With the exception of parts of northern and northeastern Utah, the number of buck deer in Utah is about the same as it was last fall.

That means plenty of bucks should await hunters when Utah's 2008 general archery deer hunt kicks off Saturday.

The state's general archery elk hunt also begins Saturday.

"Heavy snowfall last winter took some fawns in parts of northern and northeastern Utah," said Anis Aoude, big-game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

Even though herds in parts of northern and northeastern Utah lost some deer, most of Utah's deer herds are doing well.

"We manage the state's general-season units, so there's between 15 to 20 bucks per 100 does in the herds," Aoude said. "Almost all of the state's units are meeting that goal.

"After last fall's hunts, two of the state's public land units were above 20 bucks per 100 does, and three of the units were below 15 bucks per 100 does. All of the remaining public land units had 15 to 20 bucks per 100 does in their herds."

Aoude said if hunters have not scouted out their hunting area, he would advise they do so before the hunt.

"Those that are successful year in and year out do their homework," he said. "They get out and find the places where the bucks are.

"During the archery hunt, the deer are usually still in their summer patterns. Doing some pre-season scouting is the best thing you can do to increase your chance at harvesting an animal."

The following is a look at deer hunting prospects in each of the DWR's five regions:

Northern Region

Biologists report mule deer herds in the region probably have more adults than yearlings.

"The winter was hard on the fawns," said Randy Wood, assistant wildlife manager.

Most of the bucks taken each year are yearlings. Because of the number of yearling bucks that died this past winter, hunting in the region could be challenging.

"Moving from north to south in the region, our surveys suggest a general downward trend in fawn survival," said Phil Douglass, conservation outreach manager. "That probably reflects how severe the winter was last year."

Because of heavy precipitation in northern Utah this past winter and spring, summer range conditions are very good in high elevations.

"Food and water are very abundant this year," Douglass said. "Because of that, the deer will probably be widely scattered. Hunters will have to do a lot of scouting and stalking."

Douglass said good optics, including range finders, can be useful tools to help you locate the deer and determine their distance so you can make a clean and effective shot.