Oregon Elk — Unit 52
Starkey
Oregon Unit 52 covers 517,088 acres and lies 15 miles south-west of La Grande and 35 miles north-west of Baker City. 64% of it is public land, mostly national forest (62%) and state land (1%). In 2025, 3,348 people hunted elk here and took 694 — 21% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 1,934 tags here for 181 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 2 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit 52, 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-
5% Point builder
-
100% Likely draw
-
100% Likely draw
-
31% Long shot
-
6% Point builder
-
<1% Point builder
-
100% Likely draw
-
8% Point builder
-
<1% Point builder
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 252A1 ↗ Starkey No. 1 Rifle | 5% Point builder | 7 +1 since 2022 | 390 / 127 | Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| 252A2 ↗ Starkey No. 2 Rifle | 100% Likely draw | 1 −3 since 2022 | 1,665 / 7 | Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| 252B1 ↗ Starkey Private Rifle | 100% Likely draw | 1 steady since 2023 | 715 / 11 | Nov 2 – Dec 13, 2026 |
| 252B2 ↗ Starkey Rifle | 31% Long shot | 1 −1 since 2023 | 440 / 23 | Nov 21–29, 2026 |
| 252C1 ↗ Starkey Experimental Forest No. 1 Rifle | 6% Point builder | 5 +2 since 2022 | 17 / 5 | Oct 31 – Nov 8, 2026 |
| 252C2 ↗ Starkey Experimental Forest No. 2 Rifle | <1% Point builder | 27 +5 since 2022 | 17 / 30 | Sep 19–27, 2026 |
| 252R ↗ Starkey Bow Archery | 100% Likely draw | 2 +1 since 2022 | 1,934 / 181 | Aug 29 – Sep 27, 2026 |
| 252T1 ↗ Starkey Youth Rifle | 8% Point builder | 8 +2 since 2022 | 30 / 9 | Aug 15 – Dec 31, 2026 |
| 252T2 ↗ Glass Hill Youth Rifle | <1% Point builder | 16 +2 since 2022 | 3 / 16 | Nov 21 – Dec 31, 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.
Other licenses valid in Unit 52
Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest 321,425 ac · 62%
- Private 185,240 ac · 36%
- State land 7,581 ac · 1%
- BLM 2,134 ac · 0%
- Bureau of Reclamation 499 ac · 0%
- Tribal 322 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 | 3,348 | 694 | 21% |
| 2024 | 3,280 | 638 | 19% |
| 2023 | 3,351 | 544 | 16% |
| 2022 | 3,065 | 553 | 18% |
| 2021 | 3,810 | 567 | 15% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Rifle 486 · 70% · 2,301 hunters, 21% success
- Archery 208 · 30% · 1,047 hunters, 20% success
Boundary: ODFW Wildlife Management Unit boundaries (Compass ArcGIS service)
Harvest: ODFW 2025 Estimated Any Legal Weapon 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 2024 Estimated Any Legal Weapon Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt