Controlled hunts application open April 3

While it is not a true hunting season, many Oklahoma sportsmen and women, await this “season” as if it were. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s popular controlled hunts program is open to online applicants will open April 3 and close May 22.

The controlled hunts program offers once-in-a-lifetime elk and antelope hunts, highly sought-after buck hunts, and a range of other quality deer and turkey hunting opportunities through randomized drawings that only cost sportsmen $5 to enter. Opportunities offered through the program include hunts on Department or other government-owned or managed lands where unrestricted hunting would pose safety concerns or where overharvest might occur.

The online application process takes just a few minutes and must be completed through the Wildlife Department’s website at wildlifedepartment.com. Applicants have until mid-May to submit their applications.

The PointGuard option protects a winning hunter’s preference points and eligibility for Controlled Hunt drawings in future years in case the hunter cannot attend the hunt he or she wins.

For example, a hunter submits applications for Controlled Hunts in the categories of Deer, Youth Deer, and Elk. The hunter pays $5 total to apply in all three categories. When applying, the hunter is offered the opportunity to buy PointGuard at a cost of $5 additional. The insurance will protect the hunter in the event he or she is drawn for a Controlled Hunt but ends up not attending the hunt. It insures the hunter’s category preference points going forward that would have been forfeited because the hunter was selected and unable to attend. PointGuard also allows the hunter to remain eligible for future drawings for once-in-a-lifetime Controlled Hunts since the hunter wasn’t able to attend the current year’s hunt.