Oregon elk and deer hunting: units, 2026 seasons and harvest

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife runs big game hunting in 67 wildlife management units. By ODFW's harvest statistics, hunters took 15,101 elk, 44,529 deer and 1,079 pronghorn in 2025 on general and controlled any legal weapon, archery and muzzleloader tags (ODFW reports its elk damage tags separately). Western Oregon's 2026 general buck deer season runs October 3 to November 6 (ODFW 2026 regulations, page 30).

Data updated October 2026. Seasons and hunts: ODFW's 2026 regulations. Draw: ODFW's 2026 Preference Point Draw Reports. Harvest: ODFW, 2020 to 2025. Land: USGS PAD-US 4.1.

When are Oregon's 2026 general deer and elk seasons?

General seasons need no draw; the tag is bought over the counter. Controlled hunts are drawn in June.

Source: ODFW 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations, pages 30, 33, 45 and 47. Each unit's page lists the seasons and controlled hunts that cover it.

Starting in 2026, ODFW runs eastern Oregon deer hunts by deer hunt area instead of by wildlife management unit, with new hunt names and numbers, and many northeastern hunt areas now have separate mule deer and white-tailed deer bag limits (regulations pages 11 and 30 to 43). Western Oregon deer hunting is still set by unit.

How do Oregon deer and elk tags work?

Oregon sells two kinds of deer and elk tags. A general season tag is bought over the counter and is good in the units and dates ODFW lists for it. A controlled hunt tag is drawn: you apply by May 15, choose up to five hunts in a series, and ODFW posts results by June 12 (regulations pages 12 to 14).

In the controlled hunt draw for deer, elk and pronghorn, 75% of each hunt's tags go to the first-choice applicants with the most preference points, and the other 25% are drawn at random among all first-choice applicants. A hunter who does not draw his first choice gains a preference point for that series; drawing a first choice resets points to zero (page 12).

Nonresidents can receive at most 5% of the tags in a controlled deer, elk or bear hunt and at most 3% of the tags in a pronghorn hunt (page 14). A hunter who has bought a general season deer or elk tag can no longer apply for a 100 series (deer) or 200 series (elk) hunt that year (page 12).

ODFW's 2026 draw reports, read by FilledTag: 301 elk hunts, 232 deer hunts and 52 pronghorn hunts, each with its first-choice applicants and the point levels that drew. Hunts with three or more years of harvest have a page: 391 so far.

Oregon's hunting zones

Harvest: ODFW harvest statistics (2020 to 2025), ODFW's unit rows added up by zone. Public land measured by FilledTag from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land by manager, 2025).

How much of Oregon's hunting ground is public?

Inside Oregon's hunting units, 54.9% of the ground is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules: BLM 25.6%, national forest 25.6%, state forest and trust land 2.4%, national wildlife refuge 1% and ODFW land 0.2%.

Federal land makes up almost all of Oregon's public hunting ground: national forest in the Coast Range, the Cascades and the Blue Mountains, and BLM land across the high desert of the southeast. National park land, Crater Lake, is closed to hunting.

Private land covers much of the Willamette Valley, the Columbia Basin wheat country and the valley floors in the northeast. ODFW's Access and Habitat program opens some of it to hunters, and ODFW's own wildlife areas add state ground with rules of their own.

19 ODFW wildlife areas and 19 Access and Habitat areas have a page: Wenaha, Phillip W. Schneider, Summer Lake, Ken Denman, Elkhorn, Jewell Meadows, E.E. Wilson, Lower Deschutes, White River, Riverside, Willow Creek, Klamath, Ladd Marsh, Fern Ridge, Bridge Creek, Sauvie Island, Minam, Prineville Reservoir, Coquille Valley, MacKenzie Access Area, Glass Hill Access Area, Owsley Canyon Access Area, Lawen Access Area, Troy Ranches Access Area, Otley Access Area, Iron Mountain Access Area, MR King Ranches Access Area, Pine Creek Access Area, Bentz Access Area, Carman Ranch Access Area, Desolation Creek Access Area, Virtue Flat Access Area, Divide Ridge Access Area, Kueny Access Area, Alvord Access Area, Ontario City Access Area, Bear Creek Access Area, Foster Ranch Access Area.

Every unit page

Northwest zone

Unit 10 Saddle Mountain: elk, deer; Unit 11 Scappoose: elk, deer; Unit 12 Wilson: elk, deer; Unit 14 Trask: elk, deer; Unit 15 Willamette: elk, deer; Unit 16 Santiam: elk, deer; Unit 17 Stott Mountain: elk, deer; Unit 18 Alsea: elk, deer; Unit 19 McKenzie: elk, deer; Unit 20 Siuslaw: elk, deer.

Southwest zone

Unit 21 Indigo: elk, deer; Unit 22 Dixon: elk, deer; Unit 23 Melrose: elk, deer; Unit 24 Tioga: elk, deer; Unit 25 Sixes: elk, deer; Unit 26 Powers: elk, deer; Unit 27 Chetco: elk, deer; Unit 28 Applegate: elk, deer; Unit 29 Evans Creek: elk, deer; Unit 30 Rogue: elk, deer.

Central zone

Unit 34 Upper Deschutes: elk, deer; Unit 35 Paulina: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 36 Maury: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 37 Ochoco: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 38 Grizzly: elk, deer; Unit 39 Metolius: elk, deer.

Columbia zone

Unit 40 Maupin: elk, deer; Unit 41 White River: elk, deer; Unit 42 Hood: elk, deer; Unit 43 Biggs: elk, deer, pronghorn.

Northeast zone

Unit 44 Columbia Basin: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 45 Fossil: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 46 Murderers Creek: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 47 Northside: elk, deer; Unit 48 Heppner: elk, deer; Unit 49 Ukiah: elk, deer; Unit 50 Desolation: elk, deer; Unit 51 Sumpter: elk, deer; Unit 52 Starkey: elk, deer; Unit 53 Catherine Creek: elk, deer; Unit 54 Mt. Emily: elk, deer; Unit 55 Walla Walla: elk, deer; Unit 56 Wenaha: elk, deer; Unit 57 Sled Springs: elk, deer; Unit 58 Chesnimnus: elk, deer; Unit 59 Snake River: elk, deer; Unit 60 Minam: elk, deer; Unit 61 Imnaha: elk, deer; Unit 62 Pine Creek: elk, deer; Unit 63 Keating: elk, deer; Unit 64 Lookout Mountain: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 65 Beulah: elk, deer, pronghorn.

Southeast zone

Unit 66 Malheur River: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 67 Owyhee: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 68 Whitehorse: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 69 Steens Mountain: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 70 Beatys Butte: deer, pronghorn; Unit 71 Juniper: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 72 Silvies: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 73 Wagontire: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 74 Warner: elk, deer, pronghorn.

South Central zone

Unit 31 Keno: elk, deer; Unit 32 Klamath Falls: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 33 Sprague: elk, deer; Unit 75 Interstate: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 76 Silver Lake: elk, deer, pronghorn; Unit 77 Fort Rock: elk, deer, pronghorn.

Questions hunters ask

When is Oregon's 2026 general deer season?

The Western Oregon general any legal weapon buck deer season runs October 3 to November 6, 2026, in units 10 to 30 (ODFW regulations, page 30). Western Oregon general archery deer season opens August 29 and runs to September 27. Eastern Oregon buck deer hunting is by controlled hunt only.

Can you hunt elk in Oregon without drawing a tag?

Yes, in the units ODFW lists for its general seasons: general archery elk (August 29 to September 27), the West Cascade bull season (November 7 to 13), the Coast bull seasons (November 14 to 17 and November 21 to 27) and the Rocky Mountain 2nd season for spike elk in some northeastern units (November 7 to 15), all in ODFW's 2026 regulations, pages 45 and 47. Other elk hunting is by controlled hunt.

When is the Oregon controlled hunt application deadline?

May 15 for deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and mountain goat, and February 10 for spring bear. ODFW posts results by June 12 for the May draw (regulations pages 12 to 14).

How do preference points work in Oregon?

In the deer, elk and pronghorn draw, 75% of each hunt's tags go to the first-choice applicants with the most points and 25% are drawn at random among all first-choice applicants. You earn a point each year you do not draw your first choice, or by buying a point saver (page 12).

Where these numbers come from

• Seasons, hunts, tags and the draw rules: ODFW 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations.
• Draw results: ODFW 2025 and 2026 Preference Point Draw Reports.
• Harvest: ODFW harvest statistics (2020 to 2025).
• Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land by manager, 2025). Units: ODFW Wildlife Management Units (Compass dataset).

FilledTag is not part of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. ODFW's big game hunting pages are the final word on every rule.

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