March Rack Madness slated for Wednesday in Oklahoma City
The ninth annual March Rack Madness is happening from 1-6 p.m. Wednesday at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation headquarters, located at 1801 North Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City.
The ninth annual March Rack Madness is happening from 1-6 p.m. Wednesday at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation headquarters, located at 1801 North Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City.
At the 2024 Rack Madness, there were more than 158 items scored.
Pre-registration is available online at the ODWC website. Scoring will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis, with a two-item scoring limit per participant. Items for scoring must meet the following criteria:
• Antlers must be attached to the skull plate, whether mounted or unmounted.
• Scoring is available for white-tailed and mule deer antlers, elk antlers, antelope horns, and bear skulls.
• The harvest must have occurred in Oklahoma.
If you register to get your deer, elk, antelope or bear scored, you could win an Oklahoma Lifetime Combination Hunting and Fishing License donated by the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Foundation, a $1,024.00 value.
To help recognize “hunters in the know take a doe,” the Oklahoma State Game Warden Association also is giving away an Oklahoma Lifetime Combination Hunting and Fishing License to a lucky person who harvested a doe during the 2024-25 deer season. To enter, visit the “Game Thief Trailer” and check in with the game wardens in the front of the building.
The winners of the lifetime licenses must be eligible to hold a lifetime license and will have the option to transfer the prize to someone else who is eligible. The lifetime drawings will take place at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, and participants do not have to be present to win. Anyone who checks-in at the event after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday will not be eligible to participate in the drawing.
There also will be hourly drawings for prizes during the event including items from the Go Outdoors Oklahoma shop.
Activities such as “Touch a Truck” will be offered. Youngsters can explore a real game warden truck and meet a game warden.
Hunters, whose officially scored items meet the minimum score and drying-period requirements, will be eligible for the ODWC’s Cy Curtis Awards Program, which recognizes trophy Oklahoma mule deer, elk, antelope and black bear as well as the hunters who harvest them.
The program began in 1972 and is named for a former department wildlife biologist who is recognized as the person most responsible for restoration of white-tailed deer populations in Oklahoma.
Cy Curtis qualifying scores are 135 points for typical deer and 150 points for non-typical deer. Elk, black bear and pronghorn are also eligible for the Cy Curtis Award record book. For more information about how to apply for a Cy Curtis Award, visit www. wildlifedepartment.com and search for “Cy Curtis.”
This event is a golden opportunity to showcase your trophy and see how it measures up to animals taken by fellow hunters. If you’re like me, there’s always next season.
For further information about March Rack Madness, e-mail Heather Del Moral at heather.delmoral@odwc.ok.gov or call (405) 521-3856.
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John Kilgore is the former Greenleaf State Park manager. He can be reached by emailing him at jkilgoreoutdoors@yahoo.com.
