Utah’s general pheasant hunt opened on November 4 and will run till December 3. This gives hunters 30 days to hunt on both public lands and new this year, private lands will be given the same timeline.

“You know this is something that we’re really excited about, surprisingly we don’t have a lot of pheasant hunters in Utah but it’s a great way to get out in the field. Pheasants are something that are a lot of fun to pursue,” said Conservation Outreach Manager, Morgan Jacobsen. This is a great hunt for youngsters or beginners who can learn the basics of gun safety and become familiar with hunting practices.

The number of wild birds is up this fall and more than 10,000 pen-reared pheasants have been released on 54 public hunting areas. “There is several locations that would be good to try pheasant hunting. So closer to Price is Gordon Creek, we are releasing birds out there. We’ve also got Desert Lake WMA, Huntington Wildlife Management, as well, and areas down by Green River and the lower San Rafael,” stated Jacobsen. Hunters are reminded that if hunting on Desert Lake WMA, steel shots or non-toxic shot are to be used at all times for that area.

Pheasants will be released before each weekend of the hunt with the exception of the week of Thanksgiving, when the release will be held earlier in the week. “You know if you’re looking for other areas to hunt these birds, we do have a map on our website that shows locations of where these birds have been release or will be release throughout the season,” said Jacobsen. The interactive, online pay is available in the Upland game releases section at www.wildlife.utah.gove/uplandgame

If hunters have any questions about hunting pheasants they should call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resource office.