Sportsmen's Input Needed

[Wiley E Coyote]

Now you tube is king. How to adjust your scope, use your range finder, proper shooting stick form, open the package and screw on your rage. We don't even sharpen our own knifes anymore! Hunter education in 2025

 

[brock ratcliff]

Thinking back on that article I might of interpreted wrong... Maybe those 5 states listed were actual residents from those states that purchased Ohio tags... Not non-resident sales for those states... If so... My bad... Sorry bout that... Maybe someone can find out the actual number of sales in Ohio...

 

[Fletch]

View attachment 205807

Thanks Brock... I stand corrected...

 

[xbowguy]

Yup.... Tops on the list would be to get rid of all the non-resident hunters.... They are killing YOUR DEER... So just eliminate non-resident license sales... PERIOD... 40,000 deer tags went to non-resident ??? I DOUBT IT !!!! According to this article originating from ODNR.... There were 415,710 deer tags sold in Ohio.... 5 states with the most non resident license sales were listed.... Pennsylvania had the most with 8808 and the state with the least amount sold had 3699.... Therefore since Ohio wasn't even in the top five, there must of been less than 3699 Ohio deer tags sold to non-residents.... WOW THATS A FAR CRY FROM 40,000.....

https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/news/ohios-final-2023-24-deer-harvest-report

So wanna improve deer hunting???
1... Eliminate all baiting...
2... Eliminate cross guns for all... Make them legal for people with handicaps ( doctors note needed ) and seniors 65 and older...
3... Shoot a button buck and you gotta use your buck tag on it....
4... Reciprocal license fees would be a good thing....
5... Increasing the amount of game wardens would be good...
6... Have antler restrictions ( 3 points to a side )

Here is 20,000 license in 5 states alone. That doesn't include total tags purchaded.

 

[Fletch]

View attachment 205808
Here is 20,000 license in 5 states alone. That doesn't include total tags purchaded.

Yup .. Like I said I was wrong.... Sorry bout that .... When I'm wrong I admit it....

 

[jagermeister]

Yes, I know they exist but they truly are small scale. Our wildlife and wild lands need grand scale efforts and change in this state.

What is the total acreage enrolled in these programs compared to the total of eligible acreage available within the state? I’m curious what that percentage looks like.

Maybe a better way to flesh out my idea is to double down on the marketing dollars and efforts to promote awareness of these programs to the general public, then quadruple the follow up efforts to enroll more acreage across the state.

The OLHAP program now has roughly 30,700 acres in 48 different counties enrolled across the state. I personally don’t view that as small scale, especially considering the program has only been in place since 2021. In comparison, the state of Iowa’s IHAP program has been in place since 2011, and they only have a few thousand more acres enrolled than Ohio, based on my brief Google search.

 

[Bigcountry40]

And anyone saying they want to bring back the in-person deer and turkey check-ins… I just can’t wrap my head around why you’d want that. Please don’t change this. The convenience of checking-in a deer instantly from my phone, while in the field, is waaaaayyyy better than driving 15 minutes into town just so I can high-five some locals gathered around a truck.

I can't believe you don't wanna fist bump random strangers at Castalia Market and hear how they missed a buck "just like that" 3 years ago and never saw it again. Also, half those people are probably my relatives!

 

[Dannmann801]

I like the idea of being able to shoot raccoons anytime. They're varmints.
I like the idea of reciprocal pricing for non-resident tags. I'm not against non-resident hunters, I just like the fairness of it.
I strongly disagree with the idea of banning crossbows. Using the xbow was a perfect way to introduce me to archery hunting; when I started hunting I had zero interest in learning how to shoot a compound. I think it can be used as a gateway drug to allow hunters to participate in archery (especially youth).
Personally, I think online check-in is the cat's ass, and do not want to see it go away. On that note, I think the HuntFishOH app is great - buy licenses, buy tags, check game......sheeeeeit that thing is TITS.

Baiting issue has been argued ad-nauseum, and I can see both sides. All I can say to those who want to ban it - be careful what you wish for.

Greg's @switchhitter post about his acre made me wanna share this, for what it's worth....
My little 5 acre spot in Adams county used to be kept mowed all the way up to the treeline of the woods.
The property line is in blue
3 or 4 years ago we quit mowing down to the back of the barn.
Little cedar trees, briars, brush, milkweed, and all kinda weeds have grown up in the yellow area.
That yellow area is now overrun with deer trails, small game trails, rubs like crazy, bedding spots, deer shit everywhere, and the traffic thru the rest of my woods has increased dramatically. I haven't seen any gamebirds, but I haven't been looking either. but my point is, just an acre or two left to grow is going crazy. I wonder what could be done to encourage that across the state on a larger scale?