Oregon Deer — Unit 53
Catherine Creek
Oregon Unit 53 covers 426,274 acres and lies 15 miles east of La Grande and 33 miles north of Baker City. 24% of it is public land, mostly national forest (22%) and BLM (1%). In 2025, 623 people hunted deer here and took 201 — 32% of them killed something. The 2025 draw put up 825 tags here for 16 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 53, 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-
14% Point builder
-
100% Likely draw
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 153 ↗ Catherine Cr Unit Rifle | 14% Point builder | 2 steady since 2022 | 330 / 27 | Oct 4–15, 2025 |
| 153R ↗ Catherine Cr Unit Bow Archery | 100% Likely draw | 1 steady since 2022 | 825 / 16 | Aug 30 – Sep 28, 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 323,270 ac · 76%
- National Forest 93,778 ac · 22%
- BLM 5,679 ac · 1%
- State land 1,184 ac · 0%
- Bureau of Reclamation 733 ac · 0%
- County or city land 136 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 | 623 | 201 | 32% |
| 2024 | 681 | 187 | 27% |
| 2023 | 1,113 | 356 | 32% |
| 2022 | 568 | 152 | 27% |
| 2021 | 978 | 290 | 30% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Rifle 129 · 64% · 292 hunters, 44% success
- Archery 58 · 29% · 273 hunters, 21% success
- Muzzleloader 14 · 7% · 58 hunters, 24% success
Boundary: ODFW Wildlife Management Unit boundaries (Compass ArcGIS service)
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
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Any Legal Weapon Buck Deer Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt