Unit 15 Book Cliffs, South

The marquee species and the reason hunters draw the Book Cliffs. The South unit is the rifle hunter's preferred choice because it holds the majority of the herd's winter range and produces mature, heavy migratory bucks. Early in the season deer are high near the north divide; as cold weather sets in they migrate to the mesas, rolling hills, and secluded canyons in the heart of the unit. Draw odds are long — this is a coveted limited-entry tag.

• →Glass from the many peaks and benches at first and last light — open country rewards patient, tripod-mounted optics over covering ground.
• →Early season, hunt high near the divide in the aspen and conifer pockets; time a late hunt to the migration into the mid-elevation winter habitat.
• →Work the pinyon-juniper mesa edges and secluded canyon heads where mature bucks bed away from roads.
• →Get far from the main two-tracks — the biggest bucks live in the roadless interior, and pressure concentrates near easy access.

The Book Cliffs carries a strong, quality-managed elk herd on the same plateau, and the unit produces good bulls. Elk hold in the timbered north divide and aspen country and drop into the canyons and benches with weather. A genuine trophy-caliber bull opportunity backing the deer hunt.

• →Hunt the high aspen/conifer divide and north-facing timber where bulls bed by day.
• →Locate herds around springs, seeps, and wallows — water is limiting on this dry plateau and concentrates elk.
• →Glass big canyon systems at the edges of the timber morning and evening as elk move between feed and cover.
• →During the rut, bugle and cold-call the timbered heads of the divide drainages.

Desert bighorn occupy the broken southern cliffs and canyon rims (the Rattlesnake country) on a once-in-a-lifetime tag. The ground is mostly roadless and steep — a physically demanding hunt where you must be prepared to hike hard and glass a lot of cliff to find rams.

• →Backpack in and glass the escarpment, canyon rims, and cliff bands from long range for the duration of the hunt.
• →Key on lambing/rut ledge complexes and reliable water at the base of the cliffs.
• →Plan a physically committed, multi-day effort with water hauling — this is a true wilderness sheep hunt.
• →Scout the specific rim systems well ahead; rams use traditional escape terrain year after year.

Black bears use the timbered divide, aspen, and canyon riparian stringers of the Book Cliffs and are a genuine if secondary opportunity. Densities are modest across the dry plateau but bears concentrate where feed and water are best.

• →Glass aspen edges, oak/serviceberry pockets, and green riparian bottoms in the canyons at dawn and dusk.
• →Key on seeps, springs, and the high divide where forage and water hold up through late summer.
• →Cut two-tracks and muddy tanks for fresh tracks after rain.
• →Hunt the north-slope timber and canyon heads where bears stay cool and fed.

The Book Cliffs' large deer herd supports a healthy cougar population through the canyon and pinyon-juniper country. Cats are taken mostly by dedicated hunters following the deer and by opportunity.

• →Cut roads, ridgelines, and canyon bottoms for tracks after fresh snow.
• →Hunt where deer concentrate on the winter range — the cats follow the herds.
• →Work the rimrock and pinyon-juniper mesa country where cougars travel and cache kills.
• →Plan for remote, rough-road access and long days on this vast unit.