Why such a short gun season?

[ripnbst]

I used to live in PA and liked their hunting seasons and regs. The one thing I absolutely hated though was the county I lived in didn't allow rifles. Slug and Buckshot only. That sucked hard, it was due to the fact that it was a densely populated county and they couldn't risk bullets traveling 1+ miles.

 

[fishfurlife]

Short Gun season (which I do not view it as short) during the rut = Big harvest = need to keep it short.

Yes it would be great to see a shorter season that pushed for a larger doe harvest, but ODWC doesn't have it in the cards. Their mission statement for deer management is Quantity of bucks not quality of bucks.

Although it seems prevalent on many outdoor forums that we all want trophies to take home, the vast majority of deer hunters in Oklahoma are just out there to take a buck. The ODWC tried to fly a trophy management unit in the SW part of the state about 5 years ago. This was not only shot down at the public hearing in that part of the state, it was run off. I was at that meeting and of the few hundred sportsman that were there, only 5 or 6 vocally supported the reduction of the buck limit from 2 to 1 in that area. The rest of the mob acted as if the state was taking their first born child.

Surveys from the ODWC

 

[dyabolical]

My opinion/perception on a short season is this:

All of bow season: 10k hunters in the woods on average.

Gun season: 200k hunters in the woods on average.

Any longer on the gun season and there won't be any deer left.
Again, comical perception. I have absolutely no clue on real numbers or statistics.

 

[30BulletHoles]

Hi there, I just moved up into Oklahoma from Texas and while trying to find a hunting lease here I discovered the gun season is incredibly short. I have asked around but nobody seems to have a good answer for why this is.

I plan on learning to use a crossbow over the summer and actually try to find a lease for next year, but I am still very curious as to why the gun season is so short, and if there has been any talks on extending it in the future.

Rifle season in Oklahoma used to just be 9 days when I started deer hunting. I personally don't think it needs to be any longer that it is now.
I would hate for deer hunting in Oklahoma to turn to what it has become in Texas with mobile elevated blinds that include full service liquor bar, stripper poll, and a guaranteed "texas whitetail" led out on a rope for the royalty to shoot. All the while the average joe has nowhere to go hunt, due to the "trophy whitetail business".

Not an attack on you. I just hate what hunting has turned into in some places and see Oklahoma going in the same direction little by little.

 

[jmoney]

Well, I can't say that I know of anyone that hunts on public land in Texas. Either you're on a lease, or know someone with land. However deer populations are pretty different depending on what part of the state your in. In south texas the population is out of control, and everything is starving. Or at least that was the case where I lived. In East Texas I have only seen big deer, but I have had entire seasons where I didn't see a thing. I am going to have to read a bit about hunting public lands in oklahoma, because frankly that is a foreign idea to me being from texas.

I cannot stand some of the deer blind hunting in texas. The elevated platforms in the middle of a food plots completely defeat the purpose of hunting for me. My father always walked and stalked, and thats what I grew up on.

Thanks for all the input, sometime here in the next few weeks I am going to have to find an archery shop and learn how it all works. Anyone have any suggestions for the OKC area? I don't mind a drive if the shop is really that great.

 

[imhntn]

I remember when black powder alternated between being before gun season or after in December. It was nice. I think the PA idea for a late season primitive only hunt would be fun. We could all get some buckskins and tomahawks!

 

[jalapeno]

I just wish they would extend youth season to give me a little more time in the woods with the kids. give us a little more time to grow the next generation of hunters.

 

[rebelracer79]

I like the way the seasons are now, only change i would make is let the holiday anterless gun season longer

 

[fishfurlife]

I like the way the seasons are now, only change i would make is let the holiday anterless gun season longer

I agree. I was glad to see the season moved to a 10 day season.

 

[AllOut]

The only way I would agree to seeing a longer gun season would be to move the whole thing out of the rut (which we should do anyway). Heck it could be a whole month for all I care, give it Dec.15-Jan.15
I also would like to see bow start 2 weeks earlier like Kansas but that's a different topic.