Hunt Area SW-01 South Wallowas (SW-01)

The South Wallowas herd is below ODFW's population objective — recent fawn survival ran lower than normal even after a mild winter — but buck ratios are meeting objective, so a limited-entry tag here still puts you into huntable numbers of bucks. ODFW is candid that deer hunting is better on private land; public-land hunters should plan a physical canyon hunt for scattered deer.

• →Glass from rims and opposite canyon walls at first and last light — deer are most active early and late when temperatures cool.
• →Concentrate on north slopes with good forage and shaded bedding cover; ODFW's own advice for this country.
• →Key on water and green feed in the typically dry early fall: spring seeps, riparian stringers, and the creek draws dropping toward Brownlee.
• →Lock up private permission or Access & Habitat ground before the season — the best deer densities sit behind ranch gates.
• →If weather turns, hunt the descent — snow up on the Lookout massif pushes deer toward the lower breaks and winter range.

Elk herds in the old Lookout Mountain unit continue to grow, with bull ratios at or near management objective and good calf ratios. Like the deer, elk lean heavily on private ranchland, so public-land elk hunting is a scouting and boot-leather game.

• →Get as far from roads as possible — ODFW specifically recommends distance from vehicle access for Baker County elk.
• →Work timber stringers and mahogany pockets on north slopes of Big and Little Lookout for day beds.
• →Watch private-field edges at dawn and dusk and catch elk transitioning back to public rim country.
• →Ask about Access & Habitat and ranch permission early — growing herds mean some landowners want elk pressure.

The breaks of this area are regarded as one of the top places in the West for trophy-class Rocky Mountain bighorn rams, and ODFW runs coveted controlled sheep hunts in the old Lookout Mountain unit. For deer hunters it's mostly a spectacular bonus sighting; for a sheep-tag holder it's a hunt of a lifetime.

• →Sheep live in the steepest basalt rimrock above Brownlee and the lower canyon breaks — glass cliff bands, not the sage flats.
• →Summer scouting from the Snake River Road pays; rams are patternable on north-facing pockets of green feed.
• →Deer hunters: note ram locations and report poaching — this herd is a statewide treasure.

Baker County bear hunting is rated good, though this is drier, more open country than the forested units to the north — bears concentrate where berries and riparian cover exist.

• →Glass higher-elevation brushfields and berry patches on the Lookout massif in early fall.
• →Still-hunt riparian corridors and shaded draws in the evenings.
• →Carry a bear tag while deer hunting — most bears here are taken opportunistically.

ODFW's Baker County guidance is simple: you can find cougars just about anywhere — remember to carry a tag. Nearly all are taken incidentally by deer and elk hunters.

• →Carry the tag and be ready while glassing deer country — cats follow the deer.
• →Check rims and canyon saddles for sign where deer trails funnel.
• →After a skiff of snow, cut tracks on the rim roads and follow up.