Fillmore, Pahvant Elk Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 849 sq mi
Premium — 10–19 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. The late archery hunt, a specialty hunt with few applicants, draws far easier: Moderate — 1–2 points. 6 limited-entry hunts, plus a multiseason permit; 3 of them during the September rut.
What hunting Fillmore, Pahvant is like
The Pahvant is rolling to moderately steep country cut by big ridgelines and steep canyons, with a mean slope on the steeper end of what's typical for a Utah elk unit. A main road runs the top of the mountain, and ATV trails are thin up there — most of the wheeled access is on the southern half of the unit, with a handful of trails climbing partway into canyons from the lower country. Hiking trails threaded through many of the canyons are the real key to getting away from the road-bound crowd, and pressure on this mountain drops hard once opening weekend passes.
Access comes from both sides of the range. On the east side, Willow Creek south of Scipio off Highway 50 and the mountain roads out of Joseph and Elsinore get hunters onto the mountain; on the west side, Kanosh Canyon Road out of Kanosh and Canyon Road out of Fillmore (Chalk Creek) do the same. Established campgrounds sit at the lower elevations on both sides — Maple Grove to the east, and Maple Hollow, Meadow Creek and Adelaide to the west — though these fill up on summer weekends. About 76 percent of the unit, roughly 642 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across National Forest, BLM, Wildlife Management Area and State Trust Land, with most of the state trust ground opened by a standing access agreement; the rest is private, so knowing property lines matters here.
Three fires have reshaped parts of the mountain recently. The Widemouth 2 fire burned about a quarter of the unit on the southwest side and the Wild Goose fire burned a smaller piece on the northeast side, both within their first year this fall — meaning elk displaced from those areas are likely on ground with water and feed rather than lost to the burns themselves, and green-up can come fast. The Halfway Hill fire, toward the middle of the unit, is now two to four years out and in that window can offer some of the better glassing and feed on the mountain. Check current fire closures and restrictions before heading in.
Limited-entry bull elk (2026)
Limited entry is Utah's drawn bull hunt, managed for older bulls, 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 elk | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archery | August 15 – September 15 | Bull | Late Summer / Velvet, Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset, Primary Rut |
| Early Rifle (any legal weapon) | September 16 – September 20 | Bull | Primary Rut |
| Muzzleloader | September 21 – October 2 | Bull | Primary Rut, Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
| Mid-season Rifle (any legal weapon) | October 3 – October 15 | Bull | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
| Late Rifle (any legal weapon) | November 7 – November 15 | Bull | Migration Transition |
| Late Archery | November 28 – December 13 | Bull | Migration Transition, Winter |
| Multiseason Usable in this unit's limited-entry archery, early rifle, muzzleloader, mid-season rifle and late rifle hunts; the dates span all of them. Not valid in the late archery hunt. | August 15 – November 15 | Bull | — |
This band describes the easiest of the unit's main limited-entry bull hunts (Archery) for a Utah resident in the 2026 draw: the lowest bonus-point level that drew reliably. The late archery hunt, a specialty hunt with few applicants, draws far easier (Moderate — 1–2 points). 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 seasons, and nonresidents, can take substantially more points. The band says nothing about the general-season over-the-counter hunt, which needs no points.
Archery · August 15 – September 15
Limited-entry archery opens in mid-August while bulls are still finishing out their velvet in the Late Summer phase, easing through the Pre-Rut Transition and into Rut Onset and Primary Rut by mid-September. Early on, bulls tend to stay close to where they summered, and sitting water or glassing for a stalk works well; water is limited across the mountain, so isolated sources away from the main road are worth checking. As the rut builds, elk can turn up anywhere on the unit, so working ridgelines and glassing the deep canyons pays off, and the canyons north of Chalk Creek are consistently worth a look.
Early Rifle (any legal weapon) · September 16 – September 20
This short rifle hunt lands right in the Primary Rut, the peak of breeding activity on the mountain, and bulls can be found scattered across the whole unit rather than concentrated in one spot. Glassing from ridges into the deep canyons is the most effective approach, and the canyons north of Chalk Creek continue to hold bulls through this window. Because the rut is in full swing, locating multiple bulls in a sit is realistic if the glass work is put in.
Muzzleloader · September 21 – October 2
By the muzzleloader hunt the rut is transitioning from its Primary phase into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, and elk start to scatter more widely than during peak rut. Deep canyons well off the roads become the better bet for finding animals that have pushed away from pressure, and the ridges and peaks across the unit offer good glassing to relocate them. This is still an active time to be on the mountain, with elk found across the entire unit rather than in any one area.
Mid-season Rifle (any legal weapon) · October 3 – October 15
By the mid-season rifle hunt the rut has settled into its Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, and mature bulls tend to go solitary and get harder to pin down; what breeding activity remains is mostly smaller bulls working smaller groups of cows. The elk have shifted toward the central and southern portions of the unit by this point, and the North and South forks of Chalk Creek, Meadow Creek, and the south side of the Corn Creek drainage are good places to start glassing. This hunt overlaps with the general-season spike hunt, so expect other hunters in the field, and plan to spend most of the day behind optics — access is decent, but the unit rewards patient glassing over covering ground.
Late Rifle (any legal weapon) · November 7 – November 15
Running in November, the late rifle hunt falls in the Migration Transition phase, and by now the majority of elk are concentrated on the west side of the unit. Bulls range from Ebbs Canyon in the north down to Dog Valley and Three Creeks in the south, mostly solitary or in small groups, and finding them takes long sessions on the optics rather than quick looks. November brings colder temperatures and around four and a half inches of monthly snowfall, and pressure has thinned out well past opening weekend by this point, so the ATV trails on the southern half of the mountain and the hiking trails into the canyons remain the best ways to reach country away from the main road.
Late Archery · November 28 – December 13
The late archery hunt runs into the Migration Transition and Winter phases, and it is built to be a hard hunt — bulls are solitary or in small groups and difficult to locate on ground that has largely emptied of other elk activity. Most bulls are wintering on the west, Fillmore side of the range, again from Ebbs Canyon on the north end down to Dog Valley and Three Creeks on the south, and are likely to be holding on south-facing slopes between about 6,500 and 9,000 feet depending on snow depth. November's cold and roughly four and a half inches of snowfall can turn stalking conditions loud and crusty, so glassing patches of shrub cover that offer both nutrition and shelter, and letting the steep topography work for the optics, is the more productive approach than trying to close distance blind.
General-season spike elk — over the counter (2026)
This is a general-season spike-only 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. Spike permits go on sale July 16; a rifle or muzzleloader hunter may take only a bull whose antlers do not branch. The general archery permit goes on sale July 7 and is not capped. It is hunter's choice: on this spike-only unit an archer may take a spike bull or an antlerless elk. A branch-antlered bull here needs a separate limited-entry permit.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk |
|---|---|---|
| Archery On a spike-only unit the general archery permit allows a spike bull or an antlerless elk — not a branch-antlered bull. | August 15 – September 4 | Spike bull or an antlerless elk |
| Any Legal Weapon | October 3 – October 15 | Spike bull only |
| Muzzleloader | October 28 – November 5 | Spike bull only |
Archery · August 15 – September 4
General archery opens in mid-August, spanning the Late Summer / Velvet phase through the Pre-Rut Transition and into Rut Onset by early September. Early in this stretch bulls are shedding velvet and still holding near their summer ground, making sitting water or glassing for a spot-and-stalk a solid approach. This permit is hunter's choice on this spike-only unit, so a legal archery elk here is a spike bull or an antlerless elk — not a branch-antlered bull, which requires the separate limited-entry permit.
Any Legal Weapon · October 3 – October 15
The general any-legal-weapon hunt runs in October during the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, and only spike bulls are legal for rifle and muzzleloader hunters on this unit. Elk can be found at all elevations by this point, but they have already seen pressure from earlier hunts, so working out onto ridges and glassing into the different canyons is the better way to turn up a spike that hasn't been pushed off by traffic.
Muzzleloader · October 28 – November 5
The general muzzleloader hunt falls in late October into early November, covering the Post-Rut Recovery and Migration Transition phases, with only spike bulls legal. Elk are spread across all elevations but have absorbed pressure from the hunts ahead of this one, so the same approach applies — get out on ridges and glass the canyons rather than relying on road hunting. November's colder temperatures and light snowfall can start pushing elk around as the month progresses, which is worth factoring into where to glass late in this season.
Cow elk hunts are also offered on this unit (any legal weapon November 14 – December 5; any legal weapon December 12 – January 29). They are drawn separately, in Utah's antlerless draw, using preference points — a different point bank from limited-entry bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,800–10,200 ft, typically around 6,800 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 41% gentle · 34% moderate · 23% steep · 2% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~642 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
- Sagebrush41%
- Conifer23%
- Other cover19%
- Grass and meadow17%
Mid elevations
- Conifer56%
- Sagebrush31%
- Grass and meadow6%
- Aspen6%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer61%
- Sagebrush21%
- Aspen16%
- 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.
Recent fires
Wildfires in the last several seasons that burned a meaningful share of Fillmore, Pahvant. 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 (24%), mostly on its southwest side.
- Halfway Hill fire, 2022 — about 12,000 acres in the unit (2%), toward the middle of the unit.
- Wild Goose fire, 2026 — about 12,000 acres in the unit (2%), mostly on its northeast side.
2026 permit relief: after the Widemouth 2 fire, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources offered relief options to holders of this unit's archery, early any-legal-weapon and muzzleloader limited-entry bull elk permits, and emailed affected hunters. See its wildfire update (as of Aug. 25, 2026) for what applies to your permit.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 76% of Fillmore, Pahvant is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM, Wildlife Management Areas and State Trust Land.
- National Forest67%
- BLM5%
- Wildlife Management Areas3%
- State Trust Land<1%
- tribal land<1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private24%
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 elk permit is not valid there.
Where elk live in the unit
Utah's statewide elk habitat mapping, by layer: how much of Fillmore, Pahvant 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.
- Winter Range33%used in winter
- Summer Range33%used in summer
- Crucial Winter Range7%the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it
- Crucial Summer Range4%the part of Summer Range considered essential to the herd — inside Summer Range, not added to it
- Transition Range2%used moving between summer and winter range
Fall weather
- September — highs around 75°F, lows around 46°F
- October — highs around 62°F, lows around 36°F, about 0.5 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 49°F, lows around 26°F, about 4.5 in of snowfall
Fillmore, Pahvant elk hunting FAQ
Do I need bonus points to hunt elk on the Pahvant?
Points are never required just to apply — anyone can put in for the limited-entry bull hunt with any number of bonus points, including zero. Half of the permits go to the applicants with the most bonus points, while the other half are drawn at random with an extra entry per point held, so an applicant below the typical reliable level can still draw, just not every year or on a predictable schedule. General-season spike elk permits need no points or draw at all — they are simply purchased over the counter.
What is the difference between the limited-entry hunt and the general season hunt here?
The general season is an over-the-counter hunt bought without any application, and on this spike-only unit it allows rifle and muzzleloader hunters to take a spike bull only. Limited entry is a separate drawn hunt on the same ground using bonus points, managed for older bulls, and it allows any bull to be taken. They run in different windows and are entirely separate permits, not stages of the same hunt.
Can a general-season archer here take any bull?
No — the general archery permit on the Pahvant is hunter's choice, and because this is a spike-only unit that means a legal animal is a spike bull or an antlerless elk, not a branch-antlered bull. Taking a branch-antlered bull requires the separate limited-entry bull permit.
Which Pahvant elk seasons fall during the rut?
The general archery hunt, the limited-entry archery hunt, the limited-entry early rifle hunt and the limited-entry muzzleloader hunt all fall within the September rut window. The general any-legal-weapon and muzzleloader hunts, along with the limited-entry mid-season rifle, late rifle and late archery hunts, all fall outside that window.
How much of the Pahvant is public land a hunter can count on?
About 76 percent of the unit, roughly 642 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across National Forest, BLM, Wildlife Management Area and State Trust Land. Most state trust parcels are opened through a standing access agreement, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted, and public ownership here doesn't mean access is simple — the remaining roughly 24 percent is private ground that has to be respected.
How difficult is it to draw the limited-entry bull tag on the Pahvant?
The limited-entry archery hunt, the easiest of the unit's main limited-entry bull seasons, sits in the Premium band at 10 to 19 bonus points for a resident to draw reliably. The early rifle and muzzleloader limited-entry hunts take substantially more points than that. The late archery hunt is a specialty exception that draws far easier, typically in the 1-to-2-point Moderate range.
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.