Delaware County Hunting

Delaware County deer harvest since 1999

The 2025-26 Big Game Report credits Delaware County with 2,085 deer, which ranks it 22nd in Oklahoma. Out of 124,050 deer listed by county (WMA deer excluded), about 1.7% are from Delaware County. In 2024 the total was 2,022 deer; the change to 2025 is +3%.

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 2018 (2,618 deer); the slowest was 1999 with 1,749. Averaged across 10 recent report years, Delaware County gives up about 2,158 deer each fall.

Gun hunters accounted for 1,046 of the 2025 deer, bowhunters 749 and muzzleloader hunters 290, with 974 antlerless in all.

Delaware County method table since 2016

Earlier seasons in Delaware County:

• 19991,749
• 20002,162
• 20012,547
• 20032,381
• 20042,240
• 20051,950
• 20062,332
• 20072,297
• 20082,354
• 20092,200
• 20102,019
• 20112,273
• 20122,574
• 20132,075
• 20142,169

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.

Delaware County big game beyond whitetails

Elk rules for Delaware County

The Northeast Zone takes in Delaware County; elk may be hunted there on private ground with written permission and nowhere else outside controlled hunts. Quotas this season are Northeast Zone 20, and a zone shuts when the quota fills, so confirm it is still open before going out.

Northeast Zone: Private lands north of I-40 and east of I-35.

Delaware 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.

Delaware County public ground, area by area

Hunters in Delaware County can choose from 3 listed areas, with Spavinaw Wildlife Management Area the largest at 14,316 acres. ODWC and federal layers show 10,773 public acres, about 2.3% of Delaware County. The asterisked acres are reference only: state parks are generally closed to hunting and military land is limited.

Delaware County areas ranked by acreage

• Spavinaw WMA (WMA, 14,316 acres) stretches over the line into Mayes County. The area supports deer, turkey, doves and quail by the ODWC listing. Notes on the record: controlled hunts, nonresident check-in.
• Spavinaw Game Management Area shows up on our list as a game management area measured at 11,986 acres that spills into Mayes County. Seasons on it cover deer, turkey, doves and quail. Listed extras: controlled hunts, nonresident check-in, non-ambulatory access. The ODWC hunting contact is (918) 629-5286. The 2025 controlled hunt list shows 3 hunts there.
• Hunters reach Spavinaw PHA, some 2,330 acres, without leaving Delaware County. Seasons on it cover deer, doves, turkey and quail. Listed extras: nonresident check-in. Phone for hunting questions: (918) 629-5286.

Delaware County drive-to areas next door

• Sparrowhawk WMAabout 30 miles off, in Cherokee County (566 ac)
• Thomas A. Bamberger Sr. WMAabout 30 miles off, in Adair County (302 ac)
• Barren Fork WMAabout 35 miles off, in Adair County (498 ac)
• Neosho WMAabout 39 miles off, in Craig County and Ottawa County (725 ac)
• Fort Gibson Lake (Corps)about 40 miles off, in Wagoner County and Cherokee County
• Fort Gibson PHAabout 41 miles off, in Cherokee County and Mayes County (21,798 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 Delaware County

Booked inside the county: 1 upcoming listing, namely ODWC youth draw. 1 of them is an ODWC controlled hunt, open only to hunters drawn in the spring.

Still on the calendar

An Oklahoma date missing around here? Tell us

Delaware 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.