Southwest Desert General Season Deer Draw Odds (Utah)
General-season buck deer hunts on the Southwest Desert unit, drawn with preference points. In 2026, 1,116 residents applied for 339 resident permits and 177 nonresidents for 37 nonresident permits across 3 hunts.
Southwest Desert general-season deer draw: key facts, 2026
- Southwest Desert general-season deer hunts drew 1,116 resident applications in 2026, the 4th fewest of 29 general-season deer units.
- Southwest Desert general-season deer averaged 3.3 resident applicants per resident permit, the 5th highest of 29 general-season deer units with permits.
- Southwest Desert general-season deer resident odds ranged from 1 in 1.5 (DB1524, archery) to 1 in 4.4 (DB1554, rifle) in 2026.
- Nonresidents were 14% of Southwest Desert general-season deer applicants (177 of 1,293) and drew 37 of 376 permits in 2026.
- Statewide, general-season deer drew 98,698 resident applicants for 54,733 resident permits in 2026 (1.8 per permit); Southwest Desert general-season deer hunts had 3.3 per permit.
Computed from Utah DWR draw odds (utahdraws.com/drawodds, 2026) and earlier DWR drawing odds reports. Past draws do not predict future ones.
Odds by weapon
All Southwest Desert general-season deer hunts
| Hunt | Code | Weapon | 2026 season | Res. applicants | Res. permits | Res. odds 2026 | Nonres. permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Desert | DB1524 | Archery | Aug. 15 to Sept. 11 | 95 | 64 | 1 in 1.5 | 8 |
| Southwest Desert | DB1584 | Muzzleloader | Sept. 23 to Oct. 1 | 105 | 65 | 1 in 1.6 | 9 |
| Southwest Desert | DB1554 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | Oct. 17 to Oct. 25 | 916 | 210 | 1 in 4.4 | 20 |
Southwest Desert general-season deer hunt map
Boundary data: Utah DWR, 2026 hunt boundaries. For reference only, simplified for display. Legal boundary on the DWR Hunt Planner.
Southwest Desert general-season deer point creep
Resident applicants by preference points held, each year, on this unit's current hunt codes. The median preference points held by resident applicants on Southwest Desert general-season deer hunts went from 0 in 2018 to 1 in 2026; the 90th percentile went from 2 to 4 (same 3 hunt codes both years).
| Year | Hunt codes | Res. applicants | Median points | 90th percentile | Top level | 0 to 4 pts | 5 to 9 pts | 10 to 14 pts | 15 to 19 pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 1,116 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 1,105 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1,115 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1,105 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 3 | 1,047 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 1,042 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | 1,060 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 1,054 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 3 | 1,112 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1,112 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 1,175 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1,172 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 3 | 1,061 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1,060 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 3 | 1,079 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1,076 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 3 | 880 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 878 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Dedicated Hunter Program on Southwest Desert
The Dedicated Hunter Program has its own drawing and its own preference points. Participants can hunt all general-season deer seasons on their unit for up to three years. How the program works.
Southwest Desert DB1793
Key facts, hunt DB1793
- At 4 preference points and above, at least half of resident applicants drew in 2026; below 4, fewer than half did.
- Resident odds of 1 in 2.8 were the 11th longest of 31 Dedicated Hunter hunts with resident permits in 2026.
- Resident applicants rose from 68 in 2018 to 102 in 2026 (+50%).
- Resident permits went from 1 in 2025 to 37 in 2026.
- Nonresidents were 5% of applicants (5 of 107) and drew 1 of 38 permits in 2026.
Computed from Utah DWR draw odds (utahdraws.com/drawodds, 2026) and earlier DWR drawing odds reports. Past draws do not predict future ones.
Odds by point level, 2026
Resident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | 1 | all drew |
| 5 | 8 | 8 | all drew |
| 4 | 23 | 23 | all drew |
| 3 | 29 | 5 | 1 in 5.8 |
| 2 | 19 | 0 | none drawn |
| 1 | 9 | 0 | none drawn |
| 0 | 13 | 0 | none drawn |
| Total | 102 | 37 | 1 in 2.8 |
Nonresident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | 1 | all drew |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | none drawn |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | none drawn |
| 0 | 2 | 0 | none drawn |
| Total | 5 | 1 | 1 in 5.0 |
Source: Utah DWR draw odds, utahdraws.com/drawodds (2026). utahdraws.com/drawodds. "Odds" is applicants per permit at that point level, first-choice applicants and permits as DWR lists them.
Dedicated Hunter Program, youth
Resident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 1 | all drew |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 1 in 1.0 |
Nonresident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| No nonresident applicants in 2026. | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | n/a |
Source: Utah DWR draw odds, utahdraws.com/drawodds (2026). utahdraws.com/drawodds. "Odds" is applicants per permit at that point level, first-choice applicants and permits as DWR lists them.
9 years of history
Residents, 2018 to 2026, hunt DB1793.
| Year | Res. applicants | Res. permits | Res. odds | Top res. points drawn | Lowest res. points drawn | All res. drew from | Nonres. applicants | Nonres. permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 102 | 37 | 1 in 2.8 | 6 | 3 | 4+ | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 88 | 1 | 1 in 88.0 | 10 | 10 | 10+ | 3 | 1 |
| 2024 | 146 | 20 | 1 in 7.3 | 5 | 3 | 5+ | 10 | 2 |
| 2023 | 129 | 26 | 1 in 5.0 | 5 | 3 | 4+ | 12 | 3 |
| 2022 | 131 | 1 | 1 in 131.0 | 3 | 3 | none | 4 | 1 |
| 2021 | 97 | 1 | 1 in 97.0 | 3 | 3 | none | 11 | 1 |
| 2020 | 89 | 39 | 1 in 2.3 | 3 | 1 | 2+ | 8 | 4 |
| 2019 | 89 | 46 | 1 in 1.9 | 2 | 1 | 2+ | 7 | 2 |
| 2018 | 68 | 10 | 1 in 6.8 | 3 | 1 | 2+ | 6 | 2 |
Questions about Southwest Desert general-season deer draw odds
How many Southwest Desert general-season deer hunts are there?
DWR's 2026 draw odds list 3 hunts for Southwest Desert general-season deer: Southwest Desert archery (DB1524); Southwest Desert muzzleloader (DB1584); Southwest Desert rifle (any legal weapon) (DB1554).
Which Southwest Desert general-season deer hunt had the best resident odds in 2026?
Southwest Desert archery (DB1524) at 1 in 1.5 (95 residents for 64 permits). The longest odds were Southwest Desert rifle (any legal weapon) (DB1554) at 1 in 4.4. Odds change every year.
When are the Southwest Desert general-season deer seasons?
2026 seasons from the DWR guidebook: DB1524 Aug. 15 to Sept. 11; DB1584 Sept. 23 to Oct. 1; DB1554 Oct. 17 to Oct. 25. 2027 dates post when DWR publishes the 2027 guidebook.
Get the 2027 deadline
We plan to email when DWR announces the next application dates and before the deadline. Delete any time via [email protected].
Odds: Utah DWR draw odds, utahdraws.com/drawodds (2026). utahdraws.com/drawodds. History from the 2018 to 2025 DWR reports, linked year by year in the history tables.
Season dates: Utah DWR 2026 Big Game Application Guidebook. Boundary data: Utah DWR, 2026.
Page built Sept. 24, 2026. Found an error? [email protected]. Verify all dates and rules with DWR before applying.