Unit 44 Columbia Basin

Mule deer are the mainstay of Unit 44, common wherever they can find cover in this open ag landscape — canyon breaks, CRP grass, creek brush and sage pockets between the fields. Deer hunting is controlled (draw); the unit produces some good bucks but access to private ground is the limiting factor, making it an opportunity-grade deer hunt for most.

• →Hunt the cover — Willow Creek and tributary breaks, CRP fields, brushy draws and sage pockets where deer bed off the open ground
• →Glass wheat-stubble, fallow and pivot-circle edges at first and last light
• →Secure private-land permission or target A&H/walk-in enrolled parcels and the Horn Butte BLM block
• →Still-hunt the folds and creek draws midday when deer hold tight to limited cover

Pronghorn use the open bunchgrass flats and range of the Columbia Basin, notably around Horn Butte and the Boardman-area grasslands. Numbers are modest and much of the antelope range is private or restricted (the Navy range), so this is a limited-entry opportunity hunt.

• →Glass the open flats and fallow from rises early and late
• →Focus on the Horn Butte public block and adjacent range where antelope concentrate
• →Plan long open-country stalks using terrain folds and draws for cover
• →Nail down private-land access ahead of the season — it usually decides the hunt

Elk are scarce in Unit 44 — ODFW manages it as an elk de-emphasis area with no management objective, meaning elk aren't encouraged here because of ag conflict. Small groups drift through the creek bottoms and range, mostly on private land. Treat elk as a marginal, opportunistic proposition, not a reason to choose the unit.

• →Focus on Willow Creek and other riparian corridors and CRP where transient bands loiter
• →Glass field edges and draws at dawn; elk here shelter tight to private ag
• →Expect to chase scattered groups and rely on private-land permission
• →Pair any elk effort with deer scouting rather than hunting elk as the goal

Bighorn are at best a fringe presence in Unit 44, associated with rimrock and canyon breaks near the unit edges rather than a resident basin herd. Any tag is a near-zero-odds once-in-a-lifetime draw and may not be offered in a given year; this is not a bighorn destination.

• →Work rimrock and canyon breaks along the unit's margins where sheep occasionally range
• →Coordinate with ODFW district biologists on any current sheep locations
• →Treat a drawn tag as a long, low-density search

Black bears are a marginal, transient presence in this dry ag basin, more likely toward the wooded Blue Mountain foothills at the south and east edges. ODFW offers a spring controlled opportunity, but encounters are uncommon and incidental.

• →Focus on the brushier creek bottoms and the forested foothill fringe at the unit's south/east edge
• →Glass green riparian corridors and draws at dawn and dusk in spring
• →Treat bear as an incidental add-on rather than a primary hunt

Cougars follow the mule deer through the creek breaks and brushy draws of the basin, with higher likelihood toward the forested foothills. Densities are low across the open farmland, and cats are usually taken incidentally or by hunters cutting fresh sign.

• →Cut tracks in snow along creek breaks, canyon draws and deer concentrations
• →Focus on Willow Creek cover and the wooded foothill fringe
• →Predator-call in brushy draws during winter
• →Treat as an opportunistic add-on to a deer or winter scouting trip