Don’t wait until the last minute to apply for a controlled or premium hunt as the May 15 deadline falls on a Monday this year and ODFW offices are closed on the weekends.
Apply online at https://odfw.huntfishoregon.com/login (which accepts applications until 11:59 p.m. on May 15) or at a license sale agent during store hours. Applications are $8 per hunt series (buck deer, antlerless deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain goat) and an annual hunting license is also required. If you have problems accessing your online account, call Licensing at (503) 947-6101 or email odfw.websales@odfw.oregon.gov
New this year, controlled and premium hunt draw results will be available June 12 instead of June 20. Efficiencies from ODFW’s new electronic licensing system (including not having to process paper applications) means results can be available sooner. The deadline to change controlled hunt applications will also shift to May 25 (from June 1).
To ensure a high-quality hunt for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, ODFW has reduced or eliminated tags for several 2023 Rocky Mountain goat hunts and one bighorn sheep hunt. The hunts affected are #548 (Heppner bighorn sheep), 959 A1 and A2 (Hat Point Rocky Mountain goat #1 and #2) and #960B1 and B2 (Goat Mtn Rocky Mountain Goat #1 and #2). A total of eight tags have been eliminated due to declining populations or impacts from last year’s wildfires. (See table of tag changes.)
For more information on how to apply, see this article and use the following tips:
- Use group purchase. One person can apply for an entire hunting party and for their family and friends. https://myodfw.com/articles/how-make-group-purchase-els
- Double-check regulations before applying. Even if you’ve applied for the same hunt for years, check your hunt number and be sure the hunt hasn’t changed.
- Don’t wait until the last minute. Calls and emails increase in the days before the deadline and response times increase.
- Be sure to apply for a Premium Hunt—deer, elk and pronghorn antelope tags with a four-month season (Aug. 1-Nov. 30) and any-sex bag limit. Everyone has an equal chance to draw these tags (including non-residents). Premium tags are additional meaning you can also hunt a controlled or general season.
- Change your mind after applying? You have until May 25 to change your hunt choice through your online account or license sale agent.
As of May 1, 136,698 controlled hunt apps have been submitted vs 139,011 at the same date last year.