Anybody hunt Zaleski Forest in Ohio?

[kat]

I am going to be there for a week, and would appreciate any info. you might have for good places to hunt.
thanks,
ken

[Gil Verwey]

Depending on what week and the timing of the rut, I recommend bringinng the Primos Buck Roar.

I went to Zaleski several times and had one of the best whitetail experiences of my life there. Once from November 10 - November 13 I grunted in 13 bucks with that Buck Roar. Some were monsters. I passed up two 8 points and a high 7 point that ran into the call.

The monsters I had come in went about 70 yards up wind and above me. They really wanted to see what was grunting. When they couldn't see anything they began walking away. A snort wheeze brought a giant 10 point within 20 yards, but he had brush between me and his vitals. I also called in does with it. I called in three does that were with a giant 10. One of the does left the buck crossed a raveen and came right under my stand looking for the buck that was grunting.

I had a beautiful 8 point I was going to shoot stop right under my Lone Wolf stand. I looked straight down through the stand at his horns. As he started to walk away and I was drawing back he bolted and I thought I spooked him, but it was a monster buck that charged down from behind me and chased him off. That buck was just a blur chasing after the 8 I was going to shoot. I saw that several times where a big buck was being chased by a bigger buck.  

I never used a grunt tube to call in deer. I used to only use them to stop a buck I saw or try to pull in a buck I saw. The first day in the stand I spooked a 8 point as soon as I got set up. I called on the tube to calm him down and he came right to me. He walked away two more times and I called him back to within 15 yards quartering away. He was a small basket 8 point, but from that moment on, I blew that call like I was duck hunting. Everytime I called I expected to see deer and big bucks. It was an amazing hunt. I saw 6 does and 13 bucks! Some of the bucks were 150 class deer. I love Zeleski.

I recommend going in deep and finding acorns. The second week into the third week of November are pretty good in Zaleski. We stayed in Lake Hope. There is so much land there you can go in deep, find some acorns and rut sign and may have the woods to yourself. I go in 1.5 miles.

I would look for funnels coming off the tops with acorns, near water. If you find that you will find rut and deer sign.

Good luck and have fun. I am going to Colorado for a DIY elk hunt this year or else we would be going back to Ohio again. We did Zaleski twice, Dillon twice and Shawnee once. Each time we found a lot of bucks.

I hate to admit it but the first year I went to Zaleski I shot right under a giant 8 point at 26 yards. It was widest spread buck I have ever seen. Yuck I am getting sick over that one again. Boy I would love to get to do that shot over again.  

Ohio really knows how to manage their deer herd. Residents and non residents are allowed only one buck per season, whether gun, bow or muzzleloader. This makes hunters very selective in what they shoot, because once that buck is down they are done buck hunting for the season. I found that Ohio where I hunt has a great buck to doe ratio, since I see many more bucks than does every time I hunt Ohio.

Good luck and if you find a funnel coming down off the tops into a thick bottom, with acorns and near water with rut sign, hang onto your hat. It should be a lot of fun. It seems those rutting Ohio whitetails really like to be around water (hint, hint).

Good luck Ken

Gil

[kat]

Gil,
    I am also staying in Lake Hope, but am going to try early this year. I have a small window during the first week of October, and figured I would give it a try.
Thanks very much,
Ken

[David Mitchell]

Our group has huunted Zaleski every year for about 30 years and have seen the deer population and over-all quality steadily decrease.  Haven't seen the big bucks that we saw 10 or so years ago.  In fact, deer sightings can be downright hard to come by in places.  Heavy gun hunting and lots of clear cutting of some of our best spots have had a damaging effect.  No doubt there are still good deer there, but you'll have to hunt harder than in years past and as Gil said, go in deep and get away from it all.  It's been so slow in the last 2-3 years that I have a hard time getting my buddies to go to Zaleski any more.

[Gil Verwey]

Ken if you are going that early you have to find the primary food source where ever you will be hunting. I would recommend going in deep to avoid hunters scouting and hunting, pushing the bucks into nocturnal mode. There are places in Zaleski that many do not hunt. If you can get back 1.5 miles or more you should be in good shape, but you will have to find the bucks in a normal, undisturbed pattern.

David where I was hunting there are some beautiful bucks. The access is limited so I did not see any hunters in my area at all. I think that may be the secret. Finding a remote area with a food source and water. It worked great for me. I never hunted Ohio that early. I always tried for the first two weeks in November during the rut.

In my home state I own a farm. I have pictures of beautiful bucks early in velvet. Once the velvet hardens and the pressure starts from guys scouting, most of the bucks scatter and go nocturnal fast. I think getting in deep where the bucks may be undisturbed may be a help in Zaleski.

Here are a few in velevet from my farm. I let my son and his friends hunt these bucks. After watching them all year, I start to root for the deer. After the first week of the season you have to wait for the rut, since they scatter and go nocturnal.

The buck in the bottom right was an 11 point that was taken opening day of the season.

 

[Gil Verwey]

Here are pictures of that 11 point that was taken on openeing day the year I got pictures of him in velvet. After that first week of the season they know the game is on and you have to wait for the rut.

 
 

[Gil Verwey]

One last thing. The bucks I saw in Zaleski make this 11 point look like a spike.

We also found that there were a lot of coyotes in Zaleski. If the first night you hunt, you hear many coyotes howling while getting ready to leave the stand take your stand with you and move on to find another spot. They seem to run the deer ragged. There is a lot of area so if there are a lot of coyotes where you first start off find another spot. I think the amount of deer you will see will be limited if you have a lot of coyote activity. The first year we hunted I was shocked to hear the amount of coyotes there were there. The second year I didn't hear any and saw many more deer.

[Huntingnut]

There are some nice bucks in Zaleski.We hunt there a lot.But the deer numbers are definitely down from a few years ago.If you're going early, you'll pretty much have the place to yourself during the week.Find a ridge dropping acorns and you'll find deer.

[ESP]

If you want some company I live about 16 miles from there.  There is potential for good deer.  The white oak acorns appear to be stunted this year.check out some topo and areal look for funnels.