Southwest Desert General Season Deer Rifle Draw Odds (Utah)
General-season rifle (any legal weapon) buck deer on the Southwest Desert unit, drawn with preference points. In 2026, 916 residents applied for 210 resident permits and both applicants at the top level (6 points) drew.
Hunt DB1554: Southwest Desert
Southwest Desert general-season rifle (any legal weapon) deer draw: key facts
- 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 4.4 were the tied 4th longest of 106 general-season buck deer hunts with resident permits in 2026.
- Resident applicants rose from 652 in 2018 to 916 in 2026 (+40%).
- Resident permits went from 142 in 2025 to 210 in 2026.
- Nonresidents were 14% of applicants (146 of 1,062) and drew 20 of 230 permits in 2026.
- Statewide, 40 general-season rifle deer hunts drew 66,671 resident applicants for 30,882 resident permits in 2026 (2.2 per permit); this hunt had 4.4 per permit.
- Across the 39 general-season rifle hunts where every resident at the top levels drew, the median point level from which all drew was 4 in 2026; on this hunt it was 6.
- The 2026 season, Oct. 17 to Oct. 25, runs 9 days (2026 DWR guidebook).
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 | 2 | 2 | all drew |
| 5 | 7 | 6 | 1 in 1.2 |
| 4 | 117 | 117 | all drew |
| 3 | 116 | 45 | 1 in 2.6 |
| 2 | 127 | 0 | none drawn |
| 1 | 209 | 0 | none drawn |
| 0 | 338 | 40 | 1 in 8.4 |
| Total | 916 | 210 | 1 in 4.4 |
Nonresident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 3 | 3 | all drew |
| 7 | 15 | 14 | 1 in 1.1 |
| 6 | 17 | 0 | none drawn |
| 5 | 15 | 0 | none drawn |
| 4 | 15 | 0 | none drawn |
| 3 | 15 | 0 | none drawn |
| 2 | 26 | 0 | none drawn |
| 1 | 12 | 0 | none drawn |
| 0 | 28 | 3 | 1 in 9.3 |
| Total | 146 | 20 | 1 in 7.3 |
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.
Youth draw
Resident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 3 | all drew |
| 2 | 18 | 18 | all drew |
| 1 | 30 | 30 | all drew |
| Total | 51 | 51 | 1 in 1.0 |
Nonresident
| Preference points | Applicants | Permits | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 3 | all drew |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | all drew |
| Total | 4 | 4 | 1 in 1.0 |
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.
9 years of history
Residents, 2018 to 2026, hunt DB1554.
| Year | Res. applicants | Res. permits | Res. odds | Top res. points drawn | Lowest res. points drawn | All res. drew from | Nonres. applicants | Nonres. permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 916 | 210 | 1 in 4.4 | 6 | 0 | 6+ | 146 | 20 |
| 2025 | 928 | 142 | 1 in 6.5 | 7 | 3 | 7+ | 155 | 16 |
| 2024 | 812 | 140 | 1 in 5.8 | 16 | 3 | 4+ | 139 | 16 |
| 2023 | 774 | 90 | 1 in 8.6 | 9 | 3 | 4+ | 140 | 11 |
| 2022 | 825 | 79 | 1 in 10.4 | 4 | 2 | 3+ | 150 | 9 |
| 2021 | 863 | 200 | 1 in 4.3 | 8 | 1 | 4+ | 162 | 23 |
| 2020 | 750 | 281 | 1 in 2.7 | 6 | 1 | 4+ | 156 | 32 |
| 2019 | 781 | 279 | 1 in 2.8 | 5 | 1 | 4+ | 134 | 34 |
| 2018 | 652 | 277 | 1 in 2.4 | 9 | 1 | 3+ | 131 | 34 |
All general-season deer hunts on Southwest Desert
| 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 On this page | DB1554 | Rifle (any legal weapon) | Oct. 17 to Oct. 25 | 916 | 210 | 1 in 4.4 | 20 |
Southwest Desert general-season deer overview and Dedicated Hunter odds
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.
Questions about Southwest Desert general-season rifle (any legal weapon) deer draw odds
How many points does it take to draw Southwest Desert general-season rifle (any legal weapon) deer?
In the 2026 draw for Southwest Desert general-season rifle (any legal weapon) deer (hunt DB1554), both applicants at the top level (6 points) drew. The lowest resident point level that drew was 0 (40 of 338). Nonresidents: 20 of 146 applicants drew, from 0 to 8 points. Past draws do not predict future ones.
How many hunters apply for Southwest Desert general-season rifle (any legal weapon) deer?
For hunt DB1554, 916 residents applied for 210 permits and 146 nonresidents applied for 20 permits in the 2026 draw (Utah DWR draw odds).
When is the Southwest Desert general-season rifle (any legal weapon) deer season?
The 2026 season for DB1554 runs Oct. 17 to Oct. 25, per the 2026 DWR guidebook. 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.