Muskogee County Hunting

Muskogee County deer harvest since 1999

The 2025-26 Big Game Report credits Muskogee County with 1,687 deer, which ranks it 33rd in Oklahoma. Out of 124,050 deer listed by county (WMA deer excluded), about 1.4% are from Muskogee County. In 2024 the total was 1,336 deer; the change to 2025 is +26%.

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 2006 (2,009 deer); the slowest was 2019 with 1,183. Averaged across 10 recent report years, Muskogee County gives up about 1,417 deer each fall.

Gun hunters accounted for 912 of the 2025 deer, bowhunters 520 and muzzleloader hunters 255, with 728 antlerless in all.

Muskogee County method table since 2016

Earlier seasons in Muskogee County:

• 19991,468
• 20001,628
• 20011,638
• 20031,583
• 20041,406
• 20051,731
• 20062,009
• 20071,261
• 20081,600
• 20091,815
• 20101,502
• 20111,729
• 20121,712
• 20131,235
• 20141,668

Muskogee County WMA and lake deer counts

Muskogee 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.

Muskogee County big game beyond whitetails

Elk rules for Muskogee County

Elk in Muskogee County are managed under the Northeast Zone and Southeast Zone, private land only, by written permission. Quotas this season are Northeast Zone 20 and Southeast Zone 5, 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. Southeast Zone: Private lands south of I-40 and east of I-35 (Carter/Murray east of I-35 are the Special Southeast Zone).

Camp Gruber Training Center offered drawn elk hunts in 2025; public elk need a controlled hunt permit.

Bear dates for Muskogee County

ODWC draws the bear area into Muskogee County south of I-40. 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.

Muskogee 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.

Muskogee County public ground, area by area

Hunters in Muskogee County can choose from 5 listed areas, with Camp Gruber Training Center the largest at 51,840 acres. ODWC and federal layers show 15,559 public acres, about 3.0% of Muskogee County. The asterisked acres are reference only: state parks are generally closed to hunting and military land is limited.

Muskogee County areas ranked by acreage

• Camp Gruber Training Center (Military land, 51,840 acres) sits wholly in Muskogee County. The area supports deer, turkey, quail and woodcock by the ODWC listing. Notes on the record: controlled hunts. ODWC lists (918) 931-0432 as the hunting line. The 2025 draw included 2 hunts on it.
• Sequoyah NWR shows up on our list as a wildlife refuge measured at 20,807 acres that spills into Haskell County and Sequoyah County. Seasons on it cover ducks, doves, woodcock and squirrels. Listed extras: controlled hunts. The ODWC hunting contact is (918) 773-5251. The 2025 controlled hunt list shows 6 hunts there.
• Hunters reach McClellan-Kerr WMA, some 9,366 acres, from Muskogee County or from Haskell County, Sequoyah County and Wagoner County. Seasons on it cover deer, doves, turkey and quail. Listed extras: controlled hunts, wetland units, nonresident check-in. Phone for hunting questions: (918) 625-3910.
• Acreage for McClellan-Kerr Waterfowl Refuge Portion: 250; all of it is in Muskogee County. Species on record there: turkey, deer, doves and quail. Also flagged: wetland units, nonresident check-in. The ODWC hunting contact is (918) 625-3910.

Muskogee County drive-to areas next door

• Lower Illinois River PFHAabout 18 miles off, in Sequoyah County (320 ac)
• Cherokee Game Management Areaabout 18 miles off, in Cherokee County (15,360 ac)
• Cherokee PHAabout 18 miles off, in Cherokee County (16,000 ac)
• Cherokee WMAabout 18 miles off, in Cherokee County (31,360 ac)
• Tenkiller WMAabout 19 miles off, in Cherokee County and Sequoyah County (2,590 ac)
• Fort Gibson Waterfowl Refuge Portionabout 21 miles off, in Wagoner County (3,500 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 Muskogee County

Booked inside the county: 3 upcoming listings, namely DU bingo night, NWTF banquet and 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

Muskogee 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.