Hunters that think of big whitetails dream of the Midwest. States like Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kentucky come to mind, as they have rightfully earned the title of big buck states. They have continually produced big deer and have become hot spots for hunters from not only across North America but the world in search of an opportunity to take a giant whitetail. For example, since 2000, Wisconsin has had 730 typical and non-typical Boone and Crockett bucks, with famous Buffalo County producing the most.
Over the last couple of years, Oklahoma has worked its way into what many refer to as a “Sleeper State”. In this case, the term is used to describe a state that is on the cusp of having the reputation of consistently producing huge deer. In 2017, Oklahoma recorded 37 bucks with scores topping the 200” mark, blowing away a lot of hunters around the country.
George Moore arrowed this 206” Oklahoma whitetail back in 2010.
We recently sat down with our friend and long-time Oklahoma B&C scorer George Moore to talk about the recent success the state of Oklahoma has had. “I’ve been asked a bunch, why do you think you scored so many big bucks in 2017? I believe four factors played into it. One was social media. Moore’s theory has been that technology has helped bring Oklahoma’s increased success rate up in recent years. “A guy kills a big deer and takes a picture and even if he doesn’t want it known, it gets out there. We have probably had big deer like this killed over the last four to six years and they were kept off or social media. No one knew about them”. Moore went on to also explain that many hunters don’t want people to know they killed a big buck fearing an increase in neighboring hunting pressure or poaching. “Nonetheless, social media has really made us aware of what we have more than ever before”, he continued.
“Another big factor is the increased use of trail cameras,” Moore explained. “We’ve had game cameras for a long time, but people are now using them more to educate themselves on the deer they have on their property. If a guy has a giant buck on camera, why would he shoot that 140” buck knowing that a bigger one is also in there? We are seeing trail cameras change how hunters hunt and we are seeing them pass deer they normally wouldn’t have.” Moore went on to say, “The third factor is this; in 2016 we had a bumper acorn crop. We will have another big acorn crop in 2018. In 2016 we didn’t see as many big bucks as we did in 2017 – they weren’t coming to food plots and feeders because they didn’t have to. In 2017, we had a terrible acorn crop. People with feeders and food plots combined with the rut meant they saw those big bucks more frequently.”
Final Descent Outdoors staffer Paul Powers arrowed this Oklahoma buck in 2018 scoring 186 4/8”. making it the second largest buck taken on Final Descent Outdoors.
“The fourth factor is simply the education of our hunters,” Moore stated. “I’m 64 years old and when I was 12 or 13 and you saw a deer in Oklahoma, you killed it. If you saw one with horns, it was really a big deal. We just didn’t see many deer. You shot everything you saw. I think education has played a huge role. People like you (Brad Clay) and shows like Final Descent Outdoors that show what management can do is also a big factor. We are seeing younger kids and other hunters being taught that if you want to kill a big buck then you need to let the young ones grow. Education from groups like the QDMA and the Oklahoma Wildlife Department with their slogan “Hunters in the know, let young bucks grow”, has helped Oklahoma see better age structure. According to the QDMA, Oklahoma made a vast jump in recent years and in 2016 59% of the bucks harvested were aged 3.5 years old or older”.
Was it abnormal for Oklahoma to have 37 bucks over 200” in 2017? Says Moore, “Yes, but we just had perfect conditions.” The fact of the matter is that there were probably more. There were some that simply didn’t want their buck scored. As Moore put it, “That’s just what was scored. I had several people that killed big deer that I reached out to about scoring their deer and they said no. They weren’t interested because they didn’t want the attention. I actually had people upset with me in 2017 because I scored and posted these big bucks on social media. They don’t want the state to get the attention.” Many wonder if Oklahoma will have another season like 2017. For Moore, it has a lot to do with conditions. “Sure, we will have some deer killed in that size class, but we will need to have those perfect conditions again to have another year like that.”
So, to answer this question regarding Oklahoma’s ranking as an elite whitetail state, Moore continued, “I would say we were certainly in the top 8 for 2017. States such as Wisconsin, Ohio, and Kansas are always way up there, but Oklahoma is for sure starting to be considered as being part of that group in terms of producing big whitetails.”
Author Brad Clay is the founder of Final Descent Outdoors and host of Final Descent Outdoors TV. Brad is a licensed and ordained minister in Oklahoma. He served for 12 years in vocational ministry before stepping out to do full-time outdoor ministry in 2013. Brad resides in Edmond, OK and is married with four children.
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