Oregon Elk Pronghorn

Unit 65 (Beulah)

Oregon Hunting Guide — Elk, Pronghorn

Beulah is a huge, four-county elk unit around Vale, Juntura, Drewsey and Unity, reaching 8015 feet at Lookout Mountain. ODFW says the herd is healthy but scattered after the 2024 Cow Valley and Durkee wildfires burned major winter range.

View Draw Odds Oregon Hunting Guide

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2,622–6,076 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 65

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Oregon Unit 65 guide around your hunt: three ranked spots with morning, afternoon and evening plays, a day-by-day plan, topo maps with every pin numbered, a camp and access plan, the legal and retrieval rules for this unit, shot discipline, a meat-care and pack-out plan, and a pre-trip checklist. Every coordinate sits on land recorded as public.

Elk guide Pronghorn guide

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Elk Hunting in Unit 65

Where to Find Elk in the Beulah Unit: the burned winter range and the forest-to-valley drift

A boundary that reaches from Vale to Summit Prairie

The boundary starts at Vale and runs southwest on US 20 to Drewsey, then northwest over Forest Roads 14 and 16 to Summit Prairie. It turns north on County Road 62 to US 26 and east to Ironside, then follows Willow Creek Road to Huntington Junction and I-84. It closes through Farewell Bend, the Snake River and Nyssa. Lookout Mountain, Glacier Mountain and Bullrun Rock top 7800 feet.

Fire, winter range and scattered herds

ODFW's forecast says Beulah elk remain healthy. The Cow Valley and Durkee wildfires of 2024 took out major winter range, and elk are adjusting their seasonal patterns. Herds look smaller but more dispersed. Late-season elk move out of the national forest to the north and down across woodland and sage toward agricultural valleys in the far south and east. West Beulah is below objective but steady, with calf ratios lower than ODFW wants and good adult survival. Harper, Unity, Juntura and Vale are the nearest towns, and US 26 and US 20 are the main highways. Willow Creek Road and Forest Road 2635 run into the middle. Eldorado is one of the named campgrounds.

The ground ODFW draws for this hunt

The Beulah Unit, WMU 65, covers about 2,738 square miles measured on ODFW's polygon, and ODFW rates it 57% public land. Named features inside the line fall in Malheur County, Grant County, Baker County and Harney County. Elevation runs from about 2,089 to 8,015 feet. The highest named points are Lookout Mountain (8,015 ft), Glacier Mountain (7,895 ft) and Bullrun Rock (7,843 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 65 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

The lay of it

2,622–6,076 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,237 ft ; peaks can run higher.
2,736.2 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

173 tanks
16 springs
447 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: Lookout Mountain (8,015 ft), Bullrun Rock (7,843 ft), Table Rock (7,806 ft), Sheep Mountain (7,730 ft)

Holding ground: Sunshine Flat (6,870 ft), Elk Flat (6,499 ft), Koski Basin (6,101 ft), Skull Gulch Spring, Prospect Spring

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 Beulah Unit: stay longer, skip the roads and know the de-emphasis zone

Time in the field matters

The forecast says success has been unpredictable, and more days on the ground helps, especially in the late any-elk hunts. With elk spread thin, scout widely and be flexible. Choose roadless blocks away from US 26, US 20 and the main forest roads, since ODFW says elk tend to move away from traveled roads during hunting seasons. Camp at Crane Creek or Elk Creek, and hunt each day from a different pocket.

Two kinds of ground

The east side is an elk de-emphasis zone. ODFW's description says liberal seasons there are designed to control elk populations and aren't meant to be quality hunts. That changes your expectations. If you hold the East Beulah antlerless tag, hunt agricultural edges and woodland, and ask permission on private ground. In west Beulah, hunt the forest and watch the burns. The bull rifle hunt and the East Grant muzzleloader hunt both reach into this unit, so read each boundary closely. Plan to pack meat out of rough country. Bring good boots and spare layers.

ODFW's 2026 elk hunts on this ground

Seasons, bag limits and tags come from ODFW's 2026 regulations. ODFW runs 7 more on this ground; the regulations list them all. Check the current book before you apply or go, because these change every year.

265A2 W Beulah No. 2, Nov. 7 - Nov. 15: 440 tags, one elk.
265B3 E Beulah No. 3, Oct. 28 - Nov. 1: 303 tags, one antlerless elk.
246C Murderers Cr Unit, Oct. 28 - Nov. 1: 275 tags, one bull elk.
265M E Grant Muzzleloader, Oct. 17 - Oct. 25: 193 tags, one elk.
266A1 Drewsey Valley No. 1, Nov. 21 - Nov. 29: 193 tags, one antlerless elk.
265B1 E Beulah No. 1, Nov. 21 - Nov. 29: 33 tags, one elk.

The 2025 harvest in ODFW's numbers

ODFW's 2025 statistics for this WMU, covering elk hunters.

Beulah: 1,397 hunters, 282 animals, 20% success over 8,049 hunter days.

Roads in and the nearest towns

The longest named roads through this ground are US 26, US 20, NF 16 and Willow Creek Road. The nearest towns are Harper (22 mi), Unity (27 mi) and Juntura (29 mi), measured from the centre of the unit.

Getting in and staying out: unit 65

Named routes and what they need

US 26 — 73.7 mi · Paved (all rigs)
US 20 — 40.2 mi · Paved (all rigs)
NF 16 — 15.9 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Willow Creek Road — 15.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FR 2635 — 14.2 mi · High-clearance
FR 12 — 13.4 mi · High-clearance

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Harper — 22.3 mi · fuel
Unity — 26.8 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Juntura — 29.3 mi · lodging
Vale — 32.3 mi · fuel
Huntington — 32.6 mi · no services listed

Developed camps

RV Park
Crane Creek Campground
Eldorado
Unnamed camp site
Elk Creek Campground

Season weather and signal

Jan38° / 21° · 1.2" precip
Aug91° / 55° · 0.4" precip
Sep81° / 46° · 0.3" precip
Oct65° / 34° · 0.7" precip
Nov48° / 26° · 1" precip
Dec38° / 21° · 1.5" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 26% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Oregon rules that decide your day

Summarised from ODFW regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Motorized retrieval

Oregon has no general off-road retrieval allowance; several travel-management areas close roads during hunting season.

Tagging

Validate the tag and attach it to the carcass before leaving the kill site.

Leaving meat

Wasting edible meat is illegal.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting from or across a public road, and no shooting within range of an occupied dwelling without permission.

Elk: where to put the shot

Broadside or quartering away, on the back edge of the front leg about a third of the way up the body. That is lungs, and on a quartering-away angle it picks up the far shoulder.

Shots to refuse

No straight-on and no straight-away shots. An elk's chest is deep and the margin is small.
Nothing standing behind or overlapping the animal you picked. A pass-through kills the elk behind it too.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have put three shots in a paper plate off the sticks you are actually carrying. Not the farthest you have ever hit anything.
Scope on 3–4x. A herd fills a 12x field of view and you lose the animal you picked.

Identification:On an antlerless tag, legal means no antler of any kind through the skin. A spike looks exactly like a cow until it turns its head. If you can't see the head, don't shoot.

Plan the carry: roughly 150– 220 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two to four large coolers, plus bagged ice from town. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Elk Success Rates

Unit 65: 282 of 1,397 hunters, 20%. Figures are ODFW's own 2025 harvest statistics.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts Req
Archery — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	385	532	68.8%	5
Archery — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	19	39	48.7%	5
Archery — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	220	707	29.6%	7
Archery — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	11	37	24.3%	7
Archery — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	110	85	100.0%	3
Archery — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	6	5	100.0%	3
Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	440	140	100.0%	4
Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	22	27	74.1%	4
Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	440	179	100.0%	8
Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	22	36	61.1%	8
Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	385	213	95.3%	6
Any Legal Weapon — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	19	24	79.2%	6
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	220	398	53.3%	7
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	11	19	42.1%	7
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	500	226	100.0%	13
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	25	44	56.8%	13
Rifle — Controlled either sex (resident)	20	46	43.5%	3
Rifle — Controlled either sex (nonresident)	1	1	0.0%	3
Muzzleloader — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	193	189	95.2%	11
Muzzleloader — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	10	23	39.1%	11

Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

From ODFW's 2026 regulations, residents and nonresidents together: 2026 tags against 2025 first-choice applicants.

265A2 W Beulah No. 2: 440 tags for 2026; 571 first-choice applicants in 2025.
265B3 E Beulah No. 3: 303 tags for 2026; 215 first-choice applicants in 2025.
246C Murderers Cr Unit: 275 tags for 2026; 93 first-choice applicants in 2025.
265M E Grant Muzzleloader: 193 tags for 2026; 36 first-choice applicants in 2025.
266A1 Drewsey Valley No. 1: 193 tags for 2026; 417 first-choice applicants in 2025.
265B1 E Beulah No. 1: 33 tags for 2026; 90 first-choice applicants in 2025.

ODFW sets a point cut-off per hunt each year; its point summary reports carry it.

Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 65

Beulah is a huge either-sex pronghorn unit of mixed public and private ground, from Vale to Summit Prairie and back along the Snake River to Nyssa. Most of the named summits sit near the unit's west edge.

Where to Find Pronghorn in the Beulah Unit: Vale, Drewsey and the Snake River

A very large boundary loop

ODFW's walk starts at Vale and runs southwest on US 20 to the Drewsey-Prairie City road near Drewsey. It then climbs northwest on forest roads toward Antelope Mountain and Summit Prairie, heads north on County Road 62 to US 26, and goes east to Ironside. Willow Creek Road and the Malheur Line Road take it to I-84, which it follows southeast to Farewell Bend. The Snake River carries it to Nyssa, and Hwy 201 and US 20 return to Vale.

Broken ground, mixed ownership

Public land is a majority of the unit, but private ground is spread throughout. Named elevations run from 2089 ft to Lookout Mountain at 8015 ft, with Glacier Mountain, Bullrun Rock, Table Rock and Ironside Mountain among the other high points. The unit is big enough that you'll need to choose a corner and scout it. Harper, Unity, Juntura and Vale are the nearest towns. US 26 and US 20 border the unit, and Willow Creek Road and forest roads reach into it. The Vale and Burns BLM maps and the Malheur and Wallowa-Whitman National Forest maps are the ones to carry.

The ground ODFW draws for this hunt

Unit 65 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

The lay of it

2,622–6,076 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,237 ft ; peaks can run higher.
2,736.2 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

173 tanks
16 springs
447 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: Lookout Mountain (8,015 ft), Bullrun Rock (7,843 ft), Table Rock (7,806 ft), Sheep Mountain (7,730 ft)

Holding ground: Sunshine Flat (6,870 ft), Elk Flat (6,499 ft), Koski Basin (6,101 ft), Skull Gulch Spring, Prospect Spring

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 Pronghorn in the Beulah Unit: pick a corner and scout it

Don't try to hunt all of it

A unit this big can't be hunted evenly. Choose a region based on public-land access, then drive it and glass it. Roads like US 20, Willow Creek Road and the Malheur Line Road give you a way in. Look at BLM maps for public parcels and keep track of private ownership. Spend a day learning where pronghorn are, and then use that knowledge to plan an approach.

Use the either-sex tag

Either-sex tags give you choices. Take a buck if a good one is available, or a doe if a clean shot is more important. On open ground, a long shot is easy to take and hard to make cleanly. Get as close as the terrain allows, and use cover such as draws and low ridges to close distance. Camps at Crane Creek Campground or Elk Creek Campground can serve as bases at the unit's higher edges.

ODFW's 2026 pronghorn hunts on this ground

Seasons, bag limits and tags come from ODFW's 2026 regulations. Check the current book before you apply or go, because these change every year.

465 Beulah Unit, Aug. 22 - Sep. 6: 28 tags, one pronghorn either sex.

The 2025 harvest in ODFW's numbers

ODFW's 2025 statistics for this WMU, covering pronghorn hunters.

Beulah: 24 hunters, 14 animals, 58% success over 97 hunter days.

Roads in and the nearest towns

Getting in and staying out: unit 65

Named routes and what they need

US 26 — 73.7 mi · Paved (all rigs)
US 20 — 40.2 mi · Paved (all rigs)
NF 16 — 15.9 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Willow Creek Road — 15.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FR 2635 — 14.2 mi · High-clearance
FR 12 — 13.4 mi · High-clearance

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Harper — 22.3 mi · fuel
Unity — 26.8 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Juntura — 29.3 mi · lodging
Vale — 32.3 mi · fuel
Huntington — 32.6 mi · no services listed

Developed camps

RV Park
Crane Creek Campground
Eldorado
Unnamed camp site
Elk Creek Campground

Season weather and signal

Jan38° / 21° · 1.2" precip
Aug91° / 55° · 0.4" precip
Sep81° / 46° · 0.3" precip
Oct65° / 34° · 0.7" precip
Nov48° / 26° · 1" precip
Dec38° / 21° · 1.5" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 26% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Oregon rules that decide your day

Summarised from ODFW regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Motorized retrieval

Oregon has no general off-road retrieval allowance; several travel-management areas close roads during hunting season.

Tagging

Validate the tag and attach it to the carcass before leaving the kill site.

Leaving meat

Wasting edible meat is illegal.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting from or across a public road, and no shooting within range of an occupied dwelling without permission.

Pronghorn: where to put the shot

Broadside, straight up the front leg, a third of the way into the body. Pronghorn are shallow-chested and the lungs sit forward.

Shots to refuse

Range it, then range it again. Open country makes 400 yards look like 250.
Wait for the buck to stop. Nobody kills a running pronghorn cleanly on purpose.
Mind the backdrop. A miss carries a long way across a flat.

Plan the carry: roughly 30– 45 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — one large cooler with ice already in it. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Pronghorn Success Rates

Unit 65: 14 of 24 hunters, 58%. Figures are ODFW's own 2025 harvest statistics.

Pronghorn Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts Req
Rifle — Controlled buck only (resident)	22	838	2.5%	26
Rifle — Controlled buck only (nonresident)	1	59	1.7%	26

Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

From ODFW's 2026 regulations, residents and nonresidents together: 2026 tags against 2025 first-choice applicants.

465 Beulah Unit: 28 tags for 2026; 486 first-choice applicants in 2025.

ODFW sets a point cut-off per hunt each year; its point summary reports carry it.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Camp Sites

Developed campgrounds: RV Park, Crane Creek Campground, Eldorado, Elk Creek Campground.

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Road Conditions

US 26, US 20 and NF 16 are the longest named roads.

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Terrain Difficulty

Named features run from 2,089 to 8,015 ft. More than 4,000 feet of relief, so plan the pack-out before the shot.

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Weather

Season normals: Sep 81/46°F, 0.3 in.; Oct 65/34°F, 0.7 in.; Nov 48/26°F, 1 in.; Dec 38/21°F, 1.5 in..

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Nearest Town

Harper (22 mi), Unity (27 mi), Juntura (29 mi)

📋

Permit Notes

Check ODFW's 2026 regulations for hunt boundaries, seasons and tag rules before you go.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What ground does this Oregon elk page cover?

The Beulah Unit, WMU 65, covers about 2,738 square miles measured on ODFW's polygon, and ODFW rates it 57% public land.

What's the biggest 2026 elk hunt here?

Hunt 265A2 W Beulah No. 2: Nov. 7 - Nov. 15, 440 tags, one elk, per ODFW's 2026 regulations.

What was hunter success for elk here in 2025?

ODFW's 2025 statistics for Unit 65: 1,397 hunters took 282 animals, 20% success.

What ground does this Oregon pronghorn page cover?

The Beulah Unit, WMU 65, covers about 2,738 square miles measured on ODFW's polygon, and ODFW rates it 57% public land.

What's the biggest 2026 pronghorn hunt here?

Hunt 465 Beulah Unit: Aug. 22 - Sep. 6, 28 tags, one pronghorn either sex, per ODFW's 2026 regulations.

What was hunter success for pronghorn here in 2025?

ODFW's 2025 statistics for Unit 65: 24 hunters took 14 animals, 58% success.

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Sources & Verification

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: 2,738 square miles · accessed 2026-10-30
Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the boundary — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Lookout Mountain 8,015 ft, Glacier Mountain 7,895 ft · accessed 2026-10-30

Unit 65 (Beulah)

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 65

Elk Hunting in Unit 65

Where to Find Elk in the Beulah Unit: the burned winter range and the forest-to-valley drift

A boundary that reaches from Vale to Summit Prairie

Fire, winter range and scattered herds

The ground ODFW draws for this hunt

Unit 65 terrain and land status

The lay of it

Who owns the ground

Water on the ground

Named features inside the unit

How to Hunt Elk in the Beulah Unit: stay longer, skip the roads and know the de-emphasis zone

Elk Success Rates

Elk Draw Odds

Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 65

Where to Find Pronghorn in the Beulah Unit: Vale, Drewsey and the Snake River

A very large boundary loop

Broken ground, mixed ownership

The ground ODFW draws for this hunt

Unit 65 terrain and land status

The lay of it

Who owns the ground

Water on the ground

Named features inside the unit

How to Hunt Pronghorn in the Beulah Unit: pick a corner and scout it

Pronghorn Success Rates

Pronghorn Draw Odds

Unit Logistics & Expectations

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Sources & Verification