Woods County Hunting

Woods County deer, counted each fall

1,031 deer came off private and leased ground in Woods County in 2025, the 60th highest county count. About 0.8% of the 124,050 county-row deer were taken here. Set against 2024 (1,161 deer), the newest season moved 11% down.

Missing from the chart: 2015 not published (no readable ODWC county table). ODWC lists WMA deer in a separate table.

2008 tops the county series at 1,938, while 2014 sits at the bottom with 775. Recent seasons (2016 onward, 10 with data) average near 1,079.

By method, 2025 split 193 archery, 97 muzzleloader and 741 gun deer; 38% were antlerless.

Recent Woods County deer by season type

Woods County before 2016:

• 19991,466
• 20001,687
• 20011,676
• 20031,828
• 20041,760
• 20051,631
• 20061,733
• 20071,768
• 20081,938
• 20091,886
• 20101,776
• 20111,561
• 20121,314
• 2013958
• 2014775

Deer checked on Woods County public areas

Beyond whitetails: Woods County big game numbers

Earlier county tables for these species are images only.

All of Oklahoma produced 133,791 deer in 2025, WMA and walk-in land included.

County deer by year from the ODWC Big Game Harvest Reports (report index; 2025 2025-26 report, 2024 2024-25 report, 2016-2023 tables such as 2019-20 Table 1, 1999-2011 county PDFs); public-area deer from the 2025-26 public land table; statewide totals from the 2025-26 Big Game Report. OCR years keep only rows whose columns sum to the printed total. Checked November 3, 2026.

Elk, bear and CWD notes for Woods County

Where Woods County fits for elk

For elk, ODWC places Woods County in the Northwest Zone, a private-land-only zone that needs written permission from the owner. The elk quota set for 2026-27 reads Northwest Zone 8; elk must be reported through E-Check within 24 hours.

Northwest Zone: Private lands north of I-40 and west of I-35, excluding the Panhandle and Special Northwest zones.

Some Woods County hunters take mule deer, 1 (2021), 1 (2022) and 2 (2025), under the same dates and combined limit as whitetails.

Woods County and chronic wasting disease

ODWC drew the Woodward, Major & Woods County SSA into Woods County for CWD surveillance; process any deer or elk inside it. Leave the spine and head behind; antlers, meat off the bone, teeth, hides and mounts are allowed out.

Woodward, Major & Woods County SSA: Area bounded by US 183, E County Road 54, US 281, SH 50/50B, US 412 and county roads. Testing: ODWC NW Region Office (Woodward), Mooreland.

Elk zones and quotas from the ODWC elk regulations; bear area from the ODWC bear page; pronghorn from the ODWC antelope page; CWD areas and rules from the ODWC SSA page and ODWC CWD page; harvest figures from the ODWC Big Game Harvest Reports. Checked November 3, 2026.

Open hunting ground in Woods County

Woods County counts 2 public hunting areas on our Oklahoma list; Sandhills Wildlife Management Area covers the most ground (5,212 acres). Roughly 9,575 acres (1.2%) of the county are public on the layers used. State parks and military land are excluded from the public figure.

Woods County headline public tracts

• With 5,212 acres on the books, Sandhills WMA is the largest block for Woods County hunters. Quarry named for it: turkey, deer, doves and pheasants. Also flagged: controlled hunts, nonresident check-in. Hunting questions go to (405) 990-7206. It held 1 controlled hunt in the 2025 draw.
• Acreage for Cimarron Hills WMA: 4,200; all of it is in Woods County. Game on the area list: deer, turkey, cranes and doves. Notes on the record: nonresident check-in, non-ambulatory access. ODWC lists (405) 990-7206 as the hunting line.

Walk-in private land in Woods County

Through OLAP, 24,159 acres of private land in Woods County are open to walk-in hunting on 21 tracts. Most common cover: Native Range (3), Sagebrush/grassland prairie (1) and North half native grassland (1). Bring a Land Access Permit ($100 resident / $200 nonresident) unless exempt by age; OLAP walk-in rules ban rifles and muzzleloaders.

• Woods County H0134,818 ac
• Woods County H0202,720 ac
• Woods County H0122,177 ac
• Woods County H0252,050 ac
• Woods County H0021,502 ac
• Woods County H0041,268 ac
• Woods County H0151,176 ac
• Woods County H0111,037 ac

Woods County backup areas beyond the county

• Major County WMA24 miles straight-line, 210 acres in Major County
• Cimarron Bluff WMA27 miles straight-line, 3,590 acres in Harper County
• Salt Plains NWR35 miles straight-line, 32,464 acres in Alfalfa County
• Hal and Fern Cooper WMA38 miles straight-line, 16,120 acres in Harper County and Woodward County
• Fort Supply Lake (Corps)41 miles straight-line, Woodward County

* Outside the public sum.

Areas from our Oklahoma land list (ODWC where to hunt area pages, the ODWC OLAP rules and OLAP layer, USFS, USFWS, Corps and NPS records); acres by kind from the ODWC Public WMA Boundaries layer, USFS, USFWS, USACE Tulsa District and PAD-US layers (GIS measures, not official acreages, lake surfaces removed). Checked November 3, 2026.

Listings tied to Woods County

Within the county line: 1 upcoming listing (ODWC controlled hunt), checked November 3, 2026. The 1 controlled hunt here was filled by the ODWC random drawing that closed in May.

Next on the list

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Woods County last checks before the truck is loaded

Near an antlerless zone road in Woods County, the ODWC map decides which limit applies.

Sources: 2026-2027 Oklahoma Fishing & Hunting Regulations, ODWC hunting, Census and the sources in each section. Checked November 3, 2026.