Page 19 - January/February 2023 Outdoor Oklahoma

JEFF FITZGERALD ENHANCEMENTS PROVIDE MORE HUNT

CHOICES, BETTER ELK, PRONGHORN
ODDS FOR 20+ POINTS
Two notable changes to Oklahoma’s controlled
hunts program were approved for this year by the
Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Extra Hunt Choices for Everyone
After applicants have reached the maximum number
of hunt choices allowed in a category (up to 14 hunt
choices across four categories for $5 application fee),
applicants will then be allowed to buy additional hunt
choices at $3 per choice. There is no limit to how many
extra hunt choices can be purchased, but applicants
can only select a specific hunt once. Also, applicants
will be able to add PointGuard insurance to each cat-
egory, a safeguard against losing preference points in
case the hunter cannot attend any of the hunts he wins.

Elk/Pronghorn Allocated Draws
For these once-in-a-lifetime hunt categories, an initial
drawing for half of all hunt permits will be taken from the
pool of only those applicants having 20 or more prefer-
ence points. The remaining half of all hunt permits will be
2022-23 DEER HUNTS drawn from the pool of everyone who applied (excluding
• Total applicants (includes first, second, third, fourth hunt winners from the initial drawing).
and fifth choice preferences): 68,212
• Total permits available: 3,680
• Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 18.5 CONTROLLED HUNTS SITE
• NOTE: Your odds go up if you steer clear of the most Learn more about the controlled hunts
popular hunts, such as the Wichita Mountains buck process online; scan the code:
gun hunt, the Sandy Sanders buck gun hunt and Salt
Plains NWR hunts that allow either sex hunting.
2022 YOUTH DEER HUNTS
2022 DEER HUNTS FOR PEOPLE • Total applicants (includes first, second and third choice
WITH DISABILITIES preferences): 3,585
• Total applicants (includes first, second and third choice • Total permits available: 852
preferences): 309 • Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 4.2
• Total permits available: 112 • NOTE: Controlled hunts held during the regular muz-
• Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 2.75 zleloader and gun seasons, especially those held during
• NOTE: Areas in the northeast like Cherokee, Cookson the opening weekends, often offer better odds of get-
Hills, Gruber and Spavinaw WMAs typically have high- ting drawn than those held outside the regular state-
er numbers of applicants. Consider hunts in other wide season dates, since many would-be applicants
parts of the state. already have their hunting plans in place for those dates.

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