Possible longer gun season

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dennishoddy

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I'm still tryin' to figure out where to get one of them thare longer guns...
:drunk2:

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huntemup

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Even though I’m not strictly a meat hunter, I appreciate that many still are. After all, that is the basis for hunting in the first place. I loathe the idea of antler restrictions and unless it’s gonna change the health of the state herd Im out on the one buck per year limit as well.

While a great many of us get antler crazy and analyze trail cam pics to the point where we are certain we not only know a bucks age, but also the day he was conceived, we are messing up if we forget that’s not the foundation nor the basis for what we do. Additionally, the more we focus on what our deer will score, the more likely that tourism hunting will force your leases to continue to rise, further overcrowd your favorite public spot, and for some -drive you off your land completely as you can no longer afford to play the game you love.

Much as I dream of that encounter with my ideal typical 12 and nontypical 28 pointer, part of the thrill is knowing they are more akin to a perfect diamond than they are weeds in a field.

Don’t misunderstand, I hate that my neighbor shot the 2.5 year old perfectly symmetrical 8 that I let walk. I hate that i sat in bitter cold for 12 hours and saw no shooters. I hate that my management efforts are limited by what the guy two farms over is doing on his place. But I’d hate it even more if I felt like I was hunting on a pope and young deer farm.

As for longer rifle seasons I’m actually all for it it. That said I have no doubt thats because as a NC transplant I became accustomed to 3+ months of rifle hunting. When I moved here 20 years ago I was appalled at the short rifle season especially since my first hunting property was nearly useless for bow hunting.

The way I see it, state biologist should set the season bag limits in such a way that we continue to produce a healthy state deer herd. The limits should be fluid from year to year if need be. But the method of harvest should not be as big of a factor. If you say I can kill 6 deer per year, then it shouldn’t matter by what means I do so. 6 is 6 whether I killed them with a long bow, crossbow, rifle, slug, buckshot, etc.

Conservation efforts should be first and foremost about managing towards the optimal number of animals that the land and population can support.

All that said, I’d support a new OK wildlife motto..Hunters in the know harvest a doe.


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dennishoddy

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Even though I’m not strictly a meat hunter, I appreciate that many still are. After all, that is the basis for hunting in the first place. I loathe the idea of antler restrictions and unless it’s gonna change the health of the state herd Im out on the one buck per year limit as well.

While a great many of us get antler crazy and analyze trail cam pics to the point where we are certain we not only know a bucks age, but also the day he was conceived, we are messing up if we forget that’s not the foundation nor the basis for what we do. Additionally, the more we focus on what our deer will score, the more likely that tourism hunting will force your leases to continue to rise, further overcrowd your favorite public spot, and for some -drive you off your land completely as you can no longer afford to play the game you love.

Much as I dream of that encounter with my ideal typical 12 and nontypical 28 pointer, part of the thrill is knowing they are more akin to a perfect diamond than they are weeds in a field.

Don’t misunderstand, I hate that my neighbor shot the 2.5 year old perfectly symmetrical 8 that I let walk. I hate that i sat in bitter cold for 12 hours and saw no shooters. I hate that my management efforts are limited by what the guy two farms over is doing on his place. But I’d hate it even more if I felt like I was hunting on a pope and young deer farm.

As for longer rifle seasons I’m actually all for it it. That said I have no doubt thats because as a NC transplant I became accustomed to 3+ months of rifle hunting. When I moved here 20 years ago I was appalled at the short rifle season especially since my first hunting property was nearly useless for bow hunting.

The way I see it, state biologist should set the season bag limits in such a way that we continue to produce a healthy state deer herd. The limits should be fluid from year to year if need be. But the method of harvest should not be as big of a factor. If you say I can kill 6 deer per year, then it shouldn’t matter by what means I do so. 6 is 6 whether I killed them with a long bow, crossbow, rifle, slug, buckshot, etc.

Conservation efforts should be first and foremost about managing towards the optimal number of animals that the land and population can support.

All that said, I’d support a new OK wildlife motto..Hunters in the know harvest a doe.


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Agree completely. I have one place that I don’t hunt because the neighbors shoot anything with antlers, but that is their choice. Will they ever change? Nobody knows, but with education, perhaps their heirs will voluntarily fall in line without a mandate from the state.
Another couple of places all the neighbors practice deer management where we don’t shoot anything but mature bucks. It’s our choice to do do.
 
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BobbyV

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See I'm the opposite. Not a fan of antler restrictions. Too complicated, too restrictive for first time hunters, etc.

I'd suggest they remove the restriction during youth gun season . . . or for hunters under a certain age.


Get your buck and be happy with him. Then go kill 5 does if you're hungry.

I'll definitely be happy with one this year . . .
 

Okie4570

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So with the data that the ODWC collects, I wish they would publish the numbers or percentages of how many deer each hunter harvests. What percentage of hunters harvest all 6 or 7 deer, what percentage of hunters harvest two bucks, what percentage harvest no bucks? I'm all for antler restrictions if they work, I've seen more studies that say otherwise, If they want to harvest more deer put rifle season during December, allow baiting on public land. December, cold, corn and a firearm are almost a certain harvest every time.
 

RidgeHunter

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That and I wish we had stats on poacher harvest. It's gotta be really high in some areas.

Maybe we could incentivise to close the doe gap by the 5-10% we lack. What about giving a preference point in the controlled hunt drawings for doe harvest? Maybe give 2 preference points for a holiday season doe harvest to increase participation.

I guess that would be tough to prevent cheating with e-check but maybe there's a way.

Or a voluntary system where you opt to get only 1 buck tag with a 3-4 point per side rule in exchange for a preference point.I would do that every year.
 

retrieverman

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I'm all for antler restrictions if they work, I've seen more studies that say otherwise,
I guess it depends on what your ultimate goal is, but if you want to raise the age structure of your buck herd, antler restrictions definitely work. I’d like to see the studies that claim otherwise just to see what they’re basing their opinions on.:anyone:

Do the “points” y’all are talking about have to do with getting some kind of preference for controlled or draw hunts?
 

Okie4570

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I guess it depends on what your ultimate goal is, but if you want to raise the age structure of your buck herd, antler restrictions definitely work. I’d like to see the studies that claim otherwise just to see what they’re basing their opinions on.:anyone:

Do the “points” y’all are talking about have to do with getting some kind of preference for controlled or draw hunts?

Yes good for the buck age, ODWC is wanting to increase doe harvest, and I'm not sure Oklahoman's would go for it. Some interesting reads out there. Some contradictory if I'm reading them correctly.
https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsession/blogs/deer/antler-restrictions-good-or-bad
https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/Wil...r/Pages/AntlerRestrictionsAreTheyWorking.aspx
https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/...antler-point-restrictions-dangerous-precedent
https://www.qdma.com/qdmas-position-mandatory-antler-restrictions/
https://www.qdma.com/qdmas-position-mandatory-antler-restrictions/
https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/whitetail-deer/do-antler-point-restrictions-work
 

O4L

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Interesting last paragraph in the first article you linked.

We’re just now beginning to understand how the prions that cause CWD might be spread by deer so empirical results are a ways off, but we can draw several conclusions. Yearling bucks disperse more than older age classes. Antler restrictions protect yearling bucks so there are more of them, which means more deer dispersal. “If” (and it’s a big if) these younger bucks can carry prions with them, then protecting younger bucks could actually increase the spread of CWD. Sorry to end on a dark note, but let that sink in for a while as you sit on your deer stand this fall.
 
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RidgeHunter

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Don't get me started on CWD. It's insane farmed cervids are still legal in states that have not gotten CWD in wild herds yet. Oklahoma will get CWD, and it will come from a farmed herd. It's a matter of when and not if. We will make a rule saying you can't bring a deer head or spine back from another state, but we won't just outlaw penned cervids which is where literally all CWD comes from. But hey, a hunter bringing a deer back home from another state isn't an industry. Farming deer and elk is.

What were we talking about? :friday:
 

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