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Oklahoma offers sportsmen and women a variety of hunting opportunities that most other states cannot match. Where else can they enjoy their favorite outdoor pastime pursuing such a wide range of healthy wildlife populations? It’s one of the best kept secrets in the outdoor world. How many hunters know that our state can boast of having three species of wild turkey and huntable populations in every county? Or that Oklahoma's white-tailed deer population is expanding so rapidly that state hunters have set new harvest records in 12 out of the last 15 years? Our quail |
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| Deer | and pheasant
hunting is consistently ranked in the top few states in the nation. Where else can you
pursue elk, antelope and eastern wild turkeys in the same state? No matter what kind of
hunting you prefer, Oklahoma can probably provide it. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s Wildlife Division manages over 1.6 million acres of public hunting land and wildlife management areas that hunters can use. These areas are intensively managed to provide productive habitat and a wide variety of species, both game and non-game. Some of these areas are open to all types of hunting while others offer quality controlled hunts. The Game Division also monitors wildlife populations through surveys and hunter check station results. The Department’s deer management program is geared toward providing maximum harvest opportunities for all hunters, but that doesn’t mean that this program doesn’t annually produce thousands of trophy deer for lucky hunters.Numbers of big-antlered bucks have been |
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because hunters have been increasing the number of antlerless deer they harvest and being
more selective in the buck harvest. In fact, in two out of the last three years, new
record bucks have been taken, topped just this last season with a new typical Cy Curtis record.
Further, many more bucks have been scored and entered into Oklahoma's Cy Curtis record deer program. The Department's game wardens, as well as commissioned Wildlife Division employees, work with dedicated sportsmen to monitor the ranks of hunters, ensuring that hunting seasons are adhered to and regulations and license requirements are upheld. The agency constantly communicates with other agencies and conservation organizations to keep abreast with the latest research and management strategies. We all have a stake in Oklahoma’s rich hunting heritage. It is the license buyers who have paid for the management, enforcement and research that the Wildlife Department has used to ensure healthy wildlife populations. Whether hunting for small game on a crisp fall morning, putting out a spread of waterfowl decoys in a greentree marsh with a neighbor, walking a trapline for furbearers with a friend, or getting together with long time acquaintances for an annual dove hunt, we can be proud to share and pass on our outdoor experiences and traditions with family and friends. Be sure and keep abreast of the statewide waterfowl counts
(updated weekly, in season only). |
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