Box Elder, Sawtooth Elk Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 375 sq mi
Any-bull unit — no draw, no points
Any-bull permits go on sale July 9. A rifle or muzzleloader hunter may take any bull. The general archery permit (on sale July 7) allows any bull or an antlerless elk on this unit.
What hunting Box Elder, Sawtooth is like
The Box Elder, Sawtooth unit is rolling country with some steeper breaks, running from around 4,600 feet up to just under 10,000 feet at its high points. Most of the ground is gentle to moderate, and hunters willing to work the steeper 9 percent of the terrain can find pockets away from easier walking. Sagebrush dominates the cover at every elevation band, with conifer stands mixing in more heavily at mid and higher elevations, and small pockets of grass, meadow, and riparian cover scattered through the lower country.
Getting into the unit means dealing mostly with private ground, since only about 39 percent of the unit's 375 square miles is generally open to public hunting — a mix of National Forest, BLM, and State Trust Land. Most of the state trust parcels are accessible under a standing state access agreement, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted, so it pays to check boundaries before setting up a hunt. With private land covering roughly 61 percent of the unit, piecing together a huntable route across the public blocks takes some planning and isn't a given just because the acreage is there.
Elk on this unit use about a fifth of the ground as mapped summer range, with a much smaller share mapped as winter range, and neither of those figures says where animals concentrate or how they move — they're simply shares of the unit. Through the fall, hunters can expect the general pattern of bulls transitioning from summer activity into the rut and then into the colder, snowier stretch of late fall, with the unit's any-bull general seasons spanning that whole arc from the September rut through early November.
General-season any-bull elk — over the counter (2026)
This is a general-season any-bull unit. General-season bull elk permits in Utah are sold over the counter — no application, no draw and no points. There is no general-season elk point bank at all. Any-bull permits go on sale July 9 and have sold out quickly in recent years. The general archery permit goes on sale July 7 and is not capped. It is hunter's choice: on this any-bull unit an archer may take any bull or an antlerless elk.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | August 15 – September 16 | Any bull or an antlerless elk |
| Early Any Legal Weapon | October 3 – October 9 | Any bull |
| Late Any Legal Weapon | October 10 – October 16 | Any bull |
| Muzzleloader | October 28 – November 5 | Any bull |
Archery · August 15 – September 16
The archery hunt opens in mid-August and runs into mid-September, covering the tail end of the velvet phase, the pre-rut transition, and then both rut onset and the primary rut by the time it closes. Early on, bulls are still shedding velvet and holding close to the areas where they spent the summer, which makes sitting water sources or glassing from a distance for spot-and-stalk chances a productive approach. As the days move into rut onset and primary rut, that behavior shifts, and archers who cover ground in the sagebrush-and-conifer mix at mid and higher elevations may find bulls more active. This is a hunter's choice permit, so archers can take any bull or an antlerless elk.
Early Any Legal Weapon · October 3 – October 9
Running the first full week of October, the early any-legal-weapon hunt falls entirely within the late rut and early post-rut phase, meaning bull activity from the primary rut is winding down. Hunters carrying any legal weapon can take any bull, and with rut behavior tapering off, still-hunting and glassing through the unit's gentle-to-moderate terrain and its mixed sagebrush and conifer cover are reasonable ways to locate animals that are settling into post-rut patterns. The moderate slopes that make up most of the unit keep this hunt approachable on foot for those willing to work the ground.
Late Any Legal Weapon · October 10 – October 16
The late any-legal-weapon season picks up right where the early hunt leaves off, running from October 10 through October 16 and spanning both the tail of the late rut and post-rut phase and the start of post-rut recovery. Bulls are further removed from rut behavior by this point, and any-legal-weapon hunters looking for any bull may need to put in more legwork across the unit's rolling terrain and steeper breaks to turn up animals that have settled into quieter fall patterns. Working the conifer and sagebrush mix at mid to higher elevations remains a reasonable strategy as activity slows.
Muzzleloader · October 28 – November 5
By the time the muzzleloader hunt opens in late October and runs into early November, elk are in post-rut recovery and moving into the migration transition phase, and November's colder conditions start to matter — highs only in the low 40s, lows near freezing, and close to five inches of monthly snowfall can begin to push animals and change how they use the country. Muzzleloader hunters after any bull should be ready for those colder, snowier conditions to affect travel and visibility, and should watch for elk starting to shift as the transition phase sets in. The mix of gentle terrain and steeper breaks still applies, but the added weather element makes this the season where conditions play the biggest role in the hunt.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,600–9,900 ft, typically around 6,300 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 51% gentle · 39% moderate · 9% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~145 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
- Sagebrush80%
- Other cover8%
- Conifer6%
- Grass and meadow5%
- Riparian2%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush61%
- Conifer31%
- Grass and meadow6%
- Other cover3%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush62%
- Conifer33%
- Grass and meadow3%
- Aspen1%
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 39% of Box Elder, Sawtooth is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land.
- National Forest30%
- BLM6%
- State Trust Land2%
- Private61%
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 elk live in the unit
Utah's statewide elk habitat mapping, by layer: how much of Box Elder, Sawtooth 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 elk are.
- Summer Range21%used in summer
- Winter Range3%used in winter
Fall weather
- September — highs around 71°F, lows around 46°F
- October — highs around 56°F, lows around 35°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 43°F, lows around 25°F, about 4.8 in of snowfall
Box Elder, Sawtooth elk hunting FAQ
Do I need points to hunt elk on the Box Elder, Sawtooth unit?
No. The general-season any-bull and archery permits on this unit are bought over the counter, not drawn, so there is no application or point requirement to hunt them. Points in Utah apply to limited-entry and antlerless draws, not to this unit's general-season bull permits.
What can I legally take with a general archery permit here?
This is an any-bull unit, so the general archery permit is hunter's choice: an archer may take any bull or an antlerless elk during the archery season. That's broader than the option available on spike-only units, where archers are limited to a spike bull or an antlerless elk.
Which of the general seasons fall during the September rut?
The archery season, running August 15 through September 16, is the only general season that overlaps the September rut. The early any-legal-weapon, late any-legal-weapon, and muzzleloader seasons all fall in October and November, after the September rut has passed.
How much of the unit is public land I can count on hunting?
About 39 percent of the unit, roughly 145 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through National Forest, BLM, and State Trust Land. The remaining 61 percent is private, so access takes some route planning rather than being a given across the whole unit.
When do the any-bull permits go on sale?
Any-bull permits go on sale July 9, and they have sold out quickly in recent years. The general archery permit goes on sale earlier, July 7, and is not capped.
What does the terrain look like across the unit?
The ground is mostly gentle to moderate, with just 9 percent classified as steep and none rugged, giving an overall character best described as rolling with some steeper breaks. Elevations run from about 4,600 feet at the low end up to nearly 9,900 feet, so there's real elevation change even though the slopes themselves stay manageable for most of the unit.
Data sources & methodology
- Utah Division of Wildlife Resources — Big game hunting — general-season, limited-entry and antlerless elk permits
- Utah DWR — What hunters should know for the 2026 deer and elk hunts — 2026 general-season elk dates, including the split any-bull rifle hunt
- 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 — Elk (elk habitat mapping) — elk 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.