Did anyone notice that there is less to choose from this year for the draw hunts? One Elk hunt in Decemeber, WTF is up with that? 24 Bull tags. Now there will be 30000 people going for 24 bull tags. Anyone know if the Elk numbers are down or why the Wildlife Dept. did this. Lots of places missing from the deer hunts also.
I heard on another forum that high hunter sucess, and the ice storm cause a kill-off of the population. I don't believe the ice storm had anything to do with it in my opinion. They live in a lot colder climates than Okla, and they are big enough animals to get through any ice, for food.
Actually the Wildlife dept has nothing to do with managing the elk herd. Its a Federal deal. The ODW just runs the hunts to help controll the population.
All of that being said......I'm speculating now......I wonder if they needed some elk trapped to restock some other Federal area? I know they have been stocking Elk in Ky, and Pensylvania. If they did that, it could account for the low numbers we get to apply for.