Whitetail Deer Management in Oklahoma........

[Oklahomabassin]

I am pretty well satisfied with the current limits. I wish they would offer more free educational seminars for hunters to teach aging, and basic fundamentals of deer management. It should be up to the landowner (leasee) to manage how they want.

I would like to see antlered tags cost double of non antlered tags. If a hunter wants to shoot all non antlered deer, instead of antlered, allow it with all non antlered tags. This shouldn't put too much hardship on just meat hunters as they would still be allowed the same number.

I think breaking tradition of moving Thanksgiving week of rifle season will be a tough feat if they open it to public discussion.

I don't think anything with testicles should count as a buck, unless they change it to a male and female deer season. Reason being is there are always a few antlered deer with female parts harvested and the must have testicles will make that difficult to enforce. Likewise, when I field dress my deer, I would rather not have to keep the sexual organs attached.

 

[TedKennedy]

It should be up to the landowner (leasee) to manage how they want.

I would like to see antlered tags cost double of non antlered tags. If a hunter wants to shoot all non antlered deer, instead of antlered, allow it with all non antlered tags. This shouldn't put too much hardship on just meat hunters as they would still be allowed the same number.

I think breaking tradition of moving Thanksgiving week of rifle season will be a tough feat if they open it to public discussion.

Don't know how you'd enforce the doubling cost for lifetime license holders, unless the ODWC slithers out of what has been the deal in the past.

Open it to public discussion? What? Let John Q Public have a say? Even when this happens, ODWC rarely bends to public input from the "open forums" they hold each year.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Don't know how you'd enforce the doubling cost for lifetime license holders, unless the ODWC slithers out of what has been the deal in the past.

Open it to public discussion? What? Let John Q Public have a say? Even when this happens, ODWC rarely bends to public input from the "open forums" they hold each year.

First off lifetime hunting license holders are exempt from buying tags. Therefore, there is nothing to enforce. However, what percentage of new hunters do you think make a lifetime hunting license the first purchase they make? It would probably be very low. What percentage of hunters do you think have a lifetime license? This will be hard to prove, because many life time holders have passed away since purchasing a lifetime license and no way to track that.

Oh let's criticize the public forums for not making any difference. Public comment did help with having a bear season in Oklahoma. Public comment did help with increasing the possibility of more non antlered deer harvest.

I am saying that if they opened the discussion of whether to move rifle season away from the week of Thanksgiving they would be flooded with negative feedback.

 

[AllOut]

Meat hunting or hunting for food or providing.....
Do yourself a favor and add up how much it cost a year to hunt, how many pounds of venison you actually get that year. Then look up how much it's cost to buy a steer or hog and have butchered and how much meat you get.
Very very few people will it be cheaper to hunt for food....

Last time we looked, it was like an average of $25 a pound for venison.

 

[EFsDad]

Meat hunting or hunting for food or providing.....
Do yourself a favor and add up how much it cost a year to hunt, how many pounds of venison you actually get that year. Then look up how much it's cost to buy a steer or hog and have butchered and how much meat you get.
Very very few people will it be cheaper to hunt for food....

Last time we looked, it was like an average of $25 a pound for venison.

I agreed with your earlier statement about having a few hangers, but my main intention is to fill the freezer. I have $2.50 in my last two deer, 2 leverevoltion 30-30 cartridges. The gun I owned and will forever (fixed cost), the land is paid for (fixed cost) and the gas, well I was going to the farm anyway. Sorry you spend so much. Now the side of beef, that is expensive to raise and process. $1000 for a steer (750 lbs), corn $600, processing $400. For just a few steaks and many pounds of ground beef, that is expensive!

To the OP:

I will do whatever is in the best interest of the "Oklahoma" herd, but I really don't think that the state should worry about the rack size. What does that have to do with the overall health of the herd?

 

[justin_h635]

I know someone who behind a high fence watched inferior genetic bucks with full access to protein live to ripe old age without ever becoming trophy class. These were raised right next to bucks which were purchased for breeding, selling, etc and it wasn't even close. I am not arguing that age isnt' a huge factor in antler development however what I am saying is both doe and buck genetics must be good for their offspring to fulfill this potential (along with access to nutrition). I have seen both alive and dead 200# bucks that look old, are good bucks to shoot, but would never be something a trophy hunter would want.

 

[fishfurlife]

I don't disagree with your post.
But don't understand this part...
care to explain what reality is?

I think this scenario could be strongly supported but do not think that 150" is that mark where it begins being supported. 160 - getting closer - 170" yeah good chance. I am talking net scores on the above as well. So we are talking gross 166-180ish(that's very ballpark by the way) BUT, this class of deer still exist. They are just an even smaller portion if the population and I think it is safe to say that not every deer will reach 170". I believe a higher percentage than not are capable of 150" in Oklahoma.


If we were in Florida....... Then yes, 150" may be that mark. Heck, 135" might be more spot on.

 

[AllOut]

I know someone who behind a high fence watched inferior genetic bucks with full access to protein live to ripe old age without ever becoming trophy class. These were raised right next to bucks which were purchased for breeding, selling, etc and it wasn't even close. I am not arguing that age isnt' a huge factor in antler development however what I am saying is both doe and buck genetics must be good for their offspring to fulfill this potential (along with access to nutrition). I have seen both alive and dead 200# bucks that look old, are good bucks to shoot, but would never be something a trophy hunter would want.

Again
"Trophy Class" is a relative term.
High fenced deer with super genetic brood bucks and does. Raised is a fully controlled environment with insane feeding regimens. If your not putting off 250"-300" deer as a 3.5 year old then it ain't nothing.
But that's no where near the same thing as free range deer.
A 130-140" free range 8pt is considered a trophy in most of this country. If you put in the time and patients you can kill buck like that anywhere in this state. Heck a 150" deer in Oklahoma really isn't that uncommon. We kill at lease one off my place every year and see bigger all the time. 157" 10pt was taken off of it this last season.
We have plenty of them dude, you just gotta put in your time and be selective.

 

[AllOut]

I agreed with your earlier statement about having a few hangers, but my main intention is to fill the freezer. I have $2.50 in my last two deer, 2 leverevoltion 30-30 cartridges. The gun I owned and will forever (fixed cost), the land is paid for (fixed cost) and the gas, well I was going to the farm anyway. Sorry you spend so much. Now the side of beef, that is expensive to raise and process. $1000 for a steer (750 lbs), corn $600, processing $400. For just a few steaks and many pounds of ground beef, that is expensive!

To the OP:

I will do whatever is in the best interest of the "Oklahoma" herd, but I really don't think that the state should worry about the rack size. What does that have to do with the overall health of the herd?

Notice I said, "most people"....
Yes there are the exceptions.
As for me, the $25 a lb wasn't based off of my experiences. That was figured off the average hunter in the US. Me.... LOL
I wouldn't want to try and figure out what I pay per year for a deer lol
But I bet it's WAAAAY over $25 a pound. But again I don't hunt for meat, I give most of mine away.

But last year my buddy did a farm raised hog, bought and butchered for under $350.
Had TONS of meat off of it.

 

[willystruck]

As far a $ per pound of venison verses grocery store high colesterol, drug filled beef, nuf said. My wife and I love to eat venison. I use it just as I would beef and get better quality, healthier food in the end. I hunt 2 locations, one is 4 miles from the house and the other is about 15 miles away. I can no longer afford to drive long distances or pay for hi dollar leases.(last lease I was in was $50 per year) Should I quit hunting and eating venison?
Not gonna happen..............
That mature doe I take each year with a .357 revolver at 25 yds or less is as much of a trophy, to me, as the little 16 point fellow that has been hanging on my living room wall for almost 20 years.