Oklahoma
 

It is now November 25th in Oklahoma. I haven't been out in a couple of days but I plan to hunt some this coming week. What are you guys seeing? My brother went out a few days ago and saw 7 deer on a morning sit. I went out a day later in the same stand and didn't see anything. Gun season still has a few days left so what do you think we can expect deer movementwise?

RE: Oklahoma
 

I think it depends on what part of the state you are hunting. The northeast part is in really bad shape. I would say the ice storm last year took it's toll on the deer herd in that area. The check stations that I have talked to are down under 50% from last year. I probably haven't seen 25 deer all season.

Darrall

RE: Oklahoma
 

I second that, not only did the storm affect the herd but the woods are in such bad shape that some areas are just plain impossible to get to without spooking every animal in there. The good bucks we've seen have been in thesuper thick downedtimberand very difficult to put a good shot on.

RE: Oklahoma
 

Barely seeing anything. One place i hunt has the same group of 6 does walk through every night and i keep thinking a buck is going to fallow them one night but he hasnt yet. The check station we go to by wewoka has only had 105 checked in all season, and normally they get around 300 on opening day of rifle. They just dont seem to moving anywhere.

RE: Oklahoma
 

The reason they aren't moving down there is that the ice storm actually improved the habitat for deer and with all of the rain we've had on top of that (statewide), things are optimal for them right now...they just don't have to move much to get all of what they need on a daily basis.

RE: Oklahoma
 

i hunt in northwest ok between seiling and woodward and have only seen 1 small buck. this is my first year at this lease and the guys i hunt with cant believe the lack of deer movement. they said last year you saw no less than 10 deer everytime you went out and 4 would be bucks. i have had no trouble seeing does but they have even seen few of them this year. i have a little bit more woods on my place though.

RE: Oklahoma
 

I saw alot of sign in south central day before Turkey day! My brother bailed hay 4-5 times and the meadows are so tall you can only see top of round bales now!Some big deer checked in around Coalgate but like the man said the deer don't have to move,the warm before Thanksgiving had them moving at night and the branches are deep where they can move in daylight and not be seen!The wind that blew through last Wednesday morning bushed things up tight,everything that I saw was in the bottoms,but saw 2 doe bed down in a hay meadows and became invisable!

RE: Oklahoma
 

I hadn't considered the effects of the ice storm until you guys mentioned it. My brother and I went out this evening. I sat over a wheat field in the woods and he was down in the bottoms deep in the woods. I saw nothing but he had a fork horn come in and stay for about an hour. He said it ate all of the way in and bedded for a while, got back up and slowly browsed around. I agree, there is food everywhere and nothing much appears to be moving. We hunt in southern Creek county andhave seen no nice bucks this year just small ones and some does. We each took an 8 point but they weren't very big.

We have about 7 acres in winter wheat. When do you think they will start hitting that in the day time?

RE: Oklahoma
 

Hunting between OKC and Tulsa. Set up my stand one week prior to the opener but was unable to hunt it until last Friday. The wife and I were on vacation for the first week of rifle season...guys, don't ever let your ladies plan a vacation in the fall.

Anyhow, my stand is nearly landlocked between private property. Upon arriving to my stand on Friday I noticed right off the bat somebody had tampered with it, if not hunted out of it. A bit peeved and discouraged I sat in the stand all day Friday only seeing two doe that I called in with the "Can". Debating hunting elsewhere in the state for the last four days of the season. Shot a nice 4x4 last year within a few hundred yards of this years stand.

I've got $200 dumped into this non-res tag, I'd rather not eat soup.

RE: Oklahoma
 

I don't really agree with that. I have been hunting the same area for 15 years and have never once has the hunting been this bad. I have also been told that they have found a fair amount of dead deer in the county I hunt that could have been caused by the ice storm. Lets face it, even when the hunting is bad you can usually see a few Does. I think I have seen 3 all season and we have some nice food plots on our lease. Nothing is hitting them.

Darrall

RE: Oklahoma
 

My brother went out on our place this morning and saw nothing. I stayed at home. I am hoping that our food plots willyield some favorable results this December. We are thinking of hunting Thursday and Friday morning, though.

RE: Oklahoma
 

We have been seeing more bucks this year than ever before on our lease, both on camera and in person. We have only seen 3 real shooters during hunting hours but have a ton of younger bucks up to 2.5 years old. We are seeing less does, dunno if that is a result of the harsh winter or our management strategy (we like whackin does), our herd looks to have a good ratio.

We have alot of younger bucks that will be good deer in the years to come. We do have some deer going to the neighbors wheat and the does that always come to my feeder are hitting the small food plot near the feeder. There has been alot of action at night recently. There are many tall weeds (5-6 feet tall) in the bottoms and right-of-ways that these deer are hiding in. I did make some trails in August with the brush hog and the deer are really using those trails. It has been a pretty good year on our lease as far as seeing deer goes.

I hope to get out this Sunday and maybe a few more times for bow. We are expecting our first child on January the 6th so my hunting days are limited. I cant wait to get our new baby girl in camo and out to the woods.

Kent - Out

RE: Oklahoma
 

Gotta say I disagree with all the "harsh winter" jibber jabber. I think these whitetail are tougher animals than we give credit. We are in Oklahoma for pete sake. Last I checked whitetail thrive in colder climates where the snowfall is a heck of a lot more than the couple of two inches of snow this state received last year. It is interested to read how the number of animals checked in are down though.

I gotta $200 non-res tag to burn. I'd rather not eat soup with it. Will sneak out in the a.m. if I can get myself out of bed. Good luck all.

RE: Oklahoma
 

Snow is one thing. But in the county I hunt they received 6 inches of ice. It didn't thaw for a very long time. I'm sure that made it very hard for them to find food.

Darrall

RE: Oklahoma
 

I've seen deer almost every time I've been out. I'm in NW OK. I killed a huge buck in black powder season, but have had a hard time seeing anything big for rifle season. Plenty of does and gobs of spikes and fours and sixes. I know I have some big bucks. I have the pics and see the tracks, but they stay hid in the thick stuff in daylight. I finally killed a decent 9-point that weighed 150. He looked better than he was because of his smaller body size. Definitely some ground shrinkage, but a nice buck nevertheless.

RE: Oklahoma
 

kinda off the subject but i have an on going debate with a few buddies and need help.(please!) i hunt up near woodward and the deer therehave huge bodies compaired to where i usually hunt. i have always hunted eastern oklahoma and the average mature doe usually weighs in arange from 85-100lbs. the does we have killed this year in ne oklahoma weighed 112 and 119. the debate??? well my buddies say the reason for the big bodies is because we are closer to kansas and the gene pool changes??? i say its because of all the different types of food available. where i hunt there is milo,winter wheat,corn,canola and various other browse. what do you guys think????????? thanks

RE: Oklahoma
 

Combination of both, plus, there's a lot more huntable area and less hunters.

RE: Oklahoma
 

I am over here in the east southeast section of the state and the harvest numbers are down here too. I think it has a lot to do with the food and water being so abundant for the deer-- they just don't have to travel as far to get what they want. Also, the weather has played a big part-- being to hot during the day and nice at night. Truthfully I don't think the rut has fully kicked in over here in this area of the woods yet. Not enough cold weather yet. Normally I see deer running all the time in November during the rut-- but the last two years or so it has been later and later - more like December to January when it starts getting cold and staying cold before they start the rut we are use to.

just my two cents worth-- good luck to all.

RE: Oklahoma
 

Here is mine and my son's Alfalfa county bucks from Thanksgiving day.

RE: Oklahoma
 

very nice bucks, congrats

RE: Oklahoma
 

WOW!!! Very impressive deer. You guys have had a tremendous year by anyone's standards. I'm impressed. Great looking racks!!!

I wouldn't mind seeing some more pics of those bucks. Post em if you have em. Some details also.