More doe hunting days in December
Oklahoma's antlerless only gun season will be longer this December
State wildlife commissioners voted Monday to expand doe hunting in Oklahoma.
The antlerless only gun hunting deer seasons in December will be lengthened from six days to 10 days.
Antlerless only gun hunting has been allowed for two consecutive three-day weekends in December.
This year, a 10-day antlerless gun season for most of the state will run from Dec. 17 through Dec. 26. That season will still be closed in the Panhandle and most of southeast Oklahoma.
No other changes were made Monday to the deer seasons.
In other action, the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission also changed the antler points restriction for bull elk hunting on private land.
Before, a bull elk had to have at least six points on one side before it could be legally harvested. Commissioners voted Monday to change that restriction to five points. More cow elk hunting days were added in the Slick Hills area in southwest Oklahoma.
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Comments
Not all areas can tolerate additional doe hunting. Sure we have a nice deer herd on private land and large leases but many areas have been damaged by the increased doe hunting inclunding some areas where entire deer populations have been wiped out.
Consider the WMA’s that have become almost devoid of deer populations and those that once were national class hunding areas that now only produce a handful of deer each year (I had to use 2008 WMA totals because the ODWC website stopped posting WMA totals , presumably so no one would see the unproductiveness of our public hunting lands and lack of proper management:
Stringtown WMA covers 2,260 acres of south-central Atoka County – 2008 harvest=1 buck
The Tenkiller WMA consists of approximately 2,590 acres in Cherokee and Sequoyah counties -2008 deer harvest=1 buck
Robbers Cave WMA covers 6,180 acres of Latimer County in Southeast Oklahoma-2008 deer harvest = 2 (never hunted here but based on deer harvest , never want to).
Okmulgee Wildlife Management Area covers 10,900 acres of west-central Okmulgee County – 2008 deer harvest total 37 including does for nearly 11,000 acres. In the late 70s, Okmulgee WMA was known nationwide as one of America’s top archery hunting areas. The last time I hunted Okmulgee 2004 was a special muzzleloader hunt. In two days with 75 hunters w/muzzleloaders only 1 deer was killed and that was a small buck I killed. No other deer were killed out of 150 hunters. What type “deer management” produces this kinds of results?
Area Description: The Cookson WMA consists of approximately 15,469 acres in southeastern Cherokee and southwestern Adair Counties- 2008 harvest = 32 bucks, 42 does (74 deer all seasons combined on 15,000 acres plus, of managed , prime habitat). This is some of the best habitat in Eastern Oklahoma.
The Deep Fork Wildlife Management covers 11,900 acres in southern Creek and northern Okfuskee Counties. 2008 deer harvest = 4 bucks, 5 does. (9 deer on nearly 12,000 acres)
In 2008 the total deer harvest from 1,600,000 acres of Public WMAs was 6,158 deer including bucks, does and fawns.
If not for private landowners, the total 2008 deer harvest would have been 6158 total statewide instead of 111,000 which the department seems proud of.
6158 deer from 1.6 million acres of public hunting land is nothing to be proud of in any state I know of.
I’m getting older and getting tired of losing my hunting spot just because the doe killers move in and wipe out everything brown.
Nothing is more disgusting than to try to manage a few hundred acres so you can have a place to hunt and have the doe hunters move in next door and wipe everything out.
Poor management is worse than no management. Anyone that can explain to me how the deer harvest from the public lands listed above is improving the Oklahoma Deer herd, please email me at andrew.qualls@ok.nacdnet.net I’d really be interested in hearing the logic behind this type “deer management”. I also raise cattle, the effect of doe harvests on the overhunted public land is the same as if I went out and every year shot some of my cows , eventually there are none. There are dozens of management practices that can improve our deer herds but none of those are even considered.
I am looking forward to emails from anyone with an opinion on the subject.
If you Own or lease a thousand acres and you don’t let anyone hunt, and you have too many does, that is your fault and just as poor management as the indiscriminate killing of all does on public land.
I’m in Muskogee County. andrew.qualls@ok.nacdnet.net
instead of just adding days why doesnt to department of wildlife allow us people that will shoot does an extra doe?