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DIY Ohio hunt

ChasinTheTrophy

ChasinTheTrophy

Junior Member
72
0
Western PA
I originally was looking to book with an outfitter for the first time to hunt whitetail in Ohio . I am Very indecisive , therefore that make my decision of where to go that much harder lol . I am now thinkin about trying a DIY hunt . I Am looking for a place semi-close to home . Im about 15 minutes from western border (ohio-pa) . Does anyone have any experience with western Ohio ? Public or Private land ? Any info or recommendations would be greatly appreciated . Or if anyone would like a new hunting buddy . lol

Thanks ,
 
teej89

teej89

Senior Member
2,288
48
NE PA
ChasinTheTrophy said:
I originally was looking to book with an outfitter for the first time to hunt whitetail in Ohio . I am Very indecisive , therefore that make my decision of where to go that much harder lol . I am now thinkin about trying a DIY hunt . I Am looking for a place semi-close to home . Im about 15 minutes from western border (ohio-pa) . Does anyone have any experience with western Ohio ? Public or Private land ? Any info or recommendations would be greatly appreciated . Or if anyone would like a new hunting buddy . lol

Thanks ,
Click to expand...

personally I wouldn't do an outfitter. I'm originally from central PA and my dad and I our first year hunting Ohio we looked at topos of public prop in Muskingum and picked one then walked it in august and picked out hollows and saddles we wanted to hunt and for the next 3 years i n a row I had opp at bucks 120"+. Granted I live here now and hunt private land, I do go back to the public tho to shoot a freezer doe or two.

Lots of great public hunting, just gotta do your work.
 
ajupsman

ajupsman

*Supporting Member*
811
70
New Hampshire
I've been hunting public land the last 4 years and it can be tough. My buddy and I come out from NH to hunt 10-14 days every November. Last year was the first time we really felt there were too many hunters. Public land is tough because of how educated the deer are. There is so much foot traffic throughout the year that the deer are more cautious. I've been picked out of more trees by deer looking up than I thought possible. It seems like they are always looking up. That being said it does make for a much more affordable hunt. The biggest thing I don't like about a fully guided hunt is it's only 5 days. I like to have more time than that. If you do decide to go with an outfitter your first call should be to Dave Lusk at Southern Ohio Outfitters. I called him 4 years ago and even though he was booked up he was still very helpful. I know there are guys on this site that will vouch for him.
 
PA Bandit

PA Bandit

Junior Member
311
52
Chippewa, Pa (On the Pa/OH Border)
I live in NE Ohio and besides the general "go to wayne" comment the actual hunters I have talked to who seem to do a majority of their hunting on public land seem to rave about Woodbury and Salt Fork. Not sure if they are trying to send me on a wild goose chase or what but I will probably be down in Woodbury at least a few times and will report back with my thoughts. But in reality those are going to be some of your closer public grounds besides West Branch and La Dau of which I have not heard good reports on.
 
bigten05

bigten05

*Supporting Member*
3,782
164
knox county ohio
woodbury is a good place, just depends on hoe much time you have to devote to the public land ive hunted out of state quite a bit and most of my trips are weekend trips its hard to figure an area out if you can only make a few days of it.
 
Bigcountry40

Bigcountry40

Member
4,752
137
I have hunted Woodbury with some success, your going to have to come down scout early and go deep and hope that someone else hasnt already had that same idea, I have lucked out and not had any issues (during gun people push me the deer). After your 1st scouting trip, come back and do a scout "n" hunt and sit in a self climber. the 1st trip is to find a spot primarily, once you have a spot, set up based on the deer sign. But like i said, you may pick out a spot 1000 yards off the road and it could be the spot I hunt, I am just speaking from experience.

I killed a respectable 10 and my buddy killed respectable 8. Both deer were 120ish prolly 3 or 3 1/2 years old.
 
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ChasinTheTrophy

ChasinTheTrophy

Junior Member
72
0
Western PA
When you guys go to a new place whats your process ? Topos ? what are you looking for ? Crops , points , ridges ? Im not very good at reading maps . I know I have to scout but I start out blind , would like to have an Idea where to start scouting . Would save some time .
 
bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
49,433
288
Appalachia
Topos and aerials are a must. Download Google Earth if you haven't already. You can also get free topos at http://www.digital-topo-maps.com/.

When I'm looking at maps of a new places, I start with the aerial to get an idea of edge habitat and access. Once I have a general feel for a location, I go to the topo and look for saddles, ridge lines, intersecting ridges, creeks/drainages, shelves and other possible terrain type pinch points. Maps are a hunter's best friend once you get used to using them. Find the maps of some ground you can walk and use that to get you familiar with how the maps actually reflect what is really out there.
 
Bigcountry40

Bigcountry40

Member
4,752
137
I look for ridges with a mixture of hardwoods and pines behind a water source or swamp. Then I scout for typical sign (poop, tracks, etc) and then I come back at a later date and try to find a funnel or a natural saddle, or try to pin point where I think some buck movement is, which during the rut, go to the doe's
 
Rutin

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
ChasinTheTrophy said:
I originally was looking to book with an outfitter for the first time to hunt whitetail in Ohio . I am Very indecisive , therefore that make my decision of where to go that much harder lol . I am now thinkin about trying a DIY hunt . I Am looking for a place semi-close to home . Im about 15 minutes from western border (ohio-pa) . Does anyone have any experience with western Ohio ? Public or Private land ? Any info or recommendations would be greatly appreciated . Or if anyone would like a new hunting buddy . lol

Thanks ,
Click to expand...

I assume you meant Eastern OH, but you got some sound advice on some good public land. Woodbury is a MASSIVE place and I highly doubt you'll see a crowding issue there for bow season. I would get on goggle earth or Bing Maps and do some pre scouting then take a long weekend to go check stuff out. There are definitely some really nice deer there but you have to do your homework to have success like anything else in life.
 
giles

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
46,887
228
The real Amish country
If you're wanting to hunt that close to your home range, look for the same things you do when you hunt home. The deer don't realize state borders. Being that close to home, you can also expect the same size of deer. If you're coming to hunt Ohio for a chance at a "giant"…you gotta hunt where the giants live. I can't help you with that either, I'm still dreaming about "the big one" myself. I do know they exist in the areas I hunt, being able to close the deal is an entire different ball game though.
 
A

antiqucycle

Junior Member
506
36
East Ohio
I would skip Beaver Creek, parts of it are extremely steep, and you have lots of horseback riders to tolerate. There is a pennsylvania gamelands right on the state line adjacent to Negley Ohio.

Keep in mind, the opening day of rabbit and pheasant season in Ohio. bird dogs and beagles will be running huge bucks all over ohio public hunting areas.

Most Ohio State Forests allow public hunting. some get little pressure during bow season.
 
reo

reo

Junior Member
484
68
N.E. Ohio
Rutin said:
I assume you meant Eastern OH, but you got some sound advice on some good public land. Woodbury is a MASSIVE place and I highly doubt you'll see a crowding issue there for bow season. I would get on goggle earth or Bing Maps and do some pre scouting then take a long weekend to go check stuff out. There are definitely some really nice deer there but you have to do your homework to have success like anything else in life.
Click to expand...

Drive through woodbury mid-week during rut and you will definitely see that there is indeed a crowding issue.
 
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