PRATT -- The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) wants all deer hunters -- resident or nonresident -- to know that a new regulation requires the purchase of an antlered deer permit before an antlerless permit or game tag may be purchased.

The postmark deadline for nonresident deer applications is May 31. This includes applications for both archery and firearms permits.

This year, archery permits will be allocated by unit, with applicants being allowed to select and hunt in two of the nine units. Also new this year, nonresidents may purchase a preference point for $20 instead of applying for a permit. Depending on unit and type of permit, it may take several preference points before an applicant draws a permit. Applicants who are unsuccessful in the drawing will be given one preference point for each unsuccessful application since their last successful drawing. Preference points apply for the next year's drawing. The more preference points accumulated, the better the chance of drawing a permit. However, all preference points are lost if an applicant fails to apply at least once in five consecutive years or if a permit is drawn.

A nonresident deer permit costs $321. Those nonresidents who are successful in the drawing must then purchase a $71 nonresident hunting license before hunting.

Deer seasons for 2005 are as follow:

• Early muzzleloader -- Sept. 10-23;
• Youth/Disabled -- Sept. 24-25;
• Archery -- Oct. 1-Dec. 31;
• Unit 19 firearms -- Oct. 15-23;
• Regular Firearms -- Nov. 30-Dec. 11;
• Extended Whitetail Antlerless-Only -- Jan. 1 - 8; and
• Unit 19 archery antlerless-only -- Jan. 9-31.

Kansas residents who want to hunt antelope in 2005 are reminded that permit applications will be accepted through June 10. Firearms hunters must have their applications postmarked to the KDWP Operations Office, 512 SE 25th Ave., Pratt, KS 67124, by the June 10 deadline.

Archery antelope season will run Sept. 24-Oct. 2 and Oct. 15-31. Firearm season will run Oct. 7-Oct. 10. Muzzleloader season will run Oct. 3-Oct. 10. An unlimited number of resident archery permits will be available over the counter, and it is estimated that about 125 hunters will apply for these.

This year, 118 firearms permits will be available by drawing. Unit 2 will receive 90 permits, and Unit 17 will receive 28 permits. Thirty-eight muzzleloader permits will be available ? 20 in Unit 2, 10 in Unit 17, and eight in Unit 18. Approximately 975 applicants are expected to apply for firearms antelope permits.

The same preference point system that applies to nonresident deer permits also applies to firearms antelope applicants, except that the fee for purchasing a preference point is $5. Antelope permits are available to residents only. A general resident permit is $46, and a landowner/tenant permit is $26. This includes a $5 non-refundable service fee.

Both deer and antelope application forms can be obtained from local KDWP offices and area vendors or downloaded from the KDWP website , www.kdwp.state.ks.us. Applications will be mailed to anyone who applied last year.
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