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Thinking about moving to Ohio, what part has some of the best hunting?

hi everyone im new here!! my name is Hunter and i live in south west PA atm. im thinking about moving to Ohio but i cant decide what part of Ohio. im going to be looking for over 100 acres with a house on it. i would like to hear what everyones opinions are on what parts of ohio are the best hunting? i found a place i like in Washington county ohio that borders wayne national forest, but im not sure how the hunting is down that way and i want to be able to manage deer on my land as best as possible so being by that national forest might not be good. the best area that comes to mind for me is Coshocton and surrounding counties but i havnt found a place i like in them counties yet so im going to search all of ohio. i work at home so it dont really matter where i go but id like to stay within 3 hr of PA.
 
when i said good hunting what i meant is where is best known for great genes and producing numerous trophey bucks. i want to live somehere i can manage some real monsters. i live on 700 acres in pa now and have managed it for over 15 years. There are lots of big bucks here but not the kind of monsters i want to start managing.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Welcome to the forum. I'd like to tell you where to buy land, but I am no expert. Then again, neither are the agents at Mossy Oak Properties or any of the other whitetail realtor places. They are simply salesmen. They are selling potential. I believe when it comes to specific property purchases you just about need a local opinion. In my area there are some pockets of good deer. Some properties which produce good deer consistently. There are also many properties which "should" be prime locations but they just never seem to pull in the big boys.

Good luck with your search.
 

nis1

Junior Member
203
52
Kinda depends on how much money you have to play with. There's big bucks all around the cities but with that you will have expensive real estate, trespassers, and more noise than I'd like to deal with. If I had 700 acres, I probably wouldn't make the decision to give that up for 100 acres here.


 
Welcome to the forum. I'd like to tell you where to buy land, but I am no expert. Then again, neither are the agents at Mossy Oak Properties or any of the other whitetail realtor places. They are simply salesmen. They are selling potential. I believe when it comes to specific property purchases you just about need a local opinion. In my area there are some pockets of good deer. Some properties which produce good deer consistently. There are also many properties which "should" be prime locations but they just never seem to pull in the big boys.

Good luck with your search.


Thanks!!! its the same way where i live at now, there are places not to far from me that get good bucks every year but my land never has anything over 130s.
 
Kinda depends on how much money you have to play with. There's big bucks all around the cities but with that you will have expensive real estate, trespassers, and more noise than I'd like to deal with. If I had 700 acres, I probably wouldn't make the decision to give that up for 100 acres here.


i know what you mean but i got an offer i cant pass up to sell my land so its time for me to go somewhere else.
 

reo

Junior Member
484
68
N.E. Ohio
Just my opinion but if you want to do any real management you better not go any smaller than what you have now. Anything smaller and a "if it's brown it's down" neighbor or two and your efforts are largely wasted. Even if you find land with like minded neighbors there is the likelihood of change in the surrounding ownership.
 

jlane

Junior Member
523
0
dunn nc
Personally if I was looking to buy a large track, I would look into timber co land that has been timbered and price dropped.
It would have to have some flat ground for food plots.
Timbered land will grow back thick for great bedding, Plus a lot of browsing and then foodplots will somewhat hold deer on your ground.
You will never hold all the deer and your land as you already know, but you can create a place of safe haven.
I think no matter where you find large #s of acres in ohio, you can manage and grow exceptional bucks,
Genetics are there, they just need age and food, Hold the does and the bucks will come.
Good luck with your search, Me and the wife are toying with the same idea, just on a smaller scale.
 

nis1

Junior Member
203
52
If you don't have a preference of what part of Ohio you are in, I would recommend looking all over. Being from PA, your probably more used to hilly country. If you head for southeast Ohio, this are more hills and less agriculture. Head to southwest Ohio and your going to have predominantly flat agricultural land. The ticket in my mind is to find the right combo of woods and agriculture. It differs all over, as does pricing. The same amount of money that you could buy you 300 acres in southern Ohio may buy you less than 50 acres in NE Ohio. Good luck on your search!


 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
My opinion, find the best VALUE. The closer you get to ag country the less acres you're going to be able to afford. But I'm not saying to buy a large tract of total shit acres with no mineral rights either... Find a tract that offers the best bang for your buck, literally. All of Ohio has quality genetics. What the deer need is enough cover to get old. And I wouldn't be afraid to buy land up against the WNF. There's plenty of good deer in those forests. Just think, you could have a few hundred acres of your own personal "refuge" bordering public land. Sure you might have to post a few extra signs and deal with a trespasser or two, but it'd probably be worth it.