Oregon Elk — Unit 41
White River
Oregon Unit 41 covers 601,381 acres and lies 19 miles south-west of The Dalles and 44 miles east of Sandy. 44% of it is public land, mostly national forest (37%) and state land (5%). In 2025, 1,522 people hunted elk here and took 199 — 13% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 2,026 tags here for 13 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 41, 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-
8% Point builder
-
6% Point builder
-
87% Likely draw
-
1% Point builder
-
42% Real chance
-
100% Likely draw
-
100% Likely draw
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 241A ↗ The Dalles Watershed Rifle | 8% Point builder | 3 −2 since 2022 | 33 / 4 | Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| 241B ↗ White Rvr - Hood Rifle | 6% Point builder | 3 +1 since 2022 | 55 / 8 | Nov 21–29, 2026 |
| 241C ↗ White Rvr Private Rifle | 87% Likely draw | 1 steady since 2022 | 286 / 4 | Aug 1 – Dec 31, 2026 |
| 241R ↗ The Dalles Watershed Bow Archery | 1% Point builder | 15 | 5 / 3 | Aug 29 – Sep 27, 2026 |
| 241T ↗ White Rvr - Hood Youth Rifle | 42% Real chance | 1 steady since 2022 | 45 / 2 | Aug 15 – Dec 31, 2026 |
| 241X ↗ White Rvr - Hood No. 1 Rifle | 100% Likely draw | 1 steady since 2022 | 838 / 7 | Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| 241Y ↗ White Rvr - Hood No. 2 Rifle | 100% Likely draw | 1 steady since 2022 | 2,026 / 13 | Nov 7–15, 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
- Private 326,307 ac · 54%
- National Forest 222,230 ac · 37%
- State land 27,485 ac · 5%
- BLM 9,109 ac · 2%
- Tribal 8,353 ac · 1%
- County or city land 7,607 ac · 1%
- Other public 249 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 | 1,522 | 199 | 13% |
| 2024 | 1,619 | 205 | 13% |
| 2023 | 1,377 | 194 | 14% |
| 2022 | 1,517 | 187 | 12% |
| 2021 | 1,521 | 179 | 12% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Rifle 166 · 83% · 1,297 hunters, 13% success
- Archery 33 · 17% · 225 hunters, 15% success
Boundary: ODFW Wildlife Management Unit boundaries (Compass ArcGIS service)
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
Harvest: ODFW 2024 Estimated Any Legal Weapon Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt