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Bad news from my hunting property...

Strother23

Member
1,405
0
Columbus, OH
So I just found out last week that the land owner has just got approved for ODNR for deer nuisance tags through the summer because of "crop damage" he says.. So he can shot them through the summer. I am actively trying to talk him out of it but he is being stubborn. Any advice on this situation or has this ever happened to anyone else. It's just going to ruin a lot for my hunting season and he doesn't understand because he's not really a hunter.
 

yotehunter

Member
1,527
36
spencerville oh
My neighbors did this two years ago and a total of 11 does was shot and 1 Ohio big buck. It made us local hunters irate over the buck. It has hurt the local population. And the thing about this was it was coon doing the damage. Plus the land owners won't let anybody hunt deer on them that was the big kicker. I guess if you need meat now is the chance that is the only plus to that situation I guess. That sucks I feel for you man.
 

Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
That really sucks man. Bring up the fact that the fawns need the does milk, maybe he has a soft spot for the little ones. If you can't talk him out of it I'd start knocking on doors trying to find another spot.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I hunt a 260 acre farm where they killed 100 deer in 2 summers on crop permits. It was one of the best farms in the area before that. Now, good luck seeing anything of quality. The farmer looks at deer like rats and you can't change that in most cases. What needs changed is the policies that allow such slaughtering to go on.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Only suggestion I have: If you can't beat them, join them. Maybe see if you can tag along. Try to educate them while out with them. Police activities in attempts to prevent bucks from being shot. Doubt you are going to talk them out of it.
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
Only suggestion I have: If you can't beat them, join them. Maybe see if you can tag along. Try to educate them while out with them. Police activities in attempts to prevent bucks from being shot. Doubt you are going to talk them out of it.

What Phil said. If he's not a hunter, as someone who knows how to kill and dress a deer, you ought to volunteer. Might go a long way to continue to hunt his property. Maybe you can be selective in what is shot to meet his quota. And get some meat while you're looking for a new property.
 

runhunter

Junior Member
323
38
I am in a similar situation... the land I have permission to hunt, is also given crop damage tags, and it's a tough situation. My girlfriend's family doesn't hunt, and it's the sole source of income. Even though the CO's request that they don't shoot the bucks, when livelihood depends on it...bucks eat too, so can I blame them? Not one bit. I see it from a hunter's standpoint, and wish it were different, but loss of income changes everything.

I'm not sure just shooting does is the solution. Even if a strict doe harvest was introduced, it still creates pressure. We all know what that does... This farm is a place, that when you see it, it has EVERYTHING you want when you think about big deer, where they should be and why. Plenty of Ag, ridges, creek bottoms, cover, big timber etc... and it's tough hunting plain and simple. Shooting all summer changes a lot, and Im starting to see the bigger picture. I just have to figure out the safety zones and if I can access them
 
Hopefully he doesn't get too carried away with it. The farmer up here in Mich. where we hunt often gets his permits as well and boy does it change things in a hurry. Some parts of the property deer won't step foot in or at least move during the day time.
 

Strother23

Member
1,405
0
Columbus, OH
Thanks for the input. Yea.. I've thought about starting to look for somewhere else to hunt if I can't talk him out of it. I've even thought about looking up the rules and seeing what I can do/say to ODNR to get them to revoke the nuisance permits. Like call anonymous and say he's breaking rules or baiting them or something. He's just looking at it as free meat basically. Very frustrating from a hunters view.
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
Not much you can do Strother23. It is his land and even though you have permission/lease it during the hunting season it is his all year long and he will do what he wants. That's the hand that is dealt to us hunters that don't own the property we hunt. We have to play by the land owners rules plain and simple. Sucks but what can you do but play along or find another property?. 10-1 you will run into it just about anywhere you go unless the land owner is a hunter and has the same goals and mindset as you but, then if that was the case he probably won't let anybody else hunt besides him and family.
 

Redhunter1012

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Its a shitty situation. 4 years ago we lost a rather large area to hunt due to our unwillingness to take part in crop damage killing. The farmer let his new neighbor and their merry band of misfits in there to use the nuisance permits and sole rights for hunting season and it fugged everything up. These guys were trespassing on my stuff that I have and our other stuff. Luckily, the last 2 years they were lazy and never really killed anything with the nuisance permits. Saturday night my buddy broke the news to me that he and his boy were back on the nuisance permits and wanted to know if I would help. I told him I would help butcher, but not shoot. He didn't wanna do it either but figured if we do this we can control what gets killed and keep those jackoffs out of our stuff. It's just a sickening feeling. He's gonna wait a couple weeks before doing it just to make sure he can see antlers. There is only 6 permits so he wants to spread them out so the landowner doesn't think it's just a shooting gallery back there
 

Strother23

Member
1,405
0
Columbus, OH
My dad and I have permission to hunt there. There is no lease contract but I help him with random stuff on the farm though the off months. He is a friend of my dad through his church. My dad and I have thought about talking to him to do a lease deal if he won't use the nuisance tags. But who wants to volunteer to pay and hunt lol. But it might come down to that. I don't know a proper amount to offer an pay.
 

Redhunter1012

Senior Member
Supporting Member
How many Tags was he allotted? If its just a small amount, kill a few for your freezer then bait the hell out of it to draw some back in. The only bitch for me was always morally, I knew it didn't feel right because the fawns aren't gonna survive, so that's why I stayed away from it. In my situation, the deer really weren't the problem on the properties I hunted. I'd say groundhogs and coons were 90% of the damage.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
How many Tags was he allotted? If its just a small amount, kill a few for your freezer then bait the hell out of it to draw some back in. The only bitch for me was always morally, I knew it didn't feel right because the fawns aren't gonna survive, so that's why I stayed away from it. In my situation, the deer really weren't the problem on the properties I hunted. I'd say groundhogs and coons were 90% of the damage.

The local warden is supposed to come out, inspect the animal damage, determine the culprit, then make a decision to issue permits and how many based on the evidence at hand. What really happens is ask and ye shall receive.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
What really happens is ask and ye shall receive.

Truth. I've been shooting deer on damage permits for a decade at my wife's grandpa's farm. All they do is give him 5 and tell him to come back for more if he wants them. To my knowledge, no one has ever step foot on that farm to actually survey the damage. And there is no way in hell the deer were doing enough damage on the 260 acre farm I mentioned earlier to justify 100 deer in 2 summers. There's less than 60 acres in crops and TONS of clover in the 80 acres of pasture, not to mention a couple miles of fence row loaded with honeysuckle and other quality browse.

Its the system that is broke.
 

Strother23

Member
1,405
0
Columbus, OH
Yea I agree. The system is broke. He did say someone from ODNR came out and "inspected" the crops. I'm out there all the time and crop damage is very minimal. Then to blame the deer is crazy when several wildlife animals eat the crops. Il keep everyone updated if i can talk out of using the nuisance tags or if it turns into some type of lease deal. Hopefully the killing of deer won't start til opening day, caused from my bow
 

motorbreaker

*Supporting Member I*
1,542
63
North of Toledo
Same thing happened to us. The farmer killed up to 15 deer a year. We offered him 20 an acre to lease it to us, And he did. Now if we want to he will get nuisance permits for us but we have never went there. We also give him 1k for some of the crops. The crops are in areas where deer hang out more often. He also leaves the crops, Beans or corn, In those areas standing for the rest of the year. The only way out of the nuisance hunting is to pay for the damage, Worked for us. Money talks. Good luck.