GMU 530 Ryderwood

One of District 10's top blacktail units — GMU 530 posted among the district's highest buck harvests in 2024, with a 5-year modern-firearm average of roughly 520 bucks at ~27% success and about 31% of the harvest being three-point-or-better. Blacktail numbers across the district are trending up on a run of mild winters, and 530 shares in that. Plenty of deer and a real shot at a mature buck by westside standards, though the thick cover keeps them hard-won.

• →Glass fresh-to-mid-age clearcuts and replanted units at first and last light where bucks feed on new growth before slipping back to timber.
• →Hunt the late buck season, when the rut coincides with cooler, wetter still-hunting weather — a large share of the annual harvest comes then.
• →Still-hunt slowly through second-growth and brush stringers on damp, quiet mornings; wet duff lets you move silently.
• →Get off the open mainlines — pressure spikes opening weekend, then drops fast for anyone who walks into back cuts and gated ground.
• →Watch transition edges between cuts and standing timber and pinch points along creek drainages.

GMU 530 holds a good and, per spring-2025 surveys, increasing Roosevelt elk population — one of the district's higher general-season elk producers, with roughly 80 elk taken at about 10% success (among the best elk success rates in District 10). Unlike the storm-battered Mount St. Helens units to the east, the Willapa-side herds here stay more stable through mild coastal winters. Still a challenging general bull hunt, but honest opportunity for a persistent hunter.

• →Locate herds in and around clearcuts and replants where elk feed heavily on grass and seedlings; sign builds fast in active feeding cuts.
• →Glass big cuts and openings at dawn/dusk, then still-hunt timbered benches and creek bottoms where herds bed by day.
• →Run the road network to cut fresh sign, then commit on foot to the drainage holding the herd rather than waiting on one cut.
• →Find the cows and the bulls follow, especially as the rut winds down into the general season.
• →Inspect harvested elk hooves and follow WDFW guidance on reporting and leaving TAHD-affected hooves in the field.

Black bear are common across this productive, brushy coast-range habitat — 530 is a consistent District 10 bear producer (roughly 20+ bears taken annually). The wet climate and abundant berry-and-greenup feed support solid densities, making it a reasonable opportunity bear unit.

• →Glass clearcuts and reprod for bears feeding on grass and forbs early, then on ripening berries (salmonberry, huckleberry, blackberry) later.
• →Watch sunny cut faces and edges morning and evening.
• →Cover roads to spot feeding bears in openings, then make a careful, wind-conscious stalk.
• →Look along creek bottoms and skid roads where forage and travel concentrate.

Cougars are present unit-wide, following the strong deer and elk prey base. Most are taken incidentally by deer and elk hunters; the general season runs Sept. 1 through March 31 or until the Cougar Hunt Management Unit harvest cap is met, so verify the CHMU is open before and during your hunt.

• →Hunt cougar in conjunction with deer/elk seasons — cats hold where prey concentrates.
• →Cut for tracks on muddy and snow-dusted logging roads after weather; look for four-claw raking on trees.
• →Focus on rugged, brushy drainages near deer wintering ground.
• →Call the WDFW Cougar Hotline or check the online CHMU status (updated Thursdays) before hunting.