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; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 1034, put up 9 nonresident tags in the 2025 draw for 1,027 first-choice applicants.

No more draws here. The last one was 2025.

Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife held its 2026 deer draw without GMU 250. No current hunt code lists this unit; the Washington deer hunts on offer are drawn elsewhere. The odds, costs and harvest below are that history, kept for the record.

NR Tags, 2025
14

3 licenses

Applicants
1,534

first choice, NR

Hunter Success
17%

2025, archery hunter

Public Land
65%

50% Forest Service

Size
217 mi²

138,758 acres

Wenatchee 250
17%hunter success 2025

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Every License in GMU 250

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it

The last draw held in GMU 250 was 2025. These are that draw's chances for a first-choice nonresident applicant, kept for the record.

1034 <1% —
1522 · youth <1% (small sample) —
1618 · hunters 1% (small sample) —

First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2025 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.

Draw results: WDFW 2025 Deer individual hunts, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.

If you draw (2025 nonresident fees): $751.37 ($751.37 to apply). Open Apr 20 – May 27, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Harvest

Year Deer
2025 121
2024 175
2023 200
2022 189
2021 193
2025 by LicenseHuntersDeerSuccess
General season — 116 —
General season · archery 245 42 17%
General season · firearm 212 40 19%
General season · muzzleloader 23 11 48%
Special permit — 5 —

2025 split: archery 42 (45%) from 245 hunters, 17%, firearm 40 (43%) from 212 hunters, 19%, muzzleloader 11 (12%) from 23 hunters, 48%

What Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Hunter counts not published for 2025. 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. Source: WDFW 2025 Hunt Planner 'BigGame' harvest table.

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 <1%
County or city land 16 ac <1%

Source: WDFW 2026 WA DNR 'Non-DNR Major Public Lands'….

▸ Sources 5
  1. WDFW 2025 Deer individual hunts draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  2. WDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  3. WDFW 2025 Hunt Planner 'BigGame' harvest table harvest, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  4. WDFW 2026 Hunt Planner 'UnitSpatial' polygon… boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
  5. WDFW 2026 WA DNR 'Non-DNR Major Public Lands'… land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026

About These Numbers

Odds are from the 2025 draw, the latest on file, computed from Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.

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Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

We don't take applications: check Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife's site and apply there.

Prior-draw odds from Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Washington deer hunts