Oregon Elk — Unit 39
Metolius
Oregon Unit 39 covers 426,960 acres and lies 22 miles north-west of Redmond and 35 miles west of Prineville. 66% of it is public land, mostly national forest (59%) and BLM (7%). In 2025, 422 people hunted elk here and took 71 — 17% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 199 tags here for 3 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 1 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit 39, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
100% Likely draw
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 239R ↗ Metolius Unit Bow | 100% Likely draw | 1 −2 since 2022 | 199 / 3 | Aug 29 – Sep 27, 2026 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 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 2026 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 (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $203 | $203 | $863 |
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
- National Forest 253,075 ac · 59%
- Private 143,626 ac · 34%
- BLM 28,492 ac · 7%
- State land 1,109 ac · 0%
- Tribal 324 ac · 0%
- County or city land 306 ac · 0%
- Other public 223 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 | 422 | 71 | 17% |
| 2024 | 424 | 55 | 13% |
| 2023 | 416 | 65 | 16% |
| 2022 | 418 | 58 | 14% |
| 2021 | 403 | 49 | 12% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Rifle 49 · 69% · 231 hunters, 21% success
- Archery 15 · 21% · 171 hunters, 9% success
- Muzzleloader 7 · 10% · 20 hunters, 35% success
Boundary: ODFW Wildlife Management Unit boundaries (Compass ArcGIS service)
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Muzzleloader Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Archery Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Any Legal Weapon Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt