Who hunted Central Ohio last weekend?

[Izzy]

I did along with my wheel hunting compadre and got skunked bad. That was the 1st time Id ever hunted there and upon seeing all them corn and soybean fileds I thought we'd see a million deer. We hunted near Marysville.

       There were a few deer about, my bud saw what he estimated was a 160" buck along with 3 does from 500 yards away with his binoculars and that was it for both of us that weeknd. I hunted 2 stands along the bucks travel corridor and he did travel it again but beat me to my stand once and pulled a no show once. I say he beat me to my stand cause after I climbed in I heard deer in the crp along the path I thought he'd take but behind me. As it got light I could see that giant 4" wide hoof print in the scrape I made the afternoon before.

        Heck, we barely saw a deer on the road on out 15 minute drive to and from hotel to hunting grounds!


        What the heck happened to us that caused the deer to lay low? Standing corn, hunting pressure, a more desirable food source? Very few white oaks on the property and only one immature beech tree was found during our mini scouting forays.

        At any rate, Ive done a fair share of hunting in different states and I gotta say Ohio is a damn beautiful piece of USA. You folks have a lot to be proud of. The folks we met at dinner and  around town were all very friendly and I cant wait to get back there. Just wondering on what some of you Buckeyes think happened. Buckeye_Huntrer( Charlie) has already given me some good ideas and a bit of Ohio lowdown, thanks bro, youve been a big help already. Id like to hear from others as well as I try and put the puzzle together.

            Thanks, Izzy

[buckeyebowhunter]

Could be that october lull? I havent been seeing a lot of deer moving yet, but have seen some small bucks out. It wont be too much longer an the big boys will be out cruising. Good Luck  

[leatherneck]

It's not you Izz it's the whole darn state.  We see less and less deer every year for about the last 5 years. Extra tags, disease, yotes, pick your poison. We have a really well managed farm that has proven itself time and time again and our deer heard is declining fast.

[Cherokee Scout]

Full moon

[buckeye_hunter]

Leatherneck,
You guys are seeing the deer numbers down on private property? That isn't good. Coyotes maybe?

Our numbers are great here this year. I guess we are lucky with the last winter being very mild and lower bag limits.

Izzy,
Here are some of the local central Ohio results so far;

Logan already killed a doe, a big buck and lost one doe due to rain. I know he also missed one too and I think he passed on one as well. Logan hunts not too far from you Izzie. Just one county over. Maybe he will post up, but he is nearly done hunting and our season is just starting.

I've also got a doe and my buddy Rob(oldskool) shot a button buck the other day.

Jim also shot a doe last week I believe.

Andy shot a doe and passed 4 bucks so far. If he gets another  chance, he is going to shoot the biggest one next go round.

My point is that I was thinking central Ohio was in good shape. Most of the people I know hunting locally have had chances at deer and we are only 2 weeks into season.

This is just my experiences here in northwest central Ohio.

[fredbear1969]

my brother-inlaw got a doe opening weekend this past weekend i had 2 does at about 15 to 18 yds but no clear shot i hunt in around the marysville area and live in marysville the deer herd is definitely on the decline due to the reasons stated above but theres still some decent hunting in union and the surrounding county

[2 Barrels]

I hunt central and south eastern Ohio.It does seem like we are seeing fewer and fewer deer the past couple years.I belive it's a combination of increased bag limits.And in some areas predation.It looks more like the 80's around here when deer numbers were lower than in the 90's and early 2000's.

[Izzy]

There are a lot of yotes on the property. They were also traveling in 2s and 3s which is not usually the case in NY where I hunt. We cheked in an irrigation ditch for skeletons suspecting disease and we didnt see anything but a possum skeleton on the farm. The moon was full but very overcast for most of the weekend as well.

      They were there, just not like I thought theyd be after seeing the property for the 1st time.

      Feeling beaten down and whooped we took a noon time lunch break and when we got back at 14:30 there were tracks at one stand sight that my bud sat that morning.

      Ahhhh, but the pheasants! Been 25 years or more since I heard wild roosters cackling, it was good. Ill probably get back in December (Damn Cousin Let His Daughter Plan Her Wedding For November)    

[celticknot]

Hey Izzy, if ya ever want to check out some new land your more than welcome to come hunt a little further east.

[Panzer]

If the corn is still up, you aren't going to see as many deer as you would if the corn was down. Once the corn comes down you will see more deer. They really don't have to leave the safety of the corn, but believe me they are there. I used to live just outside of Marysville and hunted on property owned by Mad River Mountain.

[Izzy]

Which beans do the deer favor? The yellow/green or the brown ones on the dead, leafless stalks? There were both on this farm.

[NOMAD88]

I think you have to wait until those crops are taken out...find the downwind side of the bedding and sit there in the morning. Its looking like that first week in novemeber is going to be ideal.I have a feeling those fields are only gonna get used by deer while its dark.I would avoid field edge stands.just my opinion.Good luck to you and your bud:)

[Izzy]

Good luck to you too Damon. I heard about your Ohio experience.      

[NOMAD88]

Thanks Izzy I hope it wasnt beginners luck last year. Im looking forward to getting back up there and I leave the 2nd.The land owner where I hunt says there are more deer this year. I cant imagine.

[Longbowlogan]

As Charlie posted already I've had a really good year so far! I've done all my hunting inside the woods and not on the field edges. If you can still find acorns you could be in business. I shot a doe on 10/2 but right after it poured rain and washed all the blood and fresh tracks away and we couldn't find a thing. On 10/9 I shot right over a button buck because of me grunting to stop him and loosing all focus lol Then 10/10 I shot a doe and then later a buck!! It was slow for me the first weekend but I've seen all my movement inside the woods. If you head back to Ohio let me know, I live about a half hour from Marysville.

[Panzer]

It has been my experience that once the corn is ready, the deer will spend more time feeding on the corn than beans. With the Cold weather comming they need the carbs and the fat that they get from the corn.

[longbowben]

Im still not seeing any deer.Im dumb founded.  

[longbowben]

Either we see a monster or nothing at all.Corn is almost all gone we will see what happens this next week.

[BEN]

I went out Fri, sat, and sun-----morning and night mostly on public land..... Only saw 1 doe !

deer numbers have been steadily going down on Woodbury land over the last several years. coyotes is 1 big problem as I've been seeing a bunch of them, but all these years of 6 deer limits are starting  to have the effect that ODNR wants......

[longbowben]

Deer numbers are way down in this part of the state the lowest i have ever seen.We saw two does toninght and that was a great night.I have only seen 3 bucks this year out of a stand.