Ohio

Well boys, a buddy and I are heading off to Ohio tomorrow morning to hunt the last three days of their gun season.  I am not too sure what to expect, but I am certain that it will be an experience although it remains to be seen whether it will be a good or bad one.  In any event, I am really looking forward to the change in scenery.
 
I hope to have a good report when I get back.  Wish us luck as I know we will need it

I'm sure you'll have a great time. From what I hear, Ohio makes heaven look like a slum

Get a big one....

Well we made it back and there is one less buck in the Ohio woods out there thanks to me, although it was not the booner I had hoped for.  Being that this was basically a spur of the moment blind public land hunt I went there with no expectations and intentions to kill any buck that was dumb enough to walk by me.  I ended up shooting a forkhorn after 3 rough days of hunting.

Even though I studied topo maps methodically prior to heading down there, I had no idea how rough the terrain of SE Ohio really is.  Several chunks of these properties had elevation changes of close to 400 feet.  Flatlands my arse!!  Also the majority of the areas we hunted we ridiculously thick!  It was very, very tough going and I will admit that I did not see that one coming.  My legs feel like jello and my hands and arms look like I got into a fight with Freddy Krueger.

I got bored as dusk approached Saturday and counted over 100 shots from 4:30 until dark  Interestingly enough even with all of the shooting and horror stories I heard about how crowded the public lands get hit during gun season, we saw ZERO hunters while in the woods between three of us.  I honestly think that part of the reason why we didn't see many deer, there just weren't any hunters moving the deer around on these gigantic properties 

Even though we weren't able to catch up with the big boys, we did see some deer including a handful of little bucks.  It was a fun trip and the extra back straps are always a welcomed addition to the freezer.  I found some amazing looking areas that I would love to bowhunt next year as well!!

Eygpt Valley wildlife ? My guess

Even the AEP lands have small areas they didn't strip with oak stands that aren't as thick. The best sign usually is in those creek bottoms however. Tough to find a tree to climb in there. Were you near the big shovel.

I killed my first good Ohio buck not far from there but it was quite a drive from where we stayed so haven't hunted it for awhile. All the AEP lands are basicly the same type of cover. Archery during the rut is really the way to go out there. Let them come to you. The bottoms are made for a crossgun hunter.

It does get pounded in gun season but as stated it's so thick that many survive the onslaught. My problem was last year when I went all four of my achery hot spots were already being hunted. On average every year that I have hunted there I have seen more deer per hour than in Pa. and had at least one opportunity for a good buck. The interesting thing is if you do the research you will find out you drive right past the best hunting Ohio has to offer on your way to the AEP.

I always figured to get as far away from pittsburgh as possible without leaving SE Ohio since I'm sure the areas get pressure from both states. Tough now with baby and dad starting a new job. Baby will be in school in 5 years and dad will be retired. Then we'll make the trek somewhere.