With the annual dove season opener just under a week away, area game wardens are indicating doves are still spotty.
However, looking further ahead, they say there are plenty of deer.
Mike France, veteran game warden assigned to Pottawatomie County and Jacob Harriet, game warden assigned to Lincoln County, said there are doves around but indicated they haven’t been flocking up as much yet.
Both wardens assist one another in the two counties as needed.
France notes he will conduct a Hunter Education course from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sep. 11 at Gordon Cooper Technology Center..
Anyone wishing to attend must register for the class at wildlife.department. com or using the phone App gooutdoorsok. He said one can register up until 9 a.m. that morning.
France stresses the class is subject to COVID-19 protocols and restrictions.
Any questions contact France at 405- 850-8546.
Free hunting days are scheduled for Sep. 4-5 across Oklahoma, allowing people who don’t have a license to hunt that weekend without one.
France said, “A lot of farmers haven’t cut their corn crops yet,” noting that once they do, there should be an increase in birds.
Harriet said, “It looks pretty good and I’ve seen several doves. But it depends on what fields look like to see if they will hold them or not.”
He noted, “It looked good last year and then opening day there were just a few. Hopefully, a cold front will hold off.”
The dove season opens Sep. 1 and runs through Oct. 31 statewide. It will reopen on Dec. 1 and goes through Dec. 29 in all 77 counties.
Shooting time is from 30 minutes before official sunrise until official sunset unless otherwise provided. Bag limit is 15 daily, a combination of mourning, white-winged and fully dressed Eurasion collard doves, though there is no bag limit on Eurasion doves.
France and Harriet point to the only major change in turkey hunting is with the spring season, nothing with the fall season.
The spring season will open on April 16 and closes May 16 and is statewide, the wardens said.
The season limit is now one Tom turkey.
The fall gun season for turkey opens Oct. 30 and closes Nov. 19. Most of the state is open to the fall gun season, except for several counties in the southeast and in the northeast part of the state.
The fall archery seasons for deer and turkey opens Oct. 1 and will last through Jan. 15, 2022.
When it comes to deer, France, who has been a game warden for 25 years commented, “We have plenty of deer. They’re everywhere.
“There haven’t been any changes with the deer. And everyone seems pleased with the quality of deer,” he added.
Several people have sent him trail cam photos of nice bucks in the velvet. “They’ll be in the velvet for another month or so,” he believes.
Harriet predicts, “It will be a good year for deer. It’s been an ideal summer for habitat to grow and the Acorn season really looked good last year and that helped them through the winter.”
He thinks, “It will be a really good year for big deer.”
He mentioned the fur market has declined and the opossum, skunks, raccoons, coyotes are hurting the bird population. “People need to shoot them and the wild hogs,” he said, encouraging them to shoot as many as they can.
Harriet pointed to the wild hogs, which he says they seem to be everywhere. “They will eat chicks and eggs.”
“I saw quail today,” he commented recently. “It’s getting the habitat back is the key. It’s fun to see them again. The key to both quail and turkey,” he believes, is habitat.