Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench Elk Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 1,028 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 Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench is like
The Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench unit is rolling country, with some steeper breaks cutting through it rather than dominating it. Elevation runs from around 4,600 feet up to 9,500 feet, with most of the unit sitting near 6,000 feet, and the terrain is gentle across most of its footprint. Sagebrush and grass or meadow cover dominate the lower and middle elevations, while the higher country mixes sagebrush with a good share of timber. This is foot-and-glass country more than technical mountain hunting, though the moderate and steeper breaks give elk places to hole up away from roads.
About 66 percent of the unit, roughly 674 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land, and Wildlife Management Area ground, with most trust land accessible under a standing state access agreement even though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted. Another 15 percent is tribal land that is closed to state-licensed hunting and requires the tribe's own permission and license, so it should not be treated as open ground. The remaining fifth of the unit is private. None of this public ownership makes access straightforward or guaranteed, and checking boundaries before heading in matters here.
Across the fall, elk on this unit use a mix of seasonal range: about a quarter of the unit is mapped as winter range and another quarter as yearlong range, meaning some elk are present year-round somewhere within that share. Smaller shares fall into crucial winter range, summer range, and crucial summer range, reflecting the seasonal shifts elk make through the unit as the calendar moves from the archery opener toward the late muzzleloader hunt.
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, spanning the Late Summer / Velvet phase, the Pre-Rut Transition phase, and then moving into Rut Onset and Primary Rut by its close. In the early going bulls are still shedding velvet and holding close to their summer haunts, which makes sitting water sources or glassing for a spot-and-stalk approach a productive way to locate them. As the season progresses into Rut Onset and Primary Rut, archers can expect bull behavior to shift with the rut itself. This is a hunter's choice permit, so an archer may take any bull or an antlerless elk, giving flexibility if a mature bull does not show early.
Early Any Legal Weapon · October 3 – October 9
The early any legal weapon hunt runs a single week in early October and falls in the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, meaning the intensity of the September rut is easing off by the time rifle and muzzleloader hunters take the field. Any bull is legal, and hunters can work the gentle-to-moderate slopes that make up most of the unit while watching the steeper breaks and timbered higher elevations for bulls that have pulled back from the rut. With the rut winding down, elk sign left over from September activity can still help point toward areas bulls used recently.
Late Any Legal Weapon · October 10 – October 16
The late any legal weapon hunt follows immediately behind the early hunt, covering the tail end of the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase before sliding into Post-Rut Recovery. Bulls are settling down from rut activity during this stretch, and any bull is legal for rifle or muzzleloader hunters working the same open ground and higher timbered cover that holds elk through the fall. Pressure carried over from the early hunt may push some bulls into less accessible terrain, so working the moderate and steeper breaks can pay off.
Muzzleloader · October 28 – November 5
The muzzleloader hunt closes out the general season in late October into early November, spanning Post-Rut Recovery and the Migration Transition phase as elk begin shifting toward winter range. November brings colder conditions, with highs near 47°F, lows near 24°F, and light snowfall around 1.5 inches for the month, enough to move elk without locking down travel. Any bull is legal, and hunters should be ready to follow elk as they transition out of summer and crucial summer range toward the winter range that covers a meaningful share of the unit. Fresh snow can also make tracking movement between elevations more workable late in this hunt.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,600–9,500 ft, typically around 6,000 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 69% gentle · 23% moderate · 6% steep · 1% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~674 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
- Sagebrush40%
- Grass and meadow34%
- Other cover22%
- Riparian4%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush79%
- Grass and meadow15%
- Other cover5%
- Conifer1%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush59%
- Conifer37%
- Other cover2%
- Grass and meadow2%
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 66% of Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Areas. Another 15% is public land closed to state-licensed hunting — tribal land.
- BLM43%
- National Forest15%
- State Trust Land6%
- Wildlife Management Areas1%
- tribal land15%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private20%
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 Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench 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 Range24%used in winter
- Yearlong Range24%the only layer that means year-round use
- Crucial Winter Range14%the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it
- Summer Range9%used in summer
- Crucial Summer Range9%the part of Summer Range considered essential to the herd — inside Summer Range, not added to it
Fall weather
- September — highs around 77°F, lows around 46°F
- October — highs around 62°F, lows around 35°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 47°F, lows around 24°F, about 1.5 in of snowfall
Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench elk hunting FAQ
Do I need points to hunt elk on the Nine Mile, Anthro-Myton Bench unit?
No. The general-season any-bull permits here, including the archery, early any legal weapon, late any legal weapon, and muzzleloader hunts, are all bought over the counter with no application and no points required. Utah's point systems apply only to limited-entry and antlerless draws, neither of which is part of this general-season purchase.
What can a general archery hunter legally take on this unit?
The general archery permit here is hunter's choice, meaning an archer may take any bull or an antlerless elk during the August 15 to September 16 season. This is because the unit is managed as an any-bull unit rather than a spike-only unit.
Which general seasons fall during the September rut?
Only the archery season, running August 15 through September 16, overlaps the Rut Onset and Primary Rut phases that occur in September. The early any legal weapon, late any legal weapon, and muzzleloader seasons all run in October and November, after the September rut phases have passed.
How much of the unit is public land a hunter can count on?
About 66 percent of the unit, roughly 674 square miles, is generally open to hunting across BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land, and Wildlife Management Area ground. That figure does not include the 15 percent tribal land, which is closed to state-licensed hunting, or the 20 percent private land.
When do general elk permits go on sale for this unit?
The general archery permit goes on sale July 7 and is not capped, while the any-bull permit for the rifle and muzzleloader seasons goes on sale July 9 and has sold out quickly in recent years. Both are direct purchases rather than draw entries.
What is the terrain like across the unit?
The unit is rolling, with some steeper breaks, running from about 4,600 feet up to 9,500 feet and typically sitting near 6,000 feet. Most of the ground is gentle to moderate, with only a small share classified as steep or rugged, making it more foot-and-glass country than technical mountain terrain.
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.