Washington Elk · GMU 172 Mountain View

Washington GMU 172 covers 69,305 acres and lies 47 miles south of Pullman. 55% of it is public land, mostly national forest (33%) and state land (16%). In 2025, hunters took 41 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 2009, put up 5 nonresident tags in the 2025 draw for 580 first-choice applicants.

No more draws here. The last one was 2025.

Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife held its 2026 elk draw without GMU 172. No current hunt code lists this unit; the Washington elk hunts on offer are drawn elsewhere. The odds, costs and harvest below are that history, kept for the record.

NR Tags, 2025
10

3 licenses

Applicants
858

first choice, NR

Hunter Success
11%

2025, firearm hunter

Public Land
55%

33% Forest Service

Size
108 mi²

69,305 acres

172
11%hunter success 2025

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

Every License in GMU 172

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

The last draw held in GMU 172 was 2025. These are that draw's chances for a first-choice nonresident applicant, kept for the record.

2009 <1% —
2052 3% (small sample) —
2075 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 Elk individual hunts, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.

If you draw (2025 nonresident fees): $837.90 ($837.90 to apply). Open Apr 20 – May 27, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Harvest

Year Elk
2025 41
2024 40
2023 36
2022 36
2021 67
2025 by LicenseHuntersElkSuccess
General season — 32 —
General season · archery 22 2 9%
General season · firearm 200 21 11%
General season · muzzleloader 49 7 14%
Special permit — 9 —

2025 split: archery 2 (7%) from 22 hunters, 9%, firearm 21 (70%) from 200 hunters, 11%, muzzleloader 7 (23%) from 49 hunters, 14%

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 31,517 ac 45%
National Forest 22,979 ac 33%
State land 11,288 ac 16%
BLM 2,744 ac 4%
State trust land 769 ac 1%
National Wildlife Refuge 6 ac <1%

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

▸ Sources 5
  1. WDFW 2025 Elk 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 elk hunts