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Oregon national forest
Ochoco National Forest: Hunting Rules and Units
National forest in Crook County and 3 more counties, 728,634 acres in the 4 hunting units.
Photo: USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Getting to Ochoco National Forest
Size, counties and manager of Ochoco National Forest
Ochoco National Forest counts as a national forest, so the general national forest shooting limits apply alongside Oregon seasons. Its published size is 728,634 acres, the figure from the USFS land statistics. On a county map it falls in Crook County, Wheeler County, Jefferson County and Grant County (East Region of ODFW). Local ODFW biologists: the Ochoco (Prineville) and Deschutes (Bend) districts.
From the USFS hunting and shooting page: Big game, bird, and small game hunting opportunities exist. Hunting Big Game Hunting The Crooked River National Grassland, along with the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests have several areas you can hunt for Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Cougar and Rocky Mountain Elk. Hunting opportunities for Black Bear are limited due to the amount of known populations.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Ochoco National Forest
Hunter access and site rules on Ochoco National Forest
Hunters on Ochoco National Forest may not shoot within 150 yards of a dwelling, building, campsite or developed recreation area under 36 CFR 261.10. Shooting from, along or across a forest road or a body of water is also prohibited. Check the free Motor Vehicle Use Map for Ochoco National Forest before driving off pavement; ODFW travel management areas add seasonal road closures.
Sources: 36 CFR 261.10 · Forest Service page · ODFW travel management areas; checked November 8, 2026.
Drawing a tag for Ochoco National Forest
What drawn hunters at Ochoco National Forest are after.
Counting every series, there are 56 drawn hunts whose 2026 hunt area overlaps the units of Ochoco National Forest (11,444 tags). A hunt area can reach well beyond Ochoco National Forest, and a hunt there does not guarantee the tag is valid on every acre of it; read the hunt description. Draw timing in 2026: spring bear by February 10, everything else by May 15, results June 12. Three quarters of the tags in the point-based series go by preference points, one quarter by lottery; bighorn, goat and premium hunts are pure lottery.
| Series | Count | Tags 2026 | First-choice apps 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buck deer (100) | 11 | 6,073 | – |
| Premium deer (L) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Elk (200) | 24 | 4,290 | 8,291 |
| Premium elk (M) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Pronghorn (400) | 4 | 131 | 2,601 |
| Premium pronghorn (N) | 3 | 3 | – |
| California bighorn (500) | 5 | 59 | – |
| Spring bear (700) | 1 | 880 | 1,288 |
Demand peaks at hunt 438 (Grizzly Unit), where 213 people put it first for 7 tags. If odds matter more than the place, 236R (Maury Unit Bow) offered 55 tags to 16 first choices. The 2026 booklet marks CR101, CR101R, AD101, PH101, AD101R and AD101R1 as new.
| Hunt | Name | Weapon | Dates | Tags | 1st choices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PH101 | Painted Hills 01 | Any legal weapon | Oct 3–14, 2026 | 1,254 | – |
| AD101 | Aldrich 01 | Any legal weapon | Oct 3–14, 2026 | 1,100 | – |
| DE101 | Deschutes 01 | Any legal weapon | Oct 3–14, 2026 | 990 | – |
| CR101 | Crooked River 01 | Any legal weapon | Oct 3–14, 2026 | 851 | – |
| LAD01 | Aldrich 01 | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| LCR01 | Crooked River 01 | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| LDE01 | Deschutes 01 | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| LPH01 | Painted Hills 01 | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| 234X | E Central Cascades | Any legal weapon | Oct 28–Nov 1, 2026 | 1,320 | 1,300 |
| 237R | Ochoco Unit Bow | Archery | Aug 29–Sep 27, 2026 | 495 | 1,098 |
| 238A | Grizzly Grassland | Any legal weapon | Aug 15–Dec 31, 2026 | 440 | 359 |
| 200R | Oregon Youth Bow | Youth only | Aug 29–Sep 27, 2026 | 330 | 124 |
| M36 | Maury | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| M37 | Ochoco | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| M38 | Grizzly | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| M39 | Metolius | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| 437 | Ochoco Unit | Any legal weapon | Aug 22–30, 2026 | 76 | 1,686 |
| 436 | Maury Unit | Any legal weapon | Aug 15–23, 2026 | 26 | 648 |
| 436R | Maury Unit Bow | Archery | Aug 29–Sep 6, 2026 | 22 | 54 |
| 438 | Grizzly Unit | Any legal weapon | Aug 15–23, 2026 | 7 | 213 |
| N36 | Maury | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| N37 | Ochoco | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| N38 | Grizzly | Premium (any legal weapon) | Aug 1–Nov 30, 2026 | 1 | – |
| 543D1 | John Day River Ewe | Any legal weapon | Sep 21–Oct 16, 2026 | 30 | – |
Hunt numbers, 2026 tags and 2025 first-choice applicants from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations; hunt areas from ODFW’s 2026 controlled hunt boundary layers; draw rules from ODFW. Checked November 8, 2026.
No-draw seasons around Ochoco National Forest
Buy-and-go tags apply here for black bear, cougar and elk, as listed below for the Ochoco National Forest units. A general bear tag covers August 1 to December 31, and the cougar season lasts the whole year unless the zone quota is reached.
| Hunt | Animal | First day | Last day | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General archery elk – Eastern Oregon | Elk | Aug 29, 2026 | Sep 27, 2026 | 38, 39 |
| General fall black bear (statewide) | Black bear | Aug 1, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 | All |
| General cougar (statewide, zone quotas) | Cougar | Jan 1, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 | All |
General seasons and dates from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations; tag sale deadlines on the general seasons page. Checked November 8, 2026.
Hunting units around Ochoco National Forest
For tags and seasons, Ochoco National Forest counts as Maury Unit (36), Ochoco Unit (37), Grizzly Unit (38) and Metolius Unit (39). In units 31 to 77, deer is by draw only, organised into Deer Hunt Areas within herd ranges.
| WMU | Number | Oregon side | Square miles | Cougar zone | District office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maury Unit | 36 | East | 1,100 | F (140) | Ochoco (Prineville) |
| Ochoco Unit | 37 | East | 1,605 | E (270) | Ochoco (Prineville) |
| Grizzly Unit | 38 | East | 1,684 | D (100) | Ochoco (Prineville) |
| Metolius Unit | 39 | East | 666 | A (180) | Deschutes (Bend) |
Units from the ODFW Wildlife Management Units layer overlaid on the land record; cougar quotas from the 2026 cougar zone table; checked November 8, 2026.
Harvest figures for the Ochoco National Forest units
No agency counts the harvest on Ochoco National Forest alone; the table adds up ODFW's 2025 rows for each unit. Ochoco Unit posted the biggest 2025 elk harvest of these units, about 187 animals. The most bucks, around 318, came from Ochoco Unit.
| Unit | Buck deer hunters | Buck deer harvest | Elk hunters | Elk harvest | Pronghorn hunters | Pronghorn harvest | Black bear hunters | Black bear harvest | Cougar hunters | Cougar harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maury Unit | 221 | 79 | 45 | 5 | 41 | 20 | 29 | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| Ochoco Unit | 1,473 | 318 | 617 | 187 | 66 | 26 | 272 | 19 | 282 | 9 |
| Grizzly Unit | 594 | 235 | 618 | 146 | 4 | 3 | 184 | 7 | 202 | 6 |
| Metolius Unit | 182 | 85 | 231 | 49 | – | – | 132 | 6 | 104 | 0 |
ODFW 2025 harvest summaries (2025 buck deer, any legal weapon summary · 2025 elk, any legal weapon summary · 2025 pronghorn summary · 2025 black bear summary · 2025 cougar summary); unit totals summed from the report rows; checked November 8, 2026.
Bird hunting zones near Ochoco National Forest
The counties of Ochoco National Forest use Zone B (Central Oregon) and Zone D (Eastern Oregon; part of Malheur County is on Mountain Time) of ODFW's game bird hours table. Zones 1 and 2 for ducks and doves appear only on the ODFW map; look there before choosing dates.
| County | Bird hours zone | Goose zone |
|---|---|---|
| Crook County | B (Central Oregon) | Map only |
| Wheeler County | B (Central Oregon) | Map only |
| Jefferson County | B (Central Oregon) | Map only |
| Grant County | D (Eastern Oregon; part of Malheur County is on Mountain Time) | Map only |
From the 2026-27 Oregon Game Bird Hunting Regulations: goose zones, shooting-hours zones, duck zone map. Checked November 8, 2026. Waterfowl and goose zones.
Cougar zones, deer areas and closures near Ochoco National Forest
The cougar season around Ochoco National Forest ends early if Zone A (quota 180), Zone D (quota 100), Zone E (quota 270) and Zone F (quota 140) fills. For eastern buck tags, check the Aldrich, Crooked River, Deschutes and Painted Hills hunt areas listed below. Expect seasonal road closures: 2 travel management areas cover parts of the Ochoco National Forest units.
| Rule type | Applies to | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Zone (cougar) | Zone A, Coast/North Cascade | Quota 180 |
| Zone (cougar) | Zone D, Columbia Basin | Quota 100 |
| Zone (cougar) | Zone E, Blue Mountains | Quota 270 |
| Zone (cougar) | Zone F, Southeast Oregon | Quota 140 |
| Herd range | Aldrich (AD) | AD01 |
| Herd range | Crooked River (CR) | CR01 |
| Herd range | Deschutes (DE) | DE01 |
| Herd range | Painted Hills (PH) | PH01 |
| Travel area | 37A Rager | August 20 – November 20 |
| Travel area | 37B South Boundary | Permanent Closure |
| Rifle restriction | Rocky Mountain Bull Elk (controlled) 1st Season (October 28 – November 1) | Units 31-77 |
| Rifle restriction | Rocky Mountain Bull Elk 2nd Season (November 7 – November 15) | Units 32-77 |
From the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations: cougar zones, Deer Hunt Areas, travel management areas, elk damage areas, rifle restrictions. Checked November 8, 2026.
Nearby public ground on the Ochoco National Forest map
Head east roughly 32 miles for Phillip W. Schneider WA. Pinned nearby: 2 wildlife areas, 2 BLM field offices and 1 BLM district.
| Nearby | Type | Acres | County | Miles | Heading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillip W. Schneider WA | Wildlife area | 51,131 | Grant | 32 miles | east |
| Prineville Reservoir WA | Wildlife area | 8,405 | Crook | 33 miles | southwest |
| BLM Prineville District | BLM district | 1,650,000 | Crook | 40 miles | southwest |
| BLM Central Oregon FO | BLM field office | 934,590 | Crook | 42 miles | south |
| Blue Mountain RD | Ranger district | 706,705 | Grant | 42 miles | east |
| BLM Deschutes FO | BLM field office | 776,813 | Deschutes | 46 miles | southwest |
Point: OR_FRAMEWORK Oregon Land Management (USFS) inside the USFS EDW ranger district boundaries of the unit (polygon centroid of the largest part). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
The family of records around Ochoco National Forest
Drill down into its 3 sub-units below.
County acreage for Ochoco National Forest
The biggest county slice of Ochoco National Forest is Crook County, with some 425,856 acres.
| County | Acres | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Crook County | 425,856 | 58% |
| Wheeler County | 129,919 | 18% |
| Jefferson County | 115,002 | 16% |
| Grant County | 57,857 | 8% |
From the USFS Lands Area Statistics; checked November 8, 2026.
Closed places sharing units with Ochoco National Forest
These places share units or counties with Ochoco National Forest but are closed to hunting under an Oregon license. No state tag is valid on tribal land; tribal governments issue their own permits.
| Place | Reason closed | County | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm Springs Reservation | Tribal land | Wasco, Jefferson, Clackamas, Marion | 647,897 |
| Metolius Wildlife Refuge | Closed by regulation | – | – |
| Rimrock Springs Wildlife Area | Closed by regulation | – | – |
| John Day Fossil Beds | National Park Service unit | Grant, Wheeler | 13,960 |
Closed places from lands.json: tribal land (Census TIGERweb; 18 U.S.C. 1165; ODFW), NPS units (36 CFR 2.2), refuges not in 50 CFR 32.56 and ODFW regulation closures. Checked November 8, 2026.
Opening and closing light at Ochoco National Forest
Deer, elk, bear and cougar hunters around Ochoco National Forest follow the mammal window; grouse, quail, chukar, pheasant, ducks and geese follow the bird table.
| Day | Why it matters | Sun up | Sun down | Deer and elk | Upland and ducks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2026 | Archery opener | 6:19 a.m. | 7:45 p.m. | 5:49 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. | Not in table |
| Oct 3, 2026 | Eastern buck rifle | 6:59 a.m. | 6:40 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 7:10 p.m. | 6:38 a.m. to 6:34 p.m. |
| Oct 10, 2026 | Duck opener and upland opener | 7:08 a.m. | 6:27 p.m. | 6:38 a.m. to 6:57 p.m. | 6:46 a.m. to 6:22 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:33 a.m. | 4:24 p.m. | 7:03 a.m. to 4:54 p.m. | 7:15 a.m. to 4:37 p.m. |
| Apr 15, 2027 | Spring turkey | 6:18 a.m. | 7:43 p.m. | 5:48 a.m. to 8:13 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.
Restocking near Ochoco National Forest
Supplies are closest in Dayville, a straight-line 31 miles from Ochoco National Forest. The 2024 Census estimate makes Redmond the largest nearby, at 37,626 people. Within ten miles of Burns, Dayville, Hines and Prineville you reach Ochoco National Forest. The closest ODFW office is in Dayville, 31 miles away.
| Town | County | 2024 population | Away | Which way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dayville | Grant | 130 | 31 miles | east |
| Prineville Lake Acres | Crook | – | 35 miles | southwest |
| Prineville | Crook | 11,917 | 36 miles | west |
| Fossil | Wheeler | 452 | 43 miles | north |
| Redmond | Deschutes | 37,626 | 52 miles | west |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); ODFW offices from the ODFW contact page; businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 8, 2026.
Ochoco National Forest: ranges within a drive
From Ochoco National Forest, the nearest pin on the range map is Great Expectations Hunting Preserve, 45 miles away. A rifle line waits at Mayville Flat Shooting Preserve, 52 miles from the land.
From ODFW’s E.E. Wilson visitors guide, the BLM qualified range list, club sites and directory listings, checked November 8, 2026.
Ochoco National Forest hunting questions, answered from the sources
What acreage does Ochoco National Forest cover?
It covers about 728,634 acres.
Which town is the closest stop for Ochoco National Forest?
Dayville (31 miles) and the ODFW Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area Office (31 miles), measured in a straight line.
Are there tribal lands near Ochoco National Forest?
Warm Springs Reservation, Metolius Wildlife Refuge and Rimrock Springs Wildlife Area are off limits.
Which roads are open for driving on Ochoco National Forest?
Follow the agency map and any posted seasonal closures.
Is Sunday a hunting day on Ochoco National Forest?
Yes, unless the place’s own rules name hunt days.
What agency is responsible for Ochoco National Forest?
The USDA Forest Service. ODFW sets the seasons and tags that apply.
Do I have to report a hunt on Ochoco National Forest?
Yes, even if you did not hunt. Deadlines: January 31, 2027 or April 15, 2027 depending on when the hunt ends; a late deer or elk report costs $25.
What game is named for Ochoco National Forest?
Species on record: elk, deer, pronghorn, black bear, cougar and big game (USFS forest hunting & shooting page).
Is hunting allowed on Ochoco National Forest?
It is open: hunting on Ochoco National Forest is regulated by ODFW, and the Forest Service sets shooting-safety and road rules.
What unit numbers apply to Ochoco National Forest?
Maury Unit (36), Ochoco Unit (37), Grizzly Unit (38) and Metolius Unit (39). Each unit has its own page with seasons and hunt numbers.
Which controlled hunts reach Ochoco National Forest?
56 controlled or premium hunts (11,444 tags in 2026) overlap its units; apply by May 15 (spring bear February 10).
Which general seasons apply on Ochoco National Forest?
General seasons in its units cover black bear, cougar and elk; buy the tag before the sale deadline.
Wrapping up plans for Ochoco National Forest
Rules, closures and permits for Ochoco National Forest change during the year; posted signs and the managing agency outrank this page.
Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4 · source 5 · source 6; seasons from the 2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations and the 2026-27 Oregon Game Bird Hunting Regulations. Checked November 8, 2026.
Other photos on this page: USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0); USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0).