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state land deer

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
so the past 2 days i went out to some state land to do some groundhog huntin. to my surprise i seen way more deer then i ever have on public land, ive counted 6 bucks and in the double digits of does. not sure if its cause the deer population has shot up tremendously this year or because all the state land is packed with corn now. anyone else been seeing alot of deer on state land this year ?
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
They'll be there up until the 2nd week of season then they'll get ran off. Never fails on the state park public hunting lands.
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
hmm maybe that explains why i never see em during season but when i go out before season its like a walmart for deer, ive been hunting state land for a few years and finally shot a doe last year on state land, usually i see tracks but never deer, i bet all the amish come in there and chase em all out and ruin it for everyone else. theyre known for that around here, i was just suprised to see that many deer and let alone bucks on state land
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
I see plenty of state land deer every year... both on the Wayne and in wildlife areas in NW Ohio.
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
like in wayne co like wooster area? i usually bounce around to most of the state lands around wayne co i found one part that actually had quite a bit of deer the other lands never really had anything
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
like in wayne co like wooster area? i usually bounce around to most of the state lands around wayne co i found one part that actually had quite a bit of deer the other lands never really had anything

Naw... Wayne National Forest. I haven't done any deer hunting in Wayne County yet.
 

Buckslayer

*Supporting Member*
3,166
76
Jackson County
I have went rabbit hunting on the state land here in jackson county after gun season and into jan and I always jump many deer....Id say they just hunker down in the thick stuff and wait it out.
 

Mountaineer

Banned
661
0
WV
They dont leave their home range..A Big buck survives because he's well aware of his surroundings..He survives because he knows the land he roams very well..They leave their area that they know so well..they'll get killed....They dont leave ..They learn how to sit tight and remain motionless during daylight hours.

My 08' buck..I missed him the first day of slug and then killed him on Saturday at 4:30 pm out of the same tree. He never left his area of security even tho countless drives from the amish..countless numbers of local and out of state hunters walked through..I cant tell ya how many hunters i waved at that week...However,He only gave the perception that he left by sitting tight.

However,,There's one exception...During the rut..They loose their minds and there's no tellin where they may end up
 
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swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
yea i always seem to jump deer on state land but usually when im hunting something else or not in season, and yea mountanieer around here the amish will have about 20-30 guys drive out state land and it sounds like a firing range and usually they come out with only one deer and most of the time its all 20 of em shooting at that one deer, we only have a few pieces of good state land here the rest is all swamp style and usually flooded to where no-one hunts it and ill try and maybe see 1 or 2 deer the whole time that are usually hundred yards or so from me, most of the state land here is pretty much gun hunt because of to thick for bow, but seen alot of nice bucks on state land this year