One challenge that deer hunters face in Oklahoma is the diversity in habitat. Oklahoma’s greatly variable landscapes offer different levels of quality deer populations and deer habitat. While some counties offer vast amounts of public property, other counties offer no public areas in which to hunt.

To represent the hunting access variables, Table 1 shows deer harvest by county with all wildlife management areas and other public lands removed. 

The top three deer-harvest counties were Osage County, where hunters bagged 5,409 deer; Pittsburg County, with a harvest of 4,662 deer, and Creek County, at 3,390 deer harvested.

^{Table 1: Harvest by County, Sex, and Method}

Image

WMAs and other public lands managed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation make up only about 3 percent of Oklahoma’s land mass. But it’s important to note that this small percentage of public land actually accounts for 7.5 percent of the state’s total deer harvest. For details on those public land harvests, see Table 2.

Oklahoma hunters also have the opportunity to take a mule deer in western portions of the state. These deer frequent the Panhandle and are slowly rebounding from poor habitat conditions that have affected the western one-third of the main body of Oklahoma.

Fragmented populations and habitat conditions make bagging this species a difficult task. But still, Oklahoma deer hunters managed to harvest 209 mule deer during the 2022-23 seasons. See Table 3 to learn about the mule deer harvest by county, sex and method.

^{Table 2: WMA Harvest by Sex and Method}

Image

^{Table 3: Mule Deer Harvest by County, Sex, and Method}

Image

^{Figure 11: Deer Antlerless Zones}

Image

DEER, ELK HUNTERS: EXPECT MORE CWD INFO

The upcoming 2023-24 deer and elk hunting seasons will be the first since chronic wasting disease has been confirmed among wild deer within the physical borders of Oklahoma.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an always-fatal neurological disease that affects the brains of deer, elk, moose, and other members of the cervid family, creating holes resembling those in sponges. It was first discovered in the 1960s in Colorado.

In June 2023, Oklahoma's first case of CWD was confirmed in a free-ranging wild deer in Texas County, prompting the activation of the second stage of the state's CWD Response Strategy jointly produced by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

About a month later, a second wild white-tailed deer located east of Mooreland in Woodward County was confirmed infected with CWD. 

In last year’s deer hunting season, a CWD Special Surveillance Area (SSA) was put in place in the far southwestern corner of the Oklahoma Panhandle after ODWC was notified by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department of a road-killed deer positive for CWD that was found 2.5 miles south of the Oklahoma-Texas border near Felt, Okla., in southwestern Cimarron County.

“We will be working through our response plan, implementing surveillance efforts and steps to monitor and slow the potential spread of this disease. Our ultimate goal is to ensure healthy and well-managed deer with as little impact to either the resource or our constituents as possible,” said Jerry Shaw, Wildlife Programs Supervisor with ODWC.

CWD transmission from wild animals to people or to livestock has never been documented.

The Wildlife Department will continue monitoring for evidence of CWD within Oklahoma’s borders and will release additional information, including ways deer and elk hunters can help with detection and mitigation, as hunting seasons approach.

What is CWD Selected Surveillance Area (SSA) Information

Conclusions

It was a record-setting big game season for 2022-23 in many ways! Records were set for total harvest, archery harvest, and gun harvest.

It is encouraging that Oklahoma deer hunters continue to act as deer managers by making efforts to manage statewide deer herds through adequate antlerless harvest, and selecting for age instead of antlers when it comes to antlered deer.

This can be seen in age at harvest data which has been collected for going on four decades now. In 1989, 1.5-year-old bucks made up 66 percent of overall harvest. Fast-forward to the 2022-23 season, and those yearlings are making up only 8 percent of total harvest.

That change merits huge kudos to the state’s deer hunters. The effort continues to provide trophy potential in every part of the state, all while allowing for hunters to have a quality hunt.

The drum will continue to beat for healthy deer herds, which is achieved through adequate antlerless harvest and letting younger age-class bucks walk.

I have full faith that our hunters have heard that message over the past few seasons and will continue to say, “The proof is in the pudding.”

The 2023-24 season is right around the corner, and habitat conditions are looking up across much of the state. Areas that were plagued with historical droughts have received much-needed rainfall, and at a perfect time for nursing fawns and growing antlers.

This coming season, make it a goal to take someone new in order to pass on this great tradition. And remember that every time you release an arrow or squeeze the trigger, you are making a deer herd management decision on the piece of property where you hunt.

Good hunting to all. 

Oklahoma Deer Hunting