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Elk Hunting

Elk at Wichita Mountains, photo by Kelly Adams

Late September finds the bulls with gleaming antlers, swollen necks, and short tempers. Elk are polygamous, and once the mating season arrives, bulls assemble females, or cows, into harems. A harem that contains as many cows as a bull can successfully defend from competing bulls.

Bull elk use a high-pitched, flute-like call, or bugle, to attract cows and to announce their willingness to defend their cows and breeding territory against competing males. The fall mating season is the only time males and females are commonly found together.

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.

Because their natural predators have largely disappeared, unmanaged elk may overpopulate their available range, causing habitat degradation. In 1966, the Wildlife Department and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service reached a cooperative agreement that provided for an annual controlled hunt to manage elk populations at the Wichita Mountains NWR. Since then, the agreement has proven instrumental in controlling herd numbers while allowing a few fortunate hunters, selected through an annual drawing conducted by the Wildlife Department, the opportunity to pursue the American elk in its native habitat.

 

Hunting & Safety Tips

Watch Oklahoma Controlled Hunts Update 2023 on YouTube.
Oklahoma Controlled Hunts Update 2023
Watch Outdoor Oklahoma 4831 (Unconventional Therapy, Pellet training LMB, Elk Hunt) on YouTube.
Outdoor Oklahoma 4631 (Unconventional Therapy, Pellet training LMB, Elk Hunt)
Watch CWD, Chronic Wasting Disease in Oklahoma 2023 on YouTube.
CWD, Chronic Wasting Disease in Oklahoma 2023
Watch Elk Hunting: What to know before your first hunt - Hunting Tip on YouTube.
Elk Hunting: What to know before your first hunt - Hunting Tip
Watch TOP 10 ELK HUNTING MISTAKES on YouTube.
TOP 10 ELK HUNTING MISTAKES
Watch POST RUT Elk Hunting - Tactics to Kill a Late Season Bull on YouTube.
POST RUT Elk Hunting - Tactics to Kill a Late Season Bull

 


 

Cleaning & Processing Tips

Watch How To Butcher An Elk | START TO FINISH on YouTube.
How To Butcher An Elk | START TO FINISH
Watch Step by step instructional on breaking down an elk in the field - Fred Eichler on YouTube.
Step by step instructional on breaking down an elk in the field - Fred Eichler
Watch How to Butcher an Elk | Complete Breakdown of all of the Elk Meat | By The Bearded Butchers on YouTube.
How to Butcher an Elk | Complete Breakdown of all of the Elk Meat | By The Bearded Butchers
Watch HOW TO PROCESS ELK | Hunters Connect on YouTube.
HOW TO PROCESS ELK | Hunters Connect

 


 

Cooking Tips

Watch Italian Elk Sandwiches on YouTube.
Italian Elk Sandwiches
Watch The Best Way to Cook Elk (or Deer) Steaks | Reverse Sear on YouTube.
The Best Way to Cook Elk (or Deer) Steaks | Reverse Sear
Watch Sous Vide ELK 2 Ways - How to cook ELK! on YouTube.
Sous Vide ELK 2 Ways - How to cook ELK!