Oregon › Hunting seasons › Units › Warner Unit
Lake district · WMU 74
What you can hunt in the Warner Unit (74)
ODFW draws the Warner Unit at 590,812 acres in Lake County; 15 hunt numbers from the 2026 booklets reach inside its lines.
Photo: Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington (CC BY 2.0)
Counties inside the Warner Unit
Lake County carries 921 of the 921 square miles inside WMU 74, which ODFW files with Eastern Oregon for deer and elk seasons. The whole Warner Unit falls inside Lake County, so one county page covers its towns and services.
| County | Overlap sq mi | Part of unit | Part of county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County | 921.0 | 100% | 11% |
Questions about access, closures or animal numbers in the Warner Unit go to the Lake district office in Lakeview and Summer Lake (541-947-2950), which manages 100% of the unit.
| District | Office | Phone | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake | Lakeview and Summer Lake | 541-947-2950 | 100% |
Area, side, county overlap and districts from the ODFW Wildlife Management Units layer and the ODFW wildlife district layer (overlay with Census county lines; GIS measures); closed places from the big game regulations and land manager sources; checked November 8, 2026.
Warner Unit cougar zone, rifle limits and roads
- Cougar: the Warner Unit belongs to Zone F (Southeast Oregon), whose 2026 mortality quota is 140 cats across 11 units; the zone shuts when the quota is met. In 2025 the hunts in this unit reported 2 cougars from 30 hunters.
- The 2026 deer reorganisation puts the Warner Unit inside DeGarmo (DO: DO01, DO02); buck tags name the hunt area, not the unit.
- ODFW lists the Warner Unit under the centerfire rifle restriction for Eastern Buck Deer, Rocky Mtn Bull Elk 1st Season and Rocky Mtn Bull Elk 2nd Season; coyote and other hunters need a valid big game tag to use one then.
- No travel management area names the Warner Unit.
- None of the counties in the Warner Unit is in a goose zone defined by county; ODFW maps the rest, and duck Zones 1 and 2, only on its map.
- ODFW's game bird hours zone: Zone C (Lake).
- ODFW tests deer and elk for CWD and has not found it in Oregon.
| Centerfire rifle limit |
|---|
Eastern Buck Deer (Oct. 3 – Oct. 14) |
Rocky Mtn Bull Elk (controlled) 1st Season (Oct. 28 – Nov. 1) |
Rocky Mtn Bull Elk 2nd Season (Nov. 7 – Nov. 15) |
| Herd range | Code | 2026 hunt areas |
|---|---|---|
| DeGarmo | DO | DO01, DO02 |
Cougar zones, Eastern Oregon Deer Hunt Areas, centerfire rifle restrictions, travel management areas, antlerless elk damage areas, goose zones, game bird hours and CWD testing from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; checked November 8, 2026.
Warner Unit draw list
15 hunt numbers from the 2026 booklets reach into the Warner Unit, carrying 1,467 big game tags between them; buck deer has the most (3). Busiest application in the unit: 474A, 2,459 first choices for 53 tags. Hardest to draw by ratio is 574: about 1152 first choices per tag. 3 of the hunts here are new this year. An asterisk marks 2 hunts open in only part of their area; read the hunt description first.
Party applications draw together or not at all, with preference points averaged. Dates are the 2026 hunts, since ODFW has not published 2027 big game rules.
Buck deer, 100 series (3)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DO101 new | DeGarmo 01 | Any legal weapon | Oct 3–14 | One buck with visible antler | 165 | — | 70, 74 |
| DO101R new | DeGarmo 01 Bow | Archery | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One buck with visible antler | 88 | — | 70, 74 |
| DO101T new | DeGarmo 01 Youth | Youth only | Sep 28–Oct 14 | One buck with visible antler | 21 | — | 70, 74 |
Premium deer, L hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDO01 | DeGarmo 01 | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30 | One animal (either sex); premium deer tags are good for any species of deer hunted in that unit | 1 | — | 74, 70 |
Elk, 200 series (3)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200R * | Oregon Youth Bow | Youth only | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One elk | 330 | 124 | 62 units |
| 274X | Warner Unit No. 1 | Any legal weapon | Oct 28–Nov 1 | One bull elk | 55 | 66 | This unit only |
| 274Y | Warner Unit No. 2 | Any legal weapon | Nov 7–15 | One bull elk | 55 | 53 | This unit only |
Premium elk, M hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M74 | Warner | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30 | One animal (either sex); premium deer tags are good for any species of deer hunted in that unit | 1 | — | This unit only |
Pronghorn, 400 series (3)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 474A | Warner Unit No. 1 | Any legal weapon | Aug 15–23 | One buck pronghorn | 53 | 2,459 | This unit only |
| 474B | Warner Unit No. 2 | Any legal weapon | Aug 26–Sep 3 | One buck pronghorn | 53 | 1,355 | This unit only |
| 474R | Warner Unit Bow | Archery | Aug 6–14 | One pronghorn either sex | 38 | 422 | This unit only |
Premium pronghorn, N hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N74 | Warner | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30 | One animal (either sex); premium deer tags are good for any species of deer hunted in that unit | 1 | — | This unit only |
California bighorn, 500 series (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 574 | Warner Unit | Any legal weapon | Aug 15–Sep 14 | — | 1 | 1,152 | This unit only |
Spring bear, 2026 hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 731A * | S Central | Any legal weapon | Apr 1–May 31 | — | 605 | 533 | 31, 32, 33, 74, 75, 76, 77 |
Sage-grouse permits (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Permits 2025 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J74 | Warner Unit | Controlled (permit) | Sep 12–20 | — | 80 | 172 | This unit only |
Hunt numbers, dates, bags, 2026 tags and 2025 first-choice applicants from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations and the 2026-27 game bird regulations (sage-grouse); hunt areas from ODFW’s 2026 hunt boundary layers; draw rules from the controlled hunt pages; checked November 8, 2026.
Warner Unit hunt calendar
Eastern Oregon buck deer is controlled only, so the general rows for the Warner Unit (3) cover elk, black bear and cougar. General elk in WMU 74 means Archery elk – Eastern Oregon.
General seasons (3)
| Species | Season | Tag | Area | Dates | Bag | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | General archery elk – Eastern Oregon | General tag | Units 31-34, 39, 74, 75, 76 and Unit 77 west of Hwy 97 | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One bull elk | |
| Black bear | General fall black bear (statewide) | General tag | Statewide | Aug 1–Dec 31 | One bear per tag; unlawful to take cubs less than one year old or sows with cubs less than one year old | |
| Cougar | General cougar (statewide, zone quotas) | General tag | Statewide | Jan 1–Dec 31 | One cougar per tag; unlawful to take spotted kittens or females with spotted kittens |
Game birds, furbearers and small game add 18 more rows; most need a hunting license plus a validation or a furtaker's license. 14 falconry and pursuit rows are not shown.
Birds, small game, furbearers (18)
| Species | Season | Tag | Area | Dates | Bag | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Turkey | Spring 2027: youth spring wild turkey hunt | General tag | Statewide | Apr 10–11 Apr 15–May 31 | One male or bearded turkey per day | |
| Wild Turkey | Spring 2027: spring wild turkey | General tag | Statewide | Apr 15–May 31 | One male wild turkey or a wild turkey with a visible beard per day; season limit 3 | |
| Western Gray Squirrel | Western gray squirrel – remainder of state | License | Statewide | Sep 1–Nov 15 | 5 daily, 15 in possession | |
| Ruffed Grouse | Ruffed grouse | Validation | Statewide | Sep 1–Jan 31 2027 | 3 daily, 9 in possession | |
| Blue Grouse | Blue grouse (dusky and sooty) | Validation | Statewide | Sep 1–Jan 31 2027 | 3 daily, 9 in possession | |
| Chukar | Partridge (chukar and Hungarian combined) | Validation | Statewide | Oct 10–Jan 31 2027 | 8 daily, 24 in possession (combined) | |
| Hungarian Partridge | Partridge (chukar and Hungarian combined) | Validation | Statewide | Oct 10–Jan 31 2027 | 8 daily, 24 in possession (combined) | |
| Pheasant | Rooster pheasant | Validation | Statewide | Oct 10–Dec 31 | 2 daily, 8 in possession | |
| Ducks | Youth waterfowl hunt (ducks, mergansers, coots, geese) | Validation | Statewide | Sep 26–27 | Regular bag limits | |
| Ducks | Veterans and active military personnel waterfowl hunt | Validation | Statewide | Feb 6 | Regular bag limits | |
| Band-tailed Pigeon | Band-tailed pigeon | Permit | Statewide | Sep 15–23 | 2 daily, 6 in possession | |
| Crow | Crow | Validation | Statewide | Oct 1–Jan 31 2027 | No limit | |
| Brant | Brant | Permit | Statewide | Nov 28–Dec 13 | 2 daily, 6 in possession | |
| Gray Fox | Gray fox | Furtaker | Statewide | Oct 15–Feb 28 2027 | — | |
| Muskrat | Muskrat and mink | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 31 2027 | — | |
| Mink | Muskrat and mink | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 31 2027 | — | |
| Raccoon | Raccoon | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 15 2027 | — | |
| River Otter | River otter | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 15 2027 | — |
Season rows from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations, the 2026-27 Oregon Game Bird Hunting Regulations and the furbearer regulations; general tag deadlines from the general season page; duck and dove zones on the ODFW waterfowl map; checked November 8, 2026.
Warner Unit success rates, 2025
Pronghorn led the 2025 results in the Warner Unit with 107 animals and 131 hunters afield.
For buck deer, any weapon the unit total is 83 of 144 hunters (58%). For elk, any weapon the unit total is 5 of 73 hunters (7%).
Success is the share of hunters who took an animal, as printed by ODFW.
| Report | Hunt | Hunters | Taken | Success |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buck deer, any weapon | 174A N Warner | 24 | 18 | 77% |
| Buck deer, any weapon | 174B S Warner | 104 | 53 | 51% |
| Buck deer, any weapon | 174T Warner Unit Youth | 16 | 12 | 77% |
| Deer, archery | 174R1 N Warner Bow | 24 | 11 | 44% |
| Deer, archery | 174R2 S Warner Bow | 36 | 10 | 27% |
| Elk, any weapon | 274X Warner Unit No. 1 | 31 | 4 | 14% |
| Elk, any weapon | 274Y Warner Unit No. 2 | 42 | 1 | 3% |
| Elk, archery | Eastern Elk Archery | 38 | 5 | 14% |
| Pronghorn | 474A Warner Unit No. 1 | 48 | 47 | 98% |
| Pronghorn | 474B Warner Unit No. 2 | 51 | 47 | 93% |
| Pronghorn | 474R Warner Unit Bow | 32 | 13 | 41% |
| Black bear | 731A South Central | 27 | 4 | 16% |
| Black bear | Additional Fall Bear | 5 | 2 | 33.3% |
| Black bear | Fall Bear | 58 | 12 | 20.5% |
| Cougar | Cougar | 30 | 2 | 5% |
| Bighorn sheep | 574 Warner Unit | 1 tags | 1 | 100% |
ODFW 2025 harvest estimates: Buck deer, any weapon, Deer, archery, Elk, any weapon, Elk, archery, Pronghorn, Black bear, Cougar, Bighorn sheep; checked November 8, 2026.
Public land across the Warner Unit
The Warner Unit overlaps 4 mapped lands, from wildlife areas (0) to forest units (2) and BLM ground (2). Also present: Bureau of Land Management Oregon public lands.
BLM Lakeview District
BLM Lakeview Field Office
Fremont-Winema National Forest
Land records and unit overlaps from ODFW, USFS, BLM, USFWS and ODF layers (see each land page); A&H and Open Fields access rules on the ODFW access program pages; checked November 8, 2026.
Sun and shooting hours for the Warner Unit
ODFW lets game mammals be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; around the Warner Unit that window is worked out here with the NOAA solar formula for this spot.
| Day | Note | Sunup | Sundown | Big game | Game birds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2026 | Archery opener | 6:23 a.m. | 7:44 p.m. | 5:53 a.m. to 8:14 p.m. | Not in table |
| Oct 3, 2026 | Eastern buck rifle | 7:00 a.m. | 6:42 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. to 7:12 p.m. | 6:37 a.m. to 6:36 p.m. |
| Oct 10, 2026 | Duck opener and upland opener | 7:08 a.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 6:38 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. | 6:45 a.m. to 6:24 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:28 a.m. | 4:32 p.m. | 6:58 a.m. to 5:02 p.m. | 7:02 a.m. to 4:33 p.m. |
| Apr 15, 2027 | Spring turkey | 6:23 a.m. | 7:42 p.m. | 5:53 a.m. to 8:12 p.m. | Not in table |
Hours rules from the ODFW general hunting regulations; game bird times from the 2026-27 game bird shooting hours table; mammal sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Pacific Time); checked November 8, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Warner Unit neighbours and towns
For fuel, food and a room near the Warner Unit, look at Lakeview and Plush.
If tags in the Warner Unit run short, these units share its counties:
| Nearby unit | Shared counties | Sq mi | Hunts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate Unit | Lake | 2,192 | 19 |
| Silver Lake Unit | Lake | 956 | 14 |
| Wagontire Unit | Lake | 3,109 | 21 |
| Beatys Butte Unit | Lake | 2,626 | 31 |
| Fort Rock Unit | Lake | 1,762 | 21 |
| Juniper Unit | Lake | 2,920 | 28 |
| Silvies Unit | Lake | 1,788 | 27 |
| Paulina Unit | Lake | 2,173 | 15 |
Towns and their units from Census places and the ODFW unit layer; checked November 8, 2026.
Warner Unit questions
Where can I get fuel and food near the Warner Unit?
Lakeview and Plush.
How many land pages on this site touch the Warner Unit?
4.
Which ODFW office covers the Warner Unit?
Lakeview and Summer Lake, for 100% of the unit.
What did 2025 hunts in the Warner Unit take?
107 in pronghorn, the largest report.
Is the Warner Unit in Western or Eastern Oregon?
Eastern Oregon; unit 74 is filed with the ODFW East Region.
Which herd range is the Warner Unit in?
DeGarmo.
Can I hunt the Warner Unit without drawing a tag?
Yes, for elk, black bear and cougar on general tags.
Do I need preference points to hunt the Warner Unit?
For deer, elk, pronghorn and spring bear, points decide 75% of first-choice tags; general tags here need none.
How many road closure areas are in the Warner Unit?
None.
Can I use dogs for cougar in the Warner Unit?
No. Dogs are not allowed; Zone F is a general tag hunt.
Answers drawn from the ODFW sources cited on this page; checked November 8, 2026.
Other photos on this page: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (CC BY-SA 2.0).