# Bow hunting public land



## fishintechnician

my wife and I are taking a 4 day trip the first of October, plan to fish and bow hunt for the entire time! She loves it as much as I do. Narrowed it down to Seneca lake, tappan lake or Shawnee state forest. Can any one shed some light on where to find maps that show hunting areas along with access points? Also please feel free to give an opinion on one or all. Thanks fellas


----------



## FISHAHOLIC85

Personally, I would go with Tappan but I may be bias here because I've hunted that area before and it is fruitful. As for maps, ODNR's website has some general maps of public land that can get you started and/or I look at google maps satellite of the area to check it out. First day, you may be better off doing more scouting than hunting. This should pay off for you in the next 3 days. October, I'd look for oak flats that have a good acorn mass. That will provide you with as much action as you can handle. Not to mention Tappan has great catfishing and saugeye, crappie etc. Good luck!


----------



## Erieangler51

We hunt Seneca every year for a few days and every year we are seeing less and less deer. I think the 20-30 person Amish drives takes its toll on the population they shoot at every deer they see. We've been hunting and it litterally sounded like WW3 in the woods. 75-100 shots and 19 deer later they came out of the woods, and on to the next drive. We have 35 acres of private we hunt that butts up to public and see guys on ours and right on the line all the time, which does nothing but screw it up for us. I'd look elsewhere than seneca


----------



## Harry1959

Shawnee is extremely rugged terrain. I've grouse hunted all over se ohio and I do believe Shawnee is the roughest. Huge area though, over 60,000 acres


----------



## Heath Fairhurst

Dont go to Seneca unless you like seeing lots of hunters and few deer


----------



## FISHAHOLIC85

Remember though, he's hunting October before the gun season. Public land should still be productive. After gun season, you better get WAY out there in places most would not venture. Coshocton and killbuck have great opportunities too. Just a thought


----------



## squid_1

I would go to AEP, fishing is excellent and plenty of ground to hunt. You can get remote or you can hunt up by the roads. All of which can be productive.


----------



## 9Left

All good suggestions above! Even though he will be in bow season, i don't think it'll mean less hunters... anymore , bow hunting is almost more popular than gun hunting.


----------



## fishintechnician

Anyone know anything about forked run state park or the shade river state forest? I have it narrowed to tappan or forked run, leaning towards forked run bc it's lesser known (I think) seems to be in a good geographic area and it's right on the Ohio river (for fishing)
Thanks all for the chiming in, I know how it is to have a new guy asking about hunting in your general area, I'm pretty peticular about my home area


----------



## Erieangler51

Best thing I can tell you is get way back in the woods away from pull off and other people. I see a lot of deer at some of the public by me but I'll hike 10-15 miles a day to see those deer. Sometimes I think if I shoot a deer here I'm screwed it's a 4 mile hike to the truck lol


----------



## fishintechnician

I know 


Erieangler51 said:


> Best thing I can tell you is get way back in the woods away from pull off and other people. I see a lot of deer at some of the public by me but I'll hike 10-15 miles a day to see those deer. Sometimes I think if I shoot a deer here I'm screwed it's a 4 mile hike to the truck lol


I know what you mean about that, a decent part of my time every year is spent on public land. I have spots that I hunt that are strictly big buck only, just bc they are so far out. I'm hoping to use the boat to access some of the land farther out


----------



## fishintechnician

Ok guys I have decided on forked run! Looks like it's a small quiet place with plenty of land to hunt, with river front access! Anyone have any tips for this area? I have really been studying aerial photos and topo maps, found what looks to be some decent funnels. Going to try and get there early(ish) on Friday and do some scouting for sat morning. Again don't care about a monster buck (would be nice tho) I'm just looking to get some meat. Honestly I'd rather see the wife get one, but either way I hope to have some back straps on the grill before we leave. Thanks guys you all have been extremely helpful, and I will make a full report when I get back


----------



## bdawg

For Tappan and Seneca Lakes, you can find the hunting maps on the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District website. I've hunted Tappan the last 15 years. The last 5 years, I've seen much less deer in my area. Not sure if it's because of more bowhunters or more coyotes. Always thought about taking a boat across to access the more inaccessible parts of Tappan for hunting, just never done it. Good luck!


----------



## OutdoorMediaCo

bdawg said:


> For Tappan and Seneca Lakes, you can find the hunting maps on the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District website. I've hunted Tappan the last 15 years. The last 5 years, I've seen much less deer in my area. Not sure if it's because of more bowhunters or more coyotes. Always thought about taking a boat across to access the more inaccessible parts of Tappan for hunting, just never done it. Good luck!


More bowhunters, more coyotes, and more EHD.


----------



## fishintechnician

Heading out in the trip tomorrow, full report when I get back


----------



## OutdoorMediaCo

Good luck! I'll be out with 3 buddys saturday as well. Praying for a deer. The freezer is empty!!


----------



## mmtchell

can anyone tell me how the hunting is on AEP land (ohio power) I am looking to buy a few acres near it and was wondering how the hunting pressure was ..and the Quality of the deer there


----------



## UNCLEMIKE

20 years ago was unreal. Last I hunted there was about4 years ago. Some deer sign but not much. Pressure is high!


----------



## hatteras1

I don't know about the hunting, but Shawnee is one of the prettiest places I have ever seen in October.


----------



## squid_1

mmtchell said:


> can anyone tell me how the hunting is on AEP land (ohio power) I am looking to buy a few acres near it and was wondering how the hunting pressure was ..and the Quality of the deer there


Pressure isn't real bad during archery. I would say around us is more out of state archery hunters than in state hunters. Its like anything in life you get what you put into it. Plenty of places and plenty of big bucks.


----------



## bare naked

mmtchell said:


> can anyone tell me how the hunting is on AEP land (ohio power) I am looking to buy a few acres near it and was wondering how the hunting pressure was ..and the Quality of the deer there


FYI its for sale. State is trying to buy as much as possible but nothing in stone yet.


----------



## mmtchell

Yep i got outbid today ,,,bruner bought a bunch


----------



## squid_1

Bruner can't seem to sell what they already have. I know some that has been for sale since the last auction.


----------



## fishintechnician

Ok so a little delayed, the trip was great!! Forked run is a great state park, sites are a little small but wasn't an issue as we had the hole section to our selves. Very beautiful park, and very nice lake! R didn't fish the lake a whole lot although it looks like it would be an excellent bass and panfish lake. We tried to hunt a couple of times, but honestly I was not prepared for how rough and thick it was. Did find a couple decent areas to try next time, and although we didn't spend as much time as I would of liked in the woods we did see deer. We fished the Belleville dam several times, catching skip jack every time. I have about 5 dozen 6-9" in the freezer. Also the hybrids were on fire!! Caught over 20 in the 18-20" range. Also saw one walleye, a real nice shovel, and countless hybrids caught. Fished the river down stream of Belleville in the boat, caught several decent channels and had a good run on live bluegill but it dropped it. All in all it was excellent trip and I look forward to going back


----------



## buckeyebowman

Believe it or not, there are some very nice deer on public land, but it's a tough hunt! One for the reason you mentioned, how tough and unforgiving the terrain is. For those places with easier access, and people running around all over, the deer get really smart and pretty much go nocturnal. 

So, if the law allowed you to hunt with night vision goggles at 2AM, you might take a really nice buck! Basically, the rut is the only time you might have a chance on public land.


----------



## fishintechnician

buckeyebowman said:


> Believe it or not, there are some very nice deer on public land, but it's a tough hunt! One for the reason you mentioned, how tough and unforgiving the terrain is. For those places with easier access, and people running around all over, the deer get really smart and pretty much go nocturnal.
> 
> So, if the law allowed you to hunt with night vision goggles at 2AM, you might take a really nice buck! Basically, the rut is the only time you might have a chance on public land.


I kill deer every year on public land, however it is land that I have learned thru years of hunting, and even at that it's takes a lot of work.


----------

