ESPN Hunting

DUSCHESNE, Utah, — There are precious few places in the West where you can hunt deer in the morning in sub-alpine timber and hunt them the same afternoon in irrigated alfalfa.

Utah's South Slope is one place where you can experience both ends of the deer-hunting spectrum, from backcountry pack-in expeditions to farmland sniping. And unlike many regions in Utah, the South Slope (Unit 9) often has deer licenses remaining well after the draw.

At deadline several hundred leftover deer permits were available for the Northeastern Region.

Season dates

Utah's rifle deer season opens Oct. 21 and runs through Oct. 29 this year. The season is shorter in the Southeastern and Southern regions.

The muzzleloader season runs Sept. 27 through Oct. 5 and the extended archery season runs Sept. 16 through Nov. 30, allowing bow hunters to hunt mule deer in the rut.

About the unit

The South Slope unit (which generally coincides with the elk unit named South Slope, Yellowstone) includes all of the Uinta Mountains south of the crest.

While the highest peaks and ridges of the range are poor deer habitat, some of the higher meadows and timber of the Ashley National Forest hold excellent mule deer, and if this fall stays warm and dry through October, the high country is a good deer-hunting destination.

As you reach lower elevations, the public land transitions to private property, some of it high-quality deer habitat where hunting access is limited. And as you drop further into the Uintah Basin, the ragged boundary of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation can frustrate hunting.

No hunting is allowed on the reservation.

Success rates

Hunting can be good here for a variety of age classes of deer. In 2000, more than 2,100 deer were harvested, mainly mature bucks, for a 24 percent success rate. That's far lower than the 36 percent rate statewide, but not bad for a general license.

Of all weapons, muzzleloader hunting is by far the most effective in the South Slope unit.

In 2000, when the black powder season was held late in the year when weather brought deer to lower elevations, the success rate was 43 percent in the South Slope.

Most years, the 70 or so hunters who scored one of the limited South Slope, Diamond Mountain limited-quota permits all harvest a mature deer.

And hunters who draw an antlerless permit in one of the four subunits (Ashley Valley/Deep Creek, Vernal/Diamond Mountain, Chew Ranch and Roosevelt) have success in the 70 to 80 percent range.

Herd estimate

There certainly are deer here. Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources estimates the South Slope at something less than the objective population of 25,000 head.

The department manages the herd for 15 bucks per 100 does with at least 30 percent of the bucks surviving the hunting season 2 points or older.

Material from Fishing & Hunting News
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