Washington Elk · GMU 520 Winston
Washington GMU 520 covers 191,034 acres and lies 27 miles north-east of Longview and 43 miles south-east of Tumwater. 14% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (11%) and national forest (3%). In 2025, hunters took 65 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 2710, put up 15 nonresident tags in the 2025 draw for 79 first-choice applicants.
No more draws here. The last one was 2025.
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife held its 2026 elk draw without GMU 520. 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.
2 licenses
first choice, NR
2025, firearm hunter
11% State
191,034 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 520
The last draw held in GMU 520 was 2025. These are that draw's chances for a first-choice nonresident applicant, kept for the record.
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | Winston — Quality Elk Hunt, Any bull (Western Firearm) | 1% (small sample) | — | |
| 2710 | Region 5 Northwest–Hoof Disease — Master Hunter Elk Hunt, Antlerless (All Methods) | 19% | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2025 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file. Not in the table, with no 2025 result: 2235/2023, 2305/2023.
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 | 65 |
| 2024 | 65 |
| 2023 | 66 |
| 2022 | 110 |
| 2021 | 143 |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| General season | — | 62 | — |
| General season · archery | 201 | 2 | 1% |
| General season · firearm | 619 | 44 | 7% |
| General season · muzzleloader | 171 | 10 | 6% |
| Special permit | — | 3 | — |
2025 split: archery 2 (4%) from 201 hunters, <1%, firearm 44 (79%) from 619 hunters, 7%, muzzleloader 10 (18%) from 171 hunters, 6%
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 | 164,494 ac | 86% |
| State trust land | 20,512 ac | 11% |
| National Forest | 5,569 ac | 3% |
| State land | 376 ac | <1% |
| BLM | 41 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 41 ac | <1% |
▸ Sources 5
- WDFW 2025 Elk 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 elk hunts