Hunting News

2022-23 deer harvest setting record pace

2022-23 deer harvest setting record pace

By Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

Deer hunters are on track to rack up an all-time record harvest for the 2022-23 seasons, based on raw numbers submitted to the online E-check system as reported during the Jan. 3 meeting of the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Chief of Wildlife Bill Dinkines of the Department of Wildlife Conservation said preliminary numbers show 128,786 harvested deer had been reported by hunters as of Jan. 2. The previous record high for Oklahoma’s deer harvest was set in 2020-21, when 126,290 animals were taken.

Dinkines also said antlerless deer accounted for 45% of total harvest to date, which pleases Wildlife Department biologists who manage the state’s deer herd. Biologists have appealed to hunters the past several years to take more antlerless deer, which offers many benefits for overall herd health.

J.D. Strong, Wildlife Department director, said these early raw numbers show how the “Hunters in the Know . . . Take a Doe!” public awareness campaign, along with increased opportunities for taking antlerless deer, are paying off.

Addressing wildlife management goals through education and voluntary efforts is always better than having to impose new regulations, Strong said.

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