New OK landowner from AZ

[bigred1]

Hello, glad you could make it.

 

[retrieverman]

Welcome to OSA.
As an absentee landowner myself, I strongly recommend finding someone local that can at least check on your place if needed. I can’t advise you on bears, but I can tell you from personal experience that you will need really big feeders to maintain a feed program if only making 3-4 trips up a year. I would also recommend cellular game cameras (if cell service allows) to help you stay connected with what’s going on while you’re gone.

 

[DRC458]

Welcome to OSA and to Oklahoma!

 

[Hirschkopf]

Welcome, and whatever method you decide on to keep the deer around, other than food plots, you'll need to make bear proof. They'll ruin your feeders and game cams pronto.

Interesting; I knew about hogs possibly messing up deer feeders, but figured this part of OK only had an occasional juvenile passing through. Thanks for the education! Researched and bit and determined I'm outside of the bear hunting fraction of McIntosh.

 

[Hirschkopf]

Welcome to OSA. Thank you for your service! Might consider asking the game warden if they know of anyone that lives close by that is trustworthy. You could introduce yourself and share contact information. Having a trustworthy local to help keep eyes on it will be worth it IMO.

Thanks; serving for 23 years was very rewarding. I'm planning on sending a letter of introduction to the neighbors (based on OnX data); provide my information and encourage them to reciprocate via phone if interested in meeting. Also planning on getting to know relatives of a local church friend who live in the general area - one is a LEO.

 

[Hirschkopf]

Welcome to OSA.
As an absentee landowner myself, I strongly recommend finding someone local that can at least check on your place if needed. I can’t advise you on bears, but I can tell you from personal experience that you will need really big feeders to maintain a feed program if only making 3-4 trips up a year. I would also recommend cellular game cameras (if cell service allows) to help you stay connected with what’s going on while you’re gone.

Great tips! All the neighbors were waving a greeting as we toured with the Realtor, so we have hopes of finding at least one set of trustworthy eyes. Yep; planning on getting really big feeders - thinking broadcast with solar-powered battery.

 

[Snattlerake]

Ya see now, that's the thing around rural areas of Oklahoma, Kansas, etc. Farmers always waved at each other when they met on the road. It didn't matter if you knew them or not. If you didn't know them, you would see them later on and have a reason to strike up a conversation. After the conversation, you now know them.

 

[dennishoddy]

Welcome to OSA!

 

[osu007]

I live in Arizona but just bought enough of McIntosh county to hunt deer, turkey, and hogs if they show up. I'm seeking land management tips to make sure the deer always show up :-). I'm a retired Army veterinarian (Vet -squared) and look forward to hunting and fishing on our land with the family. Until I retire from my present job, I think I'll only be able to be in OK about 20 days a year over three or four trips, or coming to and from seeing family and other land in Kansas. Hopefully, that's enough to harvest a deer or few. This summer and early fall, I plan on placing some salt licks/blocks, maybe a huge feeder (low maintenance as possible), and figuring out stands/blinds. Later, I'm envisioning planting some food plots with a side-by-side and some small implements and looking at improving habitat (reclaiming from cattle grazing). God bless Oklahoma and Happy Friday!

Welcome to the group Sir. I don’t know how bad the hogs are there in McIntosh county, but they run amuck everywhere else. And big ones too. Anyway. Welcome. We’ll treat you so many ways you will have to like at least one. Look for a pm coming. (private message)

 

[Farmer925]

Welcome, and whatever method you decide on to keep the deer around, other than food plots, you'll need to make bear proof. They'll ruin your feeders and game cams pronto.

My place is in latimer county and we have a good number of bears along with deer and turkey. Best way to use a feeder is to use a hanging feeder and hang it from a limb such that the feeder unit is at least 8 feet (10 feet is better) off the ground and wrap the first 5 feet or so of the tree truck with 4 point barbed wire. Also clear back the surrounding tree limbs on any trees that are close enough such that the bear cannot jump from a limb on another tree close to your bait tree to get to the tree with the feeder. Learned this the hard way.