Looking for Utah pheasant hunting? GameBirdHunts is your directory for pheasant hunting Utah

There are 16 species of small game birds and mammals considered upland game in Utah. These upland game animals are important. An average of 50,000 hunters spend 400,000 days afield and take 500,000 animals annually. Utah has within its borders 13 species of birds classed as upland game. Six of the birds, Gambel's quail, sage grouse, blue grouse, ruffed grouse, Merriam's wild turkey and sharp-tailed grouse are resident native species. The mourning dove and the band-tailed pigeon are migrant natives that spend a part of each year in Utah.

Two of the remaining five game birds are natives of the United States and have been successfully introduced into Utah. They are the California quail and white-tailed ptarmigan. The other three birds are exotic to the Western Hemisphere. The ring-necked pheasant is from China, the chukar partridge from India, and the Hungarian partridge from Europe. The ring-necked pheasant is the most popular of Utah's upland game birds. Eighty-five percent of all small game or combination license holders hunt pheasants annually. The mourning dove is next in popularity, followed by the chuckar partridge.

2012 Utah Pheasant Hunting Outlook

The winter was good for the upland birds in Utah. The mild winter in the wet spring led to strong breeding yet the difficult summer has offset some of that. The chance of wildfire in certain areas has also been a damper on the pheasant population this year.

The season should be pretty good. Last year was an average year for pheasants in Utah and 2012 should be similar depending on how the rest of the summer and early fall turns out. Much depends on the weather. The birds were off to a good start earlier in the year and there are still plenty that made it through the difficult summer.

Season Dates: November 3rd, 2012 through December 2nd, 2012 (see variations and details)

Daily Bag Limit: 2

Possession Limit: 6