Ohio expands deer hunting season

[wabi]

Just checked the Ohio DNR site and see that we are getting some extra time & opportunities to deer hunt this coming season. Archery season will run from Sept. 30 to Feb. 4 (was early Oct - late Jan in the past) and there is an additional weekend of gun hunting added in December this year. The limits & zones will remain the same with the maximum (excluding urban tags) being 3 deer with only one antlered per year allowed.
Looks like work will take a back seat to hunting for an even longer time this year

Just wish more states and hunters (aspecially the anti-xbow ones) would look at the whole picture. Here in Ohio the crossbow has been included in "archery" season for decades. These expansions should make it pretty evident that the deer population is still growing despite so many types of hunting methods being allowed. Even the inline scoped muzzleloaders haven't wiped out the deer. Not that I'm opposed to them, I used one for several years and have killed a few deer with them. This year I'm working on a load for my 12ga smoothbore though. A .695 round ball in a smoothbore is definately a close range proposition, but I like a challenge and getting a load that gives deer hunting accuracy in the smoothbore is definately a challenge!

[BryanOney]

We are indeed lucky to live in Ohio where the powers that be are open minded to the many various ways to effectively manage a deer herd. I thought they might increase the no. of deer we can take in Huron county. There sure are a ton of deer getting hit on the roads. In Huron county we are in a strange situation. The county 20 miles to our north is a 1 deer county. The county 20 miles to out south is a 3 deer county. Overall I think the ODNR does a pretty good job of keeping a handle on the deer pop. in our county.

[bait pile willie]

Lets hope that never happens in ontario.By then the deer are yarded up .It would be Custers last stand all over again. a massacre!

[Woody Williams]

Yes, crossbows just kill archery deer hunting seasons don't they? LOL...

Ohio hunters will have expanded deer hunting opportunities this fall, an extra weekend of deer gun on December 16 & 17.

Statewide muzzleloader is 12/27 through Sat 12/30.

Early youth upland season is Oct 21 & 22 and Oct 28 & 29.

Early youth deer season is 11/18 and 11/19.

Commercial fisherman on Lake Erie must notify DOW 30-minutes before they dock. They can no longer mix fish from Western Basin and Central Basin on the same boat.

Sept 1 opens squirrel, dove & Canada goose.


Click 'Read More' Below for details from Ohio DOW Press Release

The additional weekend of deer-gun hunting will fall on Saturday, December 16 and Sunday, December 17. The traditional week-long deer-gun season will begin on Monday, November 27 and run through Sunday, December 3. Deer-archery season will run from Saturday, September 30 through Sunday, February 4, 2007.

Statewide muzzleloader season will open on Wednesday, December 27, and run through Saturday, December 30. Early muzzleloader hunts will be open Monday, October 23 through Saturday, October 28 at Salt Fork, Shawnee and Wildcat Hollow. Muzzleloader hunts at these areas are by special permit only, with a random drawing held prior to the season for a limited number of antlered and unlimited number of antlerless permits.

Last year’s three deer-hunting zones remain in place. A three-deer limit (Zone C) will cover 38 central, south, southeastern and southwestern counties. The 30 counties of Zone B will have a two-deer limit, and the 20 northwestern counties of Zone A will have a one-deer limit. A hunter may take only one buck in Ohio, regardless of zone, hunting method or season.

The youth deer-gun season is set for Saturday, November 18 and Sunday, November 19. Young hunters can bag only one deer of either sex in any county of Ohio during this special season. Any deer taken will be part of the young hunter’s total season limit.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has never been found in Ohio’s deer herd. Still, to minimize the risk of CWD appearing in Ohio, reasonable measures were passed for the disposal of hunter-killed deer, elk and moose carcasses from CWD-affected areas before they are brought back to Ohio. The regulations require the meat from an animal from a CWD-infected area to be de-boned and wrapped with no part of the spinal column or head attached. Hunters can bring back antlers or antlers attached to skullcaps as long as all soft tissue has been removed. Also acceptable will be hides and capes without the head or lymph nodes attached and finished taxidermy mounts from known CWD-infected areas.

A pattern of corrupt activity demonstrated by some commercial fishing operations has resulted in approved regulations that will tighten the rules on the industry. One change** prohibits commercial fishermen from having yellow perch from the Central and Western basins of Lake Erie on their boat at the same time. Commercial fishing vessels are now required to notify the Division of Wildlife at least 30 minutes prior to docking with the fish they have netted. They are also now required to have additional color coding for their nets.

September 1 will again mark the kick-off date for the state’s fall hunting seasons - with the opening of squirrel, dove, Canada goose, rail, moorhen and snipe hunting.

Migratory waterfowl hunting rules and season dates will be set in August within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2006-07 framework, which will be supplied later this summer.

A COMPLETE LIST OF THE NEW 2006-07 HUNTING REGULATIONS AND DATES IS AVAILABLE AT http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife

[DavidT]

Looks like it could be a very good year, too. The other mornin' on the way to work, I saw 2 young bucks maybe 3 years old sportin' 140 class racks already, still in velvet. Lots of growin' time left yet this summer. If that's any indication of the rest of 'em out there, it could be a record-bustin' year. Maybe the mild winter made a big difference?
Come on, September 30!