California Elk 484
Cache Creek Apprentice - General Methods - Bull in Cache Creek — Tule Elk Hunt, any legal weapon, Oct 11–26, 2025. 60% public land, mostly BLM.
Your odds at 0 points · 2025 draw
about 1 in 186
Years to draw on points: —
- Tags
- 1
- Applicants
- 186
- Success
- 100%
First-choice nonresidents; nonresidents capped at 1 tag statewide. Success: Tule · 1 license hunter, 2022.
Points Needed to Draw
No cut was published in enough years to chart one.
Insufficient history (0 of 3 draws) — a creep trend needs at least three draw years with a published drew-out level.
What It Costs · 2025 NR Fees
Closes Jun 2 · 227 daysThe $8.13 Elk Tag Drawing Application is not refunded. The $219.81 nonresident hunting license is not refunded. Drawing adds the $1,825.85 nonresident elk tag (paid only if drawn).
- Opens
- Apr 15, 2027
- Closes
- Jun 2, 2027
- Results
- about Jun 15
Next application window: Open Apr 15 – Jun 2, 2027 (expected). Dates are last cycle's, rolled forward until California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes 2027.
▸ Every Fee, With Sources
- Elk Tag Drawing Application · paid at application $8.13 CDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Digest
- Nonresident hunting license · paid at application $219.81 CDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Digest
- Nonresident elk tag (paid only if drawn) · paid if drawn, refundable $1,825.85 CDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Digest
Details
Odds by Point Level · 2025 Draw
| Points | Chance | Applied | Drew |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 ← you | <1% (small sample) random pass only | — | — |
Points pass + random pass, from published pools. A dash means California Department of Fish and Wildlife did not publish a count for that level. California runs a second, random pass after the points pass. As a lower choice, 484 drew no one in 2025, so lower-choice odds are left out.
Draw results: CDFW 2025 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1, retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
How It Hunted, 2022
| Who | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tule · 1 license | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Tule · 2 licenses (hunt 1 of 2) | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| Tule · 2 licenses (hunt 2 of 2) | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| All of Cache Creek · tule | 5 | 4 | — |
Adding up California Department of Fish and Wildlife's published lines for Cache Creek gives 5 hunters and 4 tule taken in 2022 (sum of published hunt rows). The first rows are hunters holding this license type; the rest of the area's hunters held something else. Post-season survey, not draw statistics. Source: CDFW 2022 Elk Harvest Statistics; CDFW 2021 Elk Harvest Success Rates.
▸ Year-by-Year Numbers 8 draws
The standard draw for nonresidents, one row per year. California runs a second, random pass after the points pass; it is shown beside the year it belongs to.
| Year | Tags | Applicants | Per Tag | Points Needed | Random Pass | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 186 | 186 | — | 1 tag of 186 | CDFW 2025 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 210 | 210 | — | 1 tag of 210 | CDFW 2024 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 201 | 201 | — | 1 tag of 201 | CDFW 2023 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 239 | 239 | — | 1 tag of 239 | CDFW 2021 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 201 | 201 | — | 1 tag of 201 | CDFW 2020 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | 344 | 344 | — | 1 tag of 344 | CDFW 2019 Big Game Drawing Bighorn Sheep, p. 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 305 | 305 | — | 1 tag of 305 | CDFW 2018 Elk, Pronghorn Antelope and Bighorn…, p. 1 |
| 2017 | 1 | 351 | 351 | — | 1 tag of 351 | CDFW 2017 Elk, Pronghorn Antelope and Bighorn…, p. 1 |
Earlier Years, When This Number Was a Different Hunt
California reassigns hunt numbers between years. In these years 484 stood for another zone or weapon, so they are listed here rather than counted as this hunt's history or in its point-creep trend.
| Year · What It Was | Tags | Applicants | Per Tag | Points Needed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 · Zone Cache Creek, rifle | 1 | 216 | 216 | — | CDFW 2022 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 |
Other Licenses Valid in Cache Creek
- 406 Cache Creek Period 1 - General Methods - Bull Oct 11–26 · 2 tags · 799 applied <1% (small sample)
- 416 Cache Creek Period 2 - General Methods - Antlerless Oct 18 – Nov 2 · 2 tags · 176 applied <1% (small sample)
Odds at your points, nonresident. * fewer than 5 tags.
▸ Legal Cartridges 23 on file for California elk
23 cartridges on file are legal for elk with a rifle in California (this license takes any legal weapon). Rules and sources: California hunting laws.
▸ Sources 14
- CDFW 2025 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 · draw results, seasons, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2024 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 · earlier draws, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2023 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 · earlier draws, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2021 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 · earlier draws, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2020 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, p. 1 · earlier draws, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2019 Big Game Drawing Bighorn Sheep, p. 1 · earlier draws, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2018 Elk, Pronghorn Antelope and Bighorn…, p. 1 · earlier draws, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2017 Elk, Pronghorn Antelope and Bighorn…, p. 1 · earlier draws, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2026 Big Game Hunting Digest draw rules, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Digest fees, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2022 Elk Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2021 Elk Harvest Success Rates harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2023 Elk Hunt Zones boundary, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- GreenInfo Network 2026 Protected Areas Database a land ownership, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2025 draw, the latest on file, computed from California Department of Fish and Wildlife's published results (points pass + random pass, from published pools). They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check California Department of Fish and Wildlife's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from California Department of Fish and Wildlife's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All California elk hunts