Photo Credit Whitney Jenkins

One of the biggest questions you may be asking about the youth deer gun season is, “Where can we go to hunt?”

The land in Oklahoma is mostly privately owned, and you may know somebody who will let you hunt deer on their property. But even if you do not, there are thousands of acres of public land available across the state where you can hunt. While most wildlife management areas are open to hunting during the youth deer gun season, some may have regulations that vary from statewide regulations. For example, some of them may only be open to hunting with shotguns or archery equipment, or some may only be open to antlerless deer harvest during the youth deer gun season. No worries. All you have to do to learn more is consult the current “Oklahoma Hunting Guide,” available free online at wildlifedepartment.com or in hardcopy anywhere hunting licenses are sold. Each WMA and its regulations are covered in detail. You can visit our website listed below for a list of WMA's that have a youth gun season.

https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hunting/species/deer/youth-gun-opportunities

Additionally, the Oklahoma Wildlife Management Area Atlas is available for $25 and features page-by-page details on Oklahoma’s public hunting land. It features topographical maps of almost every WMA in the state. At over 100 pages, the high quality, spiral-bound atlas depicts special features on each WMA such as roads, parking areas, designated campsites, food plots, ponds, wetland development units, non-ambulatory zones and more. You can also use the guide to find driving directions and acreage of each featured WMA. When you purchase an atlas, you also receive a one-year subscription to Outdoor Oklahoma magazine. To purchase a Wildlife Management Area atlas, click here.

Hunter Orange

The safest color to wear while hunting is solid hunter orange. In Oklahoma, individuals hunting deer, elk, bear or antelope with any type of firearm must conspicuously wear both a head covering and an outer garment above the waistline both consisting of hunter orange color totaling at least 400 square inches. Camouflage hunter orange is legal as long as there are at least 400 square inches of hunter orange. All other hunters, except those hunting waterfowl, crow or crane, or while hunting furbearing animals at night, must wear either a head covering or upper garment of hunter orange clothing while hunting during any antelope, bear, deer, or elk firearms (muzzleloader or gun) season.

Photo Credit willdlifedepartment.com

• Hunters 9 and younger: In Oklahoma, persons under ten (10) years of age may take the hunter education course but are not eligible to be tested for and receive hunter education certification. However, they may buy a hunting license that is apprentice-designated. Such hunters must abide by accompanying hunter requirements.
• Hunters 10-17: Anyone in this age range who is not hunter education-certified may buy a youth hunting license and/or youth deer gun license that is apprentice-designated. Such hunters must abide by accompanying hunter requirements.
• Accompanying hunter requirements: A person 18 or older who is licensed (unless exempt) and hunter education-certified (unless exempt). For big game hunting, an accompanying hunter must be within arm’s length of the apprentice hunter or close enough to take immediate control of the firearm or bow of the apprentice.

Hunter Education

One thing to consider before going afield for the youth deer gun season is the importance of hunter education, both for gaining full hunting privileges in Oklahoma and for learning to hunt safely.

The Wildlife Department’s hunter education course accomplishes these things. Hunter education certified hunters can buy any hunting license and hunt big game and/or small game alone (except, of course, youth participating in youth deer gun season must adhere to accompaniment requirements).

Hunter Education Courses

Students age 10 or older needing hunter education are encouraged to take the free course online. Persons under ten (10) years of age may take the hunter education course but are not eligible to be tested for and receive hunter safety certification.

Lost Your Hunter Education Card?

If your hunter education card is lost or destroyed, you may purchase a duplicate card by logging on to gooutdoorsoklahoma.com.

Is my card good in other states?

Certification is recognized and honored in all 50 states and all provinces in Canada.

Photo Credit wildlifedepartment.com

Half the fun of deer season is planning for it. The anticipation of the hunt, gathering gear and scouting are as much a part of the hunting experience as sitting in a blind on opening day.

Careful and detailed planning also will give you an idea of what to expect when your day in the woods arrives. Sure, plans can change, but at least you’ll have a starting point. If you plan your gear and get your scouting done on time, you’ll be prepared when it comes time to hunt and you’ll have a blast along the way.

A successful hunt is not dependent upon achieving your limit or even bagging a trophy animal. A successful hunt is much more than that. It takes preparation; not just physically but mentally as well. Successful hunters prepare in advance.

Photo Credit wildlifedepartment.com

Scouting

“Scouting” means simply looking for evidence of the animal you intend to hunt. In the case of youth deer gun season, this generally means whitetail deer, although mule deer bucks are legal to harvest during youth deer gun season as well and may be found in certain western and northwest Oklahoma counties and the Panhandle. Things to look for include elements of good habitat and actual signs left by deer.

Photo Credit Michael Bergin

Look for food sources such as mast, fruit, other vegetation or agricultural crops such as wheat in close proximity and arrangement with good cover, space and water. Hardwood creek bottoms and stream crossings, fence lines, open and semi-open clearings, low areas, field edges and natural travel funnels and corridors created by timber and landscape are all likely spots to study for signs of deer activity.

When searching for signs left by individual deer, look closely for evidence such as scrapes on the ground and rubs on the bases of trees. Concentrated tracks, droppings and even hair left on barbed-wire fences where deer commonly cross can all help lead you to a likely location to see and harvest a deer. If you have an access road, path or creek flowing through or along your hunting location, look for areas where deer commonly cross from one side to the other. Multiple sets of tracks often will be evident, and a nearby area where a blind or treestand can be used should be identified.

The Quarry

Youth hunters can harvest two deer during the youth deer gun season. However, only one may be antlered, and the harvest of antlerless mule deer is prohibited. This is just one reason to make sure your wildlife identification skills are sharp before you head to the field. Study deer photos and watch them closely in the woods before shooting to make sure you are comfortable with identifying them in the field. Remember that, for legal and hunting purposes in Oklahoma, an antlered deer is any deer, regardless of sex, with at least three inches of antler length above the natural hairline on either side.

After the Harvest

One of the most exciting prospects about hunting is the possibility of reliving the hunt at the dinner table over a wild game feast. Deer meat, or venison, is absolutely delicious, and hunters have found a number of preparations that bring out the best flavors of this big game animal. Some recipes are simple and others are more involved, but in either case, it is always better if you take all the necessary steps to care for your animal after the shot.

First and Foremost: One-shot Harvests

Proper care starts with the first shot. Responsible hunters strive for clean, one-shot harvests. While this is not always possible, responsible hunters always follows their game and if needed, dispatch it quickly. How you hunt an animal and how you immediately care for it affects the taste of the meat. An animal that is shot while resting will not have a gamey taste while an animal that is chased for a distance will secrete waste products into the muscles that affect the taste of the meat.

Tagging

Once a deer has been harvested, the hunter must immediately attach a field tag to the carcass, with their name, customer ID number or lifetime license number, and date and time of harvest. A field tag can be any item, so long as it contains the required information, and must remain with the carcass to its final destination or through processing and/or storage at commercial processing or storage facilities.

Checking

The harvest must also be checked in within 24 hours of leaving the hunt area through the online e-Check system at wildlifedepartment.com or the Go Outdoors Oklahoma mobile app. Once checked, the animal will be issued a carcass tag or an online confirmation number. This tag or number must remain with the carcass to its final destination or through processing and/or storage at commercial processing or storage facilities.

Game Meat Care

Game Meat Care

Once you’ve field tagged the animal, you need to do two things quickly to prevent the meat from spoiling – field dress it and cool the meat.

Field dressing is simply removing the entrails. It prevents the meat from absorbing waste products from the body cavity organs. Three environmental factors affect the taste of your meat: temperature, dirt and moisture. Meat that has been kept cool, dry and clean tastes better than meat that has been allowed to get warm, wet and tainted with dirt.

Meat should be kept cool by keeping it in the shade, keeping it in moving air or a breeze and hanging it from a tree or post. Meat should be kept dry by immediately field dressing and wiping off excess blood or fluids. It should also be kept as dry as possible.

This article was originally published in Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine.