Page 16 - 2021 JAN/FEB Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine

Apply Wisely and Selection Chances Improve

COURTESY JEREMIAH ZURENDA

Controlled Hunts Strategy

Mixes Knowledge and Luck

Apply Wisely and Selection Chances Improve

Hunting in Oklahoma is truly a first-rate experience, whether around April 1 and will close in mid-May. The application process
on private property or on a public hunting area. But any hunter is easy, and your application will not be accepted online unless it
who has experienced the luck of the draw and participated in has been completed correctly, so you have the assurance that your
one of the state’s most-sought-after hunts will tell you it’s a application was successful and that your name will be in the drawings.
worthwhile pursuit. Aside from making sure to apply, the large number of hunt-
With the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s ers hoping to draw a hunt can do a few things to increase
controlled hunts program, it definitely helps to have luck on their chances of being drawn for what could be the hunt of a
your side. But that’s not the only factor lifetime. Winners of controlled hunts are
that can increase the odds of having your randomly selected through a comput-
name drawn for one of these unique hunts. 2020-21 erized process that draws applications
gram, about one out of every 25 applicants Overall Odds Of from the pool of those that applied. But
For the 2020-21 controlled hunts pro-
hunters have the option to apply for sev-
had his or her name drawn. Hopeful hunt- Being Drawn: eral hunts, which increases one’s chanc-
ers turned in 147,325 applications for one of es of being selected for a hunt.
the 5,711 individual hunt permits available 1 in 25.8 Also, if you are not drawn for a hunt
last year. Many of those applicants will category for which you applied, you gain
apply again this year when the 2021-22 a preference point in the drawings held
controlled hunts applications are made available this spring. And in future years, as long as you apply in the same hunt category.
while it might seem obvious, the most important thing a hopeful Not only that, but some hunt categories allow you to apply with
hunter can do is to submit an online application each year. a group of other hunters, which boosts chances of being drawn.
Controlled hunts applications will be submitted online at This article is designed to provide some insights into how the con-
GoOutdoorsOklahoma.com, https://quotahunt.gooutdoorsoklahoma. trolled hunts program works, insights that might give you the edge
com/Hunts/CustomerLookup.aspx. The application period will open you need to get your name drawn for a hunt that you won’t forget.
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