Unit 70 Beatys Butte

The signature game animal of Unit 70. Beatys Butte is one of Oregon's better-known pronghorn units, and the Hart Mountain refuge in particular has a reputation for producing big bucks — but the refuge hunts are separate controlled tags and are notoriously hard to draw. The general off-refuge BLM hunts cover the bulk of the unit on largely public ground and offer solid opportunity rather than guaranteed trophies.

• →Glass from rims, buttes and rises at first and last light — locate bucks at distance, then close the gap across open sage
• →Hunt water and green where it exists in a dry year: springs, stock tanks, wet meadows and seep lines concentrate animals
• →Drawn Hart Mountain refuge bucks tend to average larger; the general off-refuge BLM ground holds more animals but generally lighter horn
• →Plan long stalks across flat-to-rolling ground using terrain folds, rims and dry washes for cover
• →Pre-season scouting is decisive — learn which basins and water sources are holding goats before the opener

Mule deer are present unit-wide on a controlled-hunt basis. The unit still kicks out occasional good bucks, but trophy-class deer are 'not as common as in years past.' This is an opportunity-grade deer unit rather than a destination trophy unit.

• →Work the rough country — the Hart Mountain scarp, Coleman/Guano rims and the broken ground around Beatys Butte hold the better bucks
• →Glass juniper fringes, mahogany pockets, aspen draws and rimrock benches at dawn and dusk
• →Higher, brushier elevation bands hold deer early; deer shift with weather and feed availability through the season
• →On the Hart Mountain refuge, mule deer tags are archery/muzzleloader only — plan for close-range, low-pressure hunting
• →Be mobile and cover ground; deer density is low and spread across a huge area

California bighorn occur on and around Hart Mountain, where a once-strong herd has crashed — USFWS counts fell about 67%, from 149 sheep in 2017 to 48 in 2020, driven by cougar predation and habitat decline. This is a true once-in-a-lifetime, extremely low-odds draw, and given the depressed, conservation-sensitive herd, tags may be limited or unavailable in any given year.

• →Hunt the steep rimrock, talus and canyon breaks of the Hart Mountain scarp where sheep hold
• →Spend days glassing rims and bluffs from below — sheep here are few and scattered
• →Treat any drawn tag as a multi-week, boots-and-optics campaign with refuge biologist coordination
• →Expect a long, low-density search given the depressed herd numbers

Black bears are present at low density across the rimrock, juniper and mahogany pockets of the higher country. ODFW offers a general fall black bear season here (a modest number of tags) plus spring controlled opportunity, making bear one of the few non-draw options in the unit — though encounters are uncommon in this open desert landscape.

• →Focus on the higher, brushier ground — juniper and mahogany fringes near the Hart Mountain scarp, Coleman Rim and Beatys Butte
• →Glass mahogany and aspen pockets and rimrock benches at dawn and dusk
• →Hunt near water and seasonal food sources; bears here range widely and are thinly distributed
• →Often taken incidentally by deer or pronghorn hunters who catch a bear in the open

Elk are a marginal, transient presence in Unit 70 — ODFW maintains an elk hunt series, but this desert unit holds few elk, they move broadly, and they are protected on the Hart Mountain refuge. Treat elk as an opportunistic, low-density proposition rather than a reason to choose this unit.

• →Concentrate on the higher juniper/mahogany country and water sources where the occasional band loiters
• →Glass big from rims and buttes; small scattered groups can be miles apart
• →Be prepared to cover enormous ground for low odds of contact
• →Pair elk effort with deer or pronghorn scouting rather than hunting elk as the primary goal

Cougars range throughout the rimrock and canyon country following the deer and pronghorn herds, and cougar predation has been a major factor in the Hart Mountain bighorn decline. Densities are still low across this open desert unit, and cats are typically taken incidentally or by hunters specifically targeting fresh sign.

• →Cut tracks and follow sign in snow along rims, canyon bottoms and around deer concentrations
• →Focus on broken terrain near the Hart Mountain scarp, Coleman Rim and Beatys Butte where deer hold
• →Glass rimrock and predator-call in canyon country during winter
• →Treat as an opportunistic add-on to a deer or winter scouting trip