With the exception of parts of northern and northeastern Utah, the number of buck deer in Utah is about the same as it was last fall. That means plenty of bucks should await you when Utah’s 2008 general archery deer hunt kicks off Aug. 16.

The state’s general archery elk hunt also begins Aug. 16. They’re Utah’s first hunts of the year.

“Heavy snowfall last winter took some fawns in parts of northern and northeastern Utah,” says Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

Even though herds in parts of northern and northeastern Utah lost some deer, most of Utah’s deer herds are doing well.

“We manage the state’s general-season units so there’s between 15 to 20 bucks per 100 does in the herds,” Aoude says. “Almost all of the state’s units are meeting that goal.

“After last fall’s hunts, two of the state’s public land units were above 20 bucks per 100 does, and three of the units were below 15 bucks per 100 does. All of the remaining public land units had 15 to 20 bucks per 100 does in their herds.”

As far as advice, Aoude says if you’ve already scouted your hunting area, you’ve done the most important thing you can do to find success.

“The guys that are successful year in and year out do their homework,” he says. “They get out and find the places where the bucks are.

“During the archery hunt, the deer are usually still in their summer patterns. Doing some preseason scouting is the best thing you can do to increase your chance at harvesting an animal.”

Central Region

Initial observations by DWR biologists in the Central Region which includes Tooele County indicate decent numbers of bucks for archers to pursue. Vegetation in the South Willow area of the Stansbury Mountains took a major hit from a recent massive forest fire and will limit hunting activity in that area.

The number of younger bucks that died this past winter won’t be known for sure until data is collected from the rifle deer hunt check stations and through hunter surveys, but biologists anticipate a good hunt.

“Mountain vegetation is very green, lush and abundant this year along the eastern half of the region,” says Scott Root, Central Region conservation outreach manager. “Despite the extra heat over the last while, there are many places in the mountains that look more like it’s June than late July. If archers are patient and concentrate on well-used game trails or water sources, they should have an excellent chance at seeing deer."

If you don’t take a deer in August or September, Root encourages you to hold onto your tag. “The region has several extended archery hunt units that you can hunt through much of December,” he says. “These units provide great archery hunting opportunities.”