot-and-horse-trail access into the Paradise and Pine Valley Wilderness area both hold potential — the trailheads at Comanche, Grants Ranch, Paradise, Mill Canyon, Water Canyon, Whipple, and Forsyth all reach into that country, and hiking farther in tends to open up better hunting.
Muzzleloader · September 23 – October 1
The muzzleloader hunt spans the tail end of the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, so bucks are shedding velvet but still holding to summer patterns even as they start trending nocturnal. Deer are spread across their summer range with densities varying block to block, so covering ground and being ready to move if one area is quiet matters. The same glass-and-stalk approach from summer carries over: catch bucks feeding into the morning, bed them down, and either close in at midday or watch through the evening for a return trip. Water sources remain the draw in this dry country, and the same general areas apply — Bumblebee Mountain's higher oak brush for vehicle-accessible hunting, or the more remote Paradise and Pine Valley Wilderness ground and Atchison and Harrison Peak's sagebrush-and-serviceberry habitat for those willing to get out on foot.
Early Any Legal Weapon · October 7 – October 11
This short early-October rifle hunt falls squarely in the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, when bucks are turning increasingly nocturnal but mostly still holding near their summer ground. Deer are just beginning to work down in elevation, and where they show up depends heavily on the season's moisture. The north end of the Beaver Dam Mountains offers accessible BLM and SITLA ground, though some small private parcels are mixed in and deer numbers there shift year to year with migration timing. Tobin Bench to Motaqua sees more dependable movement, building through the second weekend of the hunt, while the higher country above Dameron and Diamond Valley and the Enterprise North Hills and New Castle area — where deer often feed in agricultural fields at night before showing up on public land by day — are also worth checking, along with Bumblebee and Sweat Hills, where some deer hold high until pushed down by heavier snow.
Any Legal Weapon · October 17 – October 25
By the time the any-legal-weapon hunt opens in mid-to-late October, bucks are finishing out the nocturnal phase and starting to ease into the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, so glassing the ground between summer range and where deer will stage for the rut is the better play as the hunt progresses. Migration is picking up, with deer working down in elevation and numbers building at Tobin Bench to Motaqua through the second week. The same areas as the early rifle hunt hold up — Beaver Dam Mountains' accessible north end, the Dameron and Diamond Valley high country, Enterprise North Hills and New Castle where deer often bed on public ground after feeding in fields overnight, and Bumblebee and Sweat Hills, where a hard snow can be the trigger that pushes bucks off the mountain.
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 late muzzleloader hunt runs into the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, with bucks not yet in the rut itself but staging close to the growing concentrations of does, which makes them more predictable to locate than earlier in the fall. November brings colder mornings and the season's first real snowfall, around an inch, so glassing the travel routes between summer range and staging ground pays off, especially after weather starts moving deer. The same country that produces in October keeps producing here — Beaver Dam Mountains' north end, Tobin Bench to Motaqua, the high ground above Dameron and Diamond Valley, Enterprise North Hills and New Castle, and Bumblebee and Sweat Hills, where snow can be the deciding factor in pushing bucks down off the mountain into range. Permit holders should keep in mind this hunt is drawn separately from the general seasons and cannot be used on CWMU ground.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 2,200–10,400 ft, typically around 5,300 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 59% gentle · 29% moderate · 11% steep · 1% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~1,844 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
- Sagebrush78%
- Grass and meadow12%
- Other cover6%
- Conifer4%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush71%
- Conifer13%
- Other cover9%
- Grass and meadow7%
Higher elevations
- Conifer66%
- Sagebrush29%
- Grass and meadow3%
- Aspen2%
- 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 Pine Valley. 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.
- Forsyth fire, 2025 — about 16,000 acres in the unit, mostly on its southeast side.
- Flatt fire, 2021 — about 14,000 acres in the unit, mostly on its northwest side.
- Turkey Farm Road fire, 2020 — about 12,000 acres in the unit, mostly on its south side.
- West Valley fire, 2018 — about 12,000 acres in the unit, mostly on its east side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 71% of Pine Valley is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Areas. Another 2% is public land closed to state-licensed hunting — tribal land.
- BLM38%
- National Forest28%
- State Trust Land5%
- Wildlife Management Areas<1%
- tribal land2%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private27%
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 Pine Valley 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 Range28%used in winter
- Summer Range20%used in summer
- Crucial Winter Range15%the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it
- Crucial Summer Range11%the part of Summer Range considered essential to the herd — inside Summer Range, not added to it
- Yearlong Range4%the only layer that means year-round use
Fall weather
- September — highs around 82°F, lows around 47°F
- October — highs around 69°F, lows around 36°F
- November — highs around 55°F, lows around 26°F, about 1.3 in of snowfall
Pine Valley deer hunting FAQ
Do I need preference points to draw a general-season buck tag on the Pine Valley unit?
Points are not required to apply — every general-season hunt draws first by preference points, highest first, with random order within a point level. Archery and Muzzleloader have drawn Moderate at 1–2 points, while Early Any Legal Weapon and Any Legal Weapon have drawn Hard at 3–5 points, but those bands describe what has drawn reliably, not a requirement to apply.
How does the Late Muzzleloader limited-entry hunt differ from the general-season hunts here?
The general-season hunts (Archery, Muzzleloader, Early Any Legal Weapon, Any Legal Weapon) are drawn with preference points, each weapon its own permit. The Late Muzzleloader hunt is a separate limited-entry draw using bonus points instead, with half the permits going to the highest point holders and half drawn at random with extra entries per point — so it's a different points system, a different draw structure, and a different pool of tags entirely, even though both are hunting the same ground.
How hard is it to draw the Late Muzzleloader limited-entry tag?
That hunt has drawn Premium at 10–19 bonus points for Utah residents, meaning that point level has drawn reliably in recent years. Because half of the permits are set aside for a random draw open to every point level, an applicant well below that band can still draw, just not reliably.
Which hunts on the Pine Valley unit fall during the rut?
None of them do. Archery, Muzzleloader, Early Any Legal Weapon, Any Legal Weapon, and the limited-entry Late Muzzleloader hunt all fall before the November rut, with the latest of them ending in early November just as bucks are staging rather than fully rutting.
How much of the Pine Valley unit is public land I can actually hunt?
About 71% of the unit, roughly 1,844 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, national forest, State Trust Land, and Wildlife Management Area ground. Most State Trust Land is included under a standing state access agreement, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted, so public ownership alone doesn't guarantee open access to every acre.
Are there other buck deer hunts on this unit besides the ones described here?
Yes — the unit also has dedicated-hunter buck hunts, which run separately from the general-season and limited-entry hunts covered on this page. Details on those seasons and their draws aren't part of this guide.
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.