ABOUT CONTROLLED HUNTS

Controlled hunts are held in areas where unrestricted public hunting would pose safety concerns or where overharvest might occur. So, these hunts take place on Wildlife Department-owned or -managed areas where hunting for the target species is normally not allowed.

Controlled hunts are offered for deer in three categories; wild turkey in two categories; elk; and pronghorn.

Hunters wishing to go on a controlled hunt must submit an online application, which goes into the running with all other applications for that hunt. Hunters are selected through random drawings in each category.

Getting drawn for a controlled hunt is a matter of odds and, to some degree, putting the odds in your favor by making informed hunt choices. Many controlled hunt choices are highly sought-after, and the number of applications for these marquee hunts greatly exceeds the number of available permits. But if you keep applying year after year, you’ll likely get a chance sooner or later to enjoy a controlled hunt.

How do I participate? 

Simply submit an easy-to-complete application online through your GoOutdoorsOklahoma account. Applications are accepted online only. Since applications are completed and submitted online, you will receive confirmation that your application was completed correctly. This system helps to minimize mistakes, so make sure you receive confirmation of your application. If you do have any issues, call the toll-free help line listed at the bottom of the webpage, (833) 457-7285, or send email to HelpDesk@gooutdoorsoklahoma.com.

DO THE HOMEWORK

You can increase your chances by first doing some research. This article provides data from the most recent controlled hunts drawing cycle. Anyone who plans to apply this coming year is urged to study the numbers presented here to help guide you as to which hunts you should apply for if you want higher odds of being selected.

For example, you might see that only two controlled hunts will be held in the wildlife management area that you are hoping to hunt. You notice the odds of being selected were greater last year for one of the hunts, and so you might decide to apply for that hunt in anticipation that this year’s applicant numbers remain about the same as last year’s.

Every time you apply and do not get selected, you earn a preference point in that category for all future drawings. So, when you apply next year, it’s like getting your name put into the drawing an extra time for each preference point. Your odds of being drawn improve if you apply again year after year. This strategy gains greater impact with the option to buy an additional preference point, which is an option in all hunt categories. Applicants who spend $10 (for residents) or $50 (for nonresidents) for the extra preference point will carry forward two preference points to next year in the event they are not drawn this year.

Additionally, some hunt categories allow you to apply with a group of other hunters, so that if one of the group is drawn, the entire group gets to hunt.

All hunters who are selected for a controlled hunt will receive hunt instructions at the email address attached to your online GoOutdoorsOklahoma account.

HELPFUL TIPS

Applicants have the chance to buy extra hunt choices at $3 apiece, which will be in addition to the basic application fee. This increases your overall odds of being drawn simply by putting your name into more of the drawings in a category.

You might consider adding the insurance called PointGuard to your application as a safety net just in case something unexpected comes up and you won’t be able to attend your hunt. This option is designed to protect your preference points in the event you are drawn but for some reason you end up not being able to go on your hunt. PointGuard costs an additional $10 over the basic application fee for residents, and an additional $50 over the basic application fee for nonresidents.

Each preference point you earn acts like an extra application for the next year. But if you already know you cannot hunt this year and still want to earn a preference point, you can now choose to mark your application as Preference Point Only. This PPO option allows you to earn a point this year that carries over to next year, but it keeps your name out of the hunt drawings for this year. The PPO option is available as part of the applicant’s $10 initial application fee.

Every year you apply, your chances of selection only get better. If you’ve applied for the controlled hunt of your dreams for five years straight without having been selected, then you will have five “tickets in the hopper” compared to a first-time applicant, who will have one.

Although preference points increase your odds of selection, they do not guarantee that applicants with the most points will get drawn. What is guaranteed is that their odds of selection improve. First-time applicants with no preference points can — and do — get drawn for popular hunts, while hunters who have many preference points can miss out being selected.

The drawing pool size related to the number of hunt permits also affects one’s odds of being selected.

Applicants who hold 20 or more preference points in the once-in-a-lifetime elk and pronghorn hunt categories will enjoy higher likelihood of winning a permit, as the drawing procedure has been enhanced for those categories. An initial drawing for half of the elk hunt permits and half of the antelope hunt permits will be conducted from a pool of only those applicants having 20 or more preference points in the category. The winners for the remaining half of hunt permits in each category will be drawn from the pool of all applicants (excluding those who were drawn out for hunts in the initial drawing).

In some categories, hunters may apply in groups of up to four people. An average of the total preference points of all hunters is used for each hunter in the group. If not drawn in that category, each applicant in the group will earn a single preference point that carries forward with the rest of their points to future drawings.

Once you are drawn for a hunt, all preference points that you have built up in that hunt category are cleared. You can begin building preference points again with your application next year in the deer and turkey categories. (Elk and pronghorn controlled hunts are once-in-a-lifetime draws; previous winners are not allowed to apply again.)

Here are some other tips for increasing your chances of winning a controlled hunt:

• For those locations that offer multiple hunts in the same category, the second or third hunts (the later hunts) are often easier to get selected for than the earliest hunts.
• Hunts that are considered by some to be less desirable, such as antlerless deer hunts, may be just the right choice for a meat hunter looking to raise his chances of getting to hunt at a premier location.
• By designating additional hunt choices, you increase your overall odds of being selected for at least one of the choices, so make as many selections as a category allows (five in the deer category, for example), rather than just three, two or one. Then consider adding even more hunt choices at $3 each, no limit.
• Consider the ratio of permits to applicants to help you decide which hunts might give you the best chance of selection. A selection ratio of 1-in-25 is better odds than a ratio of 1-in-80.
• You can increase your odds of being drawn when you apply for hunts that happen on key dates of the regular statewide seasons, such as the opening weekend of muzzleloader or gun season. Many hunters may skip those dates because of already-planned hunts.

(Compiled by Outdoor Oklahoma Staff)

Duncan Brittain

2025-26 DEER HUNTS

• Total applicants (includes first, second, third, fourth and fifth choice preferences): 69,199.
• Total permits available: 3,708.
• Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 18.7.

NOTE: Steer clear of the most popular hunts in order to have better chances of getting drawn. Controlled hunts such as those at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, the Wichita Mountains buck gun hunt, the Sandy Sanders buck gun hunt, and Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge either-sex hunts will not offer the better odds of selection.

Austin Weidhuner/Pixabay

2025-26 YOUTH DEER HUNTS

• Total applicants (includes first, second and third choice preferences): 4,173.
• Total permits available: 812.
• Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 5.14.

NOTE: Select hunt dates that are within the regular statewide season dates, especially those that fall on opening weekends, since many hunters already have other hunting plans in place at those times. Controlled hunts that take place outside the regular muzzleloader and gun seasons typically draw more applications and therefore lower the odds of getting selected.

2025-26 DEER HUNTS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

• Total applicants (includes first, second and third choice preferences): 342.
• Total permits available: 114.
• Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 3.

NOTE: Northeastern Oklahoma areas generally attract the most applications. Examples are Cherokee, Cookson Hills, Gruber, and Spavinaw WMAs. Consider hunts in other parts of the state.

Larry Smith

2025-26 ELK HUNTS

• Total applicants (includes first, second and third choice preferences): 37,906.
• Total permits available: 306.
• Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 123.9.

NOTE: Enhanced drawings are now upping the odds for applicants with 20 or more preference points in the category. New this year is the option to buy one additional preference point to increase your odds for next year’s drawing.

USFWS

2025 PRONGHORN HUNTS

• Total applicants (includes first and second choice preferences): 13,501.
• Total permits available: 40.
• Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 337.5.

NOTE: New this year is the option to buy one additional preference point to increase your odds for next year’s drawing. Pronghorn controlled hunts are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

USFWS

2026 SPRING TURKEY HUNTS

• Total applicants (includes first, second and third choice preferences): 13,342.
• Total permits available: 101.
• Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 132.1.

NOTE: Skip the hunt choices that attract the most applications, such as the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant hunts.

2026 YOUTH TURKEY HUNTS

• Total applicants (includes first, second and third choice preferences): 1,294.
• Total permits available: 25.
• Overall odds of getting drawn for any one permit: 1 in 51.8.

NOTE: Choosing hunts that take place later in spring come with better odds of being selected.