Requirements
- No person shall hunt or harvest bobcat, fox, or river otter without first having procured a free permit from the Choctaw Nation Wildlife Conservation.
- Furbearer Permits may be obtained online through the Chahta Achvffa Member Portal.
Shooting Hours
One-half hour before official sunrise to official sunset.
Legal Means of Taking
Shotgun (conventional or muzzleloading), rifle (conventional or muzzleloading), handgun, archery equipment, legal raptors, hand-propelled missile, air-propelled missile and slingshot.
Hunter Orange
For hunter orange requirements, see Title 110.
Squirrel (Fox and Gray) | May 15, 2023 – Feb. 28, 2024
- Open to falconry year-round
- Daily Limit: 25 fox and gray squirrels combined per day, 50 in possession after the first day.
Rabbit (Cottontail, Swamp, and Jack rabbit) | Oct. 1 – March 15
- Jack rabbits cannot be harvested within the Reservation.
- Cottontail: 10 daily, 20 in possession after the first day.
- Swamp: Three daily, six in possession after the first day.
Beaver, Nutria, Raccoon, and Striped Skunk | Year-round
- No daily, season or possession limit
- Except during deer gun seasons, a landowner, agricultural lessee, or their designated agent with written permission from the landowner or agricultural lessee may control nuisance or damage by coyotes or feral swine without a permit during the day or night, and without limitation by season regulations or bag limits, and with the use of any legal means of take, to protect marketable agricultural crops, livestock or processed feed, seed, or other materials used in the production of an agricultural commodity.
Coyote | Year-round
- No daily, season or possession limit
- Except during deer gun seasons, a landowner, agricultural lessee, or their designated agent with written permission from the landowner or agricultural lessee may control nuisance or damage by coyotes or feral swine without a permit during the day or night, and without limitation by season regulations or bag limits, and with the use of any legal means of take, to protect marketable agricultural crops, livestock or processed feed, seed, or other materials used in the production of an agricultural commodity.
Bobcat, Badger, Gray Fox, Red Fox, Mink, Muskrat, Opossum, River Otter and Weasel | Dec. 1 – Feb. 29
- Bobcat: No daily limit, season limit 20, possession limit 20 per license.
- Gray Fox / Red Fox: Daily combined limit 6, with no more than 2 red foxes. Season combined limit six, with no more than two red foxes.
- River Otter: No daily limit, season limit 4.
- Badger, Mink, Muskrat, Opossum, Weasel: No limit.
Mountain Lion and Swift Fox
- Mountain lion, and swift fox may not be harvested at any time, by any means, and if taken in a trap, they must be released immediately with the following exception:
- Taking of mountain lion is allowed when the mountain lion is committing or about to commit depredation on any domesticated animal, or when acting in a manner as to constitute an immediate safety hazard. In the event a mountain lion is taken, a Choctaw Nation Wildlife Conservation employee must be notified immediately and the intact carcass including the hide must be presented to Choctaw Nation Wildlife Conservation within 24 hours for collection of biological information.
Regulations
- On lands known as Indian lands within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Choctaw Nation, the Red Fox shall not be considered a chase animal, may only be pursued or harvested from the day after Thanksgiving to January 31, inclusively, and is classified as a furbearer by special permit only.
- Red Fox pelts cannot be sold commercially.
- Red Fox pelts are intended to be used for display or personal use only.
- The special permit limit is two Red Fox per permit per year.
- Violation of this provision shall be deemed a violation of furbearer regulations.
- Foot hold traps only shall be used during this special season.
- The season for chase or sport running of furbearers shall be the day after Thanksgiving to Jan. 31, nationwide. All other months are closed season.
- Dogs may be used in taking all game species in these rules except bear, deer, elk, antelope, and turkey. Exceptions to this rule would be the use of a leashed dog to track downed game after notification to the game warden of location and having no means of take on person while tracking.
- Except as otherwise provided for by law, nothing shall prohibit the year- round pursuit of game, which may be lawfully hunted with the use of hunting dogs, for dog training or sport only. However, unless otherwise provided, no person in pursuit of game with hunting dogs outside of the regular harvest season shall have in their possession the means to harvest such game.
Legal means of harvesting shall include:
- box traps;
- smooth jawed, leg hold, steel traps with a jaw spread of no more than 8 inches;
- that no trap may be set in paths, roads, or runways commonly used by livestock;
- that traps must be tended at least once during each 24 hour period, and that all traps must bear the name of the trapper, or identification attached thereto, except for any person trapping on his own property.
- 7 x 7 x 3/32 wire only shall be legally recognized to be used for furbearer snares;
- coyote or land snares must be rigged with swivel in the middle or at ground;
- said snares shall not be placed on land or pastures containing livestock;
- the bottom of the snare loop shall not be over 12 inches from the ground;
- all land snares shall be rigged with deer stops;
- beaver snares do not require deer stops;
- beaver snares are not required to be swiveled. The loop shall be perpendicular to and at the water’s edge;
- kill stakes shall be illegal;
- snares shall not be attached to, or within reach of, any usable fence.
- Conibear sizes 330 and 280 shall be permissible underwater only;
- the only conibear sizes that shall be permissible on the ground shall be 110/120 4 inch and 150/160 6 inch. Only jaw sizes of 6 inches or less shall be permissible on the ground.
- Furbearers may be harvested beginning Dec. 1 to Feb. 29, inclusively, during daylight hours, nationwide, by any rifle, bow and arrow, or shotgun.
- Bobcat, raccoon, otter, badger, grey fox, red fox (see Red Fox Restrictions), mink, muskrat, coyote, opossum, skunk, and weasel may be harvested at this time.
- Black bear, mountain lion, and swift fox may not be harvested at any time by any means except as otherwise provided by this Code.
- Electronic callers are deemed legal.
Nighttime predator calling shall include the following restrictions:
- red or amber lens on a night light shall be legal;
- a shotgun shall legally use only 4 buck, BB, or number 2 shot;
- all center fire rifles shall be illegal;
- rim fire rifles shall be legal, including 22 magnum or 5 mm magnum;
- a bow and arrow shall be legal;
- it shall be legal to hunt from a boat, provided said boat is not motor driven and/or in motion while the hunter is shooting;
- it shall be legal to hunt from a vehicle, provided said vehicle is not in motion or the motor running while the hunter is shooting, and said vehicle shall not be on a public road nor shall the hunter shoot across a public road.
- It shall be legal for a Choctaw tribal member to possess the skinned carcass of any legally harvested furbearer, subject to federal and tribal laws. Said carcass may be sold, bartered, or kept an unlimited period of time. The sale of scent glands from animals shall be legal.
- Possession of whole carcasses, raw or tanned pelts, or other body parts of legally harvested game or non-game animals, not in violation of federal law, shall be legal.
- A Choctaw tribal member may or may not elect to sell his legally harvested furs, carcasses, or body parts so that, at no time, shall a legally harvested pelt, carcass, or body part be said to be held illegally.
When trapping devices are used, signs may be posted to the right and to the left of the entrance from public roads. The word “traps” may be included in the signs. Persons trapping on their own property are not subject to this request.