The deer-mating season, known as the rut, is well underway in most of Oklahoma, as the bucks have been scrambling after the does in all areas of the state.

Deer should be moving this coming Saturday, Nov. 22, when the state’s deer gun hunting season officially opens a half-hour before sunrise. It’s the most highly anticipated day of the year for roughly 160,000 hunters in Oklahoma.

This year’s annual Rut Report should give hunters a great deal of optimism about their chances this year. See below for the latest status reports from the field.

Oklahoma residents 18 and older will need a base hunting license ($36) and a deer gun season license ($36), unless exempt. No longer are separate licenses required for each deer hunted. Instead, hunters may harvest the entire gun season limit of four deer (one can be antlered) along with two bonus antlerless deer during the holiday antlerless deer season.

Residents younger than 18 require only the annual youth super hunting license ($26), which allows participation in the 2025-26 deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear, turkey, waterfowl, furbearer and trapping seasons.

Nonresidents older than 17 will need an annual base hunting license ($209) unless exempt, and a nonresident deer gun license ($501), which allows the hunter to take the entire regular deer gun and holiday antlerless season bag limits — a total of six deer. Nonresidents younger than 18 require either an annual youth super hunting license ($151) or a five-day youth super hunting license ($76) to hunt in Oklahoma’s deer gun season.

Oklahoma’s deer gun season is a great time to maybe tag a wallhanger but also to stock the freezer with tasty, nutritious and healthy venison. And remember that “Hunters in the Know … Take a Doe!” when they are wanting to fill their freezer.

Wildlife Biologist Dallas Barber with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reminds deer hunters again that harvesting antlerless deer remains an important part of the state’s deer herd management strategy.

Last year, state hunters set a record, with antlerless deer making up 48% of the deer gun harvest. Barber said a doe harvest of at least 40% is the target for maintaining optimum buck-to-doe ratios for herd health. This isn’t the time for hunters to “take their foot off the pedal” but instead to keep the state’s doe harvest goal in mind.

To encourage doe harvest, ODWC allows each hunter to take as many as eight antlerless deer combined over the various hunting seasons. Hunters who were drawn for this year’s controlled hunts may take even more antlerless deer, as controlled hunt deer harvests do not count toward a hunter’s overall season limit.

To help deer hunters plan for opening day, here are the most recent field reports from ODWC personnel.

SOUTHEAST REGION Reported by Matt Hensley, Southeast Region Senior Biologist

• Current Buck

Rutting Activity: Field reports indicate that rut activity was on the rise throughout the first two weeks of November. Recent moon phases and unseasonably warm temperatures have contributed to heavy nighttime deer movement during the early stages of the rut. However, temperatures are finally starting to drop, and hunters are reporting more mature deer sightings in daylight hours.

• Habitat Conditions: With a massive acorn crop in the southeast this fall, food availability is not an issue for deer in areas with mastproducing oak timber. The abundance of food has significantly reduced deer feeding movement overall. Nevertheless, the rut momentum has deer up and going, and daytime movement is on the rise.

• Hunter and Landowner Reports: There have been many reports of hunters seeing and taking good quality deer. It seems that the herd’s health is in good shape overall and deer numbers are high in the region.

• Public Land Best Bets: Top wildlife management areas in the region for deer gun season include Honobia Creek WMA, Three Rivers WMA and Ouachita WMA. Honobia Creek and Three Rivers WMAs require an additional Land Access Permit that must be purchased before your trip ($100 residents, $200 nonresidents). Also available, for the first time this season (to Oklahoma residents), is the new Herron Family WMA. Please check your hunting regulations and the area-specific regulations for additional information on these and other wildlife management areas. Some management areas may be open for archery hunting activities but closed for deer gun season. Some may also be closed while conducting draw-awarded controlled hunts on the area.

• Advice for Deer Hunters: On heavy mast crop years such as this, deer aren’t spending as much time looking for food, which can change typical deer movement patterns. Food plots and feeders aren’t as attractive when there’s a buffet of acorns in the timber. Take some time to find that one preferred white oak tree they’re filling up under, water hole they like, or ridgeline the ol’ big one is cruising as he scouts for does.

• Biggest Mistakes to Avoid: The biggest mistake that we are all occasionally guilty of is neglecting to plan. Know the regulations in your area, doublecheck your gear so that you can enjoy a worryfree, safe hunt. Do some scouting so that you have some knowledge of how deer are using your area and if/where you might encounter other hunters that you should be mindful of. Plan for weather changes. Its been said “If you don’t like the weather in Oklahoma, just wait a minute.” So, even if the forecast is sunny and warm, toss the rain jacket and extra layer in the truck, just in case. Another mistake often made is only hunting an hour or two at sunrise or sunset. During the rut, deer often move all day long, and hunters that leave too early might miss out on seeing a midday chase.

• Opening Morning Expectations: With the dropping temperatures and falling leaves, opening weekend should be a great time to be in the woods. If you are going to public land, expect plenty of other hunters, but also expect plenty of opportunities to harvest a deer this season.