OH hunters: What are your opinions on October muzzle loader hunt?

We've had a long bow season since before I started hunting 20 years ago.... The only difference is, every year or two they add more days to gun season, and extra gun/muzzleloader season hunts with restrictions to archery during those....as well as tagging requirements and restrictions. We get 1 buck tag a year, and people "don't like to waste" those tags on doe, or during certain seasons.... so they end up poaching deer and using the either sex tag for a buck instead of buying a cheap 19 or 24 dollar tag. Ohio outdoor newspaper has lot's of these violations in the violations section of the paper. It's usually rednecks using redneck logic.....
The DNR also changes the dumber of deer and which tags can be used in those counties frequently.... This year, you have to buy more either sex tags, and only 1 antlerless tag per district, which is odd because you can only take 1 antlered deer in the entire state..... just another way to get 5 bucks more a tag.... no big deal
Myself I go almost every day, regardless of if it's hunter orange season or not, you have to wear an orange vest, but no big deal when you're in a blind or in a stand, I've killed plenty on those days as well.
When shotgun season rolls around, it does sound like a battle in pretty much every part of the state, even near cities.... it's comical.

 

I agree. We have the same thing here...2 week early ML season.

You should just go and take your ML, then you can get that big boy :D :D

 

You should just go and take your ML, then you can get that big boy :D :D[/QUOTE]

Doe only. That is what is bothering me. They added this season this year, replacing a week long ML season on select state property, and have changed the law to allow only antlerless harvest for bow and ML.

 

We have an early ML season weekend in Ky as well. It doesn't hurt a thing. I can still bow hunt here however. Its not like one weekend puts them on high alert and they never recover from it. They are already being hunted by xbow and bow hunters so its not like they are not pressured already. We also have youth season with a gun and fall turkey shotgun. A lot of stuff going on yet the deer are still around and don't run out of the country. It will be fine.

 

Gotcha. Didn't realize it was does only for ML also. Our early season is buck or doe. I'd probably go get a doe then for meat, that way you don't have to worry about it when you are buck hunting and you can stay in the woods for when mr big comes by :D

 

The locals around here will be doing deer drives and trampeling all over my bowhunting grounds. Im going to have to sit on my property lines just to keep hunters out (sad but true).

Will I hunt? Maybe. We have the local apple butter festival that weekend so I probably wont.

Will alot of bucks gets checked in on monday morning? You betcha. Not every hunter is an upstanding member of this board, alot are poverty stricken uneducated hillbillies who just like to shoot and kill stuff. Hey as long as its legal its fine...

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Just drives me crazy!! Our doe numbers are dwindling on and around our property there in Ohio and it just gives the neighbors reason to make it worse than ever. Hopefully it's a big flop!!

 

I'm fortunate to hunt where the lines have been pretty well established in the past as far as doing the drives and all. And we have already agreed to not use the MLs that weekend. I guess I'm just resistant to change. Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky. I'll probably still hunt with the bow and take a doe if I can but it just bothers me that if one of the big boys comes by I won't be able to take the shot.

 

They cut the harvest limit in half in Meigs county didn't they? Hopefully enough people will actually obey the laws and let the numbers get back up. It's tough when your surronded by people that don't have the same ethics as you.

 

So as hunters we should just accept everything as a "good idea" because it means somebody else can enjoy the woods?

I think i know what is best for my area, considering my family have lived there since 1820...LOL. Im a gun hunter myself...but is it a good idea to kill a bunch of does 2 weeks before the rut? I dont think so. Maybe if this hunt was in the 3rd week of September, but deer patterns are being set in October and i feel like it will do more harm then good to have the woods invaded.

 

I believe you are correct. Just with our camera survey this past summer we have decided not to shoot any does on our property, knowing neighbors will fill their freezers with what deer they can. If they would take a minute to look at what they are doing to the deer herd in the area they'd realize what we did years ago.

 

Our doe numbers are down as well. We know of at least 22 killed within the square mile of our farm last year alone.

We actually went out and got some new farms just to kill does.

 

One of the places I hunt we decided a few years ago to self impose limits. Like you said though, you can't limit the neighbors. Unfortunately I have relatives that follow the brown is down mentality and wonder why they seldom get the chance at more than a yearling.

 

I had a hill billy shoot at a buck I was stalking at Killdeer Plains a couple years ago, not during gun season either, just pulled up to side of road, pulled trigger, saw me and took off! Hillbilly for sure.... they are killers

 

They walk among us every day. Its just a fact of life when you are a hunter.

 

The "hillbillies" are going to shoot deer whenever they want with whatever weapon they want. A weekend season with muzzleloaders for doe will not make any difference. The sky is no falling. Most of them will not go to the effort to use a muzzleloader anyway. That weapon is largely used by sportsmen, not poachers. I would be shocked to hear that your woods were filled with "orange armies" chasing does with muzzleloaders. My guess is, this will be a non-event.

 

I can't say that I think it makes sense. I am not overly concerned about it. I will just do something else that weekend.

I think it was poor planning by the dnr, I do not understand why they would open an early muzzleloader season and make it doe only. I doubt all that many even use the early muzzleloader season. We will have to wait and see.

 

Keep Guessing, you're from Iowa not Ohio.. No one ever said a weekend season would produce poachers with muzzleloaders.... we merely stated the fact they are a problem.....

 

Yes, in fact they did. Read the posts. No "guessing" involved. I can read and even comprehend.

I'm guessing you are distracted by the falling sky.

 

Your not from ohio are you? You can call them poachers, but i call them hillbillies. They arnt shooting deer from the road, they jusy like to do drives...everywhere...and will bucks get shot? Probably a few. The damage is going to be the amount of hunters in the woods that weekend.

And muzzleloaders are there weapon of choice out of tradition. Been that way since the 80's.

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