OH / IL public land

[tjarvis22]

So what is going to suck for us is the point system for tags. We were considering Illinois due to not having to go through that system. Correct me if I am wrong but Ohio is a point system state too, right?

 

[Brian Fahs]

So what is going to suck for us is the point system for tags. We were considering Illinois due to not having to go through that system. Correct me if I am wrong but Ohio is a point system state too, right?

Negative.
Ohio hunting Licenses are over the counter.

 

[TK161BOONER]

So what is going to suck for us is the point system for tags. We were considering Illinois due to not having to go through that system. Correct me if I am wrong but Ohio is a point system state too, right?

OH is over the counter, also look up information on guys on this post that talk about public land on your post.
These guys don’t owe you anything and they will do what they can to keep you and anyone else away from their home state…as far as IL or OH I hunt OH every year and have been successful, but EHD has been bad where I hunt, but the same goes for most places in the midwest the last few years. I would love to hunt IL but my “friend” has been telling me for 7 years he is going to find me a lease in IL and funny enough he has picked up 7-9 properties all for himself…FYI he now lives there so he is trying to keep people away as most locals do.

 

[Scottyboy]

I’ve had some good hunts in Ohio, in Amish country. Lots and lots of deer…on lots and lots of, private ground. I get the whole DIY/“public land owner” sentiment but i, personally, wouldn’t overlook going private/outfitted with your drive and assuming ~1 week window

 

[Kodiak06]

Lol. And in contrast, Michigan has 4.6 million acres of state owned public land, 3.6 million acres of federally owned public land and an additional 2.2 million acres of CFL land where hunting, fishing, and trapping are allowed.

I'm thinking Wingshooter's comment was comparative.

I think the OP wants BIG bucks, Michigan don't compare to Ohio IMO. I hunted Michigan for 5 years. There are some good deer there though.

 

[Fordguy]

I think the OP wants BIG bucks, Michigan don't compare to Ohio IMO. I hunted Michigan for 5 years. There are some good deer there though.

No argument there. While you can find big bucks in Michigan, if you don't do some serious scouting, the odds are that you'll see a lot of does, some year and a half old bucks and if you're lucky, a few 2 1/2 year-olds. Michigan has an abundance of hunters who are quite happy to shoot young bucks, not that theres anything wrong with it.
That said, I've seen some good mature bucks killed on Michigan public every year, some by people who get lucky, some by guys who spend a lot of time scouting and some by guys who use very unorthodox tactics to cover a lot of ground.

 

[Kodiak06]

No argument there. While you can find big bucks in Michigan, if you don't do some serious scouting, the odds are that you'll see a lot of does, some year and a half old bucks and if you're lucky, a few 2 1/2 year-olds. Michigan has an abundance of hunters who are quite happy to shoot young bucks, not that theres anything wrong with it.
That said, I've seen some good mature bucks killed on Michigan public every year, some by people who get lucky, some by guys who spend a lot of time scouting and some by guys who use very unorthodox tactics to cover a lot of ground.

The U.P was by far the least crowded area to hunt

 

[Fordguy]

The U.P was by far the least crowded area to hunt

I haven't been to the UP in a few years now, but I've heard that wolves have done a number on the deer in several counties.

 

[Kodiak06]

I haven't been to the UP in a few years now, but I've heard that wolves have done a number on the deer in several counties.

Could have. I hunted there 90-95. I still know people getting stationed there and some locals and tell them spots. We did wolf counts with DNR when I was there with our helos, pretty cool being from the south.

 

[tjarvis22]

I think the OP wants BIG bucks, Michigan don't compare to Ohio IMO. I hunted Michigan for 5 years. There are some good deer there though.

We are just wanting the opportunity to shoot something 140”ish or close to it.
Plus one of my favorite things to do is scout…especially somewhere I’ve never been or hunted before.
Plus it’ll be fun to just get on the road with the guys and have a good time.

 

[Forestphantom]

I’ve had good success at the Woodbury wildlife area in coshocton county Ohio. I never had to deal with much pressure at all. Not sure if it’s where I hunt but only ever came across 1 other hunter and it was when I took an easier route dragging a buck out. Good luck.

 

[Boarmaster]

, You’re joking right? Wayne national forest covers like hundreds of thousand acres. There’s lots of public land in Ohio.

And not very many hunting it these days. I hunted in Wayne every year for 30 years . Starting in the late 80s. There was a hunter on every ridge back then. By the last year we hunted ( two years ago) it we had the area we hunted to yourselves. We are older now and enjoy hunting on farms in NW Ohio so we dont go down. If you cant find a place in Wayne to hunt your not looking very hard. I would agree other parts of the state have less public lands. I killed this buck in Wayne about five years ago.

 

[tjarvis22]

I know one of the reasons people hate going to public land is it being covered up with hunters.
Just to clarify, we want to come up to ONLY bow hunt. We aren’t interested in firearm season at all. With that being said, will we have to worry about a ton of people being in the woods?

 

[G_Tacoma]

The crossbows are killing Michigans archery season, the pressure is crazy during October/ early November. When the Automotive strike was happening the woods were covered up in hunters.

Rifle season here is quiet compared to how it used to be. Theres also 3 rifle seasons in September, before archery. Lots of big bucks getting hammered early doors. Plus if most guys buy the Combo license they get 2 buck tags… and they’re gonna fill those, size rarely matters here.

Michigan is mismanaged like no other. Yes, we do have lots of state land, it’s a shame we can’t get the herd and DNR under control cause we do have deer and lots of potential.

 

[Kodiak06]

The crossbows are killing Michigans archery season, the pressure is crazy during October/ early November. When the Automotive strike was happening the woods were covered up in hunters.

Rifle season here is quiet compared to how it used to be. Theres also 3 rifle seasons in September, before archery. Lots of big bucks getting hammered early doors. Plus if most guys buy the Combo license they get 2 buck tags… and they’re gonna fill those, size rarely matters here.

Michigan is mismanaged like no other. Yes, we do have lots of state land, it’s a shame we can’t get the herd and DNR under control cause we do have deer and lots of potential.

Crossbow's have changed the game and should be a different season. Anyone old enough to shoot a gun can shoot an xbow lol... Or ban the bait, be lots of wankers then

 

[G_Tacoma]

Dont get me going on the bait subject. You can buy it on every corner across the state. Why ban it and then still sell it. You can pattern deer all summer long on public ground but as soon as the bait hits the woods, your patterns don’t matter.

As for crossbows, they need their own season. Michigan is a lesser weapon state so it’s not like they can’t use them during rifle season if they want, but it’s not Archery

 

[TonySkyline]

The DNR are taking all that money and doing god knows what with it. They can care less about hunting being ruined for the 30% of us more serious hunters. This is a heavily debated topic (just listen to the Huntr podcast). In a perfect world only old people, children, & disabled should be allowed x bows, no baiting, & a short rifle season after the rut. Oh yeah a one buck limit along with antler restrictions would be the chefs kiss. Problem with all that is they make less $$ and that’s unfortunately the bottom line to them and that’s what they judge the end results from. I’d rather shoot a doe for meat but trying to get everyone around me to do the same is like talking to a wall. It infuriates me when people argue the “ya can’t eat the horns” thing. FFS, they aren’t horns and sure you could eat em if ya really wanted to, lol. I know my dogs have no problem with eating antlers. To me their is only a few states doing things right like Iowa. The non resident license fees can net them a ton of cash if we had a reason to pay that top dollar for a tag but it’s not instant gratification so they won’t do it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WNYHunter1]

I went to Ohio public in early November. They definitely are small tracts of land but I did see three mature bucks in three days of hunting. Didn’t feel like it was super crowded either.

 

[Fordguy]

I hear very little whining about crossbows in Michigan. What I'm hearing in this thread pretty much echos my sentiments when compound bows became common. Personally I'd rather see everyone go back to traditional archery equipment, no cams pulleys or sights, but I'm not blaming any lack of success that I might experience on someone else's choice to use a legal, more technologically advanced method to hunt. If it launches an arrow with a string and energy supplied by flexed limbs, it's archery.
Should Michigan go to a single antlered deer per hunter per season? In my opinion absolutely. Michigan has a lot of deer but a skewed sex ratio. If they continue to sell combo tags, it should be 1 antlered, and one antlerless for the combo. In the centrapnamd southern lower peninsula, I think too many people hold out for a second buck and pass on does that really need to be removed.

 

[WNYHunter1]

I hear very little whining about crossbows in Michigan. What I'm hearing in this thread pretty much echos my sentiments when compound bows became common. Personally I'd rather see everyone go back to traditional archery equipment, no cams pulleys or sights, but I'm not blaming any lack of success that I might experience on someone else's choice to use a legal, more technologically advanced method to hunt. If it launches an arrow with a string and energy supplied by flexed limbs, it's archery.
Should Michigan go to a single antlered deer per hunter per season? In my opinion absolutely. Michigan has a lot of deer but a skewed sex ratio. If they continue to sell combo tags, it should be 1 antlered, and one antlerless for the combo. In the centrapnamd southern lower peninsula, I think too many people hold out for a second buck and pass on does that really need to be removed.

NY has the same issue. With 2 bucks people shoot that first one that walks by and hold out for a bigger one after. But here I can shoot multiple doe.