CAUTION! CAUTION! Read at your own risk!

[Buckrun]

Here is something to think about. I go to Georgia to hunt deer every year. They have a firearm season (high power rifles) that lasts from mid Oct. to the end of Dec. I go down the first week of Nov. I very seldom hear other shots form other hunters. I think this is because they aren’t pressed to hunt the one week of season like here in Ohio. I went out the first day of season here in Ohio and heard 67 shots in about 3 hours. May be it is the same in GA. the first day I don’t know. But I think if OH. would have a longer firearms season then may be there would be less accidents and less people in the woods at the same time hunting.

What if the firearms season was 3 weeks long but you could only buy your license for 1 of those weeks. Of course most everybody would want the first week. What if you had to apply for your license. ( which would be a pain ) With first and second choice for the week you want.

I think one of the reasons we can’t use high power rifles in some areas of Ohio is because we cram all our firearm deer hunting into one week.

Now before everybody starts cussing me out. This is just something to discuss. Remember I said I go out of state to do my deer hunting. I just hunted here in Ohio so my 14 year old son could go out.

[george tinkham]

the season is long in tx. too.but grand tradition there is opening day and opening week.you can not hardly get out of houston the day before general deer season.many hunt after that but it dies down as the season goes on.also they have 6 times the deer as ohio.i dont know bout georgias deer pop.and amount of hunters but i figure its higher than ohio.just a guess.i think if we had that many days there definatly would be a record kill an more.but it would have less hunters in the woods overall,i think.opening day and week i think would still see a lot of hunters but prolly be down some.

[Buckrun]

George
I have it made. I go to Ga. and stay with my mom. I hunt with my brother in law who has 100's of acres of private land to hunt. I went down turkey hunting in April. The license cost me $160.00. This license is good for three turkeys and 12 deer next fall! I am planning to go down in Sept. to do some dove hunting.

Here in Ohio I just bought a hunting license, fishing license and a turkey tag. That cost me $60.00 I still will be geting a deer license and a fur takers permit. that is another $30.00. Plus I will be buying my sons hunting licenses. I think this is a little much to hunt and fish in my own state!

Steve

[Thunderflight]

I think the reason you can't use high powered rifles in Ohio is for safety reason. Most of Ohio is pretty flat and houses are close together. Mabye in Eastern and South Eastern Ohio though.

TF

[Caribou Dreamer2]

I agree with you on the cost factor but still it not bad to pay that for something that we enjoy could be worse.I somewhat agree on the fireamr season but i kinda like it just the way it is most of the accidents that do happen are self inflected or mental mistakes.But i see where your coming from i think the hunting pressure would tone down alittle if the firearm season was longer or streched out over aperiond of time,but leave the bag limits to 1 or 2 deer thats all a person neds for a year supply anyways.

******If anything i like to see Ohio do is go to something like some states you have to purchase a tag pertaining to the equipment you plan on using ,if you buy archery permit then that the equipment you must use to bag your deer or if you buy gun permit then you have to bag your deer in the gun season.This would elimated a few hundred people in the woods:D Another words if your going to bow hunt thats it or if your going to gun hunt then thats it but it your choice one or the other and i would almost bet that archery season would slow down alot:D********

But like all other discussing we have had before the division is about the all mighty dollar so the more they sell the better they are.so i never see this happening:(

[Thunderflight]

I don't agree.

What about the guys who like to bow and gun hunt?

Would they have to buy a seperate tag to gun hunt? You all are already getting raped for tag and liscense fees.

TF

[MUZZY MAN]

Caribou makes some good points. 116,000 deer were taken last gun season. I dont know if Ohio deer populations could take an extened seson. I dont have the facts but Im willing to bet georgia has a lot more land to hunt. Mabey two short (4) day seasons would eliminate some preasure. I dont know,.

[M.Magis]

They already tried the two week season and it didn't work well. The kill numbers were well down because of the lack of pressure. The whole purpose of a firearms season is to remove the excess population, so they have to go with what works best here.

[Beentown]

- I don't like the idea of buy a tag for each weapon you use. We pay way to much (compared to other states) for resident tags and licenses anyway.

- Rifles will never go work here. Ohio is to dense with housing to have a rifle season. Unless they have a rifle zone in the south and/or eastern part of ohio

- The ODNR likes the kill numbers we have now. I don't see a change in the near future. I can see incentives being passed out in 30+ years or sooner because less young people are hunting. They will need to do something about that.

- Being a bowhunter I am kinda biased but... A longer gun season isn't the answer. Enforcement of regs and hunter safety courses are what can do the most good. Especially since almost all the accidents are self inflicted. I would like to see eeryone have to take a hunters ed course...granfathered or not...Just because your older doesn't mean your right. "Some" of the worst (as in safety) are the older guys in Morrow that learned to hunt from combines and learning bad habits from Uncle Jeb.

Beentown

[Buckrun]

Oh I am not saying to up the limit. That is up to the ODNR to set. But Caribou Dreamer2 says "1 or 2 deer thats all a person neds for a year supply anyways." I brought back 5 deer form GA. last year and they are almost gone already. I make up a bunch of hamburgers and polish sausage and cook it up in big batches. Then I refreze it. I'll throw a couple burgers in my lunch box and nuke it for my lunch at work. I eat it 3 or 4 days a week!

For a rifle season how about limiting it to the handgun cartridges that are legal now. A Winchester or Marlin in .45 LC, .44 mag, .41 mag or .357 mag. that would be nice!:D

Steve

[Nut]

I enjoy it the way Ohio is set up as it is now. I am able to hunt with my compound bow,crossbow,shotgun,muzzleloader and a handgun during the right season.

I go to Kentucky(did Pennsylvania once also) during their rifle season(going early for bow this year also:D )


I like the tags the way they are. We are not complicated like other states are. I am a simple fella and like it simple.

:confused: ;)

[Ohio Bill]

Ya I like the ohio season too.. but they really need to do something with the gun season....too many people in the woods at one time ...its a accident waiting to happen..

[george tinkham]

geezee some of these inlines shoot harder than a 30/30

[Thunderflight]

Originally posted by Buckrun
I brought back 5 deer form GA. last year and they are almost gone already.

That's because you need two GA deer just to make a sandwich!!!!:) :p ;)

TF

[george tinkham]

heh heh heh,i agree heh heh

[Beentown]

LMAO Thunderflight your making my wife think Im crazy laughing at the computer.

[Thunderflight]

It's true though!!!;)

Ohio deer are just MASSIVE. The deer in Illinois are bigger than Ohio deer too. Shoot, one mature Ohio doe will fill your freezer.

Last time I was home I shot a button buck that dressed around 50 to 60 pounds. That's the live wieght of a three year old deer down here!!!

TF

[Buckrun]

TWO TO MAKE A SANDWICH! Well OK they are a little smaller.:( I think an average buck will weigh 140 - 170 lb. They do get an occasional buck in the 200 lb. range. A big doe will weigh 125 -135 lb. Here is a link to my GA. deer hunting adventures.:D

http://www2.wcoil.com/~buckrun/ga.html

Steve

[Beentown]

Does look like you could throw them over your shoulder!

[Thunderflight]

Actually the further in-land and further you get the bigger the deer normally get.

GA does have some excellent deer hunting. They also have a much larger deer herd. That's why you can kill enough deer to make 20 or 30 sandwiches....

:D

TF

[george tinkham]

i threw many a tx. deer over muh shoulder an carried it back to the cabin,had bobcats track me a few times too at night,followin the scent.

[Thunderflight]

Bad thing about Southern deer is that they always seem to expire in the tickest and nastiest places. That's one thing I really like about Ohio. Unless they die in a thicket you can generally get them outta the woods pretty easy. The woods are much more open than down here. We usually have alot of dense underbrush that makes things difficult.

TF

[Beentown]

I really want to Deer hunt out of state! Just never had the opportunity or someone to go with! Maybe soon.

Beentown

[Buckrun]

Every deer I have shot with my .270 dropped right where they were standing. The trick is to wait until they are standing in a easy place to get the truck.:D Where we hunt there are lanes to drive around all the fields. It is easy to get close to a deer. Then grab it by an ear and pull it out to the truck.:rolleyes:

Steve

[Thunderflight]

Buckrun,

That's how most of the leases are down here too.

Beentown,

To bad I'm moving. You could come down and I'd take you hog hunting.

TF

[Beentown]

I would have absolutely loved that. Thanks for thinking of me.

Beentown

[Thunderflight]

We still may be able to hook up. I've got permission to hunt a friends lease on the SC and NC boarder.

He's coming up to deer hunt with me this year.

TF

[Beentown]

I have 4000+ acres to hunt here. If he would like to hunt some flat ground I have plenty.

Beentown

[shrivl]

I live here in Georgia and enjoy the hunting season. I subscribe to GON who does an excellent job of cover deer seasons here (Georgia Outdoor News, check their website www.GON.COM). I think the DNR estimates the deer herd around 1.2 million.
One the license I buy for $24 I can take three gobblers (Spring only season), bow hunt Septmeber through January, hunt a week of muzzleloader in October (bow and muzzleloader without a scope requires a $7 primitive weapons permit included in the$24 I paid), take 11 deer, 2 can be antlered, shoot additional deer on WMA (wildlife management areas) A stamp to hunt WMAs cost extra. Shoot doves, quail, rabbits, squirrels and other small game. Shoot a black bear and hogs. The only thing I don't like is the hot weather.
One thing is most of the land is leased so that limits the number of people hunting to some degree. Because Opening day is middle of October and its still hot people get to their stands in the morning and sit. You don't have people pushing deer all over the place becuase you'd sweat to death. I don't move around becuase of all the rattlers and copperheads. Plus you have to fight off the skeeters and yellow jackets. We have 17 guys in our club and opening day there might be 8 that show up on 1000 acres. Rest of the season you get 4 or 5 guys on the weekend and can have the place to yourself during the week. I hunt with a 300 win mag, but do switch out to the bow during gun season occassionally. On opening day you hear a few shots but not a war. You can have a scope on your muzzleloader during rifle season.
Buckrun if you interested in keeping up with the georgia deer season log on to http://www.woodystaxidermy.com/forums/index.php
Its set up like this forum. This site and that on are the first two I check out when I get home from work.
I must say though I will always love to hunt Ohio and always take two weeks to bowhunt. I like Ohio's long bow season. I think ODNR has it about right the way the seasons are. Its not an exact science, but I'd hate to see the quality deer hunting in Ohio altered. The short gun season does put a lot of people into the woods at one time but it also only exposes the herd to high pressure for a very short period. Which may have some benefit especially when they have to make it through harsher winters.
Also the GA deer are somewhat smaller but some counties have done well with QDMA and antler restrictions. If you check out GON's website during the fall they run a truck-a-buck contest and some of the bucks people shoot are trophies anywhere.
I typically shoot a couple of does and they usually are around 120lbs. The deer just don't have access to the abundance of quality foods like the deer in Ohio. I have struggled the past two years trying to keep a couple of clover food plots producing. I was in Ohio for opening week of Turkeys season and am just amazed how the clover grows in the fields like a weed. I wish I could get it to grow like that here.

[Buckrun]

shrivl
I am glad to hear from someone in GA. I have wanted to get a subscription to the G.O.N. I love the state of GA. I was down the first week of April turkey hunting. Every time I go down I feel like I am home sick when I get back to OH. I’d like to move to GA. for good. But my wife can’t take the heat and I like snow in the winter. I bookmarked the Woody's Taxidermy Forum. I will be signing up. I always go by Buckrun on all the different forums.

Where is Buford GA.? I go to Wrens GA. and hunt around Matthew’s a lot. I went to Seabop (Spelling?) and got a turkey this year. Wrens is about 1 hr. SW of Augusta . It takes about 11-12 hr. to get from Lima OH. to get to my moms place.

Steve

[shrivl]

Buford is a suburb of Atlanta somehow. I live off of exit 120 off of I-85. Thats about 35 or 40 miles out of Atlanta on 85. I live near Lake Lanier. I hunt 78 miles to the east in Olgethorpe County, over around Lexington, which is about 15 miles out of Athens.

[Caribou Dreamer2]

What about the guys who like to bow and gun hunt? Sorry about your luck

You guys got me all wrong here i never said nothing about buying more tags.I meant before the season started you have to choose what weapon you are going to hunt with,So say you choice to hunt the archery season then you can not hunt during the gun season,Or if you choice to hunt during the gun season you can not hunt during the archery season.

[Fish-n-Fool]

Caribou Dreamer2 -

quote:
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What about the guys who like to bow and gun hunt?, Sorry about your luck
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Your idea will never work in this state. If you think a system that limits a hunter to 1 hunting method throughout the entire season would fly with the Ohio hunting public - you're in the vast minority.

Very few hunters in Ohio would ever approve of such a system, so - Sorry about your luck!:p

[Caribou Dreamer2]

I agree with you people don't like change,plus people don't like the idea of having only one choice they would rather have many options. But i wish it would happen because archery season would thin out by over half the hunters in the woods today.Most of the crossbow hunter would choose gun season and i would say alot of the guys that bow hunt would choose gun season also.Why do you think i say this is because people are lazy and they want the easy way out so they would opt for the gun season,But its my world and i can dream can't I.:D

[george tinkham]

geeze even fred bear believed in hunting with a gun or bow.theres nothing wrong with that.i dont do it,tried it a few yrs...guns are not muh cup of tea,an remember many bowhunters use muzz,even trads...hey if a guy wants tuh hunt with all legal weapons,more power too him.i would like to see a record keeping system for each weapon,especially compound,trad. an xbow.see what each is taking .this way just as with guns is now.bag limits or season length can be adjusted according to the weapon.