GMU 621 Olympic

A top blacktail unit: the mid and lower elevations of 621 hold high deer densities, and the GMU posts District 16's highest buck harvest (460 state bucks in 2024, plus tribal). Deer are readily observed — often in groups near farmland in the Dungeness/Sequim lowlands where they're a nuisance — and there's an early-archery Olympic Wilderness high-buck hunt (shared with GMUs 627/633) for the high country. This is the primary reason to hunt 621.

• →Work the mid- and lower-elevation forest openings and clearcut/regen edges where deer densities are highest; glass at first and last light.
• →For a backcountry buck, hunt the September Olympic Wilderness high-buck hunt in the alpine near the ONP boundary.
• →In the Dungeness/Sequim lowlands, deer concentrate near farmland — but you'll need private-land permission and must check local firearm restrictions.
• →Many gated DNR and timber roads are open to foot or mountain bike — pedal in past the crowds to less-pressured deer.
• →Time the late-October/early-November rut for mature bucks moving in daylight.

The district's standout bear unit — District 15/16 bear harvest is usually highest in GMU 621 (40 bears in 2024, roughly double the prior year). WDFW notes 621 offers the most accessible public land in the district for bears, and hunting the higher-elevation huckleberry patches is a strong strategy. Bears are common but hard to spot in the thick east-Olympic cover.

• →Hunt the higher-elevation huckleberry patches on USFS/wilderness ground in early fall — WDFW's recommended 621 bear strategy.
• →Glass clearcuts and regen openings full of berry shrubs at dawn and dusk on the lower timberland.
• →Find fresh sign (scat, torn bark, flipped logs) in a berry-rich opening, then sit long watches rather than covering ground.
• →Use the good public access — pedal or hike gated USFS/DNR roads into berry country away from roadside pressure.

Part of the Olympic elk herd, but hunting is by special bull permit only (three-point minimum) — the entire GMU is permit-only for state elk, with only a handful of modern-firearm/archery/muzzleloader permits (reduced in 2025). The most reliable groups live along four Hood Canal drainages: the Dosewallips and Duckabush (most consistently found, low valleys and ridges year-round), plus the Hamma Hamma and North Fork Skokomish/Lilliwaup Swamp (increasingly hard to find as elk shift into ONP). Heavy tribal harvest overlap.

• →This is a draw hunt — apply for the special bull permit; there is no general-season elk opportunity in 621.
• →If you draw, focus first on the Dosewallips and Duckabush valleys and adjacent ridges, where elk are most reliably found year-round.
• →Check the North Fork Skokomish/Staircase and Lilliwaup Swamp on decent USFS/DNR public access, but expect elk to spend more time in the closed park.
• →Scout the private-ag margins for damage-pattern groups, but you'll need landowner permission to hunt them.
• →Plan around heavy tribal elk harvest, which can equal or exceed state harvest in this unit.

GMU 621 consistently has the district's highest cougar harvest, riding on its strong deer and elk numbers. Most cats are taken opportunistically by deer and elk hunters. The hunt area is harvest-cap managed (PMU/CHMU spanning 621/624) and can close mid-season once the guideline is met.

• →Carry the tag and treat cougar as a bonus while glassing for deer and bear — where prey concentrates, cats follow.
• →After a fresh snow, cut roads, landings, and ridge saddles for tracks to follow up.
• →Hunt the deer-dense mid/lower elevations for the best odds of crossing a cat.
• →Watch the cap-managed hunt-area status closely — it can close before season's end.