Velvet buck seasons
Whitetail Deer
What states have a velvet buck season? I'm pretty sure South Carolina does and I imagine it's sponsored by Thermacell.
The reason I ask is it looks like Oklahoma may join those states with a velvet buck season (SB 910). It seems to be strictly a trophy hunting move for those who want to hunt in our August heat. Wildlife department will determine which counties have the numbers to support the hunt. The hunt will last 9 days beginning the Saturday before the last weekend of August. Special velvet buck permit required. 90/10 resident/non-res distribution. Velvet buck counts against 2 buck limit.
I believe SD and KY have a season where velvet deer is possible.
Ct you can get a velvet buck too. First 2 weeks of the season .
I'm pretty sure you can get them all year round I see for sale along the road in empty lots and flea markets. Some are pretty cool but I'm gonna go old school with the dogs playing poker.
TN has a 3 day velvet buck season in late August.
Maybe Wisconsin as their season opens in mid September.
Got a good chance first week or 2 in wisconsin. You used to have to report velvet bucks to DNR if you shot one but that may have changed.
Baiting is the norm in OK, so at that time of year it's basically a trained barnyard "hunt"...horrible idea for herd structure
Omg I actually agree with sitO. Guys looking at all their daylight buck pics in August that turn nocturnal by October 1st are drooling for this. Terrible idea for the herd 3 1/2 months is more then enough hunting season.
Longbow , September 8th 2010 . a few years back . First day I hunted that year. QUARTERMOON LONGBOW , 2 piece takedown , bamboo core , yew laminations . 55#. Imho early season deer eating lush green foliage are excellent tableware. The venison on this guy was top notch .
There are no " velvet buck " seasons in Canada . Basically some deer stay in Velvet to early fall. Some don't. When I harvested this buck , there was a whitetail buck not 100 yards away with hard horns . The whitetail saw me eventually before I arrowed this guy . He was watching the whitetail initially . From my experience it seems mule deer stay in velvet longer than whitetail where I have hunted .
In my situation , it didn't matter to me about the velvet . The buck just happened to be still in velvet .
Nebraska opens Sept 1st for deer.
SD opens Sept 1st for deer for residents and if you are a nonresident you have to hunt on private land.
ND opens for deer around labor day weekend on a Friday at noon.
Are the “velvet buck” seasons just a chance for rifle hunters to get an early crack at deer that they’ve been watching all summer before the bowhunters get them all?
Corax the proposal is for bow only. But with crossbows legal in Oklahoma there'll be plenty of guys out and even more will go get one if they get a crack at a velvet deer. The season would run from Aug 19th-27th. This bill is all about people wanting to kill "trophy" deer in velvet and is not based on what's best for the wildlife at all. One more thing in Oklahoma it regularly reaches 100 degrees in August a lot of meat will be wasted or deer bumped because of fear of letting them sit to long.
Nearly every western state has archery season opening early enough that velvet mule deer and/or whitetail are possible in the beginning, although most will be rubbing their velvet as the season progresses.
But from what you're describing, the proposal is for an earlier season than standard in OK. What I think will happen is the first few years huge deer will be killed, then they'll learn that pressure starts earlier, and go nocturnal earlier...
A season just for the reason the deer are in velvet is not a good idea.
One thing I mention . My Dad taught me to hunt . It was all about the great food. Something like this is just an interesting part of the biological process of antler growth . Which is one one the fastest growing tissues in mammals . I've got a great number of photos I have taken of deer in velvet in August . During the velvet stage antlers are fragile and it's not uncommon to see antlers get damaged during this phase of growth .
I believe nearly any Canadian province as well. For sure Alberta, Sask, Manitoba. We typically open last week of August, and have velvet bucks sometimes until mid September. At the risk of sounding cocky they are crazy easy to kill that time of year. Any buck I ever tried to kill in velvet I did. But I hate the look of them, and I hate punching my only tag at that time of year, so I just don't hunt then. Back when we had more tags I'd maybe shoot one then. But I am not sacrificing rut hunting to kill one in velvet.
