For many Oklahoma hunters, the recently concluded deer gun season brought about excellent hunting, meat for the freezer, and time in the woods with family and friends. But it’s not time to pack away the gun hunting gear just yet. The holiday antlerless deer gun season is Dec. 18-31. Hunters may harvest two bonus antlerless white-tailed deer, even if you’ve already harvested the maximum combined season limit of six deer for all other deer seasons.
Check out our blog on the Outdoor Oklahoma Journal for scouting tips, a map of open antlerless zones, and more. We’re even passing along a discount offer from our friends at onX to save 30 percent when you purchase onX Hunt, a digital mapping tool to help you get the most out of your hunting seasons! When you buy using the link provided, a portion of proceeds will come back to the Wildlife Department for conservation efforts in Oklahoma!
Resources for Antlerless Deer Hunters Harvesting a doe during the holiday antlerless season can help improve what’s called the buck-to-doe ratio in the deer herd. Improving the buck-to-doe ratio increases total nutrients available for deer; condenses the rut period for healthier bucks; leads to fawns dropping within a tighter time period, reducing the risk of predation; and makes for fewer lateborn fawns, which face the risk of developmental challenges. What’s more, even if you’ve harvested the maximum combined limit of six deer for the year’s regular deer seasons, you may still take two antlerless deer during the 14-day holiday antlerless season, as they are considered bonus deer. Unfilled resident youth deer gun season antlerless licenses are valid for the holiday season.
After the Harvest Stacking pound upon pound of high quality venison in the freezer ensures your adventure can be relived for months to come. A 120-pound, field-dressed deer can provide 168 servings of healthy protein for your family (or hungry families across Oklahoma). But first things first, you’ll need to take care of tagging, checking and field dressing your animal. Upon harvesting a deer, hunters must immediately attach a “field tag” securely to the carcass that includes their name, customer ID or lifetime license number, and date and time of harvest. This field tag can be any item – so long as it displays the required information. Next, it’s time to field dress and prepare the deer for processing, either at a commercial facility or at home. Check out this Beginners Guide to Butchering Deer series from our partners at Bowhunting 360 for great how-to videos on field-dressing and home-processing your deer
