GMU 329 Quilomene

Part of the roughly 4,000-head Colockum elk herd, which carries a reputation for high-quality bulls — 329 sits in the district's Colockum quality-bull country. A 2023 winter survey put the herd at about 24 bulls:100 cows, exceeding objective and prompting nearly doubled special bull permits. In this open shrubsteppe, elk are sparser than in the timbered Yakima-herd units during the season, holding in cover and drainages or drifting toward private land; numbers swell as snow pushes animals down from surrounding mountains.

• →Glass big from the open sage benches and coulee rims at first and last light — this is optics country where you can cover miles
• →Once seasons open, hunt drainages that hold cover far from Green Dot roads; elk seek security away from the road corridors
• →Watch the snowline — early storms shift Colockum elk down toward the Columbia breaks and concentrate them
• →Opening weekend is crowded; the last days of modern firearm or the quieter archery/muzzleloader seasons offer a better-quality hunt
• →Consider the Wild Horse Wind Farm Hunt-by-Reservation ground for lower-pressure access

GMU 329 is District 8's standout black bear unit — it posted the district's highest bear success rate in the 2023 season (about 12 bears from ~90 hunters, roughly a 13% success rate) far above the district norm. Bears concentrate in the forested western and higher north end where berry and mast feed is best in fall.

• →Scout the forested western fringe and higher draws for ripening berries and other fall bear feed, then glass those openings dawn and dusk
• →Sit productive feed rather than covering ground — patience on a berry patch beats walking the open sage
• →Combine with a deer or elk hunt; even a top bear unit rewards time behind glass
• →Do not shoot a sow with cubs — fall females are often trailed by lagging cubs (30-50 lbs)

The unit anchors the Quilomene bighorn herd (Sheep Unit 13 spans GMUs 329, 330, and part of 251) — District 8 holds more than 70% of Washington's bighorns. This is a permit-only, ram-only hunt and a genuine trophy tag; sheep hold on the shrubsteppe-and-rocky-cliff breaks above the Columbia and can often be glassed from the river.

• →The best approach into the core sheep country is by boat on the Columbia River to foot trails — road access to the breaks is limited
• →Glass the rocky cliffsides and rimrock from the river or the benches above; rams are in rut mid-October through November and move more then
• →Treat this as a scout-heavy, once-in-a-lifetime tag — put in days learning the breaks before the opener
• →Report any sick or dead sheep to WDFW; the herd is monitored and some animals carry collars/ear tags (legal to harvest, return the collar)

Mule deer occur throughout but sightings are limited and deer are challenging to locate here — there are days when nothing gets glassed up. Numbers improve when snow concentrates deer lower toward the river. A general-season opportunity unit rather than a numbers unit.

• →Cover ground with optics from the coulee rims and sage benches at first and last light; the sage is tall enough to hide bedded deer
• →Hunt the timber-to-sage transition on the western fringe and brushy draws for midday security
• →Time later hunts to a snow event that pushes deer down toward the Columbia
• →Be willing to walk into the broken breaks away from roads — the country is more rugged than it looks and holds deer off the beaten spurs

Cougars follow the deer, elk, and bighorn prey base across this big public block. Most are taken opportunistically by big-game hunters carrying a cougar tag; the season is harvest-cap managed and can close, so check status before and during your hunt.

• →Carry a cougar tag during general deer and elk seasons for the opportunistic encounter
• →After a fresh snow at the higher west end, cut Green Dot roads and ridgelines for tracks to follow up
• →Hunt where prey concentrates — the drainages and breaks holding deer and elk
• →Check the cap-managed hunt-area status regularly; areas can close mid-season