Lengthening of season stopped
Oklahoma
Contributors to this thread:
Big thanks to everyone who wrote in and let the ODWC know how they felt. Apparently our voices were heard as the the bill was withdrawn due to " a large number of public comments" according to the ODWC.
THAT is awesome! good job folks.
Hutch
I was very proud that our sportsmen and women shut this down. There are many more Wacky bills coming in this session. We must stay vigilant or they will slide them by us like the state symbol change. Without even a question of how the RESIDENTS of Oklahoma want it to be. There are a number of bills that seek to lower the non rez fees even more and even one to ban ODWC employees AND their immediate family from hunting any lands owned or managed by the ODWC while at the same time catering to wealthy non rez. (Texans) Stakeholders, we must stay vigilant and keep Oklahoma among the leaders in the nation at keeping the sport we love alive and well. Thanks again fellow okies
"We must stay vigilant or they will slide them by us like the state symbol change. Without even a question of how the RESIDENTS of Oklahoma want it to be."
Could not agree more! Oklahoma is a state with DEEP Native American history and they all but took this away from what people across this nation see in Oklahoma. THe license plates were first... albeit they were a revenue generator. It worked, but the license plates suck too. I went the black and white personalized tag route.
This 'politically correct' bulls*#%$ has to stop somewhere. Why do states allow others to dictate what's right and wrong? Are we all going the way of CA insanity? We're trying to take away this heritage like we did their land and justify with casinos and license tags. I don't follow the politics much so appreciate any heads up given here so that our voices can be heard.
I definitely made some phone calls and emails on this one, I know a lot of other people did as well and it was a huge win for Oklahoma bowhunters
Good to see y'all working together...I can remember the fight a few years ago to switch it from 3 bucks to 2. Sent several "letters" to your legislative field and got responses from almost all of them.
So, when will you push for a change to a one buck season like us in KS?
Sito, I'm for it! I think most serious hunters and ones that value conservation are for it. I'm already quite picky with what I shoot, and killing two mature bucks in one season can happen, but rare. I'm for one and then kill hogs and does. :)
Embry I consider myself a serious hunter and I value conservation and would not support a state wide 1 buck limit. I would absolutely support only being allowed 1 buck off public or possibly regional bag limit (only 1 buck allowed for each zone). My problem with 1 buck is that it's not about trying to expand our deer herd, if it were cutting back on doe tags would be more effective, so it's all about "improving the age structure of our herd" which is just a PC way to say improving the trophy quality. Plus the trophy quality is already high here especially on properly managed properties.
We can have different opinions. It's all good.
Absolutely wasn't trying to start a argument just express my opinion on the subject.
I agree 100% with push county archer. Couldn’t have been put better. Look at that push county freak. Trophy quality is at an all time high here and we r not Kansas or Iowa. We are more like Texas or Louisiana in the subspecies and habits of our deer especially in the southern and eastern quadrant. Qdma seems to think a one buck limit is the only way to grow giants but the giants being checked in more and more frequently with the two buck limit tells a different story.
Everyone keeps mentioning Kansas and Iowa, both of those states share one thing in common, they don’t have gun seasons during the rut.
Take a look at Missouri and Nebraska which border each of those states, what’s the difference? Rifle season in the rut.
So if we wanted to manage for a “trophy quality “that’s the best way to do it in my opinion.
I think for right now Oklahoma has a happy medium, rifle in muzzle loader hunters are happy and bowhunters as well, people who invest in property ownership can take two bucks if they want to. And young hunters can shoot lots of stuff as well.
I say young hunters, I put myself in that category.
Michael you bring up some good points. I would agree that taking rifle season out of the rut would do more to improve "trophy quality" then a 1 buck limit. I could get behind a rifle season centered around Christmas break. But IMO that would be a harder sell to Oklahoma deer hunters than the one buck limit. I agree with your overall assessment though Oklahoma currently has a nice balance for everyone.
I don't like the gun season during the rut but at least its not in the critical pert of the rut. At least the studies have shown that the majority of the breeding is done between nov 5 and nov 20. The hardest thing to do is reduce buck limit and I don't think there is any need at this point. Surveys still show that Oklahoma hunters prefer opportunity and sustenance over trophy hunting 60-40% so I agree with PCA when he mentions a nice balance. If it aint broke leave it alone...or something like that!