Unit 616 Nebo

A general-season deer unit that draws heavy pressure given its proximity to the Wasatch Front. Deer are plentiful but most bucks are young; mature deer survive in the steepest, thickest canyon and timber pockets away from the roads and the crowds.

• →Get well off the Nebo Loop and canyon roads into the steep oak-and-aspen benches where pressured bucks hide
• →Glass avalanche chutes, timber edges and high basins at first and last light
• →Hunt the thick stuff mid-day — mature bucks bed in near-impenetrable brush
• →Late seasons pull deer down onto the lower foothills as snow builds

The Mount Nebo massif holds a small, established Rocky Mountain goat herd. Tags are once-in-a-lifetime and among the hardest draws in Utah — only a handful of permits against hundreds of applicants — but successful hunters take mature billies in spectacular alpine terrain.

• →Glass the cliffs, talus and alpine benches of the Nebo crest and North Peak from long range
• →Plan a physical backpack or horse hunt into the wilderness — the goats live above the roads
• →Locate and judge billies well before the hunt; herds are small and localized
• →Be ready for early snow and exposed high-angle terrain

Elk are hunted here on a limited-entry basis and the unit is managed toward mature bulls, so drawn hunters have a real shot at a good six-point. Numbers are solid across the timbered mid-elevations.

• →Work the aspen-conifer edges, dark timber and high meadows early and late in the day
• →During the rut, locate bulls by bugling along the timbered ridgelines
• →Push into the roadless drainages where bulls escape pressure
• →Focus on north-facing timber and springs in warm early-season conditions

Shiras moose inhabit the aspen-willow drainages and riparian bottoms of the Nebo high country. Tags are once-in-a-lifetime and limited, but bulls are present for the fortunate few who draw.

• →Hunt willow-choked creek bottoms, beaver ponds and aspen pockets at dawn and dusk
• →Glass the wet meadows and drainage heads on the forested slopes
• →Move slowly and quietly through the riparian corridors where bulls hold

Black bears use the thick oak-brush and timbered canyons across the unit, feeding heavily on acorns and berries in fall. Numbers are healthy though bears are seldom seen given the dense cover.

• →Focus on oak-brush benches and berry patches in early fall
• →Glass avalanche chutes and open slopes at dawn and dusk
• →Check spring green-up on south faces for early-season bears

Mountain lions are well-distributed across the deer-rich canyons of the Nebo unit but rarely observed. Winter offers the best odds behind hounds on fresh snow.

• →Cut fresh tracks on snow along canyon roads and ridgelines after a storm
• →Concentrate on the steep, deer-heavy drainages where cats hunt
• →Work with experienced hound handlers for consistent success