GMU 666 Deschutes

Black-tailed deer are the mainstay here. WDFW reports GMU 666 hunter success above 30% — among the highest in District 11 and well above the 15% of the eastern forest units — driven by good deer numbers on fragmented private land and limited hunter access. Harvest has held steady over recent years. The catch is that the high success is largely realized by hunters who have secured private-land permission.

• →Line up private-land permission early — success here tracks access more than deer density; knock on doors weeks before the opener.
• →Hunt field edges, oak woodlands, riparian bottoms, and the brushy interface between farmland and cover where blacktails feed and bed.
• →Work the rut, late October into early November, when bucks move and cross open ground.
• →Use Scatter Creek Wildlife Area and JBLM (iSportsman) as your public fallback, and glass the forested western foothills for cover-holding deer.
• →Mind Thurston County no-shooting/controlled-shooting zones — much of this developed unit restricts firearm discharge, so archery may be the tool for close-to-town parcels.

GMU 666 carries Roosevelt elk associated with the Rainier elk herds, but as damage-area animals: elk have increased on private farmlands from the Capitol State Forest foothills east to Delphi Road SW and Waddell Creek Road SW. General-season elk harvest across the 652/666/667 population unit has been stable to slightly increasing, so WDFW considers prospects good — but only for hunters who secure private access. Overall unit harvest stays low because there are relatively few elk and the private ground is hard to reach.

• →Get private-land permission in the Capitol Forest foothill/Delphi Road/Waddell Creek damage zones well before the season — access is the entire game.
• →Scout the ag/forest interface where elk leave cover to feed on fields and power-line openings (e.g., off Delphi Road SW).
• →Consider damage-oriented and Master Hunter permit opportunities WDFW uses to address off-refuge elk conflict, and be ready to hunt on short notice.
• →Remember elk may not be hunted on the USFWS Black River refuge (former Weaks Dairy); hunt the surrounding permitted private ground instead.

Black bears are present but this urbanized, low-elevation unit is not a bear destination — hunter success in the Puget Sound bear unit runs low, and 666 is on the light end (roughly 4% success). Take bear as an incidental opportunity, not a target hunt.

• →Hunt bear opportunistically while deer or elk hunting the forested western foothills.
• →Glass regen cuts and berry-brush edges in the Capitol Forest fringe at dawn and dusk.
• →Expect low odds; the district's better bear ground is the higher, more forested eastern GMUs.

Cougars range through the unit and are taken mostly incidentally. WDFW manages 652/666 as a paired cougar area, and this pairing has carried no cougar harvest cap in recent seasons — but always confirm the current season status and rules before hunting.

• →Carry the tag as an opportunistic add-on while deer and elk hunting.
• →Hunt where deer concentrate along the forest/farm interface; cats follow the prey.
• →Confirm the current cougar season status and any area rules before and during your hunt.
• →After a low-elevation snow, cut the forested-fringe road grid for fresh tracks.