Washington Deer · GMU 278 Wahluke
Washington GMU 278 covers 542,023 acres and lies 22 miles south-west of Moses Lake and 41 miles north of Richland. 32% of it is public land, mostly wildlife refuge (11%) and Bureau of Reclamation (9%). In 2025, hunters took 95 deer here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 1328, put up 40 nonresident tags in the 2025 draw for 131 first-choice applicants.
No more draws here. The last one was 2025.
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife held its 2026 deer draw without GMU 278. 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.
2 licenses
first choice, NR
2025, firearm hunter
11% Fish & Wildlife Service
542,023 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2025 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in GMU 278
The last draw held in GMU 278 was 2025. These are that draw's chances for a first-choice nonresident applicant, kept for the record.
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1327 | Wahluke — Antlerless Deer Hunt, Antlerless (Archery) | 46% | — | |
| 1328 | Wahluke — Antlerless Deer Hunt, Antlerless (Archery) | 31% | — |
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 | 95 |
| 2024 | 79 |
| 2023 | 81 |
| 2022 | 73 |
| 2021 | 81 |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| General season | — | 95 | — |
| General season · archery | 84 | 13 | 15% |
| General season · firearm | 194 | 62 | 32% |
| General season · muzzleloader | 19 | 7 | 37% |
2025 split: archery 13 (16%) from 84 hunters, 15%, firearm 62 (76%) from 194 hunters, 32%, muzzleloader 7 (9%) from 19 hunters, 37%
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
| Private | 369,319 ac | 68% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 61,664 ac | 11% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 48,056 ac | 9% |
| BLM | 26,859 ac | 5% |
| State trust land | 19,002 ac | 4% |
| State land | 14,690 ac | 3% |
| County or city land | 2,161 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 269 ac | <1% |
▸ Sources 5
- WDFW 2025 Deer individual hunts draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WDFW 2025 Hunt Planner 'BigGame' harvest table harvest, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WDFW 2026 Hunt Planner 'UnitSpatial' polygon… boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- 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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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