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On the GRADE

I see were our State is at a B- right now. And i think most of us agree that gun season is to long. would you be for or against antler restriction? or shoot a doe before you could take a buck? Im not a fan of the latter. jeff

I was suprised we got such a low grade. Definitely wouldn't be against gun season going from 16 to 9 days. But when I think about it objectively I wonder if that's not for selfish reasons we as bowhunters get 3 1/2 months to hunt makes 16 days seem more reasonable( yes I am aware that the majority of deer harvested in our state are killed during rifle season). I would be for antler restriction for your second buck tag something like at least one of your 2 buck tags must be filled with a buck with 4 or more points on one side. I'm not for the "earn a buck system" or shooting a doe to get a buck tag. I also think that does killed during the holiday antlerless season should count towards the seasonal bag limit.

I think another problems is people leases up large acres of land from farmers and then only trophy hunt. The farmer comes out see alot of does on his field and calls odwf.

Probably won't have much backing on this one but... one (1) buck per season. Any method you choose but once you harvest a buck it's a doe or does, depending on your license and or tags. Keep the 19 day gun season. Trophy hunters can continue to be just as selective and meat hunters should still be alright. I would think we would see within 2-3 years a reduction in the doe population and hopefully an increase in numbers and class of bucks here in the state. JMO, happy new years all, Gene.

Why change it when the largest bucks ever are being killed and photographed regularly. I'm not sure if I'm living in the same state as some of the people that need to see a change. Do yall need 300 inch bucks to be happy? Wow from where I'm at the deer herd is awesome and getting better every year. Just because Kansas and iowa have one buck limits doesn't mean we need to model our management just like theirs. We are different in our geography and deer behavior. We aren't the Midwest or the southeast we are somewhere in between just as our management scheme suggests. Just my 2 cents

With so many widely varied opinions when it comes to deer management I would sure hate to be the one who writes the regs.

I think Oklahoma "manages" strictly for deer encounters and shot opportunities. They encourage hunters to let the young bucks walk but I feel if they really wanted to see more bucks reach full maturity they would take the responsibility off the hunter and regulate for it by moving the 16 day rifle season out of the rut completely. The decreased number of young bucks being killed is probably not a management decision by most hunters but due to the increased number of leases with antler restrictions and the increased use of trail cameras resulting in guys passing on a youngster and waiting on the big one they saw on the trail cam.

I have to agree with swampokie. We have it pretty good based on harvest numbers so maybe nothing is needed.

The only thing i would like to see change is bow season open in September

Big bucks would be hammered with bows in September just as bad as they r in the rut rifle hunt. Very vulnerable in that bed to feed feed to bed pattern. That being said id love it too!!!!

That would be awesome. It seems like every year I have daylight photos every evening the whole month of September of giants October 1st hits and they're suddenly all nocturnal. I swear they know what day hunting season starts.

I would be for antler restriction or a 1 buck limit,but do not think either will happen.Do not know why people shoot small bucks when a doe will eat as good or better.You cannot kill big bucks if you shoot them before they can grow up.

Terry: I think 1 1/2 yr old bucks are shot because those bucks are the dumbest in the woods and present more shot opportunities, rifle or bow. A 6 month old button buck that has just been kicked out by mom may be slightly dumber.

I would like the survey to say if you were on private land or state. There is a big difference between the two, you can't compare them. It's like apples and oranges.

Skippy, I hunt both ,Private and public. I seen just as many deer at either place, but seen more bucks on private.jeff

I believe you see more bucks on private because most people on public are obsessed with shooting a buck no matter what size, a lot of deer with great genetics get killed young. I am very fortunate to be able to hunt private and we only shoot 140s and above as do all my neighbors. Does everyone always kill a buck at my place... No, but when we do it's a good one. We killed a 152 1/2 and a 181 1/4 this year. If people want to see better bucks on public you have to let the 100s thru 130s walk.

Many guys both on public and private would consider a 120 inch buck a trophy. Think back to when you had only killed a deer or two would you have let a 120 inch 8 point walk? A "trophy" is in the eye of the beholder and not strictly judged by the size of the deer. Also what happens if you have a 6+ year old deer that only scores 125 are you not allowed to shoot him? A 6+ year old 125 is more of a trophy then a 150 inch 3 year old in my book.

Every deer is a trophy, I'm just saying in order to get a better age class of deer you have to let the young ones with potential walk. I do let any kids and beginning hunters shoot any thing they want. The 181 1/4 was killed by a girl on her first deer hunt ever.

I feel that trophy is in the eye of the beholder. If someone is happy to shoot a deer then I'm happy for them. Its ok that we are not all trophy hunters. In Oklahoma we try to provide oppourtunity and trophy quality and I think we are doing a pretty good job in most places.

I'm like most of you. I feel that there are a good number of deer in most areas. With some of big bucks scattered around. Lots of folk don't realize that the land they hunt holds some nice bucks. I'm a perfect example of someone who didn't know about some larger bucks on the land I hunted until I a bought a couple of trail cams.

Lou Sckaunt it sounds as though we should help you find a new place to hunt... All F's? Gene

Well there is private and then there is public and they are not the same. I think for our state the regulations that we have are pretty good. I would be interested in one or two changes:

Get rid of the special antlerless season. I feel like our antlerless harvest is just barely over the top here in the north east at least.

Have different regulations for crossbows on public land (ie different dates)

Set aside more public land as bow only

I would be very highly opposed to a earn a buck situation, and slightly less opposed to antler restrictions but wouldn’t mind a one buck (all seasons) limit.

I will agree with getting rid of the antlerless season. We don't have one in the se and there is a reason for that

I want to say one more thing. I have ten bucks on the wall that are 130+ of those ten seven have been taken off public including 3 that gross 150-160. I have ample private land including 3 leases in 3 counties and I always find myself hunting public land because that's where I find the biggest bucks. Im not sure what public land yall r hunting but from where I'm sitting public is outa site. This public land generally receives a good bit of hunting pressure but they just don't work hard enuff.

I agree, Terry. If it's SE region public land, I know what you're taking about. The "other" public lands around metropolitan areas or just a short drive, get hammered pretty good. But... if there's a way to get away from the masses, that's where you'll find those pockets. Like you... I know several others that kill 135"+ bucks on public, yearly. They're there if you have time to invest and a little woods savvy.

I'd like to see a one buck state here as well.

Wouldn't mind keeping it at 2 bucks but 1 has to be archery, so only 1 combined muzzle loader/rifle. Might make some people think twice about pulling the trigger on a young buck. But to each his own as far as size. If you're happy with a young buck then by all means take it. It's your tag.

I kinda like that idea coach.

The state manages the deer herd to "maximize hunter opportunity". This is clearly stated in their management plan. Maximizing hunter opportunity includes allowing 2 bucks to be killed and a long rifle season placed in the rut.

If they were to change their management plan to focus on quality then they'd need to do exactly what Iowa and Kansas has done, limit non-resident numbers, reduce the buck tags to one, and take the rifle season out of the rut.

About 70 percent of our hunters favor opportunity over 1 buck and 500$ non resident tags that draw every 3 years. I think we have the best of both worlds right now and I'm not sure I'm hunting the same state as some of u with the complaints. Maybe u are hunting the wrong areas because ive saw a steady increase in quality for 10 years and quantity for 25 years.

For the last 2 week Ive seen more deer in the fields up here than I have seen in many years.jeff

We just scored a 192 that a 17 year old kid killed up in north central ok. First bowkill. Killed with a youth/adult bow and the cheapest broadheads and arrows Walmart had!!! Great story!!! Rack madness in march will be a blast this year with all the giants to be scored!

when they legalized night hunting for hogs with thermal imaging scopes and suppressors during deer season, I predicted there would be a record number of giant bucks taken. Looks like my predictions came true.

Huge political pressure for the hog night hunting thing. There was no way we could stop it even though we knew the repercussions...

I don't hunt Oklahoma much anymore, I primarily hunt Kansas. Every Oklahoma landowner I've talked to about leasing wants $10 an acre. Quite frankly, it's cheaper in Kansas and the quality is better.

How is it cheaper in Kansas when u can kill six deer in Oklahoma cheaper than one in Kansas? R you talking about lease fees? I hunt Kansas and I’ve noticed nothing cheap about it.

If you have to buy an out of state tag for kansas and lease one deer would be $$$$$

$10.00 a acre is a fair price for the right county.

I lease (in Kansas) in one of the very best areas in the country to kill a big buck and I don't pay $10 acre nor would I. Maybe if you're leasing just a few acres that's fine but if you're leasing large tracts then $10 is too much.

swampokie, I have no desire to kill 6 deer. I don't eat that much venison.

I want to kill one deer. One really big deer. And to do that every year I need a lot of land and I can't pay $10 an acre and reasonable landowners who know what the potential for their land is know that. I can't tell you how many landowners I've met with land that say, for example, "I have 1000 acres, you can put 10 guys on that. That's $1000 per guy. $10 an acre total". That's garbage and they aren't going to kill anything good. I've seen guys lease 200 acres and then 3 or 4 of them hunt it. Again, nobody is going to kill anything. I'm not interested in any situation like that and any landowner who thinks that is acceptable doesn't know what it takes to consistently kill big deer.

Lou, I think you are correct. Combined that and e-check and a lot of big deer are being killed.

Lou, I think you are correct. Combined that and e-check and a lot of big deer are being killed.

I’ll never lease land... I refuse to feed that monster as it steadily creeps of from Texas

I agree with you Micheal, land owner are going to leaseing.

My family and I don't eat much venison anymore, probably because I'm not a great shot! I have hunted most of my 60 years and still do love to bow hunt. I hunt public by choice today. I see a lot of deer but they are mostly young and small bucks. I have seen 2 nice bucks on public where I hunt in the last 2 seasons. I would be all for a 1 buck total per season, any means you want, and a doe or two to eat if you want it. Maybe that would help in reducing the amount of younger smaller bucks getting killed. I also think that the online e-check process has hurt our population and buck to doe ratio. It has made it too easy for the unethical to kill deer that never get checked in. Just my 2 cents! That today you can't buy a stick of gum with!

I lease land in Okla. for just under $10 / Acre. I used to hunt in the panhandle of Tx and it was twice that much and twice as far to drive. Where I hunt I have a shot at a 140 + buck every year. The guy I lease from only allows 1 buck taken on 320 acres or under but wants all the does we can take. He gets depredation tags if you reach your limit. If you don't want the doe he will come get it and donate it to a needy family. There are people waiting in line to get on his land and he is very strict. He allows kids and new hunters to shoot small bucks but demands everyone else to hold out for a 140 or bigger. We need more land owners like him. I do think the e-check system gives the cheaters and guys that break every law in the book the green light to do what ever they want. I know a guy that shot a 155 class buck during black powder season with a 300 win mag at 400 yards. He doesn't even have a muzzleloader, he hunts with his 300. Of course he never checked it in.

...report the dude!

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