Oregon Deer — Unit 48
Heppner
Oregon Unit 48 covers 922,104 acres and lies 48 miles south-west of Pendleton and 63 miles west of La Grande. 34% of it is public land, mostly national forest (27%) and BLM (7%). In 2025, 2,326 people hunted deer here and took 526 — 23% of them killed something. The 2025 draw put up 3,704 tags here for 105 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 1 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in Unit 48, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2025 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
96% Likely draw
-
<1% Point builder
-
33% Long shot
-
100% Likely draw
-
3% Point builder
-
100% No first-choice applicants
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 148 ↗ Heppner Unit No. 1 Rifle | 96% Likely draw | 1 steady since 2022 | 3,704 / 105 | Oct 4–15, 2025 |
| 148A ↗ Heppner Unit No. 2 Rifle | <1% Point builder | 18 −7 since 2022 | 11 / 57 | Nov 22–30, 2025 |
| 148M ↗ Ditch Cr Muzzleloader Muzzleloader | 33% Long shot | 1 steady since 2022 | 172 / 8 | Oct 18–26, 2025 |
| 148R ↗ Heppner Unit Bow Archery | 100% Likely draw | 1 steady since 2022 | 2,055 / 24 | Aug 30 – Sep 28, 2025 |
| 648A ↗ Heppner Private Rifle | 3% Point builder | 8 steady since 2022 | 22 / 2 | Oct 18–26, 2025 |
| 648T ↗ Morrow - Gilliam Co Youth Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 1 steady since 2022 | 67 / 0 | Nov 22 – Dec 7, 2025 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2025 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2025 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2025 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $180 | $180 | $623.50 |
Application window: opens Dec 1, closes May 15, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- Private 605,312 ac · 66%
- National Forest 252,875 ac · 27%
- BLM 60,065 ac · 7%
- State land 4,093 ac · 0%
Source: BLM Oregon/Washington Land Status Ownership (BLM_OR_Ownership MapServer)
How the hunting has gone
What Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season. Oregon requires every tag holder to report, but the numbers ODFW publishes are survey estimates expanded from the reporting rate — the agency's own tables are titled "Estimated harvest... based on Mandatory Harvest Survey Reports" — not a count of animals checked in.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,326 | 526 | 23% |
| 2024 | 2,228 | 579 | 26% |
| 2023 | 2,806 | 564 | 20% |
| 2022 | 2,422 | 428 | 18% |
| 2021 | 2,798 | 608 | 22% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Rifle 401 · 83% · 1,669 hunters, 24% success
- Archery 43 · 9% · 456 hunters, 9% success
- Muzzleloader 42 · 9% · 145 hunters, 29% success
Boundary: ODFW Wildlife Management Unit boundaries (Compass ArcGIS service)
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Antlerless Buck Deer Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Muzzleloader Buck Deer Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Archery Buck Deer Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt