Washington Elk · GMU 618 Matheny

Washington GMU 618 covers 62,673 acres and lies 45 miles south-west of Port Angeles and 58 miles west of Bremerton. 99% of it is public land, mostly national forest (80%) and state trust land (19%). In 2025, hunters took 9 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 2042, put up 1 nonresident tag in the 2025 draw for 127 first-choice applicants.

No more draws here. The last one was 2025.

Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife held its 2026 elk draw without GMU 618. 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
6

2 licenses

Applicants
155

first choice, NR

Hunter Success
6%

2025, firearm hunter

Public Land
99%

80% Forest Service

Size
98 mi²

62,673 acres

618
6%hunter success 2025

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

Every License in GMU 618

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

The last draw held in GMU 618 was 2025. These are that draw's chances for a first-choice nonresident applicant, kept for the record.

2042 <1% (small sample) —
2432 · youth 18% —

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 9
2024 11
2023 7
2022 5
2021 12
2025 by LicenseHuntersElkSuccess
General season — 8 —
General season · archery 40 3 8%
General season · firearm 89 5 6%
General season · muzzleloader 39 0 0%
Special permit — 1 —

2025 split: archery 3 (38%) from 40 hunters, 8%, firearm 5 (63%) from 89 hunters, 6%, muzzleloader 0 (0%) from 39 hunters, 0%

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 50,098 ac 80%
State trust land 12,007 ac 19%
Private 566 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