Atoka County Hunting

Atoka County deer harvest since 1999

The 2025-26 Big Game Report credits Atoka County with 2,981 deer, which ranks it 4th in Oklahoma. Out of 124,050 deer listed by county (WMA deer excluded), about 2.4% are from Atoka County. In 2024 the total was 2,389 deer; the change to 2025 is +25%.

No bar for: 2015 not published (no readable ODWC county table). Figures are county rows only; WMA harvest is listed separately.

The busiest season in the record was 2011 (3,386 deer); the slowest was 1999 with 1,675. Averaged across 10 recent report years, Atoka County gives up about 2,620 deer each fall.

Gun hunters accounted for 1,672 of the 2025 deer, bowhunters 840 and muzzleloader hunters 469, with 1,243 antlerless in all.

Atoka County method table since 2016

Earlier seasons in Atoka County:

• 19991,675
• 20002,471
• 20012,100
• 20032,215
• 20042,173
• 20052,743
• 20063,287
• 20071,943
• 20083,062
• 20092,836
• 20102,751
• 20113,386
• 20122,696
• 20132,625
• 20143,227

Atoka County WMA and lake deer counts

Atoka County elk, mule deer, pronghorn and bear counts

Years missing here are not published as readable county tables.

ODWC put the 2025 statewide harvest at 133,791 deer.

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.

Atoka County big game beyond whitetails

Elk rules for Atoka County

The Southeast Zone takes in Atoka County; elk may be hunted there on private ground with written permission and nowhere else outside controlled hunts. Quotas this season are Southeast Zone 5, and a zone shuts when the quota fills, so confirm it is still open before going out.

Southeast Zone: Private lands south of I-40 and east of I-35 (Carter/Murray east of I-35 are the Special Southeast Zone).

Bear dates for Atoka County

ODWC draws the bear area into Atoka County east of US 69. Bowhunters may hunt bear October 1 to October 18, 2026; muzzleloader dates are October 24 to November 1, 2026, with a single bear of either sex and no quota this year. Hunters call ODWC bear staff and bring the bear in with head and sex organs attached; bear bait is illegal on WMAs. Bears taken in Atoka County: 1 (2025).

Atoka County has no CWD surveillance area of its own, though the statewide limit on importing cervid carcasses still applies.

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.

Atoka County public ground, area by area

Hunters in Atoka County can choose from 4 listed areas, with Atoka Public Hunting Area the largest at 12,897 acres. ODWC and federal layers show 36,734 public acres, about 5.9% of Atoka County. The asterisked acres are reference only: state parks are generally closed to hunting and military land is limited.

Atoka County areas ranked by acreage

• Atoka PHA (Public hunting area, 12,897 acres) sits wholly in Atoka County. The area supports deer, bear, doves and turkey by the ODWC listing. Notes on the record: nonresident check-in. ODWC lists (580) 320-3173 as the hunting line.
• McGee Creek WMA shows up on our list as a WMA measured at 10,000 acres. Seasons on it cover doves, bear, turkey and deer. Listed extras: controlled hunts, nonresident check-in. The ODWC hunting contact is (580) 320-3173. The 2025 controlled hunt list shows 1 hunt there.
• Hunters reach Atoka WMA, some 6,538 acres, without leaving Atoka County. Seasons on it cover doves, bear, turkey and deer. Listed extras: controlled hunts, nonresident check-in. Phone for hunting questions: (580) 320-3173. The 2025 controlled hunt list shows 1 hunt there.
• Acreage for Stringtown WMA: 4,000; all of it is in Atoka County. Species on record there: deer, bear, doves and turkey. Also flagged: nonresident check-in. The ODWC hunting contact is (580) 320-3173.

Atoka County drive-to areas next door

• Arbuckle Springs WMAabout 28 miles off, in Johnston County (3,874 ac)
• McAlester Army Ammunition Plantabout 30 miles off, in Pittsburg County (44,800 ac)
• Blue River PFHAabout 32 miles off, in Johnston County (3,367 ac)
• Gary Sherrer WMAabout 35 miles off, in Pittsburg County (1,280 ac)
• Tishomingo NWRabout 37 miles off, in Johnston County (16,136 ac)
• Hugo Waterfowl Refuge Portionabout 38 miles off, in Choctaw County (3,820 ac)

* Kept apart from public hunting acres.

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.

Dates on the books in Atoka County

Booked inside the county: 3 upcoming listings and 1 published result, namely ODWC controlled hunt, ODWC youth draw and UKC nite hunt. 3 of them are ODWC controlled hunts, open only to hunters drawn in the spring.

Still on the calendar

Printed results

Chapter dinner coming up near here? List it free

Atoka County season reminders

Tag each deer or turkey in the field and E-Check it within 24 hours of leaving the hunt area.

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