Try these hunts to get out or into a rut

It happens to everyone, you grow weary of the same old hunting you do every year. Perhaps it’s hunting the same blind or stand location for deer, or same water hole for ducks and geese, if you are feeling like a change, try one of these “new” hunts this year to get back in the right frame.

We will start big and work our way down. There is nothing bigger than the largest game animal in Oklahoma, Rocky Mountain elk, also called American Elk. In Oklahoma, the largest free-ranging elk herds can be found in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, as well as at Pushmataha, Cookson Hills, Spavinaw, and Cherokee wildlife management areas. Small herds also inhabit private land in Kiowa, Comanche, and Caddo counties.

Finding a good spot in the Special SW Zone for the short, two-weekend gun season (Oct. 10-13 and Dec. 19-22) might be a tough score, but the longer archery hunts (Oct. 5-9 and Dec. 14-18) might be easier. And if you are just looking for some of the best wild game meat for the freezer, the antlerless gun hunt (Nov. 23-Dec. 8 and Jan. 1-31) is probably your best bet.

Speaking of big, head to the Southeast part of the state and try your luck with a black bear hunt. While not open for a gun season, there are muzzleloader (Oct. 26-Nov. 3) and archery (Oct. 1-20) seasons. Be sure to consult the ODWC hunting guide for regulations. And by the way, there are some public areas open for bear season.

A little farther down the scale on game size is the Fall Turkey season. Turkey numbers seem to be rebounding from a couple of years ago, so there should be some good opportunities to harvest a fall bird.

The Fall season limit is one Tom, regardless of the method. Most of the state is open for the shotgun season (Nov. 2-22) while the entire state is open to archery season (Oct. 1-Jan 15).

One of the best tasting wild game birds is sandhill crane. If that sounds kind of crazy, take my word for it, there is a reason they have the nicknames of ribeye of the sky, or flying sirloin. Cranes are tough to hunt, but many of our lakes will host migrating birds during the crane season (Nov. 2-24 and Nov. 30-Feb 2). Hunters must have waterfowl tags (even if sandhills are not truly waterfowl) and the HIP survey, as well as a Federal Waterfowl Stamp.

Help out conservation by participating in the Conservation Order Light Goose Season. This extra season (Feb. 13-Mar. 30) is in addition to the regular goose season, and has some crazy bag limits. This is an effort to reduce the population of snow geese and their close relatives that have overpopulated artic breeding grounds, but more importantly it extends the waterfowler’s season and provides some great hunting excitement.

Ok, let’s give small game its due. While many of these are not new, you may have never participated in the late season dove hunt (Dec. 1-29). Or how about trying to call in very elusive crows (Oct. 10-Nov. 16 and Dec. 9-Mar. 4).

Probably very few readers have ever harvested the next few additions to the list. Woodcock (Oct. 26-Dec. 9) has more of a following up north but we do have some opportunities around here. Rail, also called sora (Sep. 1-Nov. 9) are a small, lighting quick bird the can be found around many of our marshy areas. Snipe (Sep. 28-Jan. 12) are a real game animal, and you don’t need a pillow case to hunt them. Gallinule, also called moorhens (Sep. 1-Nov. 9) are a strange but beautiful looking bird that once again can be found around many of our wetlands.

I feel like we have just scratched the surface on the diversity hunters can take advantage of this year. Most importantly, just get out and enjoy our resources. And send me a photo if you are lucky enough to harvest one of these less sought after game species.