The state of Oklahoma moved a step closer yesterday when the senate, in a vote of 45-0 approved a bill that would amend the state constitution to guarantee to its citizens the right to hunt, fish, trap and take game. Senate Joint Resolution 38 in part reads like this:

Section 36. A. All citizens of this state shall have an inherent right to engage in hunting, trapping, fishing, and taking game and fish, free of state laws which explicitly or implicitly effectively prohibit the ability of citizens to engage in such activities. Hunting, trapping, fishing and the taking of game and fish are a valued part of our heritage and will forever be preserved for the people. The Wildlife Conservation Commission shall be vested with the power and authority to approve methods, practices and procedures for hunting, trapping, fishing and the taking of game and fish.
B. Nothing in this section shall:
1. Be construed to prohibit reasonable regulation of the hunting, trapping, fishing and taking of game and fish; or
2. Operate to repeal or invalidate any laws or rules in existence on the effective date of its adoption.

This measure will be presented to the general electorate in November.

Tom Remington

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Alright all you Black Bear Blog junkies. I got this in my email box. True or false?

“A 9 year old in Oklahoma bagged a 41 point buck!

Supposively Cabelas has offered $150,000 for the deer.”

Tom Remington

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That’s right. A man from Oklahoma who catches and wrestles coyotes.

Photo courtesy of Kelly Kerr, Tulsa World.
Doug Eoff — Frederick town character and self-proclaimed coyote hunter — poses with his dog, Candy.

“If a coyote bites down on me,” he says, “I don’t panic.”

If you jerk your hand back, the coyote’s teeth will rip flesh off the bone. So Eoff calmly digs a fingernail into the soft roof of the coyote’s mouth.

“When it lets go, grab it by the throat and yank it up,” Eoff says. “When you get all four legs off the ground, the fight is over. You’ve won.”

Read the rest of the story here.

Tom Remington

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A new mentoring program signed into law in Oklahoma by Gov. Brad Henry provides for young hunters under the age of 16 to hunt small game without first taking the required hunter safety class, providing that hunter is with a licensed hunter over the age of 21.

The same law allows hunters 16 - 35 to hunt all game without first taking a hunter safety course and they must be accompanied by a licensed hunter over 21.

South Carolina also has a newly signed bill with a similar mentoring program. The National Wild Turkey Federation has more on both stories.

Tom Remington

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Senate Bill 1296 was signed into law by Governor Brad Henry on May 9, 2006. This bill provides for a hunting season on black bear, mountain lions and limited trapping of otter. But wildlife officials are saying that just because the Governor signed the bill doesn’t mean there is going to be a bear hunt anytime soon.

A five-year study of the black bear has been extended for another year and a half and it appears no bear hunts will take place during this study period.

Wildlife officials report that the bear population is growing rapidly with cubs being born at 2 to 3 at a time. The most bears can be found in the southeast part of the state but other populations exist in the panhandle and in the northeast. More human - bear encounters are showing up and nuisance bears are generally trapped and released to another location. Three bears have been euthanized because of problems.

It appears that wannabe bear hunters in Oklahoma are going to have to wait awhile longer but mountain lion hunters should get a year-round open season on a minimal cat population. Officials say the lion hunt will be similar to the one used in Texas.

Tom Remington

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All hunters in Oklahoma need is for the Governor to sign a bill that would give the Wildlife Commission permission to open up hunting seasons for black bears and mountain lions.

Tom Remington

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After the conclusion of several public meetings between Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission and hunters, fishers and trappers, the WCC has voted on and passed several new measures that will change some hunting rules.

One of the new changes will be adding a youth-only turkey hunting day in the spring. This change will take effect in 2007. The youth day will happen the weekend just prior to the regular spring turkey hunt and each youth is allowed one tom which will count toward their 3 tom spring turkey limit.

Other changes that were approved include, removing the limit of one tom turkey per day. This change will take effect in 2007.

They voted to reduce the length of the hunter education class from 10 hours to 8 and to allow for a “test only” certification for those who are exempt in Oklahoma.

There were other measures passed as well. For a complete list of what passed and what didn’t, visit the Oklahoma CWW web site.

The following proposals were not passed.

Allowing recorded turkey calls.

Reduce the number of antlered deer a hunter can take from three to two.

Increase the number of deer a bow hunter can take from 4 to 6 and allow bow hunters to take a deer of either sex during the time period of January 1 - 15.

Lengthen the muzzle loader season by adding 7 days to the beginning of the season.

Tom Remington

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