Unit 38 (Grizzly)
Oregon Hunting Guide — Elk, Pronghorn
Grizzly is a wide, mostly private block north of Prineville and Redmond, with scattered public grassland and Ochoco forest ground. ODFW says bull ratios sit below objective and the herd is slowly decreasing, so the unit rewards careful planning.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 38
Grizzly is a wide, mostly private block north of Prineville and Redmond, with scattered public grassland and Ochoco forest ground. ODFW says bull ratios sit below objective and the herd is slowly decreasing, so the unit rewards careful planning.
Where to Find Elk in the Grizzly Unit: public grassland pockets and private ranches
A big footprint with little public land
The unit runs from Redmond north on US 97 along the Crooked and Deschutes Rivers, east through Antelope on Highway 218 to the John Day River at Clarno, then southeast to US 26 near Mitchell. It closes by following US 26 to Prineville and Highway 126 back to Redmond. Most of it is private. One hunt is described as private land only, while another covers the BLM and National Forest Grassland outside the Ochoco National Forest boundary. View Point and Wildcat Mountain top out above 5900 feet. The low end drops to about 1294.
What the forecast adds
ODFW says bull ratios in the district's units are below management objective and the elk population is decreasing slowly. It also says small streams ran late into the summer, so animals stayed up high early in the season. Wildcat and Whistler Spring campgrounds are your bases if you're hunting the forest edge. Dry Horse Creek and North Green Mountain campgrounds are the other bases, and Lower Tub Springs Road and OR 293 are named routes in. Check ownership before you drive any ranch road, since public and private ground sit side by side here.
The ground ODFW draws for this hunt
The Grizzly Unit, WMU 38, covers about 1,684 square miles measured on ODFW's polygon, and ODFW rates it 28% public land. Named features inside the line fall in Jefferson County, Crook County, Wheeler County and Wasco County. Elevation runs from about 1,294 to 6,174 feet. The highest named points are View Point (6,174 ft), Wildcat Mountain (5,992 ft) and Whistler Point (5,883 ft). ODFW's line is the legal one, so check it against a current land-ownership map, and get permission before you cross private ground or a locked gate inside it.
Unit 38 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 1,613–4,900 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 3,236 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 1,683.4 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- BLM — 15%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 17%
Roughly 83% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 278 tanks
- 66 springs
- 463 stream segments
- 34 lakes
Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: View Point (6,174 ft), Wildcat Mountain (5,992 ft), Whistler Point (5,883 ft), Hash Rock (5,804 ft)
Holding ground: Moccasin Prairie (5,547 ft), Highland Flat (5,468 ft), McKay Saddle (5,057 ft)
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Elk in the Grizzly Unit: get permission, then get away from the roads
Elk Success Rates
Unit 38: 146 of 618 hunters, 24%. Figures are ODFW's own 2025 harvest statistics.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery — Controlled bull/buck only (resident) | 440 | 340 | 100.0% | 7 |
| Archery — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident) | 22 | 19 | 63.2% | 7 |
| Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (resident) | 110 | 73 | 100.0% | 9 |
| Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident) | 6 | 9 | 44.4% | 9 |
| Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (resident) | 138 | 107 | 100.0% | 7 |
| Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident) | 7 | 19 | 21.1% | 7 |
| Rifle — Controlled either sex (resident) | 10 | 34 | 29.4% | 4 |
| Rifle — Controlled either sex (nonresident) | 1 | 1 | 0.0% | 4 |
| Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident) | 66 | 292 | 21.6% | 7 |
| Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident) | 3 | 10 | 20.0% | 7 |
| Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident) | 66 | 225 | 28.4% | 8 |
| Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident) | 3 | 5 | 20.0% | 8 |
Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.
Open in Draw Odds EngineFrom ODFW's 2026 regulations, residents and nonresidents together: 2026 tags against 2025 first-choice applicants.
- 238A Grizzly Grassland: 440 tags for 2026; 1,395 first-choice applicants in 2025.
- 238B2 Grizzly Private No. 2: 138 tags for 2026; 82 first-choice applicants in 2025.
- 238B1 Grizzly Private No. 1: 110 tags for 2026; 359 first-choice applicants in 2025.
- 238X Grizzly Unit No. 1: 66 tags for 2026; 126 first-choice applicants in 2025.
- 238Y Grizzly Unit No. 2: 66 tags for 2026; 302 first-choice applicants in 2025.
ODFW sets a point cut-off per hunt each year; its point summary reports carry it.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
What ground does this Oregon elk page cover?
What's the biggest 2026 elk hunt here?
What was hunter success for elk here in 2025?
What ground does this Oregon pronghorn page cover?
What's the biggest 2026 pronghorn hunt here?
What was hunter success for pronghorn here in 2025?
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Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-30.
- 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: Hunt areas and boundary descriptions, Seasons, bag limits and 2026 tags · accessed 2026-10-30
- Big Game hunting forecast, 2026/27 — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: Field reports by hunt area and WMU · accessed 2026-10-30
- Big game hunting harvest statistics, 2025 — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: Hunters, harvest and success · accessed 2026-10-30
- Wildlife Management Units (ArcGIS) — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: 1,684 square miles · accessed 2026-10-30
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the boundary — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: View Point 6,174 ft, Wildcat Mountain 5,992 ft · accessed 2026-10-30