Any decent public land in Oklahoma?

[Flyboy718]

May possibly be moving to Oklahoma City and was wondering what the public hunting is like...any recommendations on where to go and where not to go?

[BrianfromTulsa]

I live in the eastern part of the state but there is an abundance of public land that you can hunt.  Check out the ODWC website, they have a mapping section and also look at the Corps of Engineers areas around most all of the lakes in the state.

After gun season, many of the refuges open up to bowhunting and the number of hunters drastically decreases.

[sweeney3]

It's a bit of a drive from you, but the Sandy Sanders area is in southwest OK.  I have only been on it a couple of times but it is beautiful country and has some nice deer on it, as well as good quail country.  I suppose there might be other critters, but as I said, I was only there for a couple weeks of hunting season.  There is also Wakarusa (spelling) and a few other areas.  Of these, I would say go see Sandy Sanders first.  It's big, remote, and worth seeing just for itself, to say nothing of the hunting.

[Flyboy718]

Any mule deer in Oklahoma?

[Lost Arra]

http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/facts_maps/wmastate.htm

[2madjacks]

You'll want to also put in for the special hunts as well. The deadline is in May and we have the mcalester ammunition depot that is for traditional hunters only.  It's a great hunt but can be pretty tough.

The special hunt info is on the site listed above but you can get a glimpse of some of the Mac deer at

 http://mcaapcontrolledhunts.com/

[Bill Turner]

Lots of public land bowhunting opportunities in Oklahoma. The above mentioned site should be a great help. Shilou Ranch is a good place for pigs. Not public land but price is reasonable and the hunting is good for the traditional hunter.

[Flyboy718]

Originally posted by Lost Arra:
 http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/facts_maps/wmastate.htm  

I cannot get the maps on their website to work for me...I have tried two different computers...all it does is sit there and think.

[Lost Arra]

try this:

 http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/facts_maps/wma_interactive.htm

[2madjacks]

Try this link and load the digital maps

 http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/hunting/whereto.htm

[Flyboy718]

Wow! Went and looked at the McAAP website...unbelievable to say the least, and it is traditional only to boot.  Is it high fence or something? Genetically altered deer?  How do those bucks get so big?

[Lost Arra]

No high fence.
Good habitat, high security area and rigidly managed herd.
Maybe explosives are good mineral supplements.

The last time I hunted there I heard something about the original deer brought there from Michigan but that could be folk lore.

[Lost]

Note the age class of the MCAAP deer, that seems to be one of the keys.
I live on Fort Gibson lake (Eastern Ok)and the Corps land mentioned above can be real good.

[Lost Arra]

Sorry to hijack this topic but looking at the McAlester site:

Trophy gallery>4th row>first and last photos.

Did the same guy shoot two big bucks in a two day hunt???
Looks like the same Bear recurve.
He definitely found a sweet location?

[wscruggs]

He could have. If you shoot one bigger than 105 they give you another buck tag

[stick-um]

I work at big mac. There are some hosses on there. I know for a fact there is a new state record on there. See him 2 or 3 times a week. They are smart. They hang out around the bunkers most of the time.They get big here for a reason.

[Flyboy718]

The bad part about it is that you have to purchase your license first before you can put in for the lottery...that keeps a lot of people from doing it.

[Flyboy718]

I just looked at the 2011 harvest report and those deer weights are telling me that the deer are really skinny!  The racks aren't that big for that old of a deer either.  A 3 1/2 year old 8 point only weighed 106 lbs!  That's crazy, I have 1 1/2 year old spikes that weigh 120-130 lbs.  Our 2 1/2 year old's average 150 lbs live weight and some go 160

[R. W. Mackey]

Hey Flyboy, who cares how much they weigh if they are toting around 150" of Antlers on their head. Nobody said the deer were big just the Antlers.....RW

[Flyboy718]

Just saying that they are old skinny deer with some bone.  They must be top heavy...the necks look huge.