Numbers for Ohio bow kills for 2012

Beentown said:

My sightings are WAY down. Every year it has gotten worse and every year I contemplate not bow hunting and just gun hunt. Maybe take up waterfowling or more shooting.

I see how much time I put into this and the reward is shrinking. I don't ask to fill a bunch of tags....I just wanna see some animals and enjoy it more. Add to this trespassers, thieves and crappy weather and it is becoming a perfect storm for my outlook.

The lack of sightings lately hasn't helped my attitude either.

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I'm with you dude. The reality is I can enjoy the outdoors and spend time with the Lord via other activities. I can do that hunting squirrels, ducks, yotes, etc. I took up deer hunting because of several factors, but I stuck with it because I love seeing them in their natural habitat. I'm not seeing that any more and I could give two shits to get putting forth the effort and money for next to no return on my investment. I'm tired of working my ass off all year for fewer and fewer sightings. There are great waterfowling oppurtunities around my part of the state and I really see me moving towards that in the future. I enjoy waterfowling FAR more than I do deer hunting these days. I may sell all my shit and bow hunt a handful of times, gun hunt a little, and consider myself an all around sportsmen here in the near future instead of being a dedicated bowhunter. Each year it gets worse and this year has been the worse season of my career. Not good for a guy already thinking about changing his priorities as a sportsmen...

Huckleberry Finn said:

You need to rabbit hunt Jesse!

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That's the thing, I used to and loved it. I gave up on squirrels and rabbits to protect my bowhunting. I'd enjoy training dogs and beating brush much more than being pissed in a treestand because I'm not seeing deer. I'm not like some of these guys that are happy just to be there. I am appreciative of the fact I get to be there and I do enjoy sunrises/sets like the next guy. But I'm there to see animals and fill my freezer. I can put deer in there during gun season, and I could be adding ducks, geese, rabbits, squirrels, and even fish. I could take up trapping. I need to take a long hard look and my decision to be solely a bowhunter this off season. It's just not working out these days for a thousand different reasons.

I'm not as much bitching and complaining as I am being realistic about what is going on right now both in the woods, and in my heart. I'm questioning whether being only a bowhunter given the current day dynamics, is really a good decision in regards to my overall enjoyment of Gods greatest creation. Right now, I am pouring my heart, soul, blood, sweat, free time and money in to being a bowhunter; all the while missing out on so many other great outdoor pursuits. I can tell you right now if the deer numbers were up and I was routinely seeing deer and seeing a decent to good rut every year, I would never have the thoughts. But as the years pass with shitty ruts and the numbers drop, they take my overall sightings and enjoyment with them. If it is just about being outdoors and enjoying the pursuit of game, while "finding" myself and being with God, I can do that so many other ways...

I love to bowhunt and there is nothing like arrowing a big buck IMO. But you know what really makes the hair stand up on the back of my next and puts a smile on my face? The sound of a flock of geese going overhead or ducks whistling in the wind. When I started that shit, people warned me to be careful or I would give up bowhunting. I could not even fathom that thought at the time. Three years have passed since then and my desire to seriously waterfowl is building steam. My wife has been BEGGING to go for a while now, so it would be something we could do together and I'd love that. I miss shooting guns as I have all but given that up over the past few years. I don't even shoot at the farm so as to not disturb the deer, but it is a great place to shoot trap and rifles. We have squirrels, rabbits, and yotes out the wahzoo. We even have chances to field hunt geese at certain times. That farm can give me so much more than it has as a bowhunting only location.

I have one more year in me and it will most likely determine what direction I head. Next year, I will provide 2-3 acres of high quality forage for the local deer herd. If that does not change things after two years of only killing one doe from 140 some acres, then I'm throttling back the bowhunting and gearing up to be a more well rounded sportsmen...

hickslawns said:

Wow! You have surprised me Jesse. We have all been there. 2009 was like that the whole year for me. I think I saw 36 deer the whole season. 2010 was better and i tagged a good buck. THe thing is, it only takes a moment to change your perspective on an entire season. Hang in there bro!

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Make no mistake about it, these thoughts didn't just come to fruition in the past few weeks. I knew heading in to this season that I was on the verge of creating a new identity for myself as a sportsmen if I had another rough season. I have enough challenges in my life, I don't need to add to the list. I'm very close to being burnt out and it has been heading that direction for a couple of seasons. I can be just as unsuccessful as I have been in the past by just being a casual bowhunter. That eliminates the frustration of laying it all on the line for next no return. I'm not even enjoying having people in camp like I used to because I'm so damn frustrated about not being able to give them a quality hunting experience. The camaraderie and fellowship is as awesome as ever, but I feel like I'm wasting peoples time when I have them down to hunt a "quality area" and it turns out to be a weekend of watching leaves and squirrels.

I'm changing as a man and as a sportsmen. A dismal season is only a small part of that equation. I'm taking stock of whats important to me and how I can grow as a sportsmen in a way that fills me with happiness like bowhunting used to...

hickslawns said:

What have you been drinking tonight Dante? I wish I could agree with you, but I guess i am just cynical. I don't see the telecheck getting an overhaul. I don't see tags reduced in too many areas although it is possible a county here or there could see a reduction. I don't foresee the hunters going somewhere else in the near future. Probably take several years to get a reduction of out of state hunters. In fact, my cousin is bringing more and more friends up from Kentucky every year. They are seeing more and bigger deer this year than they have ever seen. Certainly bigger deer than they can see in their part of Kentucky. That said, I don't foresee out of staters reducing their numbers soon.

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Resident deer hunters have been on a steady decline for years. NR hunters continue to increase at a rate of about +7,000 a year...... They don't hunt here regularly so they have no idea. Here is probably better than where they are in PA, Ky, Wv etc.... They see a 120 inch deer and think it's deerzilla.. But the lure was seeing deer someone like the esker boys shoot inside the city limits of Columbus, or his buddy that just shot one... They see these deer pimped on Trophy watch, tv shows and they say "Hey I'm gonna hunt ohio" and they get here and where do they end up... Not inside the city limits of Columbus, not even close... There is a steady stream of out of state trucks and RV's rolling down SR 50 and 35 this week i guarantee.... And the Sunday before gun every other truck will be from out of state... No exaggeration.. You should see the steady stream of trucks towing trailers, truck with quads, and rvs heading to southern ohio the Sunday before gun.. They swamp the rural areas where it's easier to get permission or write a check, and public land, and add to the declining population issue. I am in no way saying NR hunters are the problem... Not at all.. I'm just telling what I have seen.. The problem is at the dnr. Also.. Bucks area moot point... If we we're a 1 doe state i'm sure you would see tons of them too... The mismanagement is in the doe population.. I have said from day 1 when i started noticing a problem in VC that our bucks were still there, but the does have seemingly disappeared.