Oregon Elk — Unit 66
Malheur River
Oregon Unit 66 covers 1,852,836 acres and lies 75 miles west of Ontario. 68% of it is public land, mostly BLM (46%) and national forest (16%). In 2025, 1,598 people hunted elk here and took 266 — 17% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 615 tags here for 60 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 3 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit 66, 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
-
91% Likely draw
-
33% Long shot
-
100% No first-choice applicants
-
97% Likely draw
-
9% Point builder
-
20% Long shot
-
26% Long shot
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 266A1 ↗ Drewsey Valley No. 1 Rifle | 100% Likely draw | 1 steady since 2022 | 193 / 1 | Aug 15 – Sep 30, 2026 |
| 266A2 ↗ Drewsey Valley No. 2 Rifle | 91% Likely draw | 1 steady since 2022 | 54 / 4 | Nov 1–30, 2026 |
| 266B ↗ N Malheur Rvr Rifle | 33% Long shot | 1 −1 since 2022 | 275 / 14 | Nov 21–29, 2026 |
| 266C ↗ S Malheur Rvr Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 1 steady since 2022 | 267 / 0 | Aug 15 – Sep 30, 2026 |
| 266R ↗ N Malheur Rvr Bow Archery | 97% Likely draw | 3 +2 since 2022 | 615 / 60 | Aug 29 – Sep 27, 2026 |
| 266T ↗ N Malheur Rvr Youth Rifle | 9% Point builder | 4 +2 since 2022 | 11 / 3 | Aug 15 – Dec 31, 2026 |
| 266X ↗ N Malheur Rvr No. 1 Rifle | 20% Long shot | 2 steady since 2022 | 361 / 42 | Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| 266Y ↗ N Malheur Rvr No. 2 Rifle | 26% Long shot | 3 +2 since 2022 | 362 / 55 | 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
- BLM 852,862 ac · 46%
- Private 585,664 ac · 32%
- National Forest 292,982 ac · 16%
- State land 106,510 ac · 6%
- Tribal 9,592 ac · 1%
- Bureau of Reclamation 5,550 ac · 0%
- County or city land 312 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 | 1,598 | 266 | 17% |
| 2024 | 1,694 | 339 | 20% |
| 2023 | 1,878 | 254 | 14% |
| 2022 | 1,901 | 368 | 19% |
| 2021 | 2,225 | 452 | 20% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Rifle 180 · 68% · 1,185 hunters, 15% success
- Archery 83 · 31% · 393 hunters, 21% success
- Muzzleloader 3 · 1% · 20 hunters, 15% 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 2025 Estimated Muzzleloader Elk Harvest by Zone, Wildlife Management Unit and Hunt