Love County Hunting

Love County harvest record from ODWC reports

In the most recent report year, 2025, Love County hunters reported 1,044 deer (59th of 77). Its share of the 124,050-deer county total is close to 0.8%. The 2024 figure was 745, a 40% gain into 2025.

Years without a bar: 2015 not published (no readable ODWC county table). County rows leave out deer taken on WMAs.

The largest reported year is 2025 at 1,044; the smallest, 1999, came to 543. Over the 10 published years from 2016 on, the county averaged 765 deer a season.

Bows took 414, muzzleloaders 46 and centerfire guns 584 deer here in 2025.

Love County harvest split by weapon

Pre-2016 Love County totals:

• 1999543
• 2000645
• 2001621
• 2003683
• 2004559
• 2005557
• 2006736
• 2007563
• 2008705
• 2009663
• 2010591
• 2011594
• 2012604
• 2013589
• 2014588

Love County areas in the ODWC public-land table

The 2025-26 statewide deer total, public land included, was 133,791.

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.

Love County elk, bear, pronghorn and CWD

Private-land elk in Love County

Parts of Love County fall in the Southeast Zone and Southwest Zone; elk hunting in any of them needs private ground and written permission. Elk quotas (Southeast Zone 5 and Southwest Zone 30) close a zone early when they fill; E-Check each elk within a day.

Southeast Zone: Private lands south of I-40 and east of I-35 (Carter/Murray east of I-35 are the Special Southeast Zone). Southwest Zone: Private lands south of I-40 and west of I-35, excluding Caddo, Comanche and Kiowa (Special Southwest Zone).

The CWD processing rule is limited to the surveillance areas, none of which is in Love County; out-of-state carcasses stay banned statewide.

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.

Love County WMAs, lakes and walk-in land

Love County holds 4 listed public places open to some hunting, led by Cross Timbers Wildlife Management Area (10,547 acres). By GIS measure about 9.3% of Love County, some 30,456 acres, is public. Acres marked * are not counted as public hunting land.

Love County heavyweight hunting areas

• Acreage for Cross Timbers WMA: 10,547; all of it is in Love County. Seasons on it cover doves, deer, turkey and squirrels. Extra details: controlled hunts, nonresident check-in, non-ambulatory access. Call (405) 823-9038 (hunting). In 2025, 3 controlled hunts were drawn for it.
• With 7,746 acres on the books, Love Valley WMA is one more choice for Love County hunters. Its permitted game runs to deer, doves, turkey and quail. The record adds wetland units, nonresident check-in, non-ambulatory access. Page and layer differ: the layer gives 10,652 acres. The area page gives (405) 823-9038 for hunting.
• Hickory Creek WMA (WMA, 7,363 acres) sits wholly in Love County. Its permitted game runs to deer, doves, ducks and turkey. The record adds nonresident check-in, non-ambulatory access. ODWC lists (405) 823-9038 as the hunting line.
• Hunters reach Lake Texoma (Corps) from Love County or from Marshall County, Bryan County and Johnston County. Listed extras: controlled hunts. Corps hunting acres are not stated, and the district page was not readable. It held 1 controlled hunt in the 2025 draw.

Love County neighbours with public land

• Fobb Bottom WMAin Marshall County (2,205 ac), 23 miles from the middle of Love County
• Texoma-Washita Arm WMAin Johnston County (13,286 ac), 32 miles from the middle of Love County
• Tishomingo Wildlife Management Unitin Johnston County (3,150 ac), 36 miles from the middle of Love County
• Chickasaw National Recreation Areain Murray County (4,500 ac), 37 miles from the middle of Love County
• Tishomingo NWRin Johnston County (16,136 ac), 38 miles from the middle of Love County

* Excluded from the public figure.

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.

Love County events and results

This county lists 2 upcoming listings; the kinds are ODWC controlled hunt and ODWC youth draw. Entry to the 2 controlled hunts came through the spring draw on Go Outdoors Oklahoma.

Coming up

Chapter dinner coming up near here? List it free

Love County trip reminders

This page tracks the 2026-27 license year only, and the ODWC text governs wherever the two disagree.

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