Turkey 2019

[ElkStalkR]

Speaking of my wife, she scored a jake on opening weekend. Her first in Oklahoma as we usually don't spend the money to get her a license, but since she purchased one earlier in January to crane hunt we figured for an extra $10 we might as well! She was after the one big tom we have on my place but after 3 hours and calling in our second jake she decided he would do just fine.

Also worth noting she had no camo, except for an oversized t-shirt I gave her, as she wasn't planning on hunting last weekend. So per the discussion above we also proved camo is not necessary. LOL

We plan on buying her another tag and hitting Johnston county over easter. (this was Payne county)

 

[TimberJim]

I’m new to hunting Oklahoma this year (even though I moved here 6 years ago). I went ahead and got a lifetime license because I regret not doing it in Kansas. I’m curious how hunters put a tag on turkey (or deer for that matter) when I am not issued tags as a lifetime licensee. Do I just write my info on a piece of paper and rubber band it to the bird? Any tips?

 

[DRC458]

I’m new to hunting Oklahoma this year (even though I moved here 6 years ago). I went ahead and got a lifetime license because I regret not doing it in Kansas. I’m curious how hunters put a tag on turkey (or deer for that matter) when I am not issued tags as a lifetime licensee. Do I just write my info on a piece of paper and rubber band it to the bird? Any tips?

Yep. That'll do. Just about anything. Business card with your info written on the back ... I laminated some 3x5 cards and keep a grease pencil in my backpack ... I made up some lightweight aluminum tags and use said grease pencil. Zip ties, string, light wire, bread sack twist tie ... as long as you've got the required info on it!

Oh, and welcome! Jump in here more often and tell us more about yourself!

 

[Okie4570]

I’m new to hunting Oklahoma this year (even though I moved here 6 years ago). I went ahead and got a lifetime license because I regret not doing it in Kansas. I’m curious how hunters put a tag on turkey (or deer for that matter) when I am not issued tags as a lifetime licensee. Do I just write my info on a piece of paper and rubber band it to the bird? Any tips?

Welcome, I just use duct tape, wrap it around a leg and write my info on there with a Sharpie. Some guys have premade plastic tags that they right their info on with a dry erase marker.

 

[dennishoddy]

I’m new to hunting Oklahoma this year (even though I moved here 6 years ago). I went ahead and got a lifetime license because I regret not doing it in Kansas. I’m curious how hunters put a tag on turkey (or deer for that matter) when I am not issued tags as a lifetime licensee. Do I just write my info on a piece of paper and rubber band it to the bird? Any tips?

Welcome to OSA!
There are some new regulations coming up later this year. I don't know if they have been approved yet, but if/when they do, here is the new reg.

800:25-7-19. Wild Turkey – general provisions • Remove requirement for turkey hunters to complete the "Record of Game" section on their annual license. New licensing system will be in place in 2019 and will eliminate the need for this requirement. Field tagging and checking requirement remain in place.

So yes, the field tag will still be required.

 

[TimberJim]

Thanks for all the responses and warm welcomes. I moved down from Kansas about 6 years ago but still go back to Kansas for dove, prairie chicken, quail, and pheasant hunting every year. I figured Oklahoma was home now so I am jumping in. Never spring hunted turkey before so it will be a god learning experience. I drove out to Black Kettle on Tuesday to scout and will try my luck Saturday/Sunday, though the weather is taking a turn for the worse. I’m hoping to figure out some deer hunting for this fall too.

 

[dennishoddy]

Thanks for all the responses and warm welcomes. I moved down from Kansas about 6 years ago but still go back to Kansas for dove, prairie chicken, quail, and pheasant hunting every year. I figured Oklahoma was home now so I am jumping in. Never spring hunted turkey before so it will be a good learning experience. I drove out to Black Kettle on Tuesday to scout and will try my luck Saturday/Sunday, though the weather is taking a turn for the worse. I’m hoping to figure out some deer hunting for this fall too.

I miss chicken hunting in Osage County. It's been closed for many years now statewide.

 

[Okie4570]

I miss chicken hunting in Osage County. It's been closed for many years now statewide.

I was a kid when I shot them. Can't remember what year they closed it.

 

[dennishoddy]

I was a kid when I shot them. Can't remember what year they closed it.

The current ODW director, JD Strong claims to be the last person to legally kill a chicken.

In doing a little research to validate that I came across this.
https://newsok.com/article/5602450/prairie-chicken-numbers-belie-claims-of-impending-demise

ENVIRONMENTAL activists continue to demand that the lesser prairie chicken be declared “threatened” or “endangered” under the federal Endangered Species Act, which would impose restrictions that severely curtail much economic activity in rural Oklahoma. Those activists want this change despite accumulating evidence the bird is rapidly increasing in number.

This was reinforced again this month when the Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies announced results of its latest annual breeding population survey. It showed an increase of about 30 percent in the chicken population over the previous year.

“The most encouraging result from the survey is the steadily increasing population trend over the last six years, which likely reflects improving habitat conditions,” said Roger Wolfe, the lesser prairie chicken program manager with WAFWA.

The growth of the lesser prairie chicken has been ongoing since 2013 when major drought conditions began to subside across the bird's native range, which includes northwestern Oklahoma.

The year 2013 is significant because prior federal efforts to grant the lesser prairie chicken additional protected status under the Endangered Species Act were tied to those drought conditions.

Lawsuits challenging the ESA classification of the chicken noted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded a “population crash” was underway based almost exclusively on a one-year decline observed from 2012 to 2013, while ignoring survey data from the 1960s, 1980 and 2003.

In fact, one lawsuit pointed out the federal wildlife service claimed an 84 percent decline in the area occupied by the lesser prairie chicken based on a “historic range” that “predates European settlement of the Great Plains.” Yet the agency's own documents showed that between 1980 and 2012, the chicken's occupied range increased 159 percent.

A federal judge eventually ruled the Obama administration's efforts to declare the lesser prairie chicken “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act were done “arbitrarily and capriciously.” He found the fish and wildlife service “failed to properly apply” its own policies for evaluating state conservation efforts “resulting in material error.”

Under the voluntary plan implemented by Oklahoma and three other states, more than $64 million in enrollment and mitigation fees has been provided for conservation actions, and landowners have agreed to conserve more than 150,000 acres of habitat through 10-year and permanent conservation agreements.

Yet at the urging of several environmental groups, the wildlife service is conducting still another species-status review of the lesser prairie chicken and is expected to issue a ruling later this year.

The “threatened” designation is meant to help preserve species whose chances of long-term survival are bleak without action. At this point, it's clear the lesser prairie chicken doesn't fall into the category and no federal intervention is required.

Federal officials should concede the obvious and deny requests to give the chicken new legal protections. A decision to the contrary would show the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service isn't trying to save birds but is instead trying to throttle economic activity in rural areas.

 

[dlbleak]

I’m new to hunting Oklahoma this year (even though I moved here 6 years ago). I went ahead and got a lifetime license because I regret not doing it in Kansas. I’m curious how hunters put a tag on turkey (or deer for that matter) when I am not issued tags as a lifetime licensee. Do I just write my info on a piece of paper and rubber band it to the bird? Any tips?

Welcome and good luck! Give a report back on BK. I haven’t been out there in years.