Whatzup Outdoors

Whatzup Outdoors (167)

Big Chill Due for Deer Muzzleloader Season Opener Oct. 28

A service of the Oklahoma Wildlife Department

Call it the thrill of the chill. The weather for this weekend’s Deer Muzzleloader Season opener looks like it's going to cooperate with thousands of hunters who will venture into Oklahoma’s fields and forests aiming to harvest a deer — or perhaps three.

"There is some buzz among the hunters, and there’s good reason," said Dallas Barber, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "With a big cold front expected, the deer should be up and on their feet."

Forecasters say a cold front will roll through the state midday Friday, dropping afternoon temperatures into the 50s from the 70s. Saturday morning’s low temperature will be around 34 degrees, which likely will have the whitetails wandering.

"This is looking to be some of the best weather we’ve had, as far as muzzleloader season, in the past couple of years," Barber said. Cooler conditions prompt deer to move more throughout the day, giving hunters better chances to see and harvest an animal. The chill will also cut down on those pesky bugs and make being outdoors more appealing to many hunters.

Deer Muzzleloader Season will last for nine days, closing a half-hour after sunset Nov. 5.

Sometimes called "primitive firearms," the modern muzzleloaders of today are far from primitive. But there are still plenty of outdoorsmen who enjoy the satisfaction of using a traditional flintlock loaded with black powder and a lead ball.

According to the most recent Big Game Report, available in the September/October issue of Outdoor Oklahoma magazine, an estimated 75,766 hunters took part in the 2016 Deer Muzzleloader Season, reporting a total harvest of 13,998 deer. For all deer seasons combined in 2016, a total harvest of 99,023 deer was reported.

Muzzleloader hunters can take one antlered and two antlerless deer during the season, as long as one of the antlerless deer is taken from Zone 2, 7 or 8. Consult the 2017-18 Oklahoma Hunting & Fishing Regulations Guide to see a map of Antlerless Deer Zones.

Barber said deer hunters would do well to continue focusing attention around food sources this coming weekend. Some light calling or grunting and a sporadic antler rattle might help as deer are showing some pre-rut activity.
Some other hunting seasons that are open during all or a portion of Deer Muzzleloader Season are Bear Muzzleloader Season, Oct. 28-Nov. 5; Elk Muzzleloader Season, Oct. 28-Nov. 5; Fall Turkey Archery Season, Oct. 1-Jan. 15; Fall Turkey Gun Season, Nov. 4-17; Squirrel Season, May 15-Jan. 31; and Rabbit Season, Oct. 1-March 15.

All hunters are reminded that they must wear the minimum required amount of hunter orange clothing during any open big game firearms season. Those and all other regulations such as license requirements, hunting hours, bag limits, field tagging and online E-Check rules are detailed in the "Oklahoma Hunting and Fishing Regulations Guide" found at www.wildlifedepartment.com, in the free "OK Fish and Wildlife" mobile app for Apple and Android, or in print at license dealers statewide.

Written by David Deaton

Girl's First Elk Hunt Yields New Cy Curtis State Record

Press release from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife

Thanks to a little kindness and understanding from a softball coach, Oklahoma now has a new record typical elk in its Cy Curtis Awards Program. And the record-holder is just 15 years old.
Olivia Parry of Camargo was just 14 and on her first elk hunt when she bagged the bull elk on private land in Dewey County on Oct. 16, 2016. After the mandatory drying period, the 5-by-5 rack was scored at 377 6/8, shattering the existing Cy Curtis record by 39 2/8.

Olivia and her father, Scott Parry, who is the Northwest Region Wildlife Supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, began the hunt the previous evening. Olivia said that is when she first saw the big elk that would become the focus of the hunt, but shooting hours closed soon after.

The next morning, father and daughter were in the field again, and it was a dusky morning, Olivia recalled. As the morning brightened, she began using binoculars to scan her surroundings.
“And we were just sitting there waiting around, and he popped out on our hillside.” Nothing to do but wait, she thought.

“I thought he was a really nice elk,” she said. But the animal was at least 300 yards away, too far to get a good shot. “I wanted to shoot, but I didn’t want to mess it up, scare him off.”
By this time, the morning had slipped into afternoon, without any chance to take a shot. So Olivia and her dad decided to take a break, allowing Olivia to attend softball practice in Laverne with her team. But the elk hunt was still on her mind.

“I asked the coach if I could leave a little early,” Olivia said. The coach agreed, and Olivia arrived back in the field about 5 p.m. And it wasn’t long before the big bull ambled into the open, and the Vici High School freshman lifted her .270-caliber rifle and squeezed the trigger.

“I started crying because I thought I’d missed him,” she recalled. But her shot hadn’t missed. As they looked over the trophy, Parry told his daughter it could well be a state (Cy Curtis) record. But Olivia said she could not comprehend what that meant at the time.

Later, when they delivered the bull elk to be processed, the processor remarked how big the rack was, and that it might be a new record. That’s when the magnitude struck her.

“It was then I was thinking, ‘This could really be it.’ I was so excited. I thought that was crazy that I could have the state record!”

The score qualifies Olivia’s elk as a Boone and Crockett Club All-Time Record and will forever be listed in Records of North American Big Game produced by that organization.

Even though she is a seasoned veteran of deer hunting – she bagged her first doe at age 11 – Olivia has now decided she enjoys elk hunting most of all. Still, she is fond of deer, turkey and dove hunting, too.

As for her Oklahoma Cy Curtis record elk, the mount is hanging in the barn. “He won’t fit in the house,” Olivia said. But that’s OK for now, she said, “as long as he stays clean.”

Written by David Deaton

Balancing yield and protein content in a wheat crop

By Leilana McKindra - Communications Specialist, Agricultural Communications Services, Oklahoma State University

STILLWATER, Okla. – With Oklahoma wheat producers heading into another growing season, the bottom line will be top of mind, as always, and for many, that means focusing squarely on yield, yield, yield.
However, doing what it takes to boost the bushels also can lead to other important things, like increasing the protein content of a crop.

In fact, the protein content of the Oklahoma wheat crop is garnering increased attention these days after two straight years of registering less than ideal levels.

“Low protein wheat can create pricing and marketing challenges for everyone in the supply chain,” said Brian Arnall, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension precision nutrient management specialist. “Perhaps even more concerning is that low protein is an indicator that nitrogen was limiting during grain fill and therefore, a field’s maximum yield potential wasn’t achieved.”

The happy news for proactive producers is this is a fixable concern.

Variety selection, growing environment and fertility all play major roles in driving up the protein content in a wheat crop.

While some varieties, on average, offer higher protein, the differences among varieties can be overshadowed by the environmental conditions at different locations, said David Marburger, OSU Cooperative Extension small grains specialist.

Ideally, during grain fill, optimal conditions would include cooler temperatures and ample available moisture, which could positively affect yield but negatively impact protein levels in the crop.

“We’ve seen that over the past couple years. We fertilized with our normal nitrogen rate to achieve our yield goal, and this usually provides an adequate protein content as well. But we’ve had better yields partly due to the better growing conditions, and therefore lower protein content,” Marburger said. “We can get the opposite, as well, especially with drought or other stresses, where there are less kernels and/or the kernels become small and shriveled. Now you have that same amount of nitrogen, but over less grain to put it in. So, you might actually have a higher protein content.”

That leaves fertility, or more specifically nitrogen, as the X factor.

Protein is a function of nitrogen concentration, Arnall said, and if the nitrogen concentration in grain is low, so is protein.

“If the nitrogen well is running dry at the end of the season, protein will be low,” he said. “We typically see low values if nitrogen rates were below crop need. Or, perhaps the nitrogen applied was lost through leaching or other mechanism, which is more likely to happen when all of the nitrogen is applied pre-plant.”

Bottom line? Managing nitrogen and maximizing yield come down to ensuring nitrogen is available to the plant at important growth periods.

“It’s always best to apply nitrogen when the plant needs it, which is right after tillering for grain-only. In dual purpose, we have a high need in the fall and again at tillering,” Arnall said.

Producers do not need to guess about the nitrogen levels in their fields either.

N-Rich strips, used in conjunction with GreenSeeker TM hand-held sensor technology, and a sensor-based nitrogen rate calculator, are key tools producers can use to guide them on nitrogen application.
Ultimately, the goal is to enhance the overall quality of the Oklahoma wheat crop, Marburger said.

“If we all work on improving protein and quality, in general, we’re going to raise the overall quality of the Oklahoma wheat crop and we’re going to have end-users who want to buy this grain first before any other,” he said.
For more information on nutrient management, download free of charge OSU Current Report CR-2277, “Applying Nitrogen Rich Strips,” and OSU Fact Sheet PSS-2258, “Evolution of Reference Strips in Oklahoma” at factsheets.okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Higher Education Act), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, genetic information, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or status as a veteran, in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This provision includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. The Director of Equal Opportunity, 408 Whitehurst, OSU, Stillwater, OK 74078-1035; phone 405-744-5371; email: has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity. Any person (student, faculty, or staff) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based on gender may discuss his or her concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with OSU’s Title IX Coordinator 405-744-9154

Written by David Deaton

Youth Deer Hunters Get Earliest Chance With Firearms

Press release

Oklahoma’s archery hunters have had the chance to hunt deer since Oct. 1. But the first chance to harvest a deer with firearms belongs to the state’s youth hunters on Oct. 20-22.

The Youth Deer Gun Season is open to hunters age 17 and younger who are accompanied in the field by an adult at least 18 years old who is hunter education certified or exempt. The adult may archery hunt while accompanying the youth, but the adult may not hunt with a firearm.

“As wildlife managers, we try to give the most opportunity possible, and the youth season focuses on just that,” said Dallas Barber, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “We get the chance to introduce new young hunters to something that we as biologists and managers are passionate about.”

The three-day Youth Deer Gun Season allows participants to take either a buck and a doe, or two does. A deer license is required for each deer hunted.

Barber said this earlier season gets youngsters in the woods during a time when the weather is usually warmer than during traditional Deer Gun Season, which often creates a better hunting experience for them.

“This is one of my favorite times of the year,” he said. “If we can turn one of our youth hunters into a lifelong outdoorsman or woman, then the youth season is more than worth it.”

Bucks should still be following a pattern if weather conditions remain stable. “However, if we get a nice cold front coming through, we could see more deer movement,” Barber said.

As a bonus, youth deer hunters may also harvest a turkey in counties that have a fall gun turkey season, provided the hunter has the appropriate turkey license.

For complete information on Youth Deer Gun Season regulations and license requirements, consult the current Oklahoma Hunting and Fishing Regulations Guide found online at wildlifedepartment.com, in the free OK Hunting and Fishing mobile app for Apple or Android users, or in print anywhere hunting and fishing licenses are sold.

Written by David Deaton

Me-ouch: The impact of cats on native wildlife species

By Sean Hubbard, Communications Specialist - OSU Agricultural Communications Services

STILLWATER, Okla. – The internet supplies endless amounts of cute kitty videos. A kitten batting around a ball of yarn, a cat chasing a feather duster and fat, grumpy cats lying on their backs have generated many smiles from people throughout the world.

Those same animals, however, are decimating native wildlife populations. Free-ranging domestic cats, from feral cats to outdoor house cats, are linked to 63 wildlife extinctions spanning the globe, as they feast on birds, lizards, amphibians and small mammals.

Researchers from Oklahoma State University’s Department of Natural Resources Ecology and Management and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center recently came together to study how cats are impacting mainland wildlife populations.

Study authors Scott Loss, NREM assistant professor, and Pete Marra, director of SMBC, are studying the impact of cats on wildlife to support science-based conservation and cat population management. Their research findings, published in the latest issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, help fill in some gaps previously undiscovered through single studies.

“Our review shows overwhelming evidence that, beyond causing island extinctions, where there were no native predators, and massive numbers of mainland wildlife deaths, cats can exert multiple types of harmful impacts on mainland wildlife species that are reflected at the population level,” Loss said.

Based on their literature review, the researchers summarize two main direct effects and two main indirect effects of cats on wildlife populations. The first direct effect, predation, by which cats directly kill and remove individuals from the population, has some obvious evidence.

At least 14 observational studies show that cat predation is a substantial source of mortality at the population level for mainland wildlife. In addition, an experimental study in Australia compared two separate populations of small, native rodents for a two-year period. One population was fenced off, not allowing any feline predators. The other was open and fair game.

“This experimental study provides the most convincing evidence yet that cats can cause population declines for mainland wildlife,” Loss said. “In areas where cats could not access, the population persisted the whole two years of the study. For the areas where cats could access, the populations declined to extinction in both cases.”

The second main direct effect of cats on mainland wildlife populations flies a little more under the radar.

Toxoplasmosis, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a disease that results from infection with the Toxoplasma gondii parasite. It is the motivation behind recommending pregnant women should not clean out litter boxes or garden, because it can be transmitted from infected cat feces, and can be deadly to humans and also to wildlife.

Direct mortality from Toxoplasma infection has led to population declines in some cases, especially for marsupials, marine mammals, such as sea otters, and tropical primates.

“Indirect effects of Toxoplasma infection are even more surprising. For example, past research in California showed that infected sea otters were more likely to be attacked by sharks,” Loss said. “This suggests the pathogen alters otter behavior in a way that makes them more vulnerable to predation, leading to additional mortality that could affect their population.”

Finally, cats also can inflict population impacts indirectly through fear. Just the presence of a predator alters prey species’ behavior, movements or reproduction in ways that affect wildlife populations. Notably, one population modeling study showed that fear-induced reduction of bird reproductive output is capable of significantly reducing bird populations, even with low levels of direct predation.

“Based on our comprehensive review of research from around the world, there is now overwhelming evidence that cats impact populations of mainland wildlife in several ways,” Marra said. “If we hope to protect native species globally, it is essential that we start implementing more effective management of cats, including keeping owned cats on a leash or indoors and removing unowned cats from outdoor environments.”

Written by David Deaton

CASC Vike@Nite 5k and Also A Kids Race Scheduled for October 26, 2017

Press release

The Carl Albert State College Annual Vike@Nite 5k is scheduled for Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 6 p.m. In addition, there will be a kids race at 5:30 p.m. on the same evening.

According to Hali Repass, the run is designed to provide a fun, affordable event for the campus and the community, with all proceeds benefiting the CASC Alumni Association for the purpose of future scholarships.

Registration for the 5k will be on site at the CASC Poteau campus from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is $20 per participant. Repass explained that finisher’s medals will be awarded, but no age division awards or record keeping will take place. There will be gun timing only and participants are responsible for noting their own time as they cross the finish line.

Registration for the kids race is currently open on runsignup.com, and on site registration will also be open for the kids event from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The Community State Bank will be grilling hot dogs post event, and Oldcastle will be providing the aid station at the halfway point in the event.

Written by David Deaton

EOSC Farm concludes 2017 Forage-Based Meat Goat Buck Test with Field Day

Press release from Tayler Richey, Office of Communications and Marketing

WILBURTON, OK (Oct. 5, 2017) – Eastern Oklahoma State College and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service recently conducted the 2017 Oklahoma Forage-Based Meat Goat Buck Test. This is the fifth year Eastern has hosted this event.

The objective of the test is to identify individual bucks, as well as their sires and dams, which carry genetics expressing desirable traits in commercial meat goat production. The test also allows producers to compare genetics within their herd to make better management decisions as to herd lines that will produce profitable offspring for future herds. Weights, FAMACHA scores and fecal egg counts of the 53 head of goats entered were taken on a regular basis throughout the test.

The test concluded with a Field Day and awards ceremony Sept. 29. Participants from across Oklahoma and 13 other states came to the Wilburton campus to learn how their bucks performed during the 80-day test that began July 7. In addition to naming the Top Herdsman Grand Champion and Top Herdsman Reserve Grand Champion, plaques and certificates were awarded in a variety of categories.

For his goat having the highest average daily weight gain (ADG) at .313 pounds, Randy Yoder of Georgia won Champion ADG. Reserve Champion ADG was presented to Matthew and Jennifer Cantrell of Kansas. Their goat gained an average of .269 pounds per day during the test.

Producers of the goats with the lowest fecal egg counts (FEC) were also recognized. John Weber of Illinois and Dwight Elmore of Kansas were both named Co-Champion FEC as their goats tied at 41.67. Patricia Larr of Indiana and Aaron Perkins of Oklahoma were named Co-Reserve Champion FEC. Both produces’ goats tied for second place at 58.33.

For his buck averaging the highest ADG and the lowest FEC, Randy Yoder was also named Top Herdsman Grand Champion. Coming in overall second place, Matthew and Jennifer Cantrell were also named Top Herdsman Reserve Grand Champion. Both Yoder and the Cantrell’s were presented with champion certificates and ribbons.

Reserve Grand Champion - Meat goat producers Matthew and Jennifer Cantrell were named Reserve Grand Champion ADG for their goat having the second highest average daily weight gain during the 2017 Oklahoma Forage-Based Meat Goat Buck Test.

Top Herdsman Reserve Grand Champion – The Cantrell’s were also named Top Herdsman Reserve Grand Champion for their buck averaging the second highest ADG and second lowest FEC during the Test.

Written by David Deaton

Wister teen to participate in CRRA Rodeo Finals

Trisha Walden, a 16-year-old Junior at Wister High School, will be participating in the Finals of the CRRA Rodeo next week, October 12-14, 2017, at Harper Stadium in Ft Smith, Arkansas.

The top 15 barrel racers will be competing. Walden placed 11th with earnings of $1920.14.

Other local barrel racers competing at the CRRA Finals include earnings leader, Paula Mercer of Monroe, Oklahoma; Bre Dunn of Greenwood, Arkansas; Darby Duncan of Cameron, Oklahoma and Susan Smith of Heavener, Oklahoma.

Plan to come out and support the contestants in the season finals.

The Cowboys Regional Rodeo Association, headquartered in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, is one of the largest regional rodeo associations in the country. The CRRA sanctions more rodeos in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas than any other professional rodeo association.

The association aims to strengthen the sport of rodeo in the territories it covers.