Oregon Elk 253X — Unit 53
Catherine Cr Unit · Catherine Creek
- What you may take
- Catherine Cr Unit (antlered)
- Weapon
- Rifle
- Season (2026)
- Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2026
- Tags (2026)
- 303
- for 53 first-choice applicants · nonresidents capped at 5%
- Hunter success here (2025)
- 26%
- of everyone who hunted the area
Showing nonresident results. Switch to resident
Odds by point level — 2026 draw
Prior-draw probability for a first-choice nonresident applicant. 227 tags, 53 first-choice applicants, drew out at 4 points. Source: ODFW 2026 Preference Point Draw... · row 1552.
| Points | Your chance | Applicants | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 18% | 10 | 0 |
| 1 | 18% | 11 | 0 |
| 2 | 18% | 8 | 0 |
| 3 | 18% | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | 100% | 7 | 7 |
| 5 | 100% | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | 100% | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 100% | 1 | 1 |
| 8–13 | 100% same chance at every one of these levels | — | — |
| 14 | 100% | 1 | 1 |
Points pass + random pass, from published pools. A dash means Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife did not publish a count for that level. How we compute these.
What it costs (2026 nonresident fees)
At the 2026 odds, expected cost per hunt-year ranges from $863 (enough points to draw) to $1,757.80 (lowest published odds).
Next application window: opens Dec 1, closes May 15, 2027 (expected) · results ~June 12. Last cycle's schedule rolled forward — confirm when the agency publishes.
Point creep & years to draw
Drew out at 3 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 4 points (2022–2026): +0.5 points/yr (range +0.0 to +1.0). Projecting that pace forward:
| Your points now | Years until a sure thing |
|---|---|
| 0 | 8 yrs (4–∞) |
| 1 | 6 yrs (3–∞) |
| 2 | 4 yrs (2–∞) |
| 3 | 2 yrs (1–∞) |
| 4 | now |
A projection of the last five draws' median creep (capped at 2 points/yr), not a forecast. Random-pass odds still apply every year you're below the cut.
Seasons (2026)
How this tag has hunted
Across every license type in Unit 53, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife counted 1,171 hunters and 303 elk taken in 2025 — 26% of them killed something. Full Unit 53 profile: maps, public land, five years of harvest →
Hunters holding this license type (2025) — the rest of the area's hunters held something else:
| What they hunted | Hunters | Harvest | Success | Days per animal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 253A S Catherine Cr | 40 | 6 | 16% | — |
| Type 253B Mt Harris | 88 | 41 | 46% | — |
| Type 253T Catherine Cr Unit Youth | 29 | 9 | 32% | — |
| Type 253X Catherine Cr Unit | 324 | 129 | 40% | — |
| Type Rocky Mtn 2nd season | 189 | 26 | 14% | — |
| Type 200R Oregon Youth Bow | 4 | 0 | 0% | — |
| Type 253R1 Eagle Cap Zone | 361 | 68 | 19% | — |
| Type 253R2 Eagle Cap Traditional Bow | 33 | 8 | 23% | — |
| Type 253M Catherine Creek Unit Muzzleloader | 103 | 16 | 16% | — |
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. Source: ODFW 2025 Estimated Muzzleloader Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt ODFW 2025 Estimated Archery Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt
Year by year
The standard draw for nonresidents, one row per year. Oregon runs a second, random pass after the points pass; it is shown beside the year it belongs to.
| Year | Tags | Applicants | Applicants per tag | Points needed | Random pass | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 303 | 53 | 0.2 | 4 | 76 tags | ODFW 2026 Preference Point Draw... · row 1552 |
| 2025 | 306 | 62 | 0.2 | 4 | 79 tags | ODFW 2025 Preference Point Draw... · row 1536 |
| 2024 | 306 | 53 | 0.2 | 3 | 79 tags | ODFW 2024 Preference Point Draw... · row 1567 |
| 2023 | 306 | 67 | 0.2 | 2 | 79 tags | ODFW 2023 Preference Point Draw... · row 1538 |
| 2022 | 275 | 60 | 0.2 | 3 | 69 tags | ODFW 2022 Preference Point Draw... · row 1582 |
Other licenses valid in Unit 53
Legal cartridges for elk in Oregon
From the Oregon hunting laws rules on file for a rifle. "Depends" means the rule turns on your specific load — check the state page.
Spot a data error on this page? Tell us.
How to read these numbers
Every percentage on this page is a prior-draw probability: the chance an applicant with that many points would have drawn in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results. It is not a forecast — quotas, applicant numbers, and point creep change every year. Every figure links to the agency document it came from. Where a state does not publish a number, we show a dash, never a zero. Hunts with fewer than five tags show counts instead of percentages. Fees show the fee year used. Read the methodology for the engine details.
Not an application service
This page is informational only. Draw rules, quotas, fees, and deadlines are set by the state agency and change by commission action — confirm everything on the agency's own site before you apply, and apply through the agency, not here. We disclaim all liability for reliance on this page.