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New to this stuff... Headed to Ohio.

Vermonster1121

Vermonster1121

Junior Member
66
17
Sheldon, VT
Hello all!

I'm from northern Vermont and getting ready to head to southern Ohio for my first ever hunting trip. Wondering what the deer activity is like right now? I'll be headed out next Friday for Shawnee State Forest and staying until November 6th. Any info would be great! Looking forward to a great experience in Ohio.
 
Welcome.. I don't have any experience in Shawnee state. But you will be in Ohio at a good time. Check out the arial and topo maps to pin point areas of interest so your able to check out them when you get there.
 
Thanks! I've got several gps points marked and have done my fair share of "Internet" scouting. I plan to hunt the saddles and pinch points. Even the glimpse of a monster would make the trip a success for me. After all it is a vacation. How's the nut crop this year out there?
 
good luck on your first trip to Ohio, you should enjoy it, i started hunting ohio last nov, now i can;t get there enough, absolutly love already seen bigger bucks than i ever have seen, hoping to score this year, just put the time in and you will be pleasantly surprised, welcpme to the forum.
 
Enjoy the company. Seems everyone and their buddies are going to Shawnee this year.

Have a fun, safe trip. If the weather cooperates, you should have some good hunts.
 
Welcome to the forum, and good luck hunting here in Ohio!

I'm thinking Vermont is pretty hilly, and it sounds like you know how to read a map, so you should feel right at home. Find those game trails running parallel with and just below the ridgetops and thwack 'em.
 
Welcome to the site. I can't help you much on those woods but I hope you have a good hunt. I also wouldn't want you to get your hopes set TOO high because the hunting here isn't what it used to be. If those woods are anything like the other public grounds I have been on in the last 3-4 years I would hunt near the boarders of private property because the deer don't stay on the park grounds during the daylight hours and if they do it's in the thickest nastiest stuff you can find and you most likely won't be able to get a shot off anyway. We don't have 140"+ deer behind every tree like people would like to have you believe.
 
Welcome to TOO and good luck. The area you are going to some of the roughest area in Ohio. Friend of my son has cabin and property adjoin the Shawnee Park and it's rough but doable. Look for those pinch points as there are areas you can't get 50 yds. to a spot away because of steep hollows and have to walk around them. So deer must to the same thing.
 
Thanks for all the input and warm welcome. I'm just a young buck at 25 and come from pretty adverse terrain. I'm not to worried about getting deep. I've got some spots picked out via internet, just hoping the weather cooperates and the deer are chasing.
 
We've hunted public land in Coshocton and Muskingum counties. Been to lots of different places in that area. We're going back to that area again next year. One piece of advice I can give you is to be prepared to move. You may hunt one spot for 3 days by yourself and show up the next day to find 5 trucks there. Just the way it is. Good luck
 
Well not looking forward to that. I don't like seeing other hunters in the woods. I plan on getting as far off the beaten path as possible. I'm sure others say the same thing. I've got 12 days to figure em out. Should be an experience to say the least.
 
I think someone already said it but don't get too picky unless you can accept going home with a tag in your pocket. Unlike what people think there is not a 150 inch deer behind every tree, especially on public land. Our first year out I shot a BB and my buddy got skunked. I think we each passed on a couple of smaller bucks. The second year my buddy got a 120-125 inch 10 point and then he filled his antlerless tag the next day with a doe. I got skunked. Last year we had our most sightings in our 3 years but we both came home empty handed. This year I'm headed out with the thought that any buck over 100 may be a shooter for me. Maybe 120 as a minimum but we'll see. Now I'm not saying you should shoot the first basket racked 1 1/2 year old you see. Those are deer I'm going to pass on unless it's down to the wire and I decide I'm meat hunting. However if you get a good shot opportunity at a 120 inch buck you might want to think long and hard before passing on it. The only way I'd pass on a deer that size is if I knew for a fact there was a bigger one in the area and I still had a few days left to hunt. Now I have to say the public land deer hunting in Ohio beats the heck out of the hunting we have in northern New England. The habitat is better and there is just more deer. Finally check out this thread. It's a guy I met on this site who's also from NH. He took this buck on public land last year. He also had 2 or 3 years of getting skunked before that but they are out there and this proves it. This just shows you what is possible. Good Luck and I hope you knock one down.

http://www.theohiooutdoors.com/showthread.php?14373-I-still-can-t-believe-it-!
 
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