AmmoSight

California Draw Odds

California's Big Game Drawing is a modified preference point system with one combined applicant pool - residents and nonresidents draw together and CDFW publishes no residency split. For premium deer hunts 90% of each hunt's tags go to the applicants with the most points (random order within a point level) and 10% to a no-points draw-by-choice round; elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep use a 75/25 split (hunts with 1-3 tags award all but one tag by points), but by statute only ONE nonresident elk tag and ONE nonresident pronghorn tag are issued statewide each year, and nonresidents get at most 10% of bighorn ram tags (once in a lifetime).

Deer applicants front the whole tag price with the application ($377.35 nonresident in 2026); elk, pronghorn and sheep cost an $8.38 application fee with the tag fee ($1,871.80 NR elk, $628.85 NR pronghorn, $2,072.75 NR sheep) due only if drawn. Applications run April 15 to June 2 with results around June 15; a point is earned for each unsuccessful first choice, and points reset after five consecutive years without applying.

Sources: California Department of Fish and Wildlife documents, last verified September 1, 2026. · 70 sources

Odds by Species

Deer

91 hunt codes
12 public-access hunts a 0-point nonresident had an even chance at in 2025
Tags 2025, All Residencies
22,812
NR Applicants
59,833
See every deer hunt →

Elk

91 hunt codes
0 public-access hunts a 0-point nonresident had an even chance at in 2025
Tags 2025, All Residencies
408
NR Applicants
30,567
See every elk hunt →

Antelope (Pronghorn)

17 hunt codes
0 public-access hunts a 0-point nonresident had an even chance at in 2025
Tags 2025, All Residencies
116
NR Applicants
18,132
See every pronghorn hunt →

Bighorn Sheep

13 hunt codes
0 public-access hunts a 0-point nonresident had an even chance at in 2025
Tags 2025, All Residencies
27
NR Applicants
11,592
See every bighorn sheep hunt →

The Rules, Side by Side

Nonresident and resident rules for every species. Small numbers are sources.

Deer
Rule Nonres.
System Pref + random 2
Choices 3
Lower Choice Burns Points No
Point-Only Yes
Points Expire Yes
Party Averages Yes
NR Share —
Elk, Pronghorn
Rule Nonres.
System Pref + random 2
Choices 1
Lower Choice Burns Points —
Point-Only Yes
Points Expire Yes
Party Averages Yes
NR Share 1 tag statewide 4
Bighorn Sheep
Rule Nonres.
System Pref + random 2
Choices 1
Lower Choice Burns Points —
Point-Only Yes
Points Expire Yes
Party Averages No
NR Share 10% 2

NR Share

Elk
1 tag statewide The commission sets aside a single nonresident elk tag each year; the rest of the quota goes to the common pool.
Pronghorn
1 tag statewide The commission sets aside a single nonresident pronghorn tag each year; the rest of the quota goes to the common pool.
Bighorn sheep
10% A ceiling on ram tags, drawn from the common pool. Deer has no cap at all: nonresidents apply for premium deer tags on the same footing as residents.

Points Expire

Deer, elk, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep
All points for a species reset to zero after five consecutive years without applying.
How This Draw Works, With an Example

Hybrid: preference + random: Say a hunt has 100 nonresident tags. 90 go to the applicants with the most preference points; if the last point level that draws has more applicants than tags left, that level is split at random. The other 10 are drawn at random from everyone who missed the points pass, so an applicant with no points still has a chance.

Buying Points

A nonresident can buy a Preference Point Only in California without applying for a tag. How you buy one depends on the species; the table below gives each.

Drawing your first choice spends the points you built. California's rule for losing them: all points for a species reset to zero after five consecutive years without applying.

Species Resident Nonresident
Deer On The Application · can lapse 1 — $377.35 2
Elk On The Application · can lapse 1 — $8.38 3
Pronghorn On The Application · can lapse 1 — $8.38 3
Bighorn On The Application · can lapse 1 — $8.38 3
  1. 1.All points for a species reset to zero after five consecutive years without applying
  2. 2.A deer point is earned by applying with hunt code PD on a First-Deer Tag Drawing Application, so a nonresident point costs the $377.35 NR application/tag fee (resident $42.38); 2026-27 amounts
  3. 3.Plus a hunting licence, $64.54 resident or $225.46 nonresident

Source: Preference Point Only — nrm.dfg.ca.gov

Fees

2026 Fee Nonres. Resident
Every Applicant
Hunting license (required to apply) 2 To apply $225.46 $64.54
Deer
First-Deer Tag Drawing Application (full tag price fronted at application) 2 To apply Not refunded if you miss, except that a nonresident can ask for the difference between the nonresident and resident application fee. $377.35 $42.38
Elk
Elk Tag Drawing Application (nonrefundable processing fee) 2 To apply $8.38 —
Elk tag (paid only if drawn) 2 If drawn Can be refunded, less a processing fee, if you return the tag before the season. $1,871.80 $610.20
Pronghorn
Pronghorn Antelope Tag Drawing Application 2 To apply $8.38 —
Pronghorn tag (paid only if drawn) 2 If drawn $628.85 $205.77
Bighorn
Bighorn Sheep Tag Drawing Application 2 To apply $8.38 —
Bighorn sheep tag (paid only if drawn) 2 If drawn $2,072.75 $558.50
Cash to Apply, One Species $233.84–$602.81 $106.92

Cash to apply adds up every fee due with an application; each extra species adds its own application fee.

Next Application Deadlines

Unless a row says otherwise, tag fees are charged only if you draw.

  1. All species 2

    results about Jun 15

    (Last cycle ran Apr 15 – Jun 2, 2026.) One application window for every species. Deer applicants pay the whole tag fee when they apply. Elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep winners pay their tag fee by mid-July, or the tag goes to an alternate.

    Apr 15 – Jun 2, 2027 228 days expected

  2. Elk 2

    results about Jun 15

    (Last cycle ran Apr 15 – Jun 2, 2026.) Only the application fee is due when you apply. If you draw, the tag fee is due by about July 15.

    Apr 15 – Jun 2, 2027 228 days expected

  3. Pronghorn and bighorn sheep 2

    results about Jun 15

    (Last cycle ran Apr 15 – Jun 2, 2026.)

    Apr 15 – Jun 2, 2027 228 days expected

Dates marked expected are last cycle's schedule rolled forward by California Department of Fish and Wildlife's own rule; confirm them once the new dates are published.

Legal cartridges in California by species and weapon

Sources (70)

Draw Rules, Fees and Deadlines

  1. 1. California Department of Fish and Wildlife · 2025 California Big Game Hunting Digest
  2. 2. California Department of Fish and Wildlife · 2026 California Big Game Hunting Digest
  3. 3. California Legislature (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov) · California Fish and Game Code section 331 (pronghorn antelope tags) · 2026
  4. 4. California Legislature (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov) · California Fish and Game Code section 332 (elk tags) · 2026

Draw Results, Hunt Lists and Harvest Reports, 2017–2025

2025 · 11 documents
2024 · 11 documents
2023 · 11 documents
2022 · 11 documents
2021 · 12 documents
2020 · 4 documents
2019 · 2 documents
2018 · 2 documents
2017 · 2 documents
Report an error on this page

Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

About These Numbers

Rules, fees and deadlines are copied from California Department of Fish and Wildlife documents and change by commission action; a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. The odds on each species page are last draw's results. Check the agency's site and apply there; we don't take applications. How we compute these.