# Ravenna Newbie



## bigwalleye (Jun 21, 2006)

Howdy everyone. 

My buddy got drawn for the Ravenna hunt on the 22nd of this month. I've never been there before and neither has he. Anybody have any advice for us Ravenna newbies? (Besides memorizing the three page list of rules and procedures). We're both fairly experienced deer hunters, so I'm just trying to understand what to expect that is different about Ravenna. 

From last year's posts, it sounds as if there are a LOT of deer in there, and that you'll see them running around a LOT. Should I get rid of the scope I normally use in Southern Ohio and go with the rifled sights, for example? Can I bring a swivel-topped stool to sit on or do I have to sit on the ground (the rules say no ground blinds).

Any and all input is appreciated.


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## fatkid (Oct 14, 2006)

be ready it is very thick up there i might not say take scope off but keep the power down


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## DarbyMan (Dec 11, 2005)

That place is LOADED with deer. Don't know about the stool but there are plenty of places to sit on the ground and get a good view.

I have never used a scope, some places are thick, others are open. Just make sure to stay in your zone and be ready to shoot. I'm telling ya, LOADED!

Good Luck


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## banshe2008 (Sep 23, 2008)

I have been there many times. The last time was 2 years ago. A stool will be fine. You can't use a blind or climb a tree. You will be given a map and it will be marked with your parking lot so you will have your truck with you. They used to load you up on trucks and leave you out there for the day. If it was cold, you were in trouble. It's nice having your vehicle so you can take whatever you think you will need. The rules pretty much tell you what you can take in and they will check your car and guns on the way in. If you meet your partner, there is a place to park as you can only take one vehicle into the base. As for deer, usually one person has a buck/doe tag and the other gets a doe tag. You can guess who will see the big bucks! I have had days when we saw deer after deer and other days when we saw very few. As for the scope, I'd leave it on. You may be in an area where you can shoot 100plus yards. To me the key is to spend a few minutes looking at the map and talking to your "guide". They may or may not help. They are just volunteers and they will be at your parking spot when you get there. Also, you won't go in until it is light. Stalk for a short bit and find good trails. If you are in an area where there are fences, find the hole. Giving up an hour at the beginning may be worth while. One more thing, you will hear alot of shooting in the morning. If folks are't the ones shooting, they get nervous and start walking. Stay put. It takes about 20 steps for someone to bump a herd of deer from their zone to yours. Also, many of the "guides" hunt and they walk the areas pushing deer around. if you can stand it, stay put. let us know how it goes.


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## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

It sounds like that would be a blast.


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

I have hunted in there several times. Yes, there are plenty of deer but it depends on which section/block you are assigned. Trust me, some are better than others. Only about 1 out of every 3 hunters will shoot a deer. So that should give you an idea what to expect. Most of the ground is thick but I would never remove my scope. I would hunt where I could see the most ground. Listen to your escorts as many of them hunt in there and know where the deer usually will be or go. If you have a buck tag you will have a legitamate chance on shooting a really nice deer if you are willing to take your chances and pass up a small buck. Most of the hunts were for doe only the past few years and there should be plenty of three to four year old bucks running around. GOOD LUCK!

PS - Do not try to sneak a lighter or camera in there as they will check your vehicle thoroughly!


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## bigwalleye (Jun 21, 2006)

Thanks for the info. I saw the rules about lighters (neither of us smoke) but didn't see anything about cameras, but will leave it at home nonetheless.

As for staying put, that's my method. I'm not good at sneaking around anyway. We'll keep in mind that there are some big bucks in there and plan to stay the whole day (4pm) for sure. I'll report back on the 23rd.


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## Bluefinn (Jan 26, 2007)

My buddy also got picked , we'll be there the 22nd. It's doe only that day- Right ?? I'll ask him what sector we'll be in. I've never been there either. Looking forward to it.


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## swantucky (Dec 21, 2004)

While i normally agree staying put is a good idea when I hunted there we were allowed 2 deer each. My buddy ahot a doe at 9am. We got her out by 9:30 and then decided to sit untill noon. We never saw another deer. We decided to do some stillhunting and small drives. We tagged our last three by the end of the day. We were the only one that moved around according to the guys we talked to at check out and we were also the only guys that tagged out. Just a suggestion.

I also have to add we got some pretty good looks on the way home with 4 deer stacked up on my hitch hauler. Its a 2-3 hour drive for us. We got everything from "thumbs up" to "your #1 salute" traveling down the turnpike:!


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## Papascott (Apr 22, 2004)

"your #1 salute" traveling down the turnpike"

Guess they must have known you huh?


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Keep in mind you are in there for one thing and one thing only-to kill deer(to reduce the numbers so they will not literally eat themselves out of "house and home" and starve!)since they are limited to a totally (high) fenced area on four sides, and NOT to trophy hunt! I qualified for a bowhunt there years ago-one of my most miserable days in the field-and quite honestly, I was nauseated at some of what I saw(you may, or may not be too) so be prepared. It is not my kind of hunting and I will never go back!


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## Bluefinn (Jan 26, 2007)

My buddy says our sector is 19c. How many hunters do they let hunt a day ? Also found out a guy I work with got picked for the same day. Bigwalleye, don't know where your coming from but we're all meeting at denny's in Streetsboro for breakfast in the morning. It's right off 480 & the turnpike. Ravenna is about 15 miutes south.


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## rattletraprex (Sep 1, 2005)

c. j. stone said:


> Keep in mind you are in there for one thing and one thing only-to kill deer(to reduce the numbers so they will not literally eat themselves out of "house and home" and starve!)since they are limited to a totally (high) fenced area on four sides, and NOT to trophy hunt! I qualified for a bowhunt there years ago-one of my most miserable days in the field-and quite honestly, I was nauseated at some of what I saw(you may, or may not be too) so be prepared. It is not my kind of hunting and I will never go back!


I've hunted it a few times but like C.J. I won't again after seeing some things that I'd not call hunting! If you want to fill a tag that shouldn't be a problem cause they have people that'll shot them and give them to you. Had one of the biggest bucks I've ever shot taken from me there and after that experience have never been back and don't care to. Hope it's changed since then but doubt it cause the mission is to thin the herd and not your enjoyment.


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## Toxic (May 13, 2006)

c. j. stone said:


> Keep in mind you are in there for one thing and one thing only-to kill deer(to reduce the numbers so they will not literally eat themselves out of "house and home" and starve!)since they are limited to a totally (high) fenced area on four sides, and NOT to trophy hunt! I qualified for a bowhunt there years ago-one of my most miserable days in the field-and quite honestly, I was nauseated at some of what I saw(you may, or may not be too) so be prepared. It is not my kind of hunting and I will never go back!


It has changed since you last hunted. The place hasn't been bow hunted in over 20+ years. That is when APCO (SP) ran the hunting in there. ODNR and the OANG is running it now and it is a good quality hunt. As far as being a high fenced in area, the arsenal is over 20,000 acres???? There has been some huge trophy bucks taken out of there. The deer inside there are just like any other deer as far as smarts go, and you are not guaranteed to see, or even kill a deer.


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## swantucky (Dec 21, 2004)

c. j. stone said:


> Keep in mind you are in there for one thing and one thing only-to kill deer(to reduce the numbers so they will not literally eat themselves out of "house and home" and starve!)since they are limited to a totally (high) fenced area on four sides, and NOT to trophy hunt! I qualified for a bowhunt there years ago-one of my most miserable days in the field-and quite honestly, I was nauseated at some of what I saw(you may, or may not be too) so be prepared. It is not my kind of hunting and I will never go back!


What kind of stuff went on when you hunted there?? I really had a good hunt when I was there. The only time I ever saw a fence was when we were entering and leaving.


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

Many years ago you qualified to archery hunt in there. They would put drives on in the blocks as hunters stood posted next to the fence holes and you would wing arrows at the deer as they were pushed. Many deer were hit numerous times by a few different hunters and would have two to three arrows sticking out of them until they dropped. Usually the closest guy it droped by would claim the deer. CRAZY and UNETHICAL hunting! Not your average archery hunt.

Today you get picked for a section and it is yours to hunt only. You are not permitted to leave that section. There will be ribbons or some other identifiable border to recognize your section. The escorts will help you with this in the AM. Trust me, the arsenal is a HUGE area! When you enter the gate in the morning you will say to yourself "where are they gonna put all these hunters" as you see a sea of blaze orange. But in fact you probably won't see another guy as you hunt. It is that BIG of an area. And trust me, there are not deer running around everywhere.It will depend on which block you get assighned. Some blocks are far better than others! If it is an antlerless only hunt(which most of the hunts are) you better shoot the first doe you can. If you are allowed a buck than be selective as there are some real HOGS in there. But again don't think that your gonna see 10 bucks or more as you hunt. GOOD LUCK to all who were chosen.


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## swantucky (Dec 21, 2004)

Snook said:


> Many years ago you qualified to archery hunt in there. They would put drives on in the blocks as hunters stood posted next to the fence holes and you would wing arrows at the deer as they were pushed. Many deer were hit numerous times by a few different hunters and would have two to three arrows sticking out of them until they dropped. Usually the closest guy it droped by would claim the deer. CRAZY and UNETHICAL hunting! Not your average archery hunt.


Now I understand!! I would not be interested in a hunt like that either!!


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## Toxic (May 13, 2006)

They no longer run an archery hunt there because of those reasons. 

Go to google earth and check it out. To put in perspective on how big the area is, my parking area is 3.5 miles from the check in station. The whole place is 11 miles long, and it is 3.7 miles at the widest point. That by no means is little.


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## bigwalleye (Jun 21, 2006)

Bluefinn, thanks for the invite. We'll be coming up from the west Akron area, from my buddy's house, since he lives closer. I see what he wants to do.

That archery 'hunt' sure doesn't sound much like hunting to me either. I'm glad it has changed since then. This will probably be my only day out for the year so I'll be happy to do my part to help 'manage' the herd. My buddy also confirmed the does-only aspect, which is fine with me, cause you can't eat antlers after all!

BTW, where, on the paperwork, does it tell you which zone you are assigned? My buddy can't seem to find it or he thinks it says TBD?


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## Toxic (May 13, 2006)

bigwalleye said:


> BTW, where, on the paperwork, does it tell you which zone you are assigned? My buddy can't seem to find it or he thinks it says TBD?


It will be on the top of your white paperwork, and it should also on your green parking permit. When you go in for your safety briefing you will be checked at the door. If your still not sure, they'll tell you where to go.l Have your orange on. When you register, you'll have to pay 5 bucks per person. And you'll get a map of your area. Then you'll get a lengthy safety briefing and afterwards you'll be off to your area to hunt.


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## bigwalleye (Jun 21, 2006)

Well, ends up my buddy was a TBD hunter, an alternate, I guess. However, we ended up with section 26A which produced a couple deer last week. This week was a different story. My buddy saw one deer and I saw none. I did see our 'guides' or volunteers hunting the permiter but they did not scare any my direction. I think the Saturday tally for the five or six areas they were observing was one doe.

I'm guessing there was 12+ inches of fresh snow on the ground in Ravenna. That combined with this being the fifth of five hunts seemed to be working against us. In any event, getting out in the woods was still a pretty good time for me. Our area had a few storage bunkers on it but was otherwise fairly scenic.

If anyone needs an extra guy for the upcoming gun season, drop me a line. I'm happy to help on a drive or contribute in any way. Good luck to all and be safe in those tree stands. BW


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## Bluefinn (Jan 26, 2007)

I saw 5 & my buddy saw 1. All were running for their lives. I snapped off a few shots but none connected. One was close enough & should have got her but just plain missed. Our guide never left the truck. Guys in sector below us saw none. While checking out there was a youth checking a very heavy racked buck, a real bruiser. So no deer but still a fun day. I hate shooting at running deer.


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