The best bet for gunning a buck down is Osage County, the largest county in the state and birthplace of cowboy actor Ben Johnson. This highly esteemed tallgrass prairie region is heavily leased, or held by large ranching operations, and access can be had by paying big bucks. Osage's annual buck harvest almost doubles the next-highest county's. Last season this notable county yielded 2,112 bucks.

Coming in second as a hotspot for gun hunting was Pittsburg, where 1,343 gun hunters were successful; Atoka was third, with 1,107 bucks taken. Creek and Cherokee counties rounded out the top five, with 1,074 and 957, respectively.

BEST COUNTIES FOR TAKING DOES
When it comes to tender, tasty venison, a fat doe is tops as table fare. An added bonus: By taking a doe, you contribute to the betterment of the state's deer herd. As the ODWC's slogan goes: "Hunters in the know take a doe."

Osage was the top county for does during the 2006 archery season, with 391 checked in. Next was Cherokee County, 329, followed by Pittsburg, 298. Placing fourth and fifth were Rogers and Atoka counties -- both popular spots for stick-and-string shooters -- yielding 250 and 230 does, respectively.

Top counties for taking a doe by means of a blackpowder gun were Osage, with 525, followed by Cherokee, 421, Pittsburg, 342, Atoka, 326, and Pushmataha, 292. For gun hunters, the top county for does was Osage whose 1,832 taken more than doubled the 894 of the next county, Pittsburg. Cherokee surrendered 874 and Craig 714; Atoka and Creek tied at 699 each.

OUR TOP PUBLIC AREAS
The state makes several wildlife management areas available to hunters having no access to private land. Most of these ODWC-owned lands can boast solid numbers of white-tailed deer, but, on the other hand, can sometimes be overrun by hordes of gunners and archers.

Two fantastic options are Three Rivers and Honobia Creek WMAs. Vast wilderness areas in the southeast that hold substantial complements of deer, they open more than 700,000 acres of prime wooded habitat to hunters and are accessible for a mere $16 annual fee. These areas yielded a total of 1,739 deer and led all public spots in total harvest.

The best deer producer in our three Panhandle counties is Beaver, home of Beaver River WMA; there, 54 bucks and six does were killed last season. A fair number of mule deer also haunt the area. My brothers and I drew in on a special hunt at Beaver River some years ago, and my brother Ronny took a mulie buck.

In the northwest, last year's top public area was 31,710-acre Black Kettle WMA where 311 deer were harvested -- 190 bucks and 121 does. This spacious WMA offers great opportunities; I've hunted this area numerous times, and have never failed to see whitetails. A buck killed there that I happened to get a look at weighed 300 pounds on the hoof.

Other good northwest spots are Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, where 233 deer were taken -- 97 bucks and 136 does -- and Canton WMA, where a total of 208 deer were checked in -- 113 bucks and 95 does. Both of these refuges harbor good-sized deer, some of which weigh better than 200 pounds.

Last season in the northeast, the best bet was Kaw WMA, near Ponca City -- specifically around Kaw Lake. Hunters there took 340 deer: 173 bucks and 167 does. Two other options are Cherokee Game Management Area and Cherokee Public Hunting Area, neighboring areas that gave up 325 deer, which breaks out to 209 bucks and 116 does. Another worthwhile spot: Oologah WMA, near the town of the same name, where 179 deer -- 93 bucks and 86 does -- were downed. Other possibilities are Fort Gibson WMA and Fort Gibson WR, where 150 deer were taken -- 83 bucks and 67 does -- and Copan WMA, where 81 bucks and 48 does were harvested.

In the southeast, you can't do better than Three Rivers and Honobia Creek WMAs, which combined for a whopping 1,739 deer. Three Rivers, the larger of these fee-access areas, gave up 847 bucks and 376 does last year, while Honobia hunters tallied 516 deer -- 351 bucks and 165 does.

Other good public areas are Ouachita WMA and Ouachita WMA (McCurtain County Unit), in Le Flore and McCurtain Counties. These units combined for 854 deer -- 553 bucks and 301 does. Another bet is Hugo WMA, where hunters harvested 193 bucks and 147 does for a total of 340 kills.

Hunters in the southwest, where whitetails once were few, know that deer numbers are now at an all-time high. In a neat reversal, this region has produced two state-record bucks -- the current state record non-typical, a 248 6/8, and a heavy-horned typical scoring 18 6/8.