Washington Deer — GMU 250
Swakane
Washington GMU 250 covers 138,758 acres and lies 13 miles north of Wenatchee and 42 miles north of Ellensburg. 65% of it is public land, mostly national forest (50%) and state land (7%). In 2025, hunters took 121 deer here. The 2026 draw put up 9 nonresident tags here.
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in GMU 250, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
— Cut level
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— Cut level
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— Cut level
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1034 ↗ Swakane — Quality Deer Hunt, Any buck (Modern Firearm) | — Cut level | — | 9 / — | Nov 1–20, 2026 |
| 1522 ↗ Swakane — Youth Deer Hunt, Any deer (Modern Firearm) | — Cut level | — | 2 / — | Oct 17–27, 2026 |
| 1618 ↗ Swakane — Deer Hunters 65 Years and Over, Any deer (Modern Firearm) | — Cut level | — | 3 / — | Oct 17–27, 2026 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $1,108.27 | $1,108.27 | $1,108.27 |
Application window: opens Apr 20, closes May 27, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest 69,306 ac · 50%
- Private 48,470 ac · 35%
- State land 10,346 ac · 7%
- State trust land 5,859 ac · 4%
- BLM 4,727 ac · 3%
- National Wildlife Refuge 30 ac · 0%
- County or city land 16 ac · 0%
Source: WA DNR 'Non-DNR Major Public Lands' (NDMPL) layer, federal/state/county/city ownership parcels
How the hunting has gone
What Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Washington's figures come from mandatory hunter reports. WDFW credits a multi-GMU special-permit hunt's harvest to every GMU it spans rather than splitting it, so unit totals add up to more than the statewide total.
| Season | Harvest |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 121 |
| 2024 | 175 |
| 2023 | 200 |
| 2022 | 189 |
| 2021 | 193 |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Archery 42 · 45% · 245 hunters, 17% success
- Firearm 40 · 43% · 212 hunters, 19% success
- Muzzleloader 11 · 12% · 23 hunters, 48% success
Boundary: WDFW Hunt Planner 'UnitSpatial' polygon layer (WP_HuntPlanner/Regulation/MapServer/0)
Harvest: WDFW Hunt Planner 'BigGame' harvest table (WP_HuntPlanner/Harvest/MapServer/1)