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Anyone bowhunt Three Rivers WMA/Honobia

Three Rivers WMA and Honobia Creek...They both look like vast areas, exactly what I'm looking for to get off the beaten path. Looks like they are open to quite a bit of gun hunting opportunity which I am not interested in but would like to know if the impact gun hunters have on the area? Are these areas still decent bow hunting? If you were bowhunting only which would you focus on to get away from pressure?

The area is huge. People will be scattered throughout. It's not hard to get away from people, as it is not as popular as it was years ago. You won't encounter pressure from guns. What you will find is a patchwork of closed off roads. The ODWC made a deal to lease out large tracts to individuals. There is still room, but you have to scout to find open areas. Tough country for bow hunting. More like rifle country. It can be done for sure, but it will require some intense scouting to find good areas.

So they are leasing public hunting land to individuals for hunting????

So they are leasing public hunting land to individuals for hunting????

It's not public land. it's owned by the John Handcock Corporation. ODWC has a cooperative agreement with them.

It's not public land. it's owned by the John Handcock Corporation. ODWC has a cooperative agreement with them.

Aha...well at least there are still some areas available

First and foremost I'm an avid bowhunter. Having said that, I rifle hunt as well, almost entirely in the region your asking about. I've hunted all over the Kiamichi region from 3 Sticks to Antlers, and Hee Mountain to the Potato hills, and a lot points in between. In my forty years traipsing those hills and ridges, I've only ventured in with archery equipment once. It will take a huge effort on your part as John says to locate a place to be productive. It is my experience locating reliable food sources has proven difficult, acorns and other mast crops are scattered and difficult to find, due to timber practices. Secondary ridges are usually a nice first step. The logging (clear Cutting) activities can and will keep you on the move, once you locate that sweet spot, you better cash in quick though,next year it just may be gone. I learned long ago that whitetails are edge creatures, it doesn't change there either. The edges are just harder to distinguish, but they are there never the less. The wind is a issue as well, it can and will blow in both ears at the same time, and then up you shirt. Those old bucks a constantly aware. The numbers will seem low, but don't let that fool you, they are there, just far to many places to hide. The quality is top shelf if you can get lucky. Like I said I'm an avid bow hunter and if I lived there, I might have a more positive outlook. I love the region my roots run deep (my Parents Home area), but reaching out to score is a better bet for me.

Actually three rivers is owned by Weyerhaeuser corp. The odwc leases the land from Weyerhaeuser to maintain hunting access that otherwise would be leased to the richest Texan. odwc pays 3$ an acre to keep this awesome bowhunting paradise available for the sportsmen of oklahoma

I just ventured through this area for work to get to a cell tower, and thought I would pass along what I saw. First and foremost, we ventured all over the part around the main "Honobia WMA" entrance near Cloudy, about 20 minutes from Antlers. The place is massive. The only indication you are on the WMA is a tiny sign nailed to a pine tree halfway up the mountain. Go down the wrong road, and there are plenty of locked gates. There are also tons of private property and "leased" signs everywhere.

That being said, we saw a ton of deer, mainly does hanging out on the logging roads. Saw a nice buck right off the road in a hollow. No antlers, but he was huge.

I think anyone's biggest problem with this area is knowing where the boundaries are...you are highly likely to stumble across someone else property, whether it is leased or owned. As far as bow goes, no way, unless you spend a ton of time out there. I would say the best place to hunt is along the logging roads, which during hunting season I'm sure there are cars all over. Also, make sure someone knows where you are at, or go with a buddy...if something were to happen, nobody would be able to find you.

Sounds like a challenging area to hunt...thanks for the info all!

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