GMU 407 North Sound

GMU 407 is the top deer-harvest unit in District 14 by a wide margin — 555 deer taken in 2024 (63 does, 492 bucks), roughly 63% of the district harvest. As the most urbanized unit in the district, parts of it hold high local deer densities that even cause property damage. The difference-maker versus neighboring GMUs is more hunting days, higher densities, and easier access — but the real key to filling a tag is landowner permission and pre-season scouting. Most bucks are young; this is an opportunity/volume unit rather than a trophy unit.

• →Solve access first — secure written permission on private farm-forest ground before the opener; that's where the deer and the days are.
• →Hunt field-and-timber edges, brushy riparian bottoms, and blackberry/regen tangles at first and last light.
• →Work the DNR Van Zandt Dike property and other enrolled Private Lands Access sites for public/permitted options.
• →Hunt away from roads and other hunters once on the ground — pressure is real on the easy-access spots.
• →In developed areas, verify firearm restrictions (west of Hwy 9/203) and local ordinances before carrying a firearm afield.

GMU 407 offers a general-season 3-point-minimum bull elk opportunity on the edge of the North Cascades (Nooksack) Roosevelt elk herd — one of only two District 14 units (with 448) with an over-the-counter elk tag. The herd sits around 1,600 animals, below WDFW's 1,700-2,000 objective, and densities in 407 are low. Still, 407 out-produces 448: in 2024 hunters reported 8 cows and 13 bulls taken here. Most elk concentrate in and around Acme Valley, with scattered animals west of the South Fork Nooksack and north of Van Zandt.

• →Center your effort on Acme Valley, where most of the unit's elk live — and where private-land permission is often decisive.
• →Scout the DNR Van Zandt Dike property for public-land elk, staying inside the DNR boundary and out of GMU 418.
• →Glass agricultural edges and forested valley pockets early and late.
• →Expect low densities and hunting pressure that can shove elk into adjacent closed GMUs — hunt the timing and the security cover.

Black bears are hunted across the District 14 lowlands and foothills; 190 bears were taken across GMUs 407, 418, 426, and 437 in fall 2024 at about a 14% success rate, though the bulk of that harvest came from GMU 418 to the east. In 407, bear success tracks berry production and behind-gate access more than anything. Note the grizzly-recovery area lies in neighboring GMUs 418 and 426 (not 407), but hunters near that eastern edge should be bear-ID sharp.

• →Target younger-age-class clearcuts and regen behind gated timber roads reachable by foot or mountain bike.
• →Time hunts to peak berry production — blackberry, salmonberry, huckleberry.
• →Glass open cuts and edges at dawn and dusk for feeding bears.
• →If hunting the eastern edge toward the grizzly-recovery GMUs, be able to distinguish black from grizzly bears; submit the required premolar tooth after harvest.

Cougars are present throughout the unit and available on an over-the-counter tag, but hunting is opportunistic — most cats are taken by hunters who happen upon them while after deer. GMU 407 runs a harvest cap of 6 cougars and can close mid-season once the cap (all human-caused mortality) is reached, so verify status before and during your hunt.

• →Add the cougar species option to your license and treat cats as a bonus while deer hunting.
• →Hunt where black-tailed deer concentrate — the cougars' primary prey.
• →Call the cougar hotline or check the WDFW closure page (updated Thursdays) to confirm the cap-managed area is still open.
• →Cut fresh snow and soft ground along field-timber edges for tracks.