# New Proposed Deer Season



## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

Here's a link to D'arcy Egans article on proposed hunting season for next year.

http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2015/02/ohio_deer_hunting_seasons_reva.html#incart_river


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

Couldn't open the link for some reason.


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

Worked for me...what ever happened to getting A deer tag and being happy?


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

bobk said:


> Couldn't open the link for some reason.


Here it is....

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Division of Wildlife proposed major changes in the 2015-16 deer hunting seasons and regulations in its continuing effort to stabilize a statewide deer population that many Buckeye hunters criticize as being too small.

Wildlife officials put the early primitive weapons deer season on the shelf for 2015-16 in favor of moving up the two-day youth deer gun season from late November to Oct. 10-11. The regular deer gun season would be Nov. 30-Dec. 6. A holiday weekend of deer gun hunting was added on Dec. 26-27. The primitive weapons deer season would remain Jan. 2-5.

Buckeye State hunters killed 175,745 this season, an 8.21 percent decline. The majority of sportsmen at the Ohio Deer Summit in Akron complained the deer herd had shrunk far too much in the Ohio woods where they usually hunt.

"Our goal is more to stabilize rather than to build (the deer herd)," said Chief Scott Zody in a conference call on Thursday afternoon. "We don't want to go too far in reducing the deer population or allowing it to expand."


Proposed Ohio Deer Permits.png

D'Arcy Egan, The Plain Dealer

The ODOW cut back the harvest in recent years through reduced bag limits and restricting the less-expensive $15 antlerless permits. An Ohio hunting license costs $19 and a regular either-sex deer hunting permit is $24.

This year's proposed regulations will go a step further, eliminating the use of the antlerless permits in all but the 10 urban counties among Ohio's 88 counties. The antlerless tags would only be valid until the deer gun season.

The statewide deer bag limit would be trimmed from nine deer to six. Most counties would have either two- or three-deer bag limits. Cuyahoga County and five other urban counties would have a four-deer bag limit. What has not changed is the traditional season limit of just one antlered deer, or buck.

Denny Malloy, a regional director of Whitetails Unlimited, criticized the lack of protection for Ohio's deer herd. He pointed out that almost all of the sportsmen at the Ohio Deer Summit wanted more bucks and does roaming the Ohio landscape.

"The proposed regulations sound more like ways to kill more deer instead of growing the herd," said Malloy. "What do we have to do to keep them from killing our heritage and tradition?"

The Ohio Wildlife Council was handed the proposals on Wednesday night. District public meetings from noon-3 p.m. on March 7 at ODOW district offices will give sportsmen a chance to comment on the new rules. A statewide public hearing is March 19 at 9 a.m. in Columbus. The OWC will vote on the new rules on April 8.

Zody said the ODOW is steadily moving toward a deer management unit (DMU) concept to replace its county-by-county deer management system. The state tentatively would be split into 27 DMUs, using habitat and deer populations to set deer harvest goals. The DMU borders would more likely be highways and rivers, rather than county borders.

Hunters can comment on the proposed regulations at wildohio.gov.

Non-resident license hike: The state budget bill includes a big hike in the cost of deer hunting for non-resident sportsmen, revealed Zody. The hike, which was shot down in the statehouse a year ago, would only increase the cost of a non-resident hunting license from $125 to $129. The cost of a non-resident deer hunting permit would soar from $24 -- the same as a resident tag -- to $99, for a total license-permit cost of $248.

Balog and fishing: Bass tournament star fisherman Joe Balog, a Brecksville native who is a pioneer of deep-water structure fishing on the Great Lakes, returns to The Rodmaker's Shop, 20884 Royalton Rd., Strongsville on Saturday to talk about Lake Erie smallmouth bass. Balog's free seminars are at noon and 2 p.m.

Dog trial canceled: The wild winter weather has forced the South Cuyahoga Sportsmen's Club to cancel its All-Breed Hunter's Trial on Sunday. Next up on the popular trial circuit schedule is the Silver Dollar Sportsman's Club in Wooster on Feb. 22, followed by the Greg Cahlik Memorial in Chatham on March 1.

Club on the fly: The Trout Club of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in University Circle is holding the fourth annual Fly Fishing Film Tour Festival on March 6. This year's film is a collection of inspirational shorts on fly fishing that were filmed around the world. Tickets are $15 at the local Orvis Store, Backpackers Shop and Chagrin River Outfitters, and include a pre-film reception.

The Trout Club is also featuring Colorado fly fishing expert Pat Dorsey on Wednesday at its monthly dinner at the museum at 6 p.m. Owner of the Blue Quill Angler in Evergreen, Dorsey will tackle "Fishing Colorado Tailwaters." The club's annual gala is April 25.

Senyo on steelhead: Orvis expert Greg Senyo of Steelhead Alley Outfitters has an all-day free session on tying steelhead flies, including the new swinging flies, at the Backpackers Shop in Sheffield Village on Feb. 21. Senyo will start tying at 9 a.m. and end the day with a 3 p.m. round-table discussion.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Bottom line is the state wants the licence money. I would pay 75 dollars for my hunting licence if the season limit on deer was two.


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

Thanks, it wouldn't open on my phone. I recall just reading that the early muzzy season wasn't going away. I guess that was not true. This smells like just another way to kill more deer.
I'm glad to see the proposal to increase the non resident tags. I'm sure many who can't get gun week off will be happy to have the weekend after Christmas to hunt also. 
"Stabilize" must be the new buzz word this year. I would rather see them use the word decimate.


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## catfishhunterjames (Mar 29, 2010)

> Non-resident license hike: The state budget bill includes a big hike in the cost of deer hunting for non-resident sportsmen, revealed Zody. The hike, which was shot down in the statehouse a year ago, would only increase the cost of a non-resident hunting license from $125 to $129. The cost of a non-resident deer hunting permit would soar from $24 -- the same as a resident tag -- to $99, for a total license-permit cost of $248.


How are they getting the $248 from $99 + $129. Is that a typo and if so I hope the 6 total deer is a typo also; I like to see it be 2 or at the max 3.


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## the czar (Aug 14, 2008)

So there goes muzzle loader season. Gun hunting 6 days before muzzle loader. Wow i love gun season but i love black powder. With gun 6 days prior why even bother. These dnr guys have no clue on anything. 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## slashbait (Jun 26, 2008)

Moving youth season will be awsome for rut bow hunting and to boot opening day gun may be like days of old when deer were totally surprised!


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

I agree that nothing has changed to help the herd grow. All they did was swap out the early doe season for an extra weekend of gun. Which I believe will result in more deer shot. And I also agree that they just messed up the muzzleloader season by adding this extra weekend just prior to it. As far as the youth season it will be tough for them with all the folliage. Unless your hunting a field visibility will be terrible. Yep warm weather too with less deer movement. Lol...what a way to introduce our youth to deer hunting Lastly, I think the current tag system is letting more deer get shot than what is accounted for....but that is another debate in its own.


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## supercanoe (Jun 12, 2006)

I think that the extra gun weekend is a bad idea. Muzzle loader gives us a nice late season opportunity to hunt. A two day gun season after Christmas is going to put more pressure on the deer herd that we don't need during a tough part of the year. I always have a great time during muzzle loader because the deer are up and moving on winter feeding patterns. A weekend of gun hunting will change that. Our deer herd can't handle any more pressure.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I like to proposal.

This change should slightly reduce the pressure on the doe harvest from the previous 2 day statewide doe only season.

I'm all for increased opportunity to hunt. The increase in the number of days (gun)won't change the number of deer that I kill, just the number of days that I get to enjoy hunting. 

I am not concerned about the 2 day weekend hunt messing up the MZ season at all. The deer will still be there, they won't migrate to Florida because of 2 days of hunting on a weekend a week prior to MZ season.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Like *Lundy*, don't see an issue on the changing of the dates.

Going from a 9 to 6 deer limit is my issue. IMO, a 6 deer bag limit is still excessive and it really doesn't make a difference which day I kill the 6 deer. Still too high of a bag limit. There are people that will say that even when the bag limit was 9, most hunters only killed 1-2. My response to that is that while that may be true, the percentage that killed 6 was a lot more than killed 9. Don't personally know of many that killed 9 but do quite a few that killed 6. And the same percentage that killed 6 before will still go out and kill 6 this year simply cause ODNR said they could. 
Taking all that into consideration, IMO, the reduction from 9 to 6 is nothing but a very weak ploy from ODNR to attempt to make it look as though they are attempting to listen to hunters concerned about our rapidly decreasing deer herd...just more political 'song and dance'. 


Once again, we hunters need to police ourselves. It's apparent ODNR is not concerned in the even further reduction of our deer herd that the 6 deer bag limit is going to do. 

Anyone have the stats of the out-of-state hunting license purchased for the last 4-5 yrs.? Like I posted in an earlier post, I know of two different groups that have already relocated to other states due to more and more unsuccessful hunts here. With the increase in out-of-state license cost and the decrease in the chance's of tagging a nice buck, seems ODNR is promoting less money to the state and into the ODNR budget. With our dwindling deer herd, out of state hunters may not be viewing Ohio as they once did for that state in which to come and spend their $ in for that big buck. Better options elsewhere. 

But hey... looks like the already financially struggling ODNR is not really as concerned about the hunters $'s as they are about the insurance companies or other influence's when setting regs. on our deer herd. Once again, shown by their upcoming proposals.


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## fishwendel2 (Nov 19, 2007)

COLUMBUS, OH - A reduction in bag limits and antlerless permit use, as well as a shift in the youth season during the 2015-2016 hunting seasons, were among regulations proposed to the Ohio Wildlife Council at its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 11, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

Among the proposals:

 Reduce bag limits in the majority of counties, and remove antlerless permits in all but 10 counties. No county has a proposed bag limit increase.
 Reduce the statewide bag limit of deer from nine to six.
 Suspend the antlerless-only muzzleloader weekend.
 Offer two days of deer-gun hunting Dec. 26-27, 2015.
 Move youth-gun hunting to the Saturday and Sunday formerly occupied by the antlerless-only muzzleloader weekend.
 Add one straight-walled cartridge rifle, the .450 Marlin, to the existing list of legal hunting rifles during the deer-gun and youth deer-gun seasons.

Deer regulations have been trending toward reduced bag limits and restricted use of antlerless permits in recent years. Proposals to reduce bag limits and adjust hunting seasons work to stabilize deer populations.

Deer population goals will be revised this summer through a random survey of hunters and landowners. Participants in the survey will have the opportunity to provide input about the future of deer management in Ohio.

Overview of proposed hunting seasons for 2015-2016:

 Deer archery: Sept. 26, 2015-Feb. 7, 2016
 Youth deer gun: Oct. 10-11, 2015
 Deer gun: Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2015; Dec. 26-27, 2015
 Deer muzzleloader: Jan. 2-5, 2016

Proposed county bag limits:


No more than two either-sex deer permits: Athens, Auglaize, Belmont, Butler, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Coshocton, Darke, Erie, Fairfield, Fayette, Gallia, Geauga, Greene, Guernsey, Hancock, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Madison, Meigs, Mercer, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Ottawa, Perry, Pickaway, Preble, Sandusky, Shelby, Tuscarawas, Van Wert, Vinton, Warren, Washington and Wood. It was proposed that antlerless permits are not valid in these counties.

No more than three either-sex deer permits: Adams, Allen, Ashland, Ashtabula, Brown, Clermont, Columbiana, Crawford, Defiance, Fulton, Hardin, Henry, Highland, Holmes, Huron, Knox, Licking, Logan, Mahoning, Marion, Medina, Paulding, Pike, Putnam, Richland, Ross, Scioto, Seneca, Trumbull, Union, Wayne, Williams and Wyandot. It was proposed that antlerless permits are not valid in these counties.

No more than three either-sex permits, or two either-sex permits and one antlerless permit: Lake, Lorain, Portage and Stark.

No more than four either-sex permits, or three either-sex permits and one antlerless permit: Cuyahoga, Delaware, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas and Summit.

The statewide bag limit was proposed to be six deer, a reduction from the statewide limit of nine deer last season. Only one deer may be antlered, and a hunter cannot exceed a county bag limit. Antlerless permits may be used from Sept. 26 through Nov. 29, 2015.

It was proposed that small game hunting seasons will continue during the second gun weekend, Dec. 26-27, 2015. Also on Wednesday, the ringed-neck pheasant and chukar hunting seasons were proposed to be extended one week to Jan. 10, 2016.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Again...why not just bring gun season in the saturday after thanksgiving and be done with it!!!...stupid...they're using the same reasons to have it on the two days after christmas...because it's the weekend and a lot of people are off work for the holidays...and you wouldnt ever have to worry about the day of thanksgiving changing like you do for christmas every year...


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

I am not very fond of the youth season getting changed it will be very hard on the youth and possibly way to hot to sit in stand all day and the deer won't be moving so what if it is the same time as the rut. Why can't we all be happy with how things where years ago and lower the deer limit. I think this is the only change needed.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

wis2ohio said:


> I am not very fond of the youth season getting changed it will be very hard on the youth and possibly way to hot to sit in stand all day and the deer won't be moving so what if it is the same time as the rut. Why can't we all be happy with how things where years ago and lower the deer limit. I think this is the only change needed.


I agree ----- No need to change the youth season --- Let the kids have some fun.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

looks like you guys are having the same problem we have here in Indiana. cut the herd.

its hard enough now to get our youth out deer hunting, but when it gets to the point where they go hunting a few trips and don't even see any deer there going to lose interest fast. its hard enough on us old die hards to keep going or for those of us who have to hunt public land to keep going and not see any deer.

I remember a time I couldn't go hunting without seeing deer. they might just be running across a field but I seen deer. and it always perked me up for hunting. the last 3 yrs I've seen 2 deer one last yr and 1 3 yrs ago. and that's just not enough to keep our youth going. so in my opinion there going to lose so many hunters. what are they going to do then.

my 2 sons loved to deer hunt for yrs with me. now I have already lost 1 of them, he just doesn't have enough interest to go hunting. my older son just keeps going because of me. he's only seen 1 deer the last 3 yrs. and he's already complaining about no deer.

we have our archery season that starts I believe the 1st of sept. and runs through our 2 week gun season. then it comes back in for our muzzleloader season which lasts for 2 full week including 3 weekends, and ends the 5th of jan. plus now they have a added a late antlerless season which runs from dec. 26th through jan. 5th. and they have a liberal antlerless program. they have just decimated our deer hurd. 

so good luck to you guys over in ohio. I enjoy seeing a few deer even if I don't get one.
sherman


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## Sciotodarby (Jul 27, 2013)

I don't have a problem with the herd size the way it is now or the proposed seasons or bag limits. How many people really limited out with every possible tag? IMO, if they really wanted to trim the kill down, make a hunter buy all his tags up front like it used to be way back when in the 2 deer limit days.If you wanted to kill 2 deer, you had to buy the second tag when you bought the first one. I think if a guy( or woman) had to plop down ) over a $100 to get all their tags upfront it'd really change how many tags are sold and deer are killed. But the decrease in tags sold would hurt the state so that won't happen.


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

supercanoe said:


> Our deer herd can't handle any more pressure.


You said it. Too many seasons and to few deer! It's like the state says "since there are less deer we will give you more opportunities to hunt them" Something's not right with that picture!


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## Sciotodarby (Jul 27, 2013)

What is this years kill compared to the 2 week gun seasons and long muzzle loading seasons of the late 90's?


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## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

I have lost all faith in the ODNR's ability to manage the deer herd or to tell the truth regarding population goals. Their early muzzleloader season was a complete failure, I agree with moving the youth hunt to these dates. 
However, their answer to a dwindling deer herd is to add another bonus gun weekend? Sending another orange army into the woods when most people have time off to further decimate the herd! What the hell is wrong with these people?


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

Soon our herds will be like they are in surrounding states few and very far between then maybe they will start to take not when us hunters start to boycott hunting all together so the herd can grow again. I am not trying to say it's all hunter related as to why the herds are getting smaller I think it has to do with the yotes getting bigger and not many people hunting them any more. heck when it costs $100+ for a call and you can only get out a hand full of times is it worth it?


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## Plantman (Nov 26, 2005)

I see a potential problem with the weekend after Christmas on public lands. There are other people who have the time off and would like to get out and do some hiking. There are many Christmas bird counts that weekend. The public lands could get a little crowded especially if the weather is nice.


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## slashbait (Jun 26, 2008)

I hunt just about all public and don't think that bonus weekend will offend biker, hikers, joggers at all. On opening day of this last muzzy season I had all three pass within thirty yards and to boot not a stich of Orange!


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## hopin to cash (Sep 14, 2010)

Lewis said:


> I have lost all faith in the ODNR's ability to manage the deer herd or to tell the truth regarding population goals. Their early muzzleloader season was a complete failure, I agree with moving the youth hunt to these dates.
> However, their answer to a dwindling deer herd is to add another bonus gun weekend? Sending another orange army into the woods when most people have time off to further decimate the herd! What the hell is wrong with these people?


About 6 years ago my group started noticing a terrible trend in Ohio woods... "THERE WERE LESS DEER" and "QUALITY DEER WERE LIMITED" the ODNR is flat on out of tune with the current picture and the big picture for the future. Best part is I'm still betting less deer harvested next year even with a bonus weekend of gun. 

The northern tear of Ohio has been covered in a blanket of snow and ice for almost 2 months. The food supply looks to be minimal and the coyote population booming. The state was told as hunters we are not seeing enough deer. There answer "here's another weekend to hunt and that way we can pad the numbers again and say the herd is fine." I predict this will back fire and again we will see lower harvest numbers in 2015-2016 and lame excuses for the results.


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## supercanoe (Jun 12, 2006)

The biggest slap in the face in my opinion is that the DOW is basing it's population goals and policy off of the influence of insurance companies. I work with insurance carriers on a daily basis. Insurance carriers do not care about what is in the best interest of their policy holders, the general public, hunters, or wildlife. The care about profit. Insurance carriers want to collect policy premiums, and don't want to pay out claims. They are extremely cut throat. They are turning record profits. They would like to see every deer dead if it saved them a single dollar.


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## hopintocash2 (Aug 14, 2011)

hopin to cash said:


> About 6 years ago my group started noticing a terrible trend in Ohio woods... "THERE WERE LESS DEER" and "QUALITY DEER WERE LIMITED" the ODNR is flat on out of tune with the current picture and the big picture for the future. Best part is I'm still betting less deer harvested next year even with a bonus weekend of gun.
> 
> The northern tear of Ohio has been covered in a blanket of snow and ice for almost 2 months. The food supply looks to be minimal and the coyote population booming. The state was told as hunters we are not seeing enough deer. There answer "here's another weekend to hunt and that way we can pad the numbers again and say the herd is fine." I predict this will back fire and again we will see lower harvest numbers in 2015-2016 and lame excuses for the results.


i think you are wrong about this, i'm predicting a slight increase in harvest numbers, which is exactly what odnr wants.


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## BASSINONE (Oct 24, 2013)

I agree we need to police on own hunting areas. I own a farm in noble co for the past 20 years. i used to see 30 deer a day, now less than 10 a day. We only shoot 3 or 4 does a year, try to let the young hunters do that for us. Our rule is the buck must be an 8 pt or larger, and horns must be at least an inch past his ears on both sides. We started this about 10 years ago, since that time we have some real nice bucks on our land. I shot a 180 inch one year before last, with a few between 135 and 150. I noticed the last couple years on trail cams, a lot of sm bucks and very few does. If i get 500 pictures, i only see about 10 does. This is a problem, no does, no herd. Come on state of Ohio.....helps us out. I want my grandkids to be able to atleast see a deer. So my plea to other hunters, shoot wghat you want to eat, then be pickey so these deer can grow up. good luck to all, and be safe....TAKE A CHILD HUNTING....


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## hopin to cash (Sep 14, 2010)

hopintocash2 said:


> i think you are wrong about this, i'm predicting a slight increase in harvest numbers, which is exactly what odnr wants.


There is no way the total deer kill next year will be higher over all. Maybe deer gun with a bonus weekend we kill a few more with the big weapon but over all state checked deer will again be down about 5-10%. You and I have spent enough time in the woods this year in a few different areas of the state and if we are going to kill more deer aliens will have to drop them out of the f..in sky!!!:Banane15::cyclops:


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

If you go to the Ohio Division of Wildlife web page it discusses the new proposals for this year. There is a open comment section that lets you comment on the new proposals. For all of that dislike or like the new proposals I would suggest that you voice your opinions. I know I did!


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## hopin to cash (Sep 14, 2010)

Here is the link to the ODNR proposal deer changes response... please voice your opinions based on your hunting experiences so the professionals making these regulations know where the people who actually hunt stand.

http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/stay-informed/proposed-rule-changes-csi-review


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Yes, thanks Snook for the above link.


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