Deer Area 1010 Ten Ten
The private wheat-and-foothill country around Dayton — a small antlerless damage-management deer area, not a destination hunt.
WDFW Region 1 — District 3, Blue Mountains foothills (Columbia County) · Last reviewed 2026-07-17
Area
143
sq mi
Public land
5%
approx.
Elevation
1,200–4,500
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
Deer Area 1010 has no official place-name in the WAC — the permit hunt is simply called "Ten Ten" — and it is defined as GMU 162 (Dayton) excluding National Forest land and the Rainwater Wildlife Area. That leaves the private farm and foothill portion of the Dayton GMU: roughly 143 square miles of Touchet River valley wheat ground, CRP, and timbered draws climbing southeast from US 12 toward the Umatilla National Forest boundary. WDFW created the area to help manage deer damage on agricultural lands while limiting antlerless harvest on the GMU's public land — so the handful of Ten Ten permits (modern firearm and muzzleloader) put antlerless harvest exactly where crop complaints happen, on private ground. GMU 162 carries good deer numbers and the district's highest general-season hunter density, but this permit is only as good as the private-land access you arrange: there is almost no public land inside the area by definition. Treat it as a freezer hunt for hunters with Columbia County landowner relationships.
Terrain
Rolling Palouse-style wheat and CRP hills along the Touchet River and Patit Creek around Dayton, breaking into steeper grassland ridges and timbered draws as the ground climbs southeast toward the national forest boundary (which is the area's edge — the forest itself is excluded). Deer live in the creek bottoms, brushy draws, and field edges; hunting is short-range terrain reading, not big-country glassing.
Cover: Dryland wheat, barley, and alfalfa fields with CRP grassland on the hills; black cottonwood, alder, and hawthorn brush along the Touchet River, Patit Creek, and tributary hollows; scattered ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir stringers in the higher draws below the forest line.
Landmarks: Dayton (US 12, county seat) · Touchet River corridor along US 12 · Patit Creek and Patit Road · Hartsock Grade Road and Maloney Mountain Road (eastern boundary) · Kendall Skyline / Eckler Mountain road country rising toward the forest · Lewis Peak country (southwest boundary) · Umatilla National Forest boundary (excluded — the area stops here) · Rainwater Wildlife Area (CTUIR — excluded from the area)
Access
By definition this area excludes GMU 162's two big public blocks (Umatilla National Forest and the CTUIR's Rainwater Wildlife Area), so what remains is essentially all private. WDFW notes private-land access in the Dayton GMU can be difficult to obtain, though a few landowners participate in the department's access program (Feel Free to Hunt and Hunt by Written Permission properties come and go year to year — check the current listings). The practical rule for a damage-focused antlerless permit like Ten Ten: line up written permission with a landowner before you ever apply. Note that Rainwater Wildlife Area, though enrolled in Feel Free to Hunt, is outside this deer area — a Ten Ten permit is for the private-land portion of the GMU.
Managers: Private farms and ranches (wheat, CRP, and timber-edge ground), Scattered Washington DNR sections, WDFW private-lands access program cooperators (a few properties)
Access points: US 12 corridor between Waitsburg and Dayton (Touchet valley) · Patit Road east out of Dayton · Hartsock Grade and Maloney Mountain roads (east side) · Eckler Mountain / Kendall Skyline road climbing southeast from Dayton · County roads south of Dayton toward Lewis Peak and the forest boundary
Species notes
Whitetail Deer
abundant opportunityWhite-tailed deer dominate the creek bottoms, brushy draws, and field edges of the Dayton front country, and they are the main driver of crop-damage complaints this area exists to address. The 2021 EHD/bluetongue outbreak hit District 3 whitetails hard and WDFW has kept general antlerless opportunity trimmed while the herd rebuilds — concentrating what antlerless harvest remains onto private farmland hunts like this one. Numbers have been improving since 2023-24.
- →Hunt field edges and CRP-to-brush transitions at first and last light, when does filter from bedding draws to wheat stubble and alfalfa.
- →Ask the landowner where they are seeing deer damage — on a management hunt like this, the farmer's problem field is your best stand.
- →Set up on Touchet River and Patit Creek bottom travel corridors; cottonwood-hawthorn brush lines act as deer highways between fields.
- →In November, midday movement improves with the rut even on antlerless hunts — does get pushed constantly by cruising bucks.
- →Take a cooler-weather approach to meat care: this is low-elevation farm country and early-window days can still run warm.
Mule Deer
common opportunityMule deer work the open CRP hills, grassland ridges, and higher timber-edge draws of the area, and WDFW notes mule deer populations outside the mountains in District 3 appear stable, with CRP ground helping maintain winter range. They are the secondary deer here — expect them on the upper, more open ground toward the forest boundary.
- →Glass CRP ridge systems and grassy draw heads in the first hour of light — mule deer here bed mid-slope in draws rather than river brush.
- →Work the higher country near the forest boundary edge, where mule deer stage before winter pushes them down to lower fields.
- →Cold snaps and the first real snow pull mountain deer down into the foothill fields — late in the window, re-check ground that was empty earlier.
Pro tips
- →Secure written permission before you apply — WDFW's own advice for private-land Blue Mountains permits, and doubly true here where the permit is worthless without farm access.
- →Check WDFW's private-lands access listings for current Feel Free to Hunt and Hunt by Written Permission properties in GMU 162, but confirm any property is inside the deer area boundary (national forest and Rainwater Wildlife Area don't count).
- →Talk to the landowner about where crop damage is happening — this hunt exists to fix that, and cooperating with the farmer's goals is how access gets renewed next year.
- →Scout from county roads in the weeks before the hunt; deer patterns in open farm country are highly visible and highly consistent.
- →Bring a way to handle a deer in mild weather — game bags, ice, and a plan for same-day processing.
- →If you don't have Columbia County landowner contacts, consider whether this is the right permit to apply for at all — that honesty saves a wasted draw choice.
Watch out for
- !Almost the entire area is private land — a permit here is not an access pass, and trespass enforcement in this farm country is real. Know exact property lines.
- !The area boundary excludes Umatilla National Forest and the Rainwater Wildlife Area — the obvious public ground in GMU 162 is NOT part of Deer Area 1010, and hunting there on this permit puts you in the wrong hunt area.
- !CWD is confirmed in eastern Washington: testing of harvested deer is required in Region 1's 100-series GMUs, and carcass transport out of the region is restricted (deboned meat, cleaned heads).
- !EHD/bluetongue die-offs recur in dry years along the creek bottoms and can locally crater whitetail numbers — ask about summer die-offs before burning your hunt window.
- !Harvest operations, cattle, and farm equipment share this ground in November — leave gates as found and stay clear of active operations, or the access disappears for everyone.
- !Don't confuse this with a quality buck hunt — it is a small antlerless damage-management hunt, and expectations should match.
Logistics
Dayton sits in the middle of the area on US 12 with motels, restaurants, fuel, and groceries — one of the easiest logistical bases of any special-permit hunt in the state; Walla Walla (35 minutes) has full services and a hospital. Lewis and Clark Trail State Park, on the Touchet River between Waitsburg and Dayton, offers the closest public camping. Cell coverage is good along the US 12 corridor and patchier in the draws toward the forest. County roads reach every corner of the area, but remember the hunting itself happens behind private gates — arrive with permission arranged, not hoping to knock on doors in November.
Nearest towns: Dayton, Waitsburg, Walla Walla, Pomeroy
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Washington sources:
Research sources: WAC 220-415-010 — Deer area descriptions (Deer Area No. 1010, Columbia County: GMU 162 excluding National Forest land and the Rainwater Wildlife Area; no official name assigned) · WDFW 2025 District 3 Hunting Prospects — Deer Area 1010 purpose (deer damage management on private land while limiting antlerless harvest on public land), GMU 162 deer status, hunter density, EHD impacts, access rating · WAC 220-410-010 — GMU boundary descriptions, Region One (GMU 162 Dayton legal boundary: US 12, Patit Rd, Hartsock Grade, Maloney Mountain Rd, Lewis Peak) · Washington State Register 23-05-068 — WAC 220-415-030 deer special permits ('Ten Ten' antlerless permit hunt in Deer Area 1010; companion 'Dayton' white-tailed antlerless hunt in GMU 162) · WDFW Private Lands Access Program — GMU 162 Feel Free to Hunt / Hunt by Written Permission acreage (District 3 prospects, Table 6)
FAQ
- How big is Deer Area 1010 in Washington?
- Deer Area 1010 (Ten Ten) covers about 143 square miles, ranging from roughly 1,200 to 4,500 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Deer Area 1010?
- Approximately 5% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: Private farms and ranches (wheat, CRP, and timber-edge ground), Scattered Washington DNR sections, WDFW private-lands access program cooperators (a few properties). Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Deer Area 1010?
- Whitetail Deer, Mule Deer. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Washington agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Deer Area 1010 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.