Oregon › Hunting seasons › Units › Chetco Unit
Western Oregon · WMU 27
Chetco Unit hunting seasons and hunt numbers
Hunt numbers, general tags, cougar quota, road closures, 2025 harvest and the public ground of the Chetco Unit (Curry County and Josephine County).
Photo: USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Chetco Unit at a glance
The Chetco Unit (WMU 27) covers 1,688 square miles. ODFW places it in Western Oregon, and Curry County makes up 60% of the unit. ODFW unit lines follow rivers, ridges and roads, so the Chetco Unit reaches 2 counties: Curry (1,018 sq mi) and Josephine (670 sq mi).
| Where | Sq mi | Unit % | County % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curry County | 1,018.0 | 60% | 62% |
| Josephine County | 670.1 | 40% | 41% |
The Rogue wildlife district holds 100% of WMU 27.
| District | Office town | Phone | Part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rogue | Central Point | 541-826-8774 | 100% |
Area, side, county overlap and districts from the ODFW Wildlife Management Units layer and the ODFW wildlife district layer (overlay with Census county lines; GIS measures); closed places from the big game regulations and land manager sources; checked November 8, 2026.
What sets the Chetco Unit apart
- Cougars taken here count toward Zone A, Coast/North Cascade, quota 180. Hunting with dogs is not allowed. ODFW's 2025 estimate for the unit: 9 cougars, 209 hunters.
- No draw is needed for a black-tailed buck in the Chetco Unit; the general season opens October 3.
- Plan predator or ground squirrel hunts with care: Coast Bull Elk 1st Season, Coast Bull Elk 2nd Season and S. Coast Controlled Bull Elk put the Chetco Unit under the centerfire rifle limit.
- Road closure areas: none listed for WMU 27.
- Part of the Chetco Unit lies in the Chetco damage area for antlerless elk.
- For goose seasons the unit's counties fall in Southwest Zone (Curry, Josephine) and South Coast Zone (Curry); duck zone lines exist only on the ODFW map.
- Shooting hours for birds in the Chetco Unit follow Zone A (Curry, Josephine).
- CWD status: not detected anywhere in Oregon as of October 15, 2026.
| Season (2026) |
|---|
Coast Bull Elk 1st Season (Nov. 14 – Nov. 17) |
Coast Bull Elk 2nd Season (Nov. 21 – Nov. 27) |
S. Coast Controlled Bull Elk (Nov. 14 – Nov. 18) (Nov. 21 – Nov. 29) |
Cougar zones, Eastern Oregon Deer Hunt Areas, centerfire rifle restrictions, travel management areas, antlerless elk damage areas, goose zones, game bird hours and CWD testing from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; checked November 8, 2026.
Drawn tags for the Chetco Unit
ODFW's 2026 hunt boundaries put 11 controlled, premium or sage-grouse hunts inside WMU 27, led by 5 elk hunts. Their 2026 tags add up to 5,475, many shared with nearby units. 722A leads the 2025 first-choice count for hunts in WMU 27 with 5,532. By applicants per tag, 627 is the long shot at roughly 10 to 1. 3 hunts carry an asterisk: they cover only part of the named unit.
Apply by May 15, 2026 (spring bear by February 10); 75% of deer, elk, pronghorn and spring bear tags go to first choices with the most preference points and 25% are random. All hunts listed are 2026 hunts; spring bear rows are the April and May 2026 hunts.
Buck deer, 100 series (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 127M | Chetco Unit Muzzleloader | Muzzleloader | Nov 14–Dec 6 | One buck with visible antler | 39 | 48 | This unit only |
Antlerless deer, 600 series (2)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 627 | Chetco Unit | Any legal weapon | Oct 3–Nov 6 | One antlerless deer | 44 | 456 | This unit only |
| 627T | Chetco Unit Youth | Youth only | Dec 15–Jan 5 2027 | One deer | 33 | 58 | This unit only |
Premium deer, L hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L27 | Chetco | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30 | One animal (either sex); premium deer tags are good for any species of deer hunted in that unit | 1 | — | This unit only |
Elk, 200 series (5)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200R * | Oregon Youth Bow | Youth only | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One elk | 330 | 124 | 62 units |
| 225B * | Curry Private | Any legal weapon | Dec 1–Feb 28 2027 | One antlerless elk | 22 | 88 | 25, 27 |
| 227T | Chetco Unit Youth | Youth only | Aug 15–Dec 31 | One antlerless elk | 11 | 53 | This unit only |
| 227X | Chetco Unit No. 1 | Any legal weapon | Nov 14–18 | One bull elk | 77 | 352 | This unit only |
| 227Y | Chetco Unit No. 2 | Any legal weapon | Nov 21–29 | One bull elk | 77 | 145 | This unit only |
Premium elk, M hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M27 | Chetco | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30 | One animal (either sex); premium deer tags are good for any species of deer hunted in that unit | 1 | — | This unit only |
Spring bear, 2026 hunts (1)
| Hunt | Name | Type | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | 1st choice 2025 | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 722A * | SW Oregon | Any legal weapon | Apr 1–May 31 | — | 4,840 | 5,532 | 11 units |
Hunt numbers, dates, bags, 2026 tags and 2025 first-choice applicants from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations and the 2026-27 game bird regulations (sage-grouse); hunt areas from ODFW’s 2026 hunt boundary layers; draw rules from the controlled hunt pages; checked November 8, 2026.
Chetco Unit general seasons and other game
The general rows below (7) are the hunts you can buy into before the tag sale deadline, no application required. Elk you can hunt on a general tag here: Archery elk – Western Oregon.
Big game, general (7)
| Species | Season | Tag | Area | Dates | Bag | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | General archery – Western Oregon deer | General tag | Units 11, 12, 14, 22, 24, 27 and 28 | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One buck with visible antler | |
| Deer | General Western Oregon buck deer – Any legal weapon | General tag | Units 10-30 | Oct 3–Nov 6 | One buck with visible antler | |
| Deer | Youth extension – Western Oregon general buck deer | General tag | Units 10-30 | Nov 7–8 | One buck with visible antler | |
| Elk | General season antlerless elk damage | General tag | Biggs Unit; Columbia Plateau; Maupin Unit; Melrose; Evans Creek; Willamette Valley; Chetco | Aug 1–Mar 31 2027 | One antlerless elk | |
| Elk | General archery elk – Western Oregon | General tag | Units 11, 12, 14, 17, 18 and 27 | Aug 29–Sep 27 | One bull elk | |
| Black bear | General fall black bear (statewide) | General tag | Statewide | Aug 1–Dec 31 | One bear per tag; unlawful to take cubs less than one year old or sows with cubs less than one year old | |
| Cougar | General cougar (statewide, zone quotas) | General tag | Statewide | Jan 1–Dec 31 | One cougar per tag; unlawful to take spotted kittens or females with spotted kittens |
Below the big game rows sit 19 upland, migratory, turkey and furbearer rows valid in WMU 27. Pursuit-only and falconry rows (13) are on the season pages instead.
Other seasons (19)
| Species | Season | Tag | Area | Dates | Bag | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Turkey | Fall wild turkey | General tag | WMUs 14-30 | Sep 1–Jan 31 2027 | Two wild turkeys of either sex | |
| Wild Turkey | Spring 2027: youth spring wild turkey hunt | General tag | Statewide | Apr 10–11 Apr 15–May 31 | One male or bearded turkey per day | |
| Wild Turkey | Spring 2027: spring wild turkey | General tag | Statewide | Apr 15–May 31 | One male wild turkey or a wild turkey with a visible beard per day; season limit 3 | |
| Western Gray Squirrel | Western gray squirrel – remainder of state | License | Statewide | Sep 1–Nov 15 | 5 daily, 15 in possession | |
| Ruffed Grouse | Ruffed grouse | Validation | Statewide | Sep 1–Jan 31 2027 | 3 daily, 9 in possession | |
| Blue Grouse | Blue grouse (dusky and sooty) | Validation | Statewide | Sep 1–Jan 31 2027 | 3 daily, 9 in possession | |
| Chukar | Partridge (chukar and Hungarian combined) | Validation | Statewide | Oct 10–Jan 31 2027 | 8 daily, 24 in possession (combined) | |
| Hungarian Partridge | Partridge (chukar and Hungarian combined) | Validation | Statewide | Oct 10–Jan 31 2027 | 8 daily, 24 in possession (combined) | |
| Pheasant | Rooster pheasant | Validation | Statewide | Oct 10–Dec 31 | 2 daily, 8 in possession | |
| Ducks | Youth waterfowl hunt (ducks, mergansers, coots, geese) | Validation | Statewide | Sep 26–27 | Regular bag limits | |
| Ducks | Veterans and active military personnel waterfowl hunt | Validation | Statewide | Feb 6 | Regular bag limits | |
| Band-tailed Pigeon | Band-tailed pigeon | Permit | Statewide | Sep 15–23 | 2 daily, 6 in possession | |
| Crow | Crow | Validation | Statewide | Oct 1–Jan 31 2027 | No limit | |
| Brant | Brant | Permit | Statewide | Nov 28–Dec 13 | 2 daily, 6 in possession | |
| Gray Fox | Gray fox | Furtaker | Statewide | Oct 15–Feb 28 2027 | — | |
| Muskrat | Muskrat and mink | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 31 2027 | — | |
| Mink | Muskrat and mink | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 31 2027 | — | |
| Raccoon | Raccoon | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 15 2027 | — | |
| River Otter | River otter | Furtaker | Statewide | Nov 15–Mar 15 2027 | — |
Season rows from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations, the 2026-27 Oregon Game Bird Hunting Regulations and the furbearer regulations; general tag deadlines from the general season page; duck and dove zones on the ODFW waterfowl map; checked November 8, 2026.
Chetco Unit take and hunter numbers
Across the 2025 reports, hunts in the Chetco Unit produced the most in buck deer, any weapon (992).
Buck deer, any weapon success worked out near 48% (992 taken, 2,071 hunters). Elk, any weapon success worked out near 30% (44 taken, 145 hunters).
ODFW reports harvest by hunt and unit, not by county; a hunt row here counts only its part in this unit.
| Report | Hunt row | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buck deer, any weapon | General Any Legal Weapon Western Oregon w/ 119A | 14 | 10 | 73% |
| Buck deer, any weapon | General Western Deer | 2,057 | 982 | 48% |
| Deer, archery | Early Bow Deer | 26 | 4 | 17% |
| Deer, archery | Late Bow Deer | 7 | 2 | 40% |
| Deer, muzzleloader | 127M Chetco Unit Muzzleloader | 28 | 5 | 18% |
| Antlerless deer | 627 Chetco Unit | 29 | 18 | 62% |
| Elk, any weapon | 225B Curry Private | 13 | 9 | 75% |
| Elk, any weapon | 227T Chetco Unit Youth | 7 | 3 | 50% |
| Elk, any weapon | 227X Chetco Unit No. 1 | 65 | 13 | 20% |
| Elk, any weapon | 227Y Chetco Unit No. 2 | 60 | 19 | 31% |
| Elk, archery | 200R Oregon Youth Bow | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Elk, archery | Western Elk Archery | 183 | 42 | 23% |
| Black bear | 722A SW Oregon | 171 | 53 | 31% |
| Black bear | Additional Fall Bear | 23 | 5 | 20% |
| Black bear | Fall Bear | 549 | 52 | 9.5% |
| Cougar | Additional Cougar | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Cougar | Cougar | 207 | 9 | 4.4% |
ODFW 2025 harvest estimates: Buck deer, any weapon, Deer, archery, Deer, muzzleloader, Antlerless deer, Elk, any weapon, Elk, archery, Black bear, Cougar; checked November 8, 2026.
Chetco Unit public land map
Public ground in the Chetco Unit: 8 records sorted with unit-only places first, each linked to its own rules. The Chetco Unit includes Bureau of Land Management Oregon public lands.
Gold Beach Ranger District (Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forests)
BLM Grants Pass Field Office
BLM Coos Bay District
BLM Myrtlewood Field Office
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forests
BLM Medford District
Other ODF state forestlands (West Oregon, Western Lane, Coos and Southwest districts)
Land records and unit overlaps from ODFW, USFS, BLM, USFWS and ODF layers (see each land page); A&H and Open Fields access rules on the ODFW access program pages; checked November 8, 2026.
the Chetco Unit shooting light by date
Game birds run on ODFW's own printed table, and the Chetco Unit uses Zone A of it, so the bird column below is copied from the 2026-27 booklet rather than calculated.
| Date | Marker | Sunrise | Sunset | Game mammals | Game birds (ODFW) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2026 | Archery opener | 6:37 a.m. | 7:57 p.m. | 6:07 a.m. to 8:27 p.m. | Not in table |
| Oct 3, 2026 | General buck opener | 7:13 a.m. | 6:56 p.m. | 6:43 a.m. to 7:26 p.m. | 6:46 a.m. to 6:44 p.m. |
| Oct 10, 2026 | Duck opener and upland opener | 7:21 a.m. | 6:44 p.m. | 6:51 a.m. to 7:14 p.m. | 6:55 a.m. to 6:31 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:41 a.m. | 4:46 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 5:16 p.m. | 7:15 a.m. to 4:37 p.m. |
| Apr 15, 2027 | Spring turkey | 6:36 a.m. | 7:56 p.m. | 6:06 a.m. to 8:26 p.m. | Not in table |
Hours rules from the ODFW general hunting regulations; game bird times from the 2026-27 game bird shooting hours table; mammal sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Pacific Time); checked November 8, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Near the Chetco Unit
Gold Beach and Cave Junction lie in the unit. Grants Pass and Glendale are close by.
- Gold BeachCurry County
- Cave JunctionJosephine County
- Grants PassJosephine County
- GlendaleDouglas County
Units around the Chetco Unit:
| Unit | Shared counties | Sq mi | Hunt numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powers Unit | Curry, Josephine | 825 | 10 |
| Applegate Unit | Josephine | 1,325 | 10 |
| Sixes Unit | Curry | 994 | 13 |
| Evans Creek Unit | Josephine | 1,040 | 10 |
Towns and their units from Census places and the ODFW unit layer; checked November 8, 2026.
Chetco Unit answered
Who do I call about access in the Chetco Unit?
The Rogue district at 541-826-8774.
Which elk damage area reaches WMU 27?
Chetco.
Which counties split WMU 27?
Curry and Josephine, with the largest piece in Curry.
Which hunt in the Chetco Unit gets the most applicants?
722A, with 5,532 first choices in 2025.
Which general tags work in WMU 27?
7 general rows: deer, elk, black bear and cougar.
How many units share the cougar quota with the Chetco Unit?
16 units, including this one, share Zone A.
What access limits apply in WMU 27?
3 rifle-restricted seasons and 0 travel management areas.
Are there ODFW wildlife areas in the Chetco Unit?
None on our records.
Which towns make a good base for the Chetco Unit?
Gold Beach, Cave Junction, Grants Pass and Glendale.
How did hunters do in the Chetco Unit last season?
2,071 hunters took 992 buck deer, any weapon.
Answers drawn from the ODFW sources cited on this page; checked November 8, 2026.
Other photos on this page: USFWS/Southeast (CC BY 2.0).