Just wondering what kind of “Game Management” is necessary to “manage” 11,000 acres at Okmulgee in order to harvest 37 deer per year? Even a poorly managed 1000 acre plot with that kind of habitat would produce more deer than that. Don’t BS me with “quality” either, I’ve been there. In 1970 you had some quality bucks, doubt that there were many even worth taking a photo of out of the 24 bucks taken from the 11,000 acres in 2008.

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 (pretty sure not like blake’s)

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 60s, Okmulgee WMA was known nationwide as one of America’s top archery hunting areas. In those days, I loved to bowhunt Okmulgee because I always saw deer including several nice bucks on every visit. The last time I hunted Okmulgee 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.

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, may as well be using the land to raise catfish, it would be just as productive).

The Deep Fork Wildlife Management covers 11,900 acres in southern Creek and northern Okfuskee Counties. 2008 deer harvest = 4 bucks, 5 does. (Really have to work to kill out the deer herd there but it has worked)

With the past 10 years of doe hunts eliminating the deer herd and making the wildlife management areas unproductive, why bother? Back in the 60s they rented camp gruber out to graze thousands of cattle which destroyed the deer habitat for a decade. If not for private landowners, the 2008 deer harvest would have been 6158 total statewide instead of 111,000 which the department seems proud of.
6000 deer from 1.6 million acres is nothing to be proud of in any state I know of. Why not admit that the 35 doe days in 2010 have nothing to do with deer herd improvement but are a product of insurance company lobbying and political compliance with the insurance companies?
The sad fact that the destruction of the deer herd in hunting areas has little to do with the number of deer collisions because most are due to urban sprawl and high traffic encroachment on areas where no hunting is allowed.

Killing off the deer populations in the WMA’s have done nothing to reduce deer/car collisions because most of them are out of high traffic areas. All it has done is made them worthless places to deer hunt and places where those that don’t have anywhere to hunt to waste their vacation days.

Real deer management requires a knowlege of herd balance and habitat and implementing measures to accomplish the desired goals which might be fewer but high quality deer, or more productive hunting areas but real deer management doesn’t begin on the insurance executives desk.

The WMAs are stabilized at levels where “kill all does” can’t make them any worse. I notice that no totals from the WMA’s are on the ODWC website because at one time the season totals now were the same as daily totals in the past.
Gruber/Cherokee at one time produced 300 bucks+ on Opening day or rifle season, now they produce about that many does and bucks combined for archery,primitive and rifle combined.
Deer management by insurance companies? Not sustainable. Too much greed. Happening in lots of other states too. Pennsylvania hunters have figured it out (too late)

Now we have to pay $5 even to apply for a controlled hunt, I will never apply for anything again unless McAlester Ammunition Depot, The NWR near Lawton or one other refuge that is on the verge of collapse (ft. gibson waterfowl) but still has some bucks. I don’t know of any other WMAs or refuges in Ok. that are worth the 5 bucks even if you get drawn.