City in Deschutes County
Bend, Oregon hunting guide
From Bend: Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District (Deschutes National Forest) less than a mile out, 9 public areas within 25 miles and 2 hunting units inside 10.
Photo: Bonnie Moreland (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Bend public land, nearest first
5 hunting places have a boundary inside the 10-mile ring of Bend, and 9 reach into the 25-mile ring. Acreage around Bend: 80,289 within 10 miles and 838,378 within 25, summed from mapped layers with reservation, national park, military and Reclamation ground kept out.
The nearest place with no access caution is Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District (Deschutes National Forest), less than a mile out; its status cell reads "open in season". Bend made this list as the base town for Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District (Deschutes National Forest), 0.5 mi from the town point. Crooked River National Grassland (23 mi) rounds off the 25-mile table, which spans 6 kinds of public ground.
| Place | Category | From town | Zone | ODFW units | Rule summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bend/Fort Rock district | Ranger district | 0.5 mi | Within 10 | McKenzie, Upper Deschutes + | Open in season |
| Deschutes National Forest | National forest | 0.5 mi | Within 10 | Santiam, McKenzie + | Open in season |
| Deschutes (BLM) | BLM field office | 5.3 mi | Within 10 | Upper Deschutes, Paulina + | Open unless posted |
| BLM Prineville District | BLM district | 5.3 mi | Within 10 | Upper Deschutes, Paulina + | Open unless posted |
| BLM lands statewide | BLM land (statewide) | 5.3 mi | Within 10 | Scappoose, Wilson + | Open unless posted |
| Sisters district | Ranger district | 10 mi | Within 25 | Santiam, McKenzie + | Open in season |
| McKenzie River district | Ranger district | 23 mi | Within 25 | Santiam, McKenzie + | Open in season |
| Willamette National Forest | National forest | 23 mi | Within 25 | Santiam, McKenzie + | Open in season |
| Crooked River National Grassland | National grassland | 23 mi | Within 25 | Grizzly, Metolius | Open in season |
Rings and distances from places.json (lands.json boundaries to the Census point of Bend); access cells from each record’s own rule text (the 2026 ODFW wildlife area regulations and OAR 635-008 for wildlife areas, USFS, BLM and ODF pages, 50 CFR 32.56 for refuges, the ODFW Access and Habitat and Open Fields pages). GIS acres are not official acreage. Checked November 8, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Bend
Wildlife management units at Bend
Hunt numbers for ground right around Bend are written for the Upper Deschutes Unit; the Paulina Unit sits inside 10 miles too. The unit spreads over Deschutes, Klamath and Lane counties, the largest share (85.9%) in Deschutes.
| Unit | Square miles | Counties touched | District | Cougar zone | West or East |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Deschutes Unit | 1,400 | Deschutes, Klamath + | Deschutes | C (80) | East |
| Paulina Unit | 2,173 | Deschutes, Lake + | Deschutes | C (80) | East |
Cougar hunting here counts toward Zone C (Southeast Cascades), which closes once 80 cougars are taken. Herd range and 2026 Deer Hunt Area for the Upper Deschutes Unit: Deschutes (DE01) and Devils Garden (DG01, DG02, DG03, DG04). The rifle rule touches the Upper Deschutes Unit: Eastern Buck Deer and Rocky Mtn Bull Elk.
Units from the ODFW Wildlife Management Unit layer and places.json; cougar zones from the 2026 cougar regulations; herd ranges from the Eastern Oregon Deer Hunt Areas; travel management, damage areas and rifle limits from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations. Checked November 8, 2026.
Bend close-in hunting places
The three nearest mapped places (statewide program records left out), with their size, units and rules:
Bend/Fort Rock district
Federal forest ground like this is open to licensed hunters in the ODFW seasons, as part of Deschutes National Forest.
Deschutes National Forest
National Forest System land is hunted under ODFW licenses and seasons.
Deschutes (BLM)
BLM land is open to hunting unless a closure is posted; crossing private land to reach it needs the owner's say-so.
From lands.json (2026 ODFW big game and game bird regulations, OAR 635-008, USFS, BLM, ODF, USFWS and ODFW Access and Habitat pages). Checked November 8, 2026.
Bend draw hunts by series
Within the units near Bend the 2026 draw offered 26 hunt numbers and 6,595 tags. Nonresidents can draw at most 5% of controlled deer, elk and bear tags and 3% of pronghorn tags. The 2027 hunt list is not published, so the 2026 hunts stand in here.
| Series | Hunts | Tag total | First-choice apps | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 buck deer | 7 | 3,455 | – | Aug 29, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 |
| 200 elk | 11 | 3,106 | 4,180 | Aug 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| 400 pronghorn | 3 | 29 | 752 | Aug 15, 2026 | Sep 6, 2026 |
| L premium deer | 2 | 2 | – | Aug 1, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 |
| M premium elk | 2 | 2 | – | Aug 1, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 |
| N premium pronghorn | 1 | 1 | – | Aug 1, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 |
1,300 hunters put 234X (E Central Cascades) first in 2025, the top 200 elk pick around Bend for 1,320 tags.
First 14 hunt numbers with ground in the Upper Deschutes Unit, sorted by series and opening day:
| Hunt no. | Hunt name | Type | Dates (2026) | Tags | 1st choice 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE101R | Deschutes 01 Bow | Archery | Aug 29-Sep 27 | 523 | – |
| DG102R | Devils Garden 02 Bow | Archery | Aug 29-Sep 27 | 385 | – |
| DG102T | Devils Garden 02 Youth | Youth only | Sep 28-Oct 14 | 28 | – |
| DE101 | Deschutes 01 | Any legal weapon | Oct 3-Oct 14 | 990 | – |
| DG102 | Devils Garden 02 | Any legal weapon | Oct 3-Oct 14 | 1,430 | – |
| DE101M | Deschutes 01 Muzzleloader | Muzzleloader | Oct 17-Oct 25 | 77 | – |
| DE101R1 | Late Deschutes 01 Bow | Archery | Nov 1-Nov 30 | 22 | – |
| 234T | E Central Cascades Youth | Youth only | Aug 15-Dec 31 | 55 | 135 |
| 200R | Oregon Youth Bow | Youth only | Aug 29-Sep 27 | 330 | 124 |
| 234R | Upper Deschutes Unit Bow | Archery | Aug 29-Sep 27 | 121 | 184 |
| 234X | E Central Cascades | Any legal weapon | Oct 28-Nov 1 | 1,320 | 1,300 |
| 234M | E Cascade Muzzleloader | Muzzleloader | Nov 7-Nov 15 | 198 | 462 |
| 234B | Tumalo | Any legal weapon | Nov 20-Dec 31 | 22 | 140 |
| LDE01 | Deschutes 01 | Premium | Aug 1-Nov 30 | 1 | – |
Hunt numbers, 2026 tags and 2025 first-choice applicants from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations; hunt areas from the ODFW 2026 controlled hunt boundary layers; draw rules from the controlled hunt application rules. Checked November 8, 2026.
Over-the-counter tags for Bend
The Upper Deschutes Unit is Eastern Oregon, where buck deer is controlled only: there is no general deer rifle tag, and hunts are drawn by herd range and Deer Hunt Area. Fall black bear runs August 1 to December 31, 2026 statewide, and cougar all year until the zone quota is reached.
| Species | General hunt | Zone | From | To | Right now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | Archery, East | 9 units | Aug 29, 2026 | Sep 27, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Fall, statewide | Statewide | Aug 1, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 | |
| Cougar | Year-round, quotas | Statewide | Jan 1, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 |
Quail opens October 10 on this side of the state; Deschutes County sits in bird hours Zone B.
General seasons from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations (tag sale deadlines); bird zones from the 2026-27 Oregon Game Bird Hunting Regulations (goose zones, hours zones). Checked November 8, 2026.
What Upper Deschutes Unit hunters took in 2025
Elk hunters with any legal weapon took 88 elk in the Upper Deschutes Unit in 2025.
| Hunt group | Hunters | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Buck deer, any weapon | 1,235 | 261 |
| Deer, archery | 272 | 75 |
| Elk, any weapon | 662 | 88 |
| Elk, archery | 288 | 32 |
| Elk, muzzleloader | 128 | 35 |
| Black bear | 290 | 18 |
| Cougar | 181 | 3 |
2025 ODFW harvest summaries (unit totals computed from the hunt rows): buck deer, any weapon, deer, archery, elk, any weapon, elk, archery, elk, muzzleloader, black bear, cougar. Checked November 8, 2026.
Offices and phone numbers for Bend
District for Bend: Deschutes (East Region). Nearest ODFW office: ODFW Bend Deschutes Watershed District Office, 2 miles. Wildlife managers in this region cover the east slope of the Cascades, the Klamath Basin, the high desert of the Great Basin, the Columbia Plateau and the Blue and Wallowa mountains.
ODFW offices from the ODFW Contact Us page and the ODFW offices layer (services.json); districts from the ODFW wildlife biologist districts layer; ranger district and BLM office addresses from the USFS and BLM office layers (places.json); straight-line distances. Checked November 8, 2026.
Hunting trade around Bend
Bend hunters have 24 stores for gear and 6 taxidermists inside 25 miles. The Marine Board outfitter roster has 63 hunting registrations whose guide areas reach Deschutes County.
Listings from Yellow Pages, store locators, the ODFW Contact Us page and the Oregon State Marine Board guide roster (services.json); chain stores left out and not every listing was checked as open, so call first. Checked November 8, 2026.
Hunting events within a short drive of Bend
Some 30 miles around Bend hold 1 date ahead; the kinds are RMEF big game banquet.
| Day | What | Away | Place | Next step | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 10, 2027 | RMEF Central Oregon Chapter Big Game Banquet type: RMEF big game banquet | 15 | Tickets | Source |
Bend shooters: the three nearest ranges
Bend Bowmen Archery Club is the quickest range run from Bend, about 4 miles.
Straight-line miles from the town centre; ranges checked November 8, 2026.
Sun and shooting hours for Bend
Oregon clocks fall back on November 1, 2026 and spring forward on March 14, 2027, so the Bend times below jump an hour across those dates.
| Day | Why it matters | Sun up | Sun down | Deer and elk | Upland and ducks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2026 | Archery opener | 6:24 a.m. | 7:49 p.m. | 5:54 a.m. to 8:19 p.m. | Not in table |
| Oct 3, 2026 | Eastern buck rifle | 7:04 a.m. | 6:45 p.m. | 6:34 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. | 6:38 a.m. to 6:34 p.m. |
| Oct 10, 2026 | Duck opener and upland opener | 7:12 a.m. | 6:32 p.m. | 6:42 a.m. to 7:02 p.m. | 6:46 a.m. to 6:22 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:37 a.m. | 4:29 p.m. | 7:07 a.m. to 4:59 p.m. | 7:15 a.m. to 4:37 p.m. |
| Apr 15, 2027 | Spring turkey | 6:24 a.m. | 7:47 p.m. | 5:54 a.m. to 8:17 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.
Hunting around Bend, answered
Do I need a draw tag for cougar or bear near Bend?
No, both have general tags; spring bear is the only drawn bear hunt. Cougar here counts toward Zone C.
Where do I check in a bear or cougar near Bend?
At an ODFW office or collection site within 10 days, by appointment; the nearest to Bend is ODFW Bend Deschutes Watershed District Office, 2 miles away.
Do game birds and deer share hunting hours at Bend?
No. Mammals use half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset (7:07 a.m. to 4:59 p.m. on December 21); birds use the ODFW Zone B table.
What does a hunting license cost for a hunt near Bend?
An Oregon resident hunting license is $39.00 and a nonresident one $193.00 for 2026; tags are extra.
What hunting businesses does Bend have nearby?
Within 25 miles, 24 gear shops, 6 taxidermists and 1 processor; phone numbers are in the services band.
Is Bend Western or Eastern Oregon for upland birds?
Eastern Oregon; quail opens October 10 on that side.
Counting out to 25 miles, how many public places surround Bend?
9 records on this site, 5 of them inside 10 miles; Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District (Deschutes National Forest) is the nearest open one at 0.5 mi.
What unit do I name on a tag for a hunt at Bend?
Tags record the WMU of the kill; around town that is the Upper Deschutes Unit (unit 34), or the Paulina Unit nearby.
Is there general deer hunting near Bend?
No general buck season runs in Eastern Oregon; every deer tag around Bend comes from the draw.
How many elk hunts reach the units near Bend?
13 controlled and premium elk hunts in 2026, plus 1 general season rows in the Upper Deschutes Unit.
From places.json, lands.json, regs.json (the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations, 2026-27 game bird regulations, hunter orange, license fees, CWD), counties.json and services.json. Checked November 8, 2026.
Other photos on this page: Bill Reynolds (CC BY 2.0); USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (Public Domain Mark 1.0); USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0).