Private lands youth deer hunt participant Natalee Heck and father, Larry, making memories in Love County during a past hunt.
Beginning deer hunters have a unique opportunity to participate in one of four bonus antlerless deer hunts that will take place on private land in:
- Ellis County: Oct. 11-13, 2019.
- Love County: Oct. 18, 2019 (mandatory orientation Oct. 17); Dec. 13-14, 2019; and Dec. 14, 2019 (mandatory orientation on Dec. 13).
This year, 55 youths will be selected to receive one of the bonus private lands antlerless deer gun permits. To be eligible, youths must have completed their hunter education requirements prior to applying and must be 12 to 17 years old at the time of their scheduled hunt.
“These hunts are on private property and should provide young hunters a great opportunity to see some deer as well as a chance to potentially harvest a doe,” said Bill Dinkines, Assistant Chief of Wildlife for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission has endorsed the youth hunt program, and we are thankful for the landowners’ willingness to allow these kids the opportunity to hunt on their properties.”
Interested youths must fill out an online application no later than 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019, with the following information:
- Hunter information: name, date of birth, mailing address, phone number, hunter education certification number, lifetime license number if applicable.
- Accompanying adult* name and email address.
- List of hunts by order of preference**
* Each youth participating in this hunt must have an adult (licensed or unlicensed) who is at least 21 years old accompany him or her on the hunt.
** Hunts applied for must be listed by order of preference. (Please do not list any hunt that you are not interested in or know in advance you cannot attend.)
Antlerless deer taken by selected applicants during these hunts will be considered a “bonus deer” and will not count toward the hunter’s statewide season limit.
Applicants who are successfully drawn will receive an email notification on or before Aug. 23, 2019, that includes specific information about their hunt and the deadline for purchasing required license(s) as listed:
Resident Options (Ages 12-15):
Lifetime Hunting or Lifetime Combination License
OR
$10 Controlled Hunt (CH) Private Lands Youth Antlerless Deer License***
Resident Options (Ages 16-17):
Lifetime Hunting or Lifetime Combination License OR Resident Youth Annual Hunting License AND $10 CH Private Lands Youth Antlerless Deer License***
OR
Resident Youth Fiscal Year Hunting License AND $10 CH Private Lands Youth Antlerless Deer License***
OR
Resident Youth Fiscal Year Combination License AND $10 CH Private Lands Youth Antlerless Deer License***
Non-Resident Requirement (Ages 12-17):
$31 CH Nonresident Private Lands Youth Antlerless Deer License***
*** NOTE: The $10 resident and $31 nonresident CH Private Lands Youth Antlerless Deer Hunt Licenses will be issued in lieu of the open season license and can be purchased online at license.gooutdoorsoklahoma.com or in-person at the Wildlife Department’s headquarters in Oklahoma City. No apprentice-designated licenses will be allowed because of the hunter education requirement.
Youths who are holders of a Choctaw Tribal Compact hunting license or a Cherokee Tribal Compact hunting license are urged to call (405) 590-2584 for information on license requirements and/or license exemptions for these bonus antlerless deer youth hunts.
If you have questions before applying, call Kyle Johnson at (405) 590-2584.
