Oregon Elk — Unit 63
Keating
Oregon Unit 63 covers 393,110 acres and lies 22 miles north-east of Baker City and 41 miles south-east of La Grande. 57% of it is public land, mostly national forest (41%) and BLM (16%). In 2025, 686 people hunted elk here and took 133 — 19% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 250 tags here for 24 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 63, 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-
16% Long shot
-
18% Long shot
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 263 ↗ Keating Unit | 16% Long shot | 5 +2 since 2022 | 88 / 27 | Nov 21–29, 2026 |
| 263X ↗ Keating Unit | 18% Long shot | 2 steady since 2022 | 250 / 24 | Oct 28 – Nov 1, 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 165,827 ac · 42%
- National Forest 161,660 ac · 41%
- BLM 61,024 ac · 16%
- Bureau of Reclamation 589 ac · 0%
- State land 2 ac · 0%
- Private or other non-public land 4,005 ac · 1%
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 | 686 | 133 | 19% |
| 2024 | 698 | 155 | 22% |
| 2023 | 715 | 138 | 19% |
| 2022 | 696 | 161 | 23% |
| 2021 | 923 | 169 | 18% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Rifle 102 · 77% · 526 hunters, 19% success
- Archery 31 · 23% · 160 hunters, 19% 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