House/Tintic Elk Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 7,592 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 House/Tintic is like
The House/Tintic unit is gentle and rolling country from top to bottom, with elevations running from about 4,200 feet up to 9,600 feet and a mean slope that stays in the gentle band. Almost none of the ground is rugged, so the challenge here is less about climbing and more about covering distance and finding elk in open, rolling terrain where sagebrush dominates both the mid and higher elevations. Cover is thin at the higher bands too, with conifer only reaching 9% and grass and meadow holding at 7% in both bands, so elk have limited places to hide and glassing becomes a primary tactic.
Public access is solid on paper: about 69 percent of the unit, roughly 5,263 square miles, is generally open to hunting through a mix of BLM, State Trust Land, National Forest and Wildlife Management Area ground. Most of the State Trust Land parcels are covered by a standing state access agreement, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted, so it pays to check status before committing to a spot. About 20 percent of the unit is military land and is closed to hunting regardless of license, and another 10 percent is private. None of this makes access simple; the open ground is real but still takes legwork and some route-planning to use well.
Two recent fires have reshaped parts of the east side of the unit. The Cherry fire burned about 30,000 acres in 2026 and is in its first year after burning this fall, meaning elk displaced by it are likely working the edges between burned and unburned ground and green-up can be fast where fall moisture cooperates. The Canal fire burned about 20,000 acres back in 2020 and now sits five to eight years out, with brush and regrowth thick enough in places to hide animals and downed timber building up underfoot. Hunters working either burn should check for current fire closures and restrictions before heading out.
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
Archery season opens in mid-August and runs into mid-September, spanning the tail of the Late Summer/Velvet phase through the Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset, and Primary Rut phases. Early on, bulls are just stripping velvet and still holding close to their summer haunts, making water sources worth sitting and open sagebrush flats worth glassing for a stalk. As the season pushes into the rut phases the archery permit stays hunter's choice on this any-bull unit, so an archer can fill a tag with any bull or take an antlerless elk instead. The gentle, rolling terrain favors spot-and-stalk approaches over still-hunting through cover, since there is little conifer or heavy brush to work with outside the burn areas.
Early Any Legal Weapon · October 3 – October 9
The Early Any Legal Weapon hunt runs the first week of October and falls in the Late Rut/Early Post-Rut phase, so elk are coming off the peak of the rut but bulls may still be worked up from recent breeding activity. Any legal weapon and any bull are on the table, and the open, gentle country means rifle and muzzleloader hunters can use the terrain to glass long distances and close in deliberately rather than relying on close cover. Hunters working the east side should factor in the Cherry fire and Canal fire footprints, checking current closures first, since elk moving through those burns tend to be transiting between patches of unburned ground rather than settling into them.
Late Any Legal Weapon · October 10 – October 16
Late Any Legal Weapon follows immediately after, running from October 10 through October 16 and covering the tail of the Late Rut/Early Post-Rut phase into Post-Rut Recovery. Bulls are settling down from breeding activity during this stretch, and any bull remains legal for any weapon type. With rutting behavior fading, hunting shifts toward pattern and terrain reading rather than working active rut sign, and the same open, rolling ground rewards patient glassing over large sagebrush basins.
Muzzleloader · October 28 – November 5
The Muzzleloader hunt closes out the fall from October 28 through November 5, spanning the Post-Rut Recovery phase into Migration Transition as elk begin shifting off summer areas. November brings a real cooling trend, with highs dropping to around 53°F and lows near 27°F, plus a bit of snowfall that can start pushing animals and firming up their movement patterns. Any bull is legal, and the cooler, shifting conditions make this a season to watch for elk beginning to relocate rather than expecting them to hold in the same spots as earlier hunts.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,200–9,600 ft, typically around 4,800 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 83% gentle · 12% moderate · 4% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~5,263 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
- Other cover75%
- Sagebrush24%
- Riparian1%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush83%
- Other cover10%
- Grass and meadow7%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush83%
- Conifer9%
- Grass and meadow7%
- 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 House/Tintic. 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.
- Cherry fire, 2026 — about 30,000 acres in the unit, mostly on its east side.
- Canal fire, 2020 — about 20,000 acres in the unit, mostly on its east side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 69% of House/Tintic is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, State Trust Land, National Forest and Wildlife Management Areas. Another 20% is public land closed to state-licensed hunting — military land.
- BLM59%
- State Trust Land8%
- National Forest2%
- Wildlife Management Areas<1%
- military land20%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private10%
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 House/Tintic 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.
- Yearlong Range2%the only layer that means year-round use
Fall weather
- September — highs around 83°F, lows around 49°F
- October — highs around 68°F, lows around 37°F
- November — highs around 53°F, lows around 27°F, about 0.3 in of snowfall
House/Tintic elk hunting FAQ
Do I need points to hunt elk on the House/Tintic unit's general season?
No. General-season elk permits on this unit, whether archery, any legal weapon, or muzzleloader, are bought over the counter with no application or draw involved. Utah does not run a points system for general-season elk; points only apply to limited-entry and antlerless draws elsewhere in the state's elk program.
What can an archery hunter take on this unit?
The general archery permit here is hunter's choice, meaning an archer can legally take any bull or an antlerless elk during the August 15 to September 16 season. This is because House/Tintic is managed as an any-bull unit, which extends the archery tag's options beyond what a spike-only unit would allow.
Which House/Tintic elk seasons fall during the rut?
The general archery season, running mid-August through mid-September, overlaps the Rut Onset and Primary Rut phases. The Early and Late Any Legal Weapon hunts in October and the Muzzleloader hunt in late October through early November all fall outside that September rut window.
How much of the House/Tintic unit is public land a hunter can count on?
About 69 percent of the unit, roughly 5,263 square miles, is generally open to hunting across BLM, State Trust Land, National Forest, and Wildlife Management Area ground. That does not make access simple or guaranteed, since some State Trust parcels can still be leased or restricted despite the standing access agreement.
Is the House/Tintic unit steep, rugged country?
No. The unit is gentle and rolling by area, with the large majority of the terrain classified as gentle slope and only a small fraction falling into steep or rugged categories. Elevations range from about 4,200 feet to 9,600 feet, but the mean slope across the unit sits solidly in the gentle band.
How do the recent fires affect hunting on this unit?
The Cherry fire burned about 30,000 acres on the east side in 2026 and is in its first year after burning, so elk in that area are likely holding near remaining water and feed and moving through burned patches between unburned timber. The Canal fire from 2020 burned about 20,000 acres on the east side as well and is now five to eight years out, with thick brush regrowth and increasing deadfall that can hide animals and slow foot travel. Hunters planning to use either area should check for current fire closures and restrictions before heading out.
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.