Public Hunting areas around Tahlequah?

[Wolfman_AE]

I'm going to school at NSU and I'm down there during the week, but back home during the weekend usually. I'm looking for a public place to hunt around Tahlequah during the week. I drove through Cherokee PWA this afternoon and it looks like I'll be heading back next week to do some better scouting. Any advice on which areas would be best to look at in a short period of time. I'm not looking for "honey holes" or anything, just a general layout of the place.

Has anyone hunted the Corps land along the Illinois River???

 

[toehanus]

Don't know the area really well, but you can go to wildlifedepartment.com and look at their online wma atlas. It should give you some places to start. Make sure you get your hunting reg's and verify what's legal and what's not.

toe

 

[OkieOFT]

If you can't find some public land around there then you must be blind. If it ain't got a leased sign on it then there is a good bet it's public.

 

[brennan]

If you can't find some public land around there then you must be blind. If it ain't got a leased sign on it then there is a good bet it's public.

Yeah, I don't know about that. I believe the law has changed.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Cherokee WMA

Cherokee GMA

Camp Gruber Public Hunting area (owned by the Nat'l Guard) - but is this still open this year?

Cookson to the east

Ft. Gibson to the West

Spavinaw to the NE

Sparrowhawk

Tenkiller

That's quite a few within a 45 minute drive!

 

[Wolfman_AE]

Thanks for the replies, but let me clarify. I hunt on private land that is around 45 min away but was looking for something closer to hunt while I'm here durin the week. I went and found some of the corps land along the Illinois this evening but it's gated off and was unsure if it's ok to enter if the gate is closed or if thats just to detour vehicular traffic.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Well maybe this direct link will clear it up:

http://fishlab.ou.edu/odwcims/

But add Camp Gruber to the list - contact them directly for the rules and access permit.

Illinois corps land - upper or lower? You wanting archery hunt only, or the full gamut of seasons?

 

[Wolfman_AE]

Well maybe this direct link will clear it up:

http://fishlab.ou.edu/odwcims/

thanks I've got the atlas, was just looking for first hand experience of the area. Nothing beats getting out and doing it yourself though.

But add Camp Gruber to the list - contact them directly for the rules and access permit.

Illinois corps land - upper or lower? You wanting archery hunt only, or the full gamut of seasons?

http://www.swt.usace.army.mil/LIBRARY/Webhuntingmaps/tenkiller.pdf
I've got this map but am uneasy about crossing fence and a locked gate that appears to be a .gov gate, not your standard gate. I will be hunting these public lands with archery exclusively.

 

[oneshotonekill]

I went to school up there for 3 years and tried to hunt some. Sparrowhawk is pretty close but lots of folks around not much on hunting. If you have land within 45 minutes I would say just go home and hunt. By the time you drive to some of the public land you would almost be home.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Ohhh, you're wanting input on these.... I thought you just wanted a list.

All I can add there is about the deer on Cherokee WMA - there's a lot of them, but man are they educated and jumpy (and mostly nocturnal) by ML season!

Your link doesn't work for me, but nothing unusual about walking across a gate on a public land that's just intended to keep motor vehicles from going past that point. Perfectly alright so long as you know you're supposed to be there - just know the regs / season dates / means of takes specific to each place. Believe me, if it's a .fedov shoot on sight facility, it will be a high chain link with barbed wire!