Anything else I can answer for you ironhed ?

And all the ones I know say it sucks!

ORIGINAL: wayne c

And all the ones I know say it sucks!

Dont know what border you are talking about, but everyone i know that hunts Pa & Ohio likes ohio much better. In fact ive never heard anyone make even the slightest comment that Pa was as good or better than ohio.

ORIGINAL: wayne c

And all the ones I know say it sucks!

Dont know what border you are talking about, but everyone i know that hunts Pa & Ohio likes ohio much better. In fact ive never heard anyone make even the slightest comment that Pa was as good or better than ohio.

ORIGINAL: wayne c

And all the ones I know say it sucks!

Dont know what border you are talking about, but everyone i know that hunts Pa & Ohio likes ohio much better. In fact ive never heard anyone make even the slightest comment that Pa was as good or better than ohio.

ORIGINAL: dpms

ORIGINAL: Ironhed

I think participation is dropping because they didn't post results of the youth turkey season on the PGC's homepage, dp.

Ironhed

 Where are those dang results anyway.  People need to know.

ORIGINAL: Outdoor Adventures

ORIGINAL: RSB

ORIGINAL: wayne c

And all the ones I know say it sucks!

Dont know what border you are talking about, but everyone i know that hunts Pa & Ohio likes ohio much better. In fact ive never heard anyone make even the slightest comment that Pa was as good or better than ohio.

Really! Every season I talk to many Ohio residents that don’t have anything good to say about hunting Ohio and still come to Pennsylvania every year because of having enough public land for a person to hunt with a reasonable chance of success.
 
R.S. Bodenhorn

LOL Is that why non resident hunting licence sales continue to drop for Pa ? Lots of out of state camps for sale also but that could be the economy right ?

Really---That must be why Ohios non-resident sales have more than doubled since 2001 while ours have plummeted.

quote:

Really---That must be why Ohios non-resident sales have more than doubled since 2001 while ours have plummeted.

Get rid of rifles in PA and tack on a few years and I would bet everything I own ours would as well.

And while I'm at it(gettin' rid of things), just for crap and giggles, ban spotlighting as well.

Ironhed

too many deer being harvested on public land.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I am a resident Ohio hunter. I exclusively hunt deer with a crossbow on AEP public hunting land between Plainfield and Coshocton. There are four of us that own a house trailer we fixed up on one acre of land we purchased near the area. We have been hunting this area for over twenty years. Two of us, my buddy and myself are retired school teachers so we have the time to hunt a lot and we do, averaging three to four or more days a week from the beginning of the season to the beginning of gun season. The other two are my son and son in law and they get to hunt on weekends. We scout and hunt hard. Scouting starts right after deer season ends and goes on and off until the season begins. We hunt from portable tree stands and spend from six to eight hours per day in them. We take our hunting seriously. We also use trail cameras to study deer movements.
I am writing this letter to address the concern we have along with others that hunt public lands here in Ohio about the lack of deer. I have been on several internet forums and there seems to be a general consensus that agrees, there just are not many deer on public lands yet ever year the state increases the limits to take more deer. I understand the problem with too many deer on private lands and I agree that is a real problem but increasing the overall harvest means hunters will take even more deer, when they can find them on public lands. Unfortunately, as I am sure you know, a lot of hunters are limited to public hunting lands because many landowners are reluctant to open their land to hunters.
I live on Summit County and I have too many deer around my house but hunting here is next to impossible and my neighbors that have ample property don’t allow hunting. My garden, trees, and greenery take a beating from deer, we just have too many, so I understand the problem but this just isn’t the case on most public hunting lands. The ideal solution would be a system where extra deer could be taken in high concentration areas, not in general zones like we now have. I realize it would be hard to enforce this system but most hunters are honest and would realize the benefits and respect different harvest limits for public and private land. Hunters would then put the pressure on the areas that need herd reductions. Landowners that have deer complaints would have more hunters to enlist because hunters wouldn’t be heading to the public land to try to get their extra deer.
I know it is easy to criticize but I feel our current system isn’t working, too many deer on private lands and too few on most public hunting areas.

The biggest challenge for many Buckeye sportsmen this deer season will be finding a place to hunt.

Opening day of the four-month archery season arrives Sept. 26, and most sportsmen have been searching for a pristine patch of private property where they can obtain permission to hunt, rather than fight the crowds at public wildlife areas. Ohio ranks low on the U.S. totem pole with a meager 1.2 million acres of public land, where tagging a deer is a daunting task.


Ohio's public grounds are managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources's divisions of wildlife, foresty, parks and natural areas and preserves, as well as conservancy districts and federal agencies, according to deer manager Mike Tonkovich of the Division of Wildlife. Ninety-five percent of the state is privately owned.

"The dynamics of land ownership is rapidly changing, making it more difficult than ever before for sportsmen to find quality private land and get permission to hunt," said DOW Chief David Graham. "We have lost the large tracts of private land that were open to Ohio hunters as recently as the 1990s."

A few decades ago, huge tracts of land were owned by timber, coal and electric companies. The Division of Wildlife aggressively brokered deals to open the expansive properties to Ohio deer hunters.

"Those large tracts of private land have been broken into much smaller pieces. Many have been sold or leased to landowners who won't allow hunter access," Graham said.

More liberal bag limits for white tailed deer and discount deer hunting permits for antlerless deer, or does, should enhance a hunter's chances for success this season. The liberal rules have brought success in the past, with Ohio hunters killing a record 252,017 deer in 2008-2009.

A new web-based program focused on Harrison, Jefferson, Tuscarawas and Carroll counties, all areas where deer herds are large, has been trying since Aug. 26 to bring hunters and landowners together. Hunters fill out an online form (huntohiofarms.com) to list age, location, deer hunting experience and willingness to harvest a doe. Landowners can sign up to access the online list and contact sportsmen.

The response reflects the eagerness of sportsmen to find land to hunt. Wildlife officials report 3,609 hunters have signed up, but only 30 landowners. The Ohio Farm Bureau plans to send postcards to members in those counties, and run ads in local newspapers.

"We're still experiencing issues around Ohio with deer damage," said Graham. "That's because in many areas landowners won't let hunters on their property."

Graham admits there have been stories of poor hunter behavior on private land.

"The vast majority of hunters are ethical and have respect for people and property," said Graham. "I've got a lot of confidence that we're heading in the right direction. I also have a lot of confidence in the guys who are managing our deer herd. We've got some smart guys working for us. They are innovative, and on the money in understanding deer biology and weaving human dynamics into their management plans."

Graham says Ohio's deer herds have shrunk a little bit, but not enough.

"I think we've finally made the turn and the herd size is coming down a little bit," Graham said. "But there are still way more deer out there than I'd like to see, and too many deer damage complaints. Hopefully, we're going to kill as many, or even more deer than last year."

With a deer herd estimated at 750,000 animals, Graham would like to see Ohio's population drop to about 550,000 deer.

"There wouldn't be as much complaining about deer damage," he said. "And there would still be plenty of deer, so we wouldn't have hunters complaining about not being able to kill a deer."

Because of Ohio's quality deer herd and its reputation for large-antlered deer, Ohio is still a destination for hunters from other states. Buying and leasing private land for deer hunting by both resident and non-resident hunters has become a cottage industry around the Buckeye State.

Hunters who can't afford to get in that game risk being left out in the cold on opening day.

Over the course of the four-month deer hunting season, which wrapped up in early February, Ohio hunters killed a total of 239,260 deer. That's down from a record of 261,314 in the 2009-10 season, according to a release from the Division of Wildlife.

In an earlier interview, state wildlife biologist Mike Reynolds pointed to an apparent decrease in the number of hunters as another possible factor.

ODNR records show a 4 percent decline in license sales over last year. Also, game wardens reported a 15 percent decline in contacts with hunters in the field.

Lmao. Yeah. And the level of satisfaction is 10x that in ohio among residents compared to pa residents. Thats a well known fact.

I recently, this past fall read an article by tonkovich stating how happy he was to have so much support from his states hunters, and he went on and on about it. Saying in the end he wouldnt trade his states hunters for any other states...