Oklahoma Preference (Bonus) Points

[OKHunter84]

Can't believe I missed this thread....Hmmm. As an Ok resident since 1994, I have put in religiously for the elk tag since then. I think I must have missed a few years as I now "only" have 28 pp. Crazily, I didn't realize that for elk, non residents could apply. I knew they could for deer. Personally I see no issues with us "old" guys getting a bit of a bump, when I see teenagers drawing with 0 pts. I wouldnt have complained when I was 26 and applying for the first time. I have just resigned myself to the fact that I will probably never draw, but if I am 83 and I do, you can damn well bet I'll be out there. I try and hunt somewhere in the west every year and have had plenty of chances at elk, but its just something about killing one in my state of residence. Guess I could start applying for a cow tag instead.....lol.

I am glad Non resident fees have gone up. Keep watching videos of out of state guys killing does ad nauseum. It will definitely weed out a lot of non residents using us as a backup. all the other states around us are doing it, so we should join the party. That said, resident fees actually went down. We now pay $36 total for all 6 tags.

Looked at my PP this am and I actually have 10 deer pp. Pretty much exclusively put in for McAlester AAP hunts and drew that hunt 5 out of 7 years at one point and now have gone 10 without.

FWIW, the fort sill hunt is available for any active duty military person if I recall correctly. Had I know that when I was in the Marines, I'd have flown back from Camp Lejeune to hunt....lol.

Did you draw this year? My Dad has been in the same boat as you, putting in since the 90's. He put a cow tag as one of his last choices and drew a cow tag this year. I'm kinda frustrated cause I wanted him to draw a bull tag like I did eventually but we'll have fun chasing a cow.

 

[sodaksooner]

No

Did you draw this year? My Dad has been in the same boat as you, putting in since the 90's. He put a cow tag as one of his last choices and drew a cow tag this year. I'm kinda frustrated cause I wanted him to draw a bull tag like I did eventually but we'll have fun chasing a cow.

Nope, didn't draw. Ive thought about a cow since I hunt CO a lot but would be fun to have a bull from Oklahoma. Had a buddy that had a cow tag years ago. Said they were hard to find.... Good luck!

 

[OKHunter84]

No

Nope, didn't draw. Ive thought about a cow since I hunt CO a lot but would be fun to have a bull from Oklahoma. Had a buddy that had a cow tag years ago. Said they were hard to find.... Good luck!

I know man. That's exactly what I told my dad. I counted 33 bulls in two days but it was only a handful of cows. I will say that most the bulls are a little busted up in the January walk in hunts. I couldn't hardly find anything that wasn't busted all to crap.

 

[Okie-hunter]

FWIW, the fort sill hunt is available for any active duty military person if I recall correctly. Had I know that when I was in the Marines, I'd have flown back from Camp Lejeune to hunt....lol.

Not only active duty. I know my buddy archery hunts fort sill as a medically discharged veteran so it might be worth checking in too. Not sure what the stipulations are but worth a look.

 

[OKHunter84]

The biggest elk I've seen down there were on the fort sill side. There was a monster bull that hung out by the road on the fort side when I was looking stuff over for my hunt.

 

[sodaksooner]

Not only active duty. I know my buddy archery hunts fort sill as a medically discharged veteran so it might be worth checking in too. Not sure what the stipulations are but worth a look.

retired too. I am not eligible. Did my 4 years and some reserve time but not enough....dangit!

 

[desertdwellerdyl]

Any one willing to PM about hunting opportunities in and around Ft. Sill? My best friend just got orders there for later this year. I'll have to take a look at the Oklahoma Game and fish site.

 

[OKHunter84]

Any one willing to PM about hunting opportunities in and around Ft. Sill? My best friend just got orders there for later this year. I'll have to take a look at the Oklahoma Game and fish site.

Pm coming your way

 

[LFC911]

When is this OK elk draw? Looks like i need to buy another lotto ticket!

 

[OKHunter84]

When is this OK elk draw? Looks like i need to buy another lotto ticket!

Usually beginning of April. It's not hard to draw the walk in. Just put in.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

It's not hard to draw the walk in.

Are you referring to the Wichita Mountains NWR elk hunts? Walk-in bull tags on WMNWR are very hard to draw (0.15% draw success rate last year). Cow tags are easier (10-15%).

 

[OKHunter84]

Are you referring to the Wichita Mountains NWR elk hunts? Walk-in bull tags on WMNWR are very hard to draw (0.15% draw success rate last year). Cow tags are easier (10-15%).

I drew 3 years ago with 8 points, my wife drew with 0 points this last year. You can put five choices now so it helps your odds.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I drew 3 years ago with 8 points, my wife drew with 0 points this last year. You can put five choices now so it helps your odds.

Drawing a bull tag with no points is incredibly lucky. But it’s a bonus point draw, so everyone does have a chance.

For residents, it’s a no-brainer to apply…odds are slim but it doesn’t cost much to try. For nonresidents, the cost-to-draw odds ratio is pretty poor for a bull tag IMO. But to each his own…it is a fun hunt with very high harvest rates.

 

[Conrad101st]

I drew this year. Had 34 points.
Shot a 5x5 on day 4. Has a chance at bigger bulls on day 1 but they angled off.

The big bulls are way north.

Best bet is to just huff as hard as you can NW. and shoot it day 1 or 2 and spend the rest of the week humping it out. I was intending to do just that on day 4, when we spotted a medium bull. It was only a couple hundred yards off a dirt road 3.5 miles in and my knees were fried so shot it. Wasn’t really what I was looking for but is what it is. Anyway, the altitude is great but it’s rough walking, especially after dark. The biggest problem is that most guys who draw the bull tags are way past their prime and humping meat 7 miles in is not a viable option for them.