GMU 272 Beezley
Beezley Hills to the Potholes — snow-driven mule deer across the seep-lake heart of the Columbia Basin
WDFW Region 2 — North Central Washington (District 5, Grant County) · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
1,775
sq mi
Public land
16%
approx.
Elevation
500–2,800
feet
Motorized
extensive
access
Overview
GMU 272 (Beezley) is a sprawling Grant County unit stretching from Electric City and Banks Lake at its north tip south to I-90 and Moses Lake. It's a Columbia Basin patchwork of dryland and irrigated farmland, shrub-steppe, seep lakes and the rocky Beezley Hills. Mule deer are the primary game; the unit holds a resident herd and also draws migrant deer down from the Waterville Plateau and Beezley Hills when snow pushes them, making the best hunting weather-dependent. WDFW manages roughly 53,000 acres of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area inside the unit (Gloyd Seeps, Banks Lake, Sun Lakes, Billy Clapp and Quincy Lakes), so despite heavy private ownership there is a real public-land backbone here. This is also District 5's top cougar unit, centered on the Beezley Hills.
Terrain
A vast rolling basin of farmland, shrub-steppe and coulee-and-lake country. Elevations run from about 500 ft in the southern irrigated cropland near Moses Lake up to roughly 2,800 ft in the Beezley Hills on the northwest side. A chain of seep and coulee lakes threads the western edge, and the northern reaches hold marshes, drainages and the Grand Coulee lakes.
Cover: Shrub-steppe of big sagebrush, bitterbrush, rabbitbrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg's bluegrass, Great Basin wildrye, needle-and-thread and Indian ricegrass on native ground, broken by extensive dryland and irrigated agriculture and wetland/riparian cover around the seep lakes and Crab Creek drainages.
Landmarks: Beezley Hills · Banks Lake / Electric City · Sun Lakes–Dry Falls · Soap, Lenore, Alkali, Blue and Park lakes (SR-17 chain) · Billy Clapp & Gloyd Seeps · Quincy Lakes · Moses Lake / I-90
Access
The unit is roughly 84% private / 16% public, but that 16% is meaningful: about 53,000 acres of the WDFW Columbia Basin Wildlife Area (Gloyd Seeps, Banks Lake, Sun Lakes, Billy Clapp and Quincy Lakes units) lie within GMU 272 and most is open to hunting, supplemented by scattered DNR, BLM and Bureau of Reclamation parcels. Ownership is heavily checkerboarded, so a GPS with ownership layers is strongly recommended. For deer on private ground, use the WDFW Private Lands Access Program (Feel Free to Hunt walk-in and Hunt by Written Permission) or secure landowner permission directly. Note several wildlife-area sites are Register to Hunt — sign in at the parking-area box.
Managers: Private (dryland & irrigated ag), WDFW Columbia Basin Wildlife Area, WDNR, BLM, US Bureau of Reclamation
Access points: SR-17 seep-lake corridor (Soap, Lenore, Alkali, Blue, Park lakes) · Sun Lakes–Dry Falls area · Quincy Lakes Unit · Gloyd Seeps / Billy Clapp units · Banks Lake / Electric City (north) · Moses Lake / I-90 (south)
Species notes
Mule Deer
common opportunityThe primary hunt and District 5's most productive deer unit. GMU 272 holds a resident mule deer herd plus snow-driven migrants; WDFW ground surveys put post-hunt buck:doe ratios within the 20:100 objective with abundant fawns, a stable population. Roughly 1,000-1,700 general-season hunters turn out; recent success ran about 20% for modern firearm and 19% for archery. Solid opportunity numbers, mostly younger bucks.
- →Hunt the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area units (Gloyd Seeps, Quincy Lakes, Sun Lakes, Billy Clapp) for the public-land backbone
- →Glass shrub-steppe draws, coulee rims and the ag/CRP edges at first and last light
- →Time the hunt to weather — migrants pour into the unit only when snow pushes them off the Waterville Plateau and Beezley Hills
- →Line up private-land permission or Feel Free to Hunt / Written Permission ground to reach the best-fed deer
Cougar
limited opportunityDistrict 5's small cougar population and low annual harvest (typically under 10 for the district) come mostly from GMU 272 and the Beezley Hills. The Beezley Hills, Moses Coulee edge and Crab Creek drainage above Stratford are the likeliest spots to cut a track.
- →Focus the Beezley Hills and Crab Creek breaks where cats follow deer
- →Wait for fresh snow and track on foot — the only reliable method here
- →Keep expectations realistic; this is a low-density, incidental cougar hunt
Whitetail Deer
limited lowA few white-tailed deer use riparian and wetland corridors in the basin, but mule deer overwhelmingly dominate the harvest. Incidental only.
- →Check dense riparian brush along Crab Creek and the seep-lake wetlands
- →Expect them as a bonus during the mule deer hunt
Rocky Mountain Elk
transient lowThere is no resident elk herd in GMU 272 — WDFW notes elk populations in the district are small and dispersed, with only a handful (about 10) harvested from the unit in a season. Elk are a rare, private-land-dependent chance, not a herd hunt.
- →Treat elk as an opportunistic long shot; seek permission on private ag ground where scattered elk turn up
- →Do not plan a trip around elk in this unit
Pro tips
- →Build a public hunt around the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area units — Gloyd Seeps, Quincy Lakes, Sun Lakes and Billy Clapp put ~53,000 huntable acres inside the unit
- →Watch the forecast: the migrant mule deer influx is entirely weather-driven, so a snow event up on the plateau is your signal to hunt
- →Ownership is heavily checkerboarded — run GPS/onX with land layers and expect public and private to interleave constantly
- →Check for Register to Hunt sites and sign in at the parking-area box; some wildlife-area units require it
- →For the best-fed resident deer, secure Feel Free to Hunt or Hunt by Written Permission ground before the opener
Watch out for
- !About 84% of the unit is private — no permission means no hunt on most of the ground; the size of the GMU is misleading
- !Heavily checkerboarded public/private ownership makes accidental trespass easy without a mapping app
- !Deer Area 2010 (Lakeview) inside GMU 272 has special crop-damage antlerless rules — verify current regulations
- !Best deer years hinge on snow; a mild winter means far fewer migrant deer and a slower hunt
- !Some public units carry waterfowl/upland traffic and Register to Hunt or regulated-access rules — read the site signs
Logistics
This large unit is well-served by Basin towns: Ephrata, Soap Lake, Moses Lake and Quincy all have fuel, groceries and lodging, with Coulee City and Electric City covering the north end. I-90 and SR-17/SR-28 make the unit easy to reach and drive. Camping is available at Columbia Basin Wildlife Area sites and Sun Lakes–Dry Falls State Park. Cell coverage is generally good near the towns and highway corridors.
Nearest towns: Ephrata, Soap Lake, Moses Lake, Quincy, Coulee City, Electric City
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Washington sources:
Research sources: WDFW 2024 District 5 Hunting Prospects (Grant & Adams counties) · WDFW Game Management Units · Washington Unit 272 — Beezley (GOHUNT)
FAQ
- How big is GMU 272 in Washington?
- GMU 272 (Beezley) covers about 1,775 square miles, ranging from roughly 500 to 2,800 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in GMU 272?
- Approximately 16% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: Private (dryland & irrigated ag), WDFW Columbia Basin Wildlife Area, WDNR, BLM, US Bureau of Reclamation. Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for GMU 272?
- Mule Deer, Cougar, Whitetail Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Washington agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put GMU 272 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.