The 2017 general rifle deer hunt has come out of the gates a bit slow. According to the Division of Wildlife Resources, northern Utah including northeastern Utah is among the areas that have seen the biggest change. A total of 144 deer came through the check stations on Saturday and Sunday, shares northern Utah wildlife manager Randy Wood, while a total of 282 deer came through at the same stations last year during the first two days of the hunt. The tough winter that killed off fawns that would have been 1-and-a-half-year-old deer this fall is partly to blame. In addition to that, wildlife officials say that weather during opening weekend of this year’s hunt might have been a factor. “The weather was great,” shares northeastern Utah wildlife manager Riley Peck, “and that likely pushed deer deeper into the trees, making it more difficult for hunters to find them.” Utah’s general rifle buck deer hunt runs
until October 29th.
For more information, visit
www.wildlife.utah.gov
.
