Choctaw County Hunting

Deer checked in Choctaw County, year by year

Choctaw County ranked 25th among Oklahoma counties in 2025 with 1,837 deer reported. County rows in the report add up to 124,050 deer, so Choctaw County supplied about 1.5% of them. Compared with the 1,557 deer of 2024, the count rose by 18%.

Gaps in the bars: 2015 not published (no readable ODWC county table). These exclude the WMA table.

Since 1999 the count has ranged from 750 (1999) up to 1,964 (2011). Mean harvest since 2016 is roughly 1,630 deer across 10 reported seasons.

888 antlerless deer (48%) were in the 2025 count, and the gun season delivered 1,015.

How Choctaw County deer were taken each year

The Choctaw County record from 1999:

• 1999750
• 2000984
• 2001852
• 20031,210
• 20041,153
• 20051,265
• 20061,388
• 20071,217
• 20081,655
• 20091,647
• 20101,505
• 20111,964
• 20121,558
• 20131,382
• 20141,638

Deer from WMAs and lakes in Choctaw County

More Choctaw County big game figures

Bear tables for 2021 and 2023 were not found as text.

Statewide, Oklahoma hunters checked 133,791 deer in 2025-26, counting WMA and OLAP 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.

Choctaw County elk and bear country

Choctaw County elk zone

ODWC assigns Choctaw County to the Southeast Zone; elk there are a private-land hunt with written landowner permission. ODWC caps the harvest by zone (Southeast Zone 5) and reports each elk within 24 hours through E-Check.

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

Choctaw County and the bear area

The black bear area takes in Choctaw County from border to border. Bear seasons: archery from October 1, muzzleloader from October 24; no quota applies this season. Bait may not be used for bear on WMAs, and a bear must be shown to ODWC bear staff for check-in.

ODWC has drawn no CWD surveillance area in Choctaw County. The carcass import rule for deer and elk shot out of state applies everywhere.

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.

Choctaw County lands where the public may hunt

Our Oklahoma land list has 4 hunting areas reaching into Choctaw County; the largest is Hugo Wildlife Management Area at 18,916 acres. Mapped public land adds up to roughly 22,705 acres, 4.6% of the county. Starred figures (state parks, military land) sit outside the hunting total: state parks are generally closed and military ground is restricted.

Choctaw County areas with the most acres

• Hugo WMA shows up on our list as a WMA measured at 18,916 acres that spills into Pushmataha County. Species on record there: deer, bear, doves and turkey. The record adds controlled hunts, wetland units, nonresident check-in, non-ambulatory access. The area page gives (580) 513-5020 for hunting. 1 drawn hunt ran there in 2025.
• Hugo Waterfowl Refuge Portion (Waterfowl refuge portion, 3,820 acres) sits wholly in Choctaw County. Quarry named for it: deer, bear, doves and quail. Watch for wetland units, nonresident check-in. Phone for hunting questions: (580) 513-5020.
• Lake Schooler (Department Lake) is listed as a department lake of about 160 acres. Watch for nonresident check-in.
• With no acreage on the books, Hugo Lake (Corps) is one more choice for Choctaw County hunters. Extra details: controlled hunts. No acreage is published for Corps hunting land here; the Tulsa District page could not be read. The 2025 draw included 2 hunts on it.

Open-on-foot tracts in Choctaw County

ODWC leases 1 walk-in tract in Choctaw County through OLAP, totalling roughly 80 acres. Foot traffic only, no camping, archery and shotgun only, and a Land Access Permit ($100 resident / $200 nonresident) for most hunters.

• Choctaw County H00180 ac

Choctaw County overflow: public ground over the line

• Lake Ozzie Cobb (Department Lake)287 acres in Pushmataha County, roughly 18 miles away
• Pine Creek WMA10,280 acres in McCurtain County, roughly 25 miles away
• Pine Creek Lake (Corps)McCurtain County, roughly 27 miles away
• Whitegrass Flats WMA391 acres in McCurtain County, roughly 31 miles away
• Honobia Creek WMA78,998 acres in Pushmataha County, roughly 31 miles away
• McGee Creek WMA10,000 acres in Atoka County, roughly 32 miles away

* Listed for reference, outside the hunting total.

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.

Hunts, banquets and trials in Choctaw County

On November 3, 2026 the county showed 3 upcoming listings, covering ODWC youth draw. Only drawn permit holders take part in the 3 controlled hunts listed.

Not yet held

Know of a date close by that is not shown? Add it

Choctaw County closing notes

ODWC can change dates after the regulations print; recheck the season pages before a Choctaw County hunt.

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