Contributors to this thread:
Good luck to all finally getting out in Ohio. Have a safe and productive season! )- >>>------>
Good luck to you as well.
I'm holding off hunting my ground. We had a great batch of summer bucks, but they all vanished in the last 4 weeks. It's been the hottest and driest streak since I bought my ground in 2020. The good news is the plots are excellent, and there's a great crop of shooters in the area. Once the bordering crops get harvested and the weather breaks it should be some great hunting!
Nothing against it; l mean what ever flicks your bean but does anyone still hunt deer in unaltered habitat? No food plots, special protein and mineral blocks or other attractions. Guess I’m old fashioned in thinking, seems woodsmanship and true hunting is a lost ability….
Got a good'en coming up for early cold front
As for MnM lol, I don't hunt in National Parks or at the end of rainbows and that's about all that's left of unaltered habitat, good luck to you.
I have a funeral to attend in NJ on Friday but want to try and make it back to Ohio for at least a Sat afternoon and sunday hunt. As stressless stated, nice cold front coming in.
Too hot and too many skeeters for me in the early season. I hung a couple of stands last week and I'm surprised that I didn't come down with malaria. Lol.
It's really cooled down at my place. Seeing more bucks running around on cam, and a couple buck fights. Nothing overly mature yet, however. It will be better when the crops get taken down in our area.
Are farmers harvesting in your area?
Big bucks are mostly at night from what I see still....couple stragglers in daylight, but not much. There is more buck activity overall though based on my cams and what I have seen.
Crops are coming off in Central and SE Ohio...beans mostly, but corn should be moving pretty soon as well.
Mostly soybeans being harvested in north central Ohio. Some corn has been harvested for silage.
They've been taking the beans off here in northern Ohio. Just took the field off behind the house yesterday. Seeing some limited buck activity but I don't get too excited 'til after halloween.
Some some corn being harvested yesterday, some beans too.
Im still not Seeing any mature bucks. I usually get a handful of pics by now. I just got to my farm so haven’t done a lot of scouting yet.
Im still not Seeing any mature bucks. I usually get a handful of pics by now. I just got to my farm so haven’t done a lot of scouting yet.
Pat probably chowing acorns
I am getting some mature bucks every couple days, seems like they are moving more and more - mostly at night still. Not many acorns around me, so that helps.
Unfortunately, I missed an opportunity at this guy last week.
That’s a nice one Craig, good luck with him!
Yeah, he looks great. Lots of time left. Good luck!
Ohio cams have been disappointing thus far...until Saturday that is. Hunted and checked my cam and found this brute! At 3:15 no less mid October. Two sits nada first hunt then a few doe and turkeys the second. Knowing he's around gives me confidence. Love trail cams for this reason!
Heck yeah! That’s a goodun!
I agree matt! Checked my cams and got a pic of a big 10 and 8. I’d shoot either!
They'll start moving this week especially with cold front coming...
Bucks are cruising midday around here right now...
Lots of 2-3-4 year olds roaming. The really mature bucks are still MIA at my farm. I’m Leaving for Kansas. Maybe we’ll get some of the big guys in there while I’m gone.
Thanks for the tip^^^^ Lol.
Had a nice main beam 5x4 with a right forked G2 tending a doe at 5:30ish today just out of range... Luved his 10-point unique rack... I suspect they were breeding just out of view by the way they were acting...
Good luck in Kansas Pat, looking forward to the semi-live hunt details...
Zbone, lots of movement in my area also last evening. I saw 5 different bucks during a 2hr sit after work. No tending bucks. All were alone and seeking. 3 of the 5 were just year and a half olds. 1 shooter and 1 border line buck. They all passed by out of my comfort range.
Cool Old Reb, good luck after them...
The doe was trotting around with her tail tight between legs then at half mast when she slowed down, and the way they were acting I think she was receptive... Only got to observe them a few minutes but got a pretty good look with binocs and the buck was a fine animal, nice and sleek with heavy thick rut neck... Although he wasn't very wide, he had nice mass and tine length... I'd say he is mature, at least a 3-year old... I think he only had 4-points on the left but 6 on the right, that forked G2 kept distracting me to pay much attention to the left side...8^)
Buddy of mine killed a good one this evening...
Said it was going away and he snort wheezed and it turned around and came right to him...
He showed me trail cam pix of him last week, and was able to killed him this week... That's pretty cool, I'm jealous...8^)
Damn that’s a great buck! Wow!!
Pat - Seen you "baiting" those guys over on the whitetail forum, reeled them right in... Too funny...8^)))
Yeah, good times!
But I have to admit, the baiting is out of hand in Ohio. Lots of neighbors dumping piles on my border because typically my ground holds mature deer well.
Then I have to put out bait to keep the bucks off their piles. It’s getting ridiculous.
So I understand all sides of this issue.
Veterans Day today and great day to be in the woods around here, peak rut and one of those breezeless dead calm quiet days you can hear the crunching leaves of an approaching buck from a long ways... Good Luck...
I saw only two different year and a half olds this evening. Let a 10pt have a free pass last evening. Still waiting for that one that when you see it there is no questioning if he's big enough. A true trophy whitetail is my bowhunting nemesis. My sons have really shown me up this year and I have been bowhunting for 35 years!!! They sure make me proud though. Maybe tomorrow will be my day. My fingers are crossed.
Good luck Old Reb...
Your season sounds like mine so far... I passed a couple basket racks a few times and a 2-year class 4x4, and a bunch of does and fawns... Have only seen one mature buck while hunting the past couple weeks... Seen a lot of deer and bucks moving but haven't loosed an arrow yet...
Yesterday evening was a nice evening for hunting but only seen 2 does and a fawn... I was in a ground hide and the one plump doe was tempting at under 10 paces (my kind of shot...8^)) to fill the freezer but will wait until Thanksgiving or after for venison... Am totally out of deer meat, but don't want to be messing with it during peak rut... Thanksgiving week lots of folks in the woods scouting, sighting in guns, small game hunting, etc., and then will try for meat, or the week after blast one...8^)
Good luck to all...
I believe that the youth season is this coming weekend. Remember that hunter orange is required when bowhunting.
"youth season is this coming weekend"
Yeah, and so very sadly the youths are on my mind today with the tragic bus crash on I70, the school is just a couple miles from my house which I know a couple teachers and a few friends are from the school district... Am afraid to try contacting anybody here for fear of imposing, the deaths and injured has not yet been announced... My condolences to the families...
Am so thankful my grandchildren go to other school districts... Hug and kiss your kids and grandchildren, please be safe out there youth season...
Good luck to the youths out there, bowhunters don't forget your blaze orange...
Pat, how's your Ohio hunting going?
Saw lots of different bucks since Nov 1st. Missed a good one, real tall, but not wide at all. Went home and shot, was shooting 7” high. I hear you Pat on the baiting. I have a neighbor with 2 acres. He puts his corn out. He shot a 4 point. That’s his right. I’m putting corn out last week and this week. Hoping to keep deer around keep them from getting shot next Monday
Th 2023 youth deer gun season resulted in 10,039 deer being harvested. This is the highest kill since 2007. In 2007 a record of 10,059 deer were harvested. The three year harvest average for the youth season is in the 7,000 range. I can't remember the exact number.
Everybody prepared for the blaze orange army invasion?...8^)
Yup. That's if I come home empty handed tonight. Tomorrow looks like it could be a wash out.
I’m gone. I load up my property with bait and leave until the rifle season ends. Then I come back. I don’t know how much it helps, if any, but it makes me feel better so I do it every year.
I finally am starting to see some mature bucks. I’m hoping more shows up in the late season. I have a ton of crops standing.
Any pix of big ones killed today... BC, back before crossguns, opening gun season was when many of the big ones hit the ground...
Nothing I've heard of or seen in my area. I was out on opening day and that's been it.
Neighbor killed a 2 year old. Nothing else killed that I know about. I’m not there but my neighbors are sending me reports. A lot more shots heard on youth weekend and I was there for that. 20 shots from the Amish property alone. I didn’t realize they had that many kids?
Neighbor killed a 2 year old. Nothing else killed that I know about. I’m not there but my neighbors are sending me reports. A lot more shots heard on youth weekend and I was there for that. 20 shots from the Amish property alone. I didn’t realize they had that many kids?
About 10 years ago the youth season by me was the big event. Most land was being hunted and driven. Much more shooting than the regular gun season. I think that youth and adults alike carried guns with the youth tagging the deer. Then it stopped. Not sure why.
I went out Sunday to refill my corn. It was bitter cold and windy. I was hoping it kept the deer down. I didn’t hear any shots, but I wasnt outside my vehicle very long.
Coming from western NY I thought I knew gun season pressure was and that I would play sentry in the event of any ideas of trespass or line sitting from the locals (being a new owner). Good news was that the fear of sneaks appeared unjustified, the bad is I heard over 100 shots fired.
Our plan is to move there in a couple years when the daughter graduates HS, but I have to throw this out. Of the local kills I had seen, most were 2 & 3 yo bucks. The chatter was often how bad things are and this and this is "as good as it gets" (or the likes) " due to the out of staters" buying/leasing/etc then shooting everything. Have to laugh at that irony that, at least in my area of Athens Co, with the local neighbors are those the bad (age/trophy management) neighbors and even public land folks were exhibiting more self-restraint. I did not see the OOS plates I had seen in the past.
Seeing the monsters Ohio has put up this year, despite the struggles of many to have a shooter and the likes of Higgins, Sturgis, Hunting Public, etc spewing Ohio content...land prices and access will only be more challenging moving ahead.
"Ohio hunters checked 19,359 white-tailed deer during the opening day of gun hunting season on Monday, Nov. 27, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife"
https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/news/ohios-weeklong-deer-gun-hunting-season-is-underway-2023
gjs4 - You think it's bad now should have been here during the 70's, 80's and 90's before xguns became prevalent... The whole week used to sound like a war zone, it was actually dangerous out there... Many of those Ohio monster bucks seen on the internet and magazine covers are hard to come by and most have some kind of a sanctuary to hide if they are smart or lucky enough to run the firestick gauntlet to reach it, or thousands of acres of land is locked up...
Rough weekend hunting at our property.....deer are pretty much holed up even with pretty limited pressure around the adjoining properties. Had my first sit of the year, a couple actually, in which I didn't see a deer.
Ready for late season already. Hah.
Am just glad gun season2 is over, next the dreaded gun season3, Dec 16th - 17th...
I need to get out and put more corn out,
My top two resident bucks survived. Really happy about that.
Cool to hear Pat, Good Luck...
"OHIO’S WEEKLONG DEER GUN HUNTING SEASON RESULTS"
Gun kill numbers down from last year again:
https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/news/ohios-weeklong-deer-gun-hunting-season-results
Statewide gun season3 now over, muzzleloader next...
"OHIO HUNTERS CHECKED 15,469 DEER DURING EXTRA GUN WEEKEND"
https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/news/ohio-hunters-checked-15469-deer-during-extra-gun-weekend
12,712 deer checked in during 2024 Ohio muzzleloader season. 62% were does. Good for herd management. 26% antlered deer, button bucks 10%, shed antlered or antlers less than 3 inches 2%.
Thanks Old Reb, their newsletter hasn't been released on their website yet (I just checked) they used to detail button bucks and shed buck percentages too... I'm just glad it's over...
Zbone, I edited my post to include the other percentages. I enjoy participating in the muzzleloader season when I still have a tag to fill. I still use a traditional cap lock muzzleloader. A throw back to when it was refered to as "primative weapons" season.
Yeah Old Reb, I seen that thanks, and seen it on their website posted on Friday:
"During the 2024 muzzleloader season, hunters took 3,327 antlered deer (26% of deer taken), 7,797 does (62%), 1,284 button bucks (10%), and 304 (2%) bucks with shed antlers or antlers shorter than 3 inches"
https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/news/ohios-2024-muzzleloader-deer-hunting-season-results
I was interested in how many shed bucks after viewing a lot of shed bucks on that Brownsille Maine live camera website... I'm pretty sure a lot higher percentage have shed up there now than here...
Hate to break the news to you sh%@ happens with bow seasons also……
Yeah probably the amish with xbows too...8^)
Could have had a run in with a motor vehicle also.
As Troutman to Rambo would say - "It's over Johnny"...8^)
2023-2024 Ohio deer kill report. Total kill = 213,928. Archery= 100,951 Gun seasons = 85,587 Muzzleloader = 12,712 Youth season = 10,039 Controlled fire arms = 4,639 Doe kill = 99,581 Antlered buck = 92,057 Button bucks = 18,973 Shed bucks or antlers less than 3 inches = 3,320.
It's amazing so-called archery kills are so far ahead of gun kills now...
Yeah Z, I would like to know the percentage of crossbow kills vs. verticale bow kills.
Here you go Old Reb. Crossbow was more than twice as many deer.
WOW, shotgun kills only 15%... I remember back in the day they were like 90% and bows like 10%... My how things have changed...
Crossbow: 75,462 (35%) Straight-walled cartridge rifle: 60,333 (28%) Shotgun: 31,901 (15%) Vertical bow: 29,696 (14%) Muzzleloader: 16,010 (8%) Handgun: 526 (less than 1%)
Zbone here in MA it was the same thing shotgun kills far outnumbered the archery kills and we had trucks lining up the roads now a lot less. How are the hunter numbers in Ohio compared to years ago?
Attached, probably need to copy, paste and resize...
I read around 400,000 in 2023 so well down from 624,000 in 2009. Looks like same trajectory as here.
When the deer population went into decline so did the hunters....
I pulled the SD card today and the 3-legged doe above was a no show... Only captured on trail-cam that one time, coyotes probably got her...
Zbone is their snow out your way?
Guys, I am seeing a much different trend in hunter numbers. In 1985 there were 64,263 deer hunters in Ohio. In 2009 there were 261,260 deer hunters in Ohio. I did not find an exact deer hunter number for 2023. However, it does say that about 500,000 Ohio residents hunted and 91% of those hunted deer. Doing the math that gives 455,000 Ohio residents hunting deer. Add in the numbers for NR from the top five States and I get 481,303 deer hunters in Ohio 2023. The bags limits have dropped so tag sales have dropped but the number of deer hunters seem to have increased! They seem to have increased a lot! Do I have something wrong?
goyt, if you read my link their was 415,710 deer permits sold. So less than the past number of 600,000 put still a decent number. Now I believe it said there is Nonresident hunters from all states due to Ohio being advertised as a sleeper state a few years ago. I think the lower harvest would reflect the fact that non resident hunters are in Ohio for a good buck and probably only there for a week on average. The numbers seem logical to me.
Spike, Ohio allows each deer hunter to buy 6 either sex permits. We can buy the permits at any time during the season so to some extent the number of deer tags sold depend on hunter success. Once a deer hunter fills a tag, they can buy another tag if they want to hunt more. When permit sales dropped from 600,000 to 415,710, I think it is more a factor of less deer being killed than there being less deer hunters. I could not find where ODNR published the hunter numbers for the 23-24 season so I used some numbers to estimate the number of hunters which I now think were inaccurate. Clearly we did not have 455,000 deer hunters in Ohio if only 415,710 tags were sold. However, I do not think that deer hunter number dropped off very much from the 2009 numbers of 261,260 when 600,000+ tags were sold. I think that each hunter bought less tags on average because they did not need the tags to replace tags that were filled. I think that the hunters are not shooting as many does because they do not feel like the population is overly high. I think that both hunter numbers and hunting pressure remain high in most of Ohio. It is probably a good idea to move from MA to OH for better hunting. I meet hunters from MI every year that tell me how much better the OH public land hunting is than what they have at home. They show pictures of 100-110" 2 1/2 year old bucks that they have on camera and shoot that they are extremely happy to hunt. They say that once every few years they see or get a chance at a bigger buck. If you can get access to some good private land in the right areas the hunting can be great.
spike78 - No snow, and aside from the snow belt along the lake we haven't received a lot of snow (yet) and now with this warm spell we've even been seeing the sun for a few days now which is kinda rare for this time of year...
Since the 70's don't think Ohio has never been considered a sleeper state, it's always been in the top 5 of annual book buck entries as far back as I can remember... A lot of that has to do with the 1 buck annual limit regardless of weapon used...
I may have read that wrong I was assuming licenses but what you’re saying about the permits does make sense. I guess I’m that case then it would be under 400,000 hunters if quite a few bought two. If I were going there from out of state and camping I’d probably buy two in that case for a buck and doe. So yes that’s tricky to figure out. I never see the license numbers here either and have to estimate by doe permits. Not sure why that’s not posted every year.
Zbone, I guess what I meant was reading magazines all these years all I ever heard about was IL and Iowa for big bucks. Then you started hearing about Kentucky more and more. I never read much about Ohio until recently in regards to big deer. I like the way your seasons are set up and wow are they long. Would you say that the deer population is larger now or almost as large as peak years? Here it seems like the population has rebounded as it got hammered back when all the baby boomers were shotgun hunting.
1940 Hole-In-The-Horn Buck
1940 Hole-In-The-Horn Buck
1975 Hochstetler Buck shot 30 minutes before legal shooting time gun opening morning shot while shining with his truck headlights
1975 Hochstetler Buck shot 30 minutes before legal shooting time gun opening morning shot while shining with his truck headlights
Year 2000, Beatty Buck
Year 2000, Beatty Buck
2006, Schmucker Buck Adams County xgun kill
2006, Schmucker Buck Adams County xgun kill
You must live under a rock or were reading the wrong magazines...8^) Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois/Ohio/Kansas all kind of alternated through the years, Kentucky is kind of a newcomer... I attached some Ohio bucks for ya spaced out through the years...
Ohio whitetail numbers went into steady decline in the early 2000's for over a decade, almost two decades back when a hunter could legally kill I think it was like 18 deer (but only 1 buck remember) if you went to different districts of the state until the DNR finally realized they over killed and cut back on the tags and the past few years there seems to be an incline... Go to ODNR website and look up "Publication 304", Summery of Ohio Deer Seasons, has all the stats through the years... That'll give you some homework...8^)
Lol yeah I forgot about the Beatty buck! I know a lot of nice deer are taken in Ohio but when most non residents think big bucks it’s Iowa, Kansas, IL, for a hunting trip. It is kind of weird that the deer population trend was the same for most of the US.
Spike I live in CT and own a farm in eastern Ohio. There’s nothing like hunting here. Every year I’m passing up bucks that are bigger than anything I’ve ever seen in 40 years of hunting CT with one exception.
It’s not without some downsides. There’s a lot of pressure and everyone I know baits . But it’s still great!
When you talk about hunter numbers you have to remember that resident landowners are NOT required to buy a hunting license OR deer permits to hunt on their own property.
Years ago there was a 10 acre minimum requirement for this privilege but now I don't think there is a minimum acreage.
There are ALOT of resident deer hunting landowners and their children AND grandchildren (under age 18) that hunt deer.
Land ownership has also been fragmented a lot since the 80's/90's and later times allowing more and more hunters exempted from buying a license.
Landowners and their families should always be exempt from purchasing licenses and tags when hunting on land they own,
"Landowners and their families should always be exempt from purchasing licenses and tags when hunting on land they own"
Yep, I totally agree,,, and military personal at home on leave shouldn't have to purchase hunting and/or fishing licenses nor deer or turkey permits, nor duck stamps... All hunting should be free for the military and wounded warriors in my opinion....
btnbuck, I think the same applies to NR landowners. I think that you bring up a great point. More land is being purchased just for hunting and in a lot of cases hunters who buy licenses and tags are being replaced by landowners who do not. A great example of this is; an 80 was auctioned off by a non-hunting couple who let others hunt. At the auction the 80A was sold 3 parcels. I bought about 21A that was on my side of the road. Two Amish families own the other two parcels. One is a husband and wife that both hunt with a young child who is only about 1. They kill 2 bucks and 4 does each year. The other family is a couple with 6 children all of hunting age. I believe that a lot of the land where I hunt is hunted by the landowners only that do not live on the land. All of the land is being hunted and the sale of licenses and tags do not reflect the hunting pressure. In fact, more deer are probably killed in the area than the number of deer tags sold.
I agree with Cord and Z's comments. Not complaining or criticizing the way the system works. Just saying that there are a lot of hunters out there that aren't recognized by the license sales. Goyt knows what I'm saying firsthand.
Nonresident landowners do not need a license on Ohio land they own if their state. reciprocates the same benefit in their home state.
FYI, I purchase 10-12 deer permits each year so you can see how the numbers aren't actual hunter numbers by tag sales.
I don't think Ohio actually knows the actual number of deer hunters in the state, only the total harvest numbers.
For the record, I am a NR landowner from a state that reciprocates free landowner hunting for nonresidents. While I’m not required to buy a license, I still do every year. The free landowner license is only valid for your own land. If you hunt anywhere else you have to buy a license.
But even if you never step foot off your own land and never buy a license, you still have to report every deer and turkey you shoot. So I don’t understand the argument that landowner’s are not reporting and skewing the harvest numbers? I get that a lot of hunters don’t report but I’m not sure it’s worse with landowner tags? I killed 3 does the last week of archery and reported all 3 within hours of being killed.
Pat, Just like you I buy a hunting license but I used a landowner tag on each of the 3 deer I shot on my land. The 3 free landowner deer tags do not show up on the ODNRs tally of deer tags sold. I would guess that you do the same thing. I certainly hope that all deer shot in Ohio are registered regardless the type of tag used. For discussion purposes, I feel that it is safe to assume that the number of deer registered adequately reflect the number of deer killed when comparing trends. I don't see where anyone was saying that landowners not registering deer was skewing harvest numbers. IMO the point being made is that free LO tags make it hard to determine the number of deer hunters and with no requirement for LOs to buy a license to hunt their land, license sales may not reflect deer hunter numbers. In summary there is no way to determine deer hunter numbers and deer hunting pressure accurately in Ohio. Based on what I see, I think that deer hunting pressure expressed as hunter days in the field is very high right now. I get the feeling that others think differently. I do not know who is correct or how to get the answer.
Goyt, I understand what you are saying and I see your point. You may be right.
Thanks for clarifying my point Cliff.
Lee, thanks for making the point in the first place. I had not thought too much about the impact of LO licenses and tags on the ODNR"s records before you brought it up.
