Page 36 - September/October Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine

LISA PHILLIPS/BLM CC-BYNCND2.0 ogists’ goal of an antlerless
deer harvest between 40
and 45 percent. This is
imperative to the statewide
health of the deer herd.
Quality bucks continue
to be harvested from every
corner of the state, which
is good news regardless of
the reason anyone hunts.
Continuing to use sci-
ence-based regulations and
partnering with our willing
hunters as deer managers
Table 5: Pronghorn Harvest by County, Sex, and Method
has resulted in a path of
Archery Gun positivity. This path leads
County Buck Doe Buck Doe Total
Texas 7 1 10 25 43 us to balanced deer herds
Cimarron 13 0 39 57 109 in comparison to available
Grand Total 20 1 49 82 152
habitat, and healthy age
to heart ODWC’s deer management slogan structures. With good habitat and healthy age
“Hunters in the Know … Let Young Bucks structures come healthy populations and mature
Grow!” over the past several years. bucks. Who can argue with that?
But deer management is fluid and requires
Conclusions an adaptive management approach. The work
After several boosts likely due to COVID-19, never stops in pursuit of those goals.
the harvest and participation numbers from the Antlerless harvest will continue to be empha-
2021-22 big game seasons are back to levels that sized within Oklahoma’s deer management
could be considered on-trend. Hunters contin- goals, and I know our hunters will take that chal-
ue to have ample opportunities to enjoy healthy lenge head-on. I’ve seen them do it before. So
and thriving populations across the state. remember, every time that you decide to pull
While deer harvest was slightly down com- the trigger, release an arrow, or pass on a deer,
pared to last year, hunters did achieve the biol- you’re making a management decision that

effects the deer pop-
Figure 11: Buck Age at Harvest 2021-22 (in Years) Figure 12: Doe Age at Harvest 2021-22 (in Years)
ulation at your local
level, whether that’s
a 20-acre farm or a
1,000-acre ranch.
So, for even better
big game hunting in
years to come, keep in
mind these simple slo-
gans: “Hunters in the
Know … Let Young
Bucks Grow!” and
“Hunters in the Know
1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5+ 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5+
11.0% 17.3% 25.1% 25.1% 14.5% 6.9% 16.2% 15.3% 25.0% 15.0% 18.5% 9.9% … Take a Doe!”

34 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA