What would you like to see changed, seasons-wise?

[RidgeHunter]

Move the extra week of rifle season to the week before thanksgiving. Might hit the rut more consistently.

I agree.. we're missing a lot of the rut between primitive and gun seasons.. sure there's bow hunting, but I prefer gun hunting.

They purposefully set the firearms season to generally miss the seek and chase phase of the rut in order to ensure higher young buck survival rates. Still, we often see heavy rut activity in early rifle season.

The young bucks take a major hit opening weekend of rifle, if it was moved forward it would be even more detrimental to young buck survival.

Personally, I would like firearms season to open the Saturday after Thanksgiving, rather than before.

If you look at a lot of the Midwestern states known for producing large bucks (Ohio etc.) they have very short firearms seasons that fall after the rut.

A deviation from that is Texas, and Lord know we don't want to be like them. They grow large bucks through Antler Restrictions, low buck limits and other factors, then pretty much sell them to the highest bidder as there 2 month long "general season" allows for ranch owners, lease owners and outfitters to rake in the dough booking gun hunts all fall. Lease prices are sky high and there is practically no public land.

We have to be careful what we wish for. Couple antler restrictions and lower buck limits with extended firearms season and we are well on our way to becoming pay-to-play like Texas. Which is what some people in the hunting land biz want.

 

[dennishoddy]

I would Like to see an earn a buck put in place for the second buck tag. You can have your one and then if you shoot a doe you can purchase a second buck tag.
.

Heck I'm not screaming at you, I'm You.

In my thinking, you have to take a doe befoe you take a buck....no matter what season.

Before taking the second buck you must harvest your limit of does. THEN you can take a second buck.

Still have a two buck limit, but the percentage of does comes way up.

I have been told by my local GW that it doesn't take many calls to the ODW to have them consider something like this. If this sound good to you and you want to see more trophy bucks, give them a call, email, or talk to your local GW and I can assure you they will input your position to the ODW.

For the record I took one buck this year, and is the first buck in several years. I have taken my share of does. My freezer is full.

 

[dennishoddy]

I would love to see a Walk in and hunt program established with the farmers in Oklahoma. Coming from Kansas, this program works really well. It helps move the migratory birds around, and also helps to the the deer back into check by allowing more land access to. This would also help to keep the lease prices in check and help the farmers raise a little bit of extra well needed money.

This is another thing IMO that Okla needs to do. I buy a Ks license every year and do the walk in areas. Sometimes there is a donation box at the gate, and I drop a 10 in there. Great program. They have millions of acres to hunt.

The only issue with the Ks walk-in areas, VS Okla is that their wildlife dept funds come from the general revenues.
In Okla the ODW is totally supported by the hunters and fishers, so there is that difference. I'm up for suggestions on how we could make walk-in areas a part of Ok hunting, and how we could present that idea to the ODW??
Y'all are pretty smart guys, lets hear some suggestions.

 

[RidgeHunter]

Heck I'm not screaming at you, I'm You.
In my thinking, you have to take a doe befoe you take a buck....no matter what season.

Gotta disagree with that Dennis.

Not everybody hunts where they can just pop does left and right like it's nothing. I hunted 17 days this year before I was able to get a doe in bow range, draw back without getting busted, and put an arrow through her lungs. And that was a GOOD year.

No feeders on my place, no wheat fields. Rugged hills and woods. Killing a doe requires just as much effort as killing a buck.

That effectively take most of my enjoyment out of hunting, knowing it can take many many days of hard hunting to stick a doe. The only mature buck I came close to having an opportunity at this year passed 10 yards out of my effective bow range on Oct. 9th, one of the first few times I had hunted this year. That was the only mature buck I have gotten within 40 yards in several years. If he would have came 10 yards closer and I would have had to have passed him because of EAB, that would suck royally.

I don't think our conditions right now necessitates going to EAB on the first tag.

I support it for the second tag.

 

[dennishoddy]

Gotta disagree with that Dennis.


No feeders on my place, no wheat fields. Rugged hills and woods. Killing a doe requires just as much effort as killing a buck.

I support it for the second tag.

I'm always open for a compromise IMHO, a doe is harder to take than a buck as they are more wary, but thats another thread.
Every doe but one I took this year came from a no feeder, no food plot, nothing...All in doing the scouting and finding a creek crossing where they funnel down. The only doe taken off of a food plot was when a parent and I let a 12 yr old take his first deer. I do admit I have a special place.

What about shoot a buck and one must take the season limit on does in their area before taking a second buck.

I know that some areas of the state don't have the doe problem we have in the NC and NW part of the state, and that is why they have zones.

Perhaps those zones would be used to equalize the harvest, and maybe those in the areas's that don't have the doe population would not be restricted like those in those hi doe zones.

I'm up for it. In SE Ok make it one set of rules, and in NC, and NW make it another. Its already that way anyhow.

 

[RidgeHunter]

.
What about shoot a buck and one must take the season limit on does in their area before taking a second buck.

Honestly I don't care what I have to do for the second tag, they could go to a 1 buck limit and I wouldn't care. I usually take 0-1 bucks a year anyway. Just don't mess with the first tag.

My land with could not support that many does being killed off of it every year (limiting out on does for a second tag). We had a severe overpopulation in the 90's, but it is in check now. Between the poachers, locals, and neighbors making a dent on it, we kill about 6-8 does a year usually (we=legitamte hunters on the land). That is about right. 12-18 is too many for my 160 acres. I would quit after the first buck kill, try to shoot shoot a doe or 2 then call it a year.

Just judging by the amount of deer you kill, your place is a little different than others.

To be real blunt Dennis, look at the numbers. In 2008, Archery hunters killed 7,936 bucks in over 3 months of season. Look how many gun hunters killed. 39,081 in 16 days.

Who do you think is killing all the young bucks?

Fix the gun season yearling buck slaughter, problem solved.

Doesn't make much sense to make us bowhunters jump through hoops to get a chance at a buck tag when we damn sure aren't the ones hurting the buck survival rates.

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/deertotals/08totals.htm

Just my ramblings.

 

[crawdad]

Probably gonna step on some shoes here, but I would like to see the whole month of October being Primitive Season only. Only Recurve bows and flintlock rifles only.(maybe percussion caps) but no in-lines, compounds, or conventional rifles.

Then, the whole month of November could be called Modern Season. Where you could use in-lines, compounds, conventional rifles, and crossbows. You could fill your tags with whatever weapon you choose anytime throughout the month of November.

Also, 4 point rule on bucks. Has to have at least 4 points on one side of the antlers. In my area of the state, small bucks rarely get to see their 1st birthday. You can't use Rattleing techniques cause theres too dang many does per buck ratio. I believe passing those small bucks up will get that ratio equalized. I think we would have a lot more fun deer hunting.

 

[Martialartsblackbelt]

WOMEN!!! can't live with em,
Won't open a season on em

 

[brian89]

I would also like to see a antler restriction.. I have heard about the one buck limit that ODWC is proposing and I kinda agree with it.. It would prolly make my black powder rifle useless though..

 

[JCW355]

Since trout are not native and have to be raised and released, they are very expensive to have around. That is why there is a trout stamp that is separate. The people that like to fish for them have to pay for them. I don't like to buy the trout stamp either and so I have only fished for trout a couple times in my life in Oklahoma.

I never even thought about it like that. There would be no trout if it wasn't for that stamp then. Reproduction is limited in Oklahoma. It has happened but not enough to put back what gets taken out.