I am going to try and not be long winded but my brother and I have been talking about going to Ohio for years and finally this year we both tagged out early in NY so off we went. I have been to 5 different states now hunting whitetails and all things considered this was probably my most enjoyable trip of them all. No complaints, no bad experiences, and EVERY single person we met was so nice we could hardly believe it........even the other out of state hunters were cool as hell to us, showing us hot hunting spots on our maps and just being plain old friendly and nice guys..........our hotel was like a brotherhood of hunters all working towards one goal. It was a cool experience. Ohio is friendly to out of state hunters in ease of license purchase and affordability as well.............and good lord does everyone (it seems) know it. Multiple hotels FULL of hunters on our strip and every seat in the local restaurants had some camo at it. Nice to see money coming to the economy but intense pressure is an understatement..........guys are literally everywhere and you never know how many hunters could be planning to be in your spot as well come sunrise. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was respect for others, or maybe it was something else but we never had a hunt trashed by another knucklehead coming in an hour before dark and sitting right by us..............we shared a couple pieces of land but again it was mutual respect at the parking area and a team effort. Like being in a dream but damn all these guys were cool.........would share the woods and my fire with any and all of them anyday. Hunters were well represented in Ohio this week. I didn't want to go to Ohio flying blind and with a 3 day hunt planned we simply didn't have time to waste. We wanted to hunt, not scout. With the help and guidance of a fine member of this site (Buckeye) pointing us in the right direction to some areas to check out and some to avoid we were able to maximize our time on stand with at least some idea of what to expect from places we had never seen before. On to the hunting. Our goals were a buck over 120" with an agreement that the last day would change to an 8 pt or better. Simple, fun and in hindsight absolutely perfect (for us). I had a private personal goal of wanting my brother to have fun and take a decent buck. Anything for me would be gravy. Day 1 we hit a closed bridge and were thrown off our game a bit.........kinda rattled but with plenty of green on the map to work with we quickly decided on an area and set course. We got in and split up for an afternoon sit. Beautiful day and we each saw bucks (mine chasing along ridge side). Cool hunt, had fun, made the best of it. Day 2 we went in deep for the beasts.........we dragged our sorry asses out of bed at 3 am, set the gps so we could find the truck again and walked and walked and walked. I will be picking thorns from my flesh for weeks I would imagine and my brother got ripped to shreds as well. Our lack of knowledge of the area and it being dark was a tough combo and we paid the price. Once settled deer were seen by both of us and in fact our best bucks sighted of the trip (2 bucks between 120-130) I saw mine late morning and my brother just before dark. Not really an area to tackle in the dark with no knowledge of the terrain. Next time we will know better. Good day, fun hunts, our lack of knowledge of the area handicapped us but we still got within eyesight of 2 GOOD bucks. Another win in our book.........thorns and all. Day 3 we are supposed to have bad weather and we are a bit tired as well as beat up from the thorns the day before. We decide on an area of less physical demand and head out. What a beautiful area of public land, loaded with corn right up to the woods and excellent terrain with easy access compared to yesterday. My iPhone was acting up a bit so I ended up not really where I thought I was and had to hussle to get in before first light. I climb into my stand just as daylight is breaking and all looks well. My brother is over the ridge and the area was so quiet and crunchy that he heard the same steps I did as I looked to my right at 7:45 to see a buck strolling on a path that will run him 10 yards right in front of my tree. I count his rack and see some neat little character to it so I draw and he takes a glance my way right before my stand but keeps going and the Rage flies at 10 yards perfectly broadside. He spins and retreats the way he came for 50 yards and piles up in sight. The weather that was threatening us seems far off as the temps approach 75 that day. Again, a couple guys from Michigan lent us a deer cart and gave us the number of a processor in town who cut him up for us. Saved by the friendliness of others yet again. As the evening approaches we decide on another area to try and get my brother a buck. Again we stumble into just a beautiful piece of deer hunting land. I point out an area of the map and we set out for it as my brothers last hope for this trip. It starts to rain on and off and the wind kicks up as well. As great of a spot that I think my brother is in I am bummed that mother nature may be his downfall. At 5:00 he sends the text "shot a buck, need help".........BOOM BABY!! I pack up and get out of the woods and find him right where he should be but the story is less then a slam dunk. The buck came right at him and he shot straight down at 10 feet as close to the shoulder on a quartering to buck as he could get. The buck turned and ran, then stopped, gained his composure and walked up the hill into the ragweed. I find no arrow, and blood is tiny drips few and far between. I follow as far as I can into the ragweed which is now chest high and we decide to come back in the morning. We return to thankfully no other hunters and hit our mark where we stopped last night. I take a sip of coffee and my brother says "There he is!!!" not 20 yards away at the base of a small tree was a big white belly and the end of a wonderful trip. That same processor took my call at 8 am and said "sure, bring him in now, I'll have you on the road by noon. Hospitality doesn't begin to describe it. Needless to say we rounded way up when we paid that bill before we left. A quick trip to Hardees (our favorite when going west) and Wal-Mart where we grabbed a couple coolers and a fresh copy of Modern Warfare 3 and we were headed home with coolers full of meat, a couple skulls for the beetle guy and fond memories of hunting with my brother far from home without ever once feeling like an outsider. A public thank you to Ohio, all the fine hunters and people who made us feel at home, and Buckeye (without your help bro this story never happens). A season to remember for sure. We didn't take many pictures as honestly we were running and gunning at a hectic pace the whole time. These are mostly cell phone junk. My buck.......best pic to show all the damage his antler tips took while still growing My brother and his buck Why we couldn't find any blood. What our skulls will look like when they get back from the beetle farm.
Congrats Atlas, glad to hear two brothers had such a good time chasing whitetail. Hopefully one day my brother and I will have a similar story to share, it sounds as if you guys will have fond memories looking back on your hunt.
Awesome story... Congrats!! That's how it's supposed to be!! How you like that MW3... thinking of picking up myself... :D
Way to go, Atlas!!! That is what it should be about .... I am getting tired of hunting by myself all the time ... way to go, guys!
way to go guys! That Ohio public land is always beautiful. Me and my buddy always take the longest walk when we go down there, after 3 hours of walking we come across the most beautiful piece of land in the world, a meium stream running through prairie grass and thick trees, inside a huge canyon.
