Ohio needs to step up its game

[buckeyebowhunter]

I watch a lot of hunting videos on YouTube because to be honest I just don't care for outdoor channel or whatever it is these days. I notice a lot of other midwest states provide their hunters with nice deer tags to wrap around an antler or leg, probably ten years ago Ohio changed from a nice waterproof piece plastic tag to a piece of computer paper 
Also our resident tag prices have gone up. Our non resident tags are pretty cheap compared to other midwest states, maybe the cheapest out of all midwest states. Which is great for non res that want to hunt here but what about dudes like myself that are limited to public land because they can't afford to lease a farm. Competing with non res guys especially during the rut. Makes for a frustrating situation and I'd wanted to vent about this for a while.  It's real tough to get access to private ground anymore so it just gets under my skin. Sorry for the rant.

[GCook]

We had to hunt public land when I was young.  Always killed deer but was a rifle hunter then.
There's no easy answers.  People say get more people interested in hunting so we have a future in it but there are so many now there isn't enough land and game for the demand.
Look at elk hunting.  You see fifty hunters and seldom an elk in any given area of public land.
No easy answers.

[mec lineman]

I'm one of the non resident hunters who visit your state. You are right, Ohio is very economical to hunt non res. Cost have gone up and will the next few years from what I'm told. I was blessed enough to kill a 7.5 year old in SE Ohio last year on public. The latest craze with everyone filming their hunts and becoming you tube stars is a big reason for the over crowding.  Like everything else these days there is no learning curve. Everyone is so generous with giving away all their secrets and tactics. Back country, public land is the cool thing to do as seen in the parking areas.

[buckeyebowhunter]

Craig, you are exactly right. And I have nothing against non res hunting here. I just wish OH would level the playing field a bit as compared to other states and possibly do a little more to help out the resident hunters.  What wildlife area do you visit?

[mec lineman]

Sent u a pm

[bowmaster12]

Wisconsin is the same, they went to a computer print off tag too. You dont even have to tag the deer as long as its in your possession.  Wisconsin is also cheap for non residents 160 bucks unless its your first time then its 80.  I get the frustration of public land thats what i grew up hunting and for the most part of gone back to.  There are plenty of real nic bucks on public.  Just takes more time and energy to find em thats part of the fun for me. 

[Soonerlongbow]

Oklahoma has been a computer print off tag for years, but they at least give you a plastic case for it. In the past they did have a semi Write-in-the-rain type paper tag, and it was nice. But now it’s gone a step further to nearly all E-tags, except technically your supposed to still wrap a slip of paper around the leg or antler....that you provide. They will accept pre-made reusable tags made from metal or plastic. I believe right now all that is required on the carcass itself is name and license number.

[buckeyebowhunter]

It drives me nuts that we pay more for our divisions of wildlife to get cheaper on us. Even though it wasn't as convenient I miss taking our game to the local gas station for a metal tag and or seeing other hunters with their bucks. Was just something cool that we grew up doing.

[bowmaster12]

Agree buckeyebowhunter, wisconsin got rid of the registration stations too along with back tags.  Alot of people complained the backtags made noise.  At least it was away of identifing someone.  In at least on case it helped solve a murder in wisconsin.  Im all for advancements but we cant leave traditions behind either.  Driving around and seeing the deer at the stations was a big part of camp that no longer is there.

[Zbone]

My Ohio tags are thin cardboard cutouts from a 12-pack with a ziptie and after the kill, tie wrap it to the deer... I also have a cell phone photo of my license and the permit on me at all times...

[Soonerlongbow]

I do miss the check in process. Getting your picture taken with a shakey type camera for the wall.

[the rifleman]

Ohio division of wildlife has worked hard to decimate the deer population to the glee of insurance and agriculture.  For a while you could shoot 9 deer per year by hunting different counties.  I believe you could still take 6.  Just one being a buck takes a good amount of does out of the herd.  Shoot one doe and thats 2-3 less deer next year.  Did i mention the nuisance permits?
At least the parts of the state i hunt i see dramatically less deer than i did in the early 90s.a friend of mine that used to be a game warden quit as he said the division was purely money driven and he was complelled to find reasons to fine hunters whenever possible.
Just my take-experience after hunting here for the past 50+ years.

[George Vernon]

John,
You are right.  Ohio has been focused on numbers, not quality of deer herd for more than 20 years.  They talk 'quality' in public meetings, but the 'walk' is get the number of deer down to 700,000 or less. 

Ohio officials still say point restrictions don't work in terms of getting better bucks despite Pennsylvania showing great results over the past 25 years.

As convenient as on line check in is, it also deprives the DNR of any chance to get 'health' related info.  They also seem uncaring, or unaware of other changes in hunting.  For example, the archery success rate back in 1975 was about 5%.  Vast majority of deer taken were with firearms.  Now the number of deer taken with firearms and all archery equipment are about equal.  Thanks to crossbows most likely.

Hunting leases are now widespread.  Great way for farmers to get some income with no additional effort in farming operations.  This makes access to private land for hunting more difficult.  In turn, the leases push more hunters to state parks/forests.  Many of the public hunting lands are now over hunted.  Most reside in counties with large numbers of anterless permits so the public hunting land herds are just a fraction of what they were.

As you say, the only happy folks I run into are farmers and insurance agents.

[3arrows]

  Ohio should go to 1 deer on public land so the people and kids without private land would have a place to hunt.

[bucknut]

I too miss the days of taking your deer to the local gas station for show and tell. It took a lot of the camaraderie and old time lore out of hunting.  The biggest issue with Ohio's system is that you can keep printing tags till you run out of paper or ink. I live in Wayne National and being right on the southern border we are over run by out of state hunters and Amish.  I hold no grudges against the out of state guys because I do it also. The Amish on the other hand....  Where I live we also have several groups of locals that gang up and kill everything that moves. The one group killed 42 deer on Monday of gun season a couple years ago.  That is hard on the population. and many of those weren't accounted for by the state. I still have no problem killing deer every year, but I understand your gripe.

[LC]

I  as a nonresident hunter worked long and hard to acquire permission to a farm in Ohio. Had great success seeing and occasionally tagging some nice bucks there. Traded alot of electrical work to get and keep the free permission. Last several years that included free room and board in the farmers house. Life was good.

Then the Amish moved in and surrounded his property. Deer numbers plummeted. The last and final year I hunted there I sat in tree stands all day for seven days to never see a deer. Cameras placed at stand sites which were hunters dream pinch points proved no deer was moving by even at night. So after 12 years of working to get and keep permission to hunt this farm I finally gave it up. Sad.

[Bvas]

Robert, I agree. Really hard to get and keep young hunters interested in hunting with the price increases that keep occurring. They are crazy if they don’t think out of state hunters would fork out more money for tags. All they have to look at is some of the crazy money being spent on leases.

Paper tags and self checking deer is the dumbest thing Ohio has ever done. It’s almost as if they are encouraging people to take deer with out reporting.  But as others have already stated.....they are only worried about money and reducing the herd.

As far as game check stations, I have mixed feelings. Part of me misses the going in and checking out the picture board of deer and turkey. But I don’t miss having to rush to get a deer checked in before closing time, or having to load  one back up to take it the next morning.

[buckeyebowhunter]

If my memory serves me right there's a chapter devoted to this topic in Whitetail Magic by Roger Rothaar. Money driven wildlife departments and game officers. I'm going to have to re read that one at some point. 

[Kevin Dill]

I was personally pleased when Ohio went to tele-check or e-check (whatever) for deer. I didn't enjoy having to transport a dead deer several miles to a check-in station during their open business hours. Same with turkey checking. A lot of guys enjoyed the sharing and camaraderie of displaying their success....I'm just one who wasn't into that. So for me it came down to expediency or efficiency. I can kill a deer and have it hanging in my shed an hour later, legally checked and registered. No other hassle required.

I don't find the self-printed tags to be a big deal or issue. Carry a zip tie and ziploc bag...easy as it gets. As a landowner here for 40 years, I've been required to make and affix my own temporary tags. I've probably done 50 of them and never had an issue.

I actually think farmers in my part of the state are liking deer more than ever. Deer are an incidental 'crop' growing on most farms and many farmers are finding ways to make money from it. My local agriculture store tells me that deer-related products are huge sellers and make up a significant percentage of sales for them. I see a group of guys from NJ who hunt nearby and I'll assure you they are spending MANY thousands of dollars on multiple leases, feeders, feed, plots and so on. The bottom line is to definitely follow the money and you'll find it affects the policies. I don't necessarily like all of it, but I know with absolute certainty it isn't ever going to go backward. Welcome to 21st century deer production/hunting/killing in Ohio.

[buckeyebowhunter]

Kevin my beef is not with people making money from deer hunting nor is it the guy that wants or is able to spend thousands of dollars on leases/feeders/calls/etc. My frustration has grown out of the feeling that our wildlife departments has no problem taking the average local guys money  while also increasing prices on the local average working guy like myself making 40k a year that can't afford a lease let alone private land to hunt on while leaving us with little to show in return. Crowded public lands and 31 dollar paper tags just don't cut it for me. I can't complain a lot, this is a great state to hunt in compared to many. But I can't help but get a slight feeling of being taken advantage of when I buy those tags.