Looking for a new experience compared to the big woods hunting I'm used to. I have been looking at public land in ohio and have to say I am a little overwhelmed. There is tons of it lol. Any recommendations for public land that sees relatively light hunting pressure ? While i see great deer come out of ohio every year, I also know well enough that "book" bucks are far and few between anywhere but do u think bucks in the 130 to 150" range are realistic? I have been looking mostly at Egypt valley, and tranquility ridge along with a few others. Planning a scouting trip in the next month....any help/info is much appreciated...thanks in advance!
Here is a pic of a buck I was able to take on public land last year. I have been able to get very close to bucks like this many times on public land here in Ohio. The problem is that they are changing the hunting regulations for next deer season. They are adding a 2 day, doe only, muzzleloader season in the middle of October. That should just about ruin any shot at decent bucks on public ground with a bow in Ohio. Once all the orange ground pounding army hits the woods in October, forget about seeing good bucks during shooting daylight after that! Anybody who waited to hunt bucks on public land in Ohio should have come last year. I'm afraid they have effectively ruined our public land bowhunting. We now have a gun season during every month of our deer season. I'm just hoping I might have saved you from getting your hopes up for next season. Our deer hunting on public land looks to be changing dramatically. Maybe I'm just seeing the negative side, but we used to have all of October and the 1st two weeks of November before the guns started blazing. Not anymore. :(
Just my opinion.
-Charlie
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I don't know Charlie, I just don't see that many folks who are super eager to chase does with smokepoles in October.
You know the Amish will be there. Nothing against those fellas, but they will show for gun season of any kind. They usually do big drives for deer to push them.
Like I said though, I might just be negative about the whole thing though. I guess I should just wait and see...
We took a public land trip to Ohio last year and had a really good time. We scouted over at Tranquility and hunted twice at Woodbury. Woodbury is a HUGE place with manage food plots, open woods, swamps, rolling hills and anything else you can think of. Tranquility had a lot of corn and bean land around the acres you are allowed to hunt but hunting pressure seemed to be a little heavier. I plan to go back again next year though, but will probably plan an early october hunt before heavy pressure sets in.
I'd love to put a hunt together with some fellas carrying trad equipment!
Biathlonman, I think you're wrong on that idea. I sell hunting licenses at our store and I'm here to tell you the smoke pole guys(especially here in my area) will be lined up early for a "any" chance to take a deer! Horserod
I've hunted around Wellston for about 20 years now. Everyone I see is worried about antler size and couldn't care less about does or even deer meat.
I live near the Egypt valley area and it sees a lot of pressure and the food sources are minimal there. I haven't hunted any of the other public areas. There are a lot of big deer in the surrounding areas of Egypt valley on private land in Belmont Harrison and guernsey counties. However I just have never seen many of the larger bucks in Egypt valley. Just my 2 cents , good luck to you!
Thanks for all the info guys! Charlie congrats on a great buck and thanks for the heads up about the new early season in the works I had no idea that was happening...here in nj it seems the deer are managed with nothing but dollars in mind so I can relate.....we'd have some truly great bucks if you weren't allowed to shoot up to 7 bucks a year. Great info guys keep it coming all suggestions are appreciated and welcome! Thanks again!
Pete
I wouldn,t worry to much about a two day Doe season,especially if it,s muzzleloader only. The deer will recover quickly and continue to prepare for the rut. When I lived in Ohio I thought the youth gun season that was added would have an effect on the bow hunting , but I could see no change in deer behavior after that.
pcappy08. Shade River State Forest in Meigs county is a great place to Bowhunt. You would actually be staying at Forked Run State park, which is beside the State forest. I hunted there many years. I believe Kevin Dill grew up close to that area. He posts on here from time to time.
Take a look at the public land near Gallipolis, OH. There are a lot of deer and far less hunters than you will find in most Ohio public land areas.
Another great thing about Gallipolis is many landowners will happily provide access to bowhunters on private land bordering the public land so long as you are not there during gun season.
I would think anyone who owns a muzzleloader and doesn't bow hunt would jump at a chance to do a couple of days "pre season" hunting, scouting, warm-up, hunt. They may also like to take care of the freezer early and concentrate on nothing but horns for the season.
QuoteOriginally posted by pcappy08:
I have been looking at public land in ohio and have to say I am a little overwhelmed. There is tons of it lol. Any recommendations for public land that sees relatively light hunting pressure ? While i see great deer come out of ohio every year, I also know well enough that "book" bucks are far and few between anywhere but do u think bucks in the 130 to 150" range are realistic? I have been looking mostly at Egypt valley, and tranquility ridge along with a few others. Planning a scouting trip in the next month....any help/info is much appreciated...thanks in advance!
To answer your original question, I would look at Trivalley Wildlife Area or Avondale Wildlife Area. There have definitely been some excellent bucks shot in those locations. If you want a place that allows camping as well, then think about Wayne National, AEP or one of the state parks. Let me know when you are coming out and maybe I can meet up with you to lend a hand.
God Bless,
Charlie
The october muzzleloader season hasn't gone into law yet. And the reason they are doing it is to eliminate the early season muzzleloader hunts at Salt Fork Wildlife Area, Shawnee State Forest and Wildcat Hollow. They will also be eliminating the extra bonus gun weekend in December. Ohio is also lowering the amount of deer you can take next year. This to me was a step in the right direction for guys that have to share hunting property, public or private. This year was tough for lots of guys. Many folks I know saw almost no deer all season long. To answer your original question I would listen to busckeyehunter on where to go. I have seen big bucks in Egypt Valley but they are by no means common (at least for me :laughing: )
I'm not sure about the early doe season either Charlie. I'm wonderin if guys will be able to drive deer then or not. Im sure some will try, but should have most of the crops still on and lots of leaves. Might be tough to get a drive going. I think the bucks should be back to normal once rut kicks in.
Actually, I do not believe this has been approved as of yet. If I'm not mistaken on 3-2-13 you can go to Columbus(or one of five other locations) to give your 2 cents to this issue as well as others. Last time this was proposed it got an overwhelming response from bowhunters organizations and was shot down.
Just copied this:
The ODNR Division of Wildlife released the proposed deer hunting changes to the public on 7 February in an article on their website at http://ohiodnr.com. You are given an opportunity to comment in person or submit comments in writing by clicking on a link to a form in the ODNR news release. A statewide hearing of all the proposed rules is scheduled for 2 March 2013. After considering public input, the Ohio Wildlife Council is expected to vote on the proposed rules on 17 April 2013.
So none of this is official.
It hasn't passed yet.
I just hate to see someone travel in from out of state only to have their hunt not work out. That is my main reason for mentioning it. Sorry for leading this thread astray.
The original poster is mostly looking for advice on where to go and how to go about it. To that end, I say just about any of the more remote SE Ohio locations/forests/wildlife areas and look for old logging roads in conjunction with fields. Most of the state forests have old logging roads and the deer use them a good bit to travel. The other piece of advice not to miss, is study your funnels and find older/established white oaks near them. The deer will travel through the funnels to get to the acorns in October and even November at times.
-Charlie
I will comment on your original question. Certain areas in Egypt Valley are more productive than others. Our lease borders state game lands only seperated by a side road. I drive this road on my way to my camp. I have seen several big bucks crossing this road going both ways through the years. Our population has declined over the years. But, there are still many of quality bucks running around. Even on state land.
Hint: take a good look at Jockey Hollow(Rt. 519) and the land off of Notingham Rd.
Thank u all for your input and help it's much appreciated! Looks like some maps and a scouting trip are much in order!
Nothing like boots on the ground!
:thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by leatherneck:
I will comment on your original question. Certain areas in Egypt Valley are more productive than others.
Agree with that 100%.
Get to Ohio quick before they ruin it by going the way of Michigan and putting guns in the woods in October. It's a cryin shame and it makes zero sense to me October and November are for bows leave the gun at home till December. IMO.
Back to the original topic... Ohio is loaded with plenty of public land opportunities I myself hunt Ohio most of the time being as I live a hop skip and a jump over the line, most people will say go to the Wayne which is great and you can get away from crowds, go on te odnr website and you will find all kinds of little areas that can hold some great hunting I myself just found a new spot I didn't know existed by calling the district office and they sent me a list of landowners that allow hunting just have to ask for the permission slip get it signed and you are in luck there are also some other out of the way areas known as WAP they are not advertised to my knowledge and dot look like much but some small trees and crp, but in my experience that can hold some of the best opportunities. Best of luck to you on your search PM me if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to help
Guys, I would not be to discouraged about the early blackpowder season. The first 2 weeks of November is the time you want to be in the woods for the best odds of getting your buck. I promise you the pressure that the blackpowder guys put on them 3 weeks before will have been forgotten by rutting bucks. The great thing about Ohio is there modern gun season happens when the rut is ending.You can bowhunt the entire rut without the guns booming. I live and hunt mainly in Ky and our modern firearms season happens when the rut is going strong. Trust me Ohio is a great place to be a bowhunter.
Something else that most people do not consider. ODNR gives out crop damage permits to a lot of landowners. Contact them to get a list of the area you want to hunt. By law they have to let hunters on their land or they will lose those permits. Just a little inside scoop.
Haven't looked into this in a while but this is the way it used to be. Call ODNR for more info.
Stixbowdrew and leatherneck thanks for the tips those both sound like interesting ways to go that I never would have known about! Thanks again for all the help guys!
I will add one more tip. There are many small public lands that are not listed on the DNR website. I hunt 3 areas in Stark County that are bowhunting only that are not on the DNR website. Many of the counties around Ohio allow hunting on the ground that they own, call the counties extension office or the park boards and find out if hunting is allowed. I also have permision to hunt land owned by a local college that i received by asking, I have never seen any one else hunt this land even though it is located within 1 hour of Cleveland.
I do not think you need to worry about the muzzeloader season, 2 days will not ruin hunting for this state.
Theres some big bucks in ohio power and wayne nat
Guys, don't give up hope yet. Not sure it has passed yet and if it does it may be like the youth season which has no effect on movement.I myself hope it fails but we will see. Thank God for private land!