Ok, so I am completely new to hunting, tried to read the Utah Big Game guidebook and my head is spinning. I want to hunt elk and possibly deer. It appears that the Bull Elk permits are part of the big game drawing? Can you get a permit the first year you try? Does it take a couple of years to draw the permit? How does it work?!?!? Also buck deer permits, how does that draw work? I am a resident of Utah.

I'm a non resident, but apply in utah for their limited entry elk units, ie the elk units with big elk!

I believe it's POSSIBLE to draw your 1st year, though highly unlikely, as a non-res I think I'm looking at 10years before I draw....if not longer.

I think a res, or anyone for that matter can hunt spike bull elk annually...but limited entry units for big elk take some time....probably more likely to draw sooner as a res I assume...

It depends on what Elk tags you are talking about. If its a general Bull Elk tag then they are over the counter, depending on the unit you choose you can hunt either spike only units or any bull units. There are only a handfull of any bull units and they tend to have low numbers and tough hunting to say the least, but with enough scouting and time spent learning the areas it is very possible to kill a bull. The spike units are basically all the limited entry units but all you can shoot are spikes unless you archery hunt then cows are legal as well.
Then you have your limited entry units. These units are the ones Utah is famous for. As far as time to draw they run anywhere from 2-4 years for the lower end units to 20 plus years for the upper end units. Your choice of weapons also can effect the amount of points it takes to draw.
The deer tags are run much the same way, general tags are draw only but you can draw these almost every year depending on the region you chose and weapon, and then the limited entry units take about the same point wise as the elk units.
Hope this helps.

If you have zero bonus points I highly recommend you apply in NM, MT, CO, AZ, NV, MT even ID before you even consider UT. UT has an anti-nonresident climate. They just raided the nonresident tag pool and put half them in a resident raffle which you must go to SLC to apply. All with horrible draw odds. They also divert 100 tags for auction. There's only 5% left for NR, half of which go to the max point pool, which you will never attain. And the points are cheap to buy so everybody buys, making the 50% random draw odds horrible. Was once a great state to apply in, but now it's down there with Oregon. Don't get in their game now. My advice. You will pay one hell of a lot of money for the priveledge to NOT hunt.

I bought mine over the counter.

My wife and i applied this year for general deer muzzleloader.first choice was central region..hoping to get drawn,seems our chances are good..very familiar with southern region,but it is the first to seel out..

Okay to put in for a draw you have to call them or register online.
You can draw any year but that does not mean you will get what you put in for.
For bull elk you have to put in for the tag and then wait until about april to get the results.
That goes the same for everything else.
For Once-in-a-liftime hunts you are going to put in for a animal and wait for about 5 years before you get it.(it takes a long time to draw because there are so few tags givin out for those animals.)
If you dont want to draw for a animal but you may in the future you can put in for points
These increase your chance to draw.Ie(They draw names out of a bowl if your name is not picked they draw again because you have points, they keep on drawing for your name depending on how many points you have, and you can only buy one point a year.)
If you need anything else you can PM me.

Zim - Utah does not have an "anti non-resident" climate. Utah uses a modified preference point system and the demand for tags is extremely high, therefore it's a tough draw. With regard to being a tough draw, it's no different in Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona or Colorado for that matter.

I drew a NR antelope tag in Nevada the first time I applied...and there were only two tags in the unit I wanted!!!!!

My point is, you have to begin applying if you ever want to draw a tag. Put together an application strategy and get after it. Making excuses won't help you or anyone else here!

Mallard - Sorry I don't know how I missed you were a UT resident. Heck ya apply, you will have good odds there!

Raghorn - Nonresident discrimination has been going on in many western states in the last 20 years, and Utah is one of the worse. Their 500+ wealth/auction tags are a downright obscene total. 200 of which were converted directly from the nonresident draw tags, killing draw odds. Three of the states you mention CO, NM, AZ have had perhaps the best track record in nonresident opportunity with 35%, 22% & 10% quotas. Nevada has a good draw system except when they raped nonresidents with their outfitter entitlement program. I've applied & hunted in all these states.

"Put together an application strategy and get after it." - Ya right! Do like I did and buy into their nonresident point programs for 15 years so they can change the rules and dininish your draw odds by 500% like Utah. Now I'm stuck with 14 of their deer points and can't draw the tag I otherwise would have, because they changed the rules in the middle of the game, flooded apps with thousands of 0 point holders, so UTDOW could make more $ selling dreams. It's becoming a racket.

For anyone interested in getting into the game, just beware.