LIMA — For some, it is for the sport of it. For others, it is family tradition or simply what they call “good eating.”
No matter your outlook, it is time again for deer-gun hunting season in Ohio, which opens at 8 a.m. Monday and runs through Saturday.
Deer hunting is a popular activity for sportsmen statewide and Ohio’s white-tailed deer continue to provide hunters across the state with excellent opportunities for success as they head out into the field.
What most people don’t realize is the fact that deer hunting is the No. 1 method used by state officials to control the deer population, which leads to healthier herds. Target populations are met by guidelines specific to each county.
Until recently, deer populations in nearly all of Ohio’s counties were well above goal. In the last few years, through increased antlerless harvests, most counties are now at or near goal.
Therefore, to help stabilize deer populations, bag limits were reduced, and antlerless permit use has been eliminated in most counties for the 2015-16 season. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife controls the number of deer harvested by simply readjusting the rules, such as setting bag limits or making regulations more or less stringent.
“Through the last two or three years we have been right at the target population,” said ODNR Division of Wildlife communication manager John Windau. “The past two years we have made regulation changes.”
Your voice counts
Windau said population targets are determined by such tactics.
“We survey the public and determine the population for each county from those surveys,” Windau said.
The goal of Ohio’s Deer Management Program is to provide a deer population that maximizes recreational opportunities, while minimizing conflicts with landowners and motorists. Most Lima-area counties will have a two-bag limit.
The ODNR Division of Wildlife is in the process of resetting Ohio’s population goals and is asking hunters who receive the survey to help by completing and returning the survey as soon as they are done hunting or at the end of the season. Landowner surveys have already been distributed, and hunter surveys will be mailed later this month. Hunters for this year’s survey will be randomly selected from the list of hunters who purchased a license and deer permit by Nov. 16.
“Public input is an important part of Ohio’s deer management program, Windau said. “Survey participants are asked to complete and return their surveys.”
Be safe
It is nearly impossible to completely eliminate deer-car collisions. However, drivers and hunters can follow easy guidelines to maximize safety.
Ohio ranked 20 in the probability of deer-car crashes last year, averaging one crash out of every 131 drivers. Angie Harrier with State Farm Insurance said these tips could help drivers avoid a collision:
•Use extra caution in known deer zones.
•Always wear your seat belt.
•At night, when there is no oncoming traffic, use high beams
•Avoid swerving when you see a deer.
•Scan the road for deer and other danger signs.
•Do not rely on devices such as deer whistles.
And here are some deer facts that all drivers should know:
•Deer are on all roads.
•Deer are unpredictable.
•Deer often move in groups.
•Deer movement is most prevalent in the fall.
•Dusk to dawn are high-risk times.
Hunters are encouraged to always wear “hunter orange” and follow common sense gun safety protocol.
Archery becoming more popular
Deer hunting reached its popularity peak in the 1960s and 1970s. After a slight loss in popularity, it made a big comeback and has remained steady the last decade, according to Windau.
So why does it seem that there fewer hunters? Windau pointed out one statistic that answers that question.
Bow hunting routinely accounted for about 10 percent to 20 percent on average of the deer harvest. However, that number jumped significantly last year to nearly 45 percent.
“It is time and convenience,” Windau said.
While deer season is only a week long, archery season in Ohio for deer hunters began on Sept. 26 and runs through Feb. 7.
“A lot are hunting in both seasons,” Windau said. “People have busier schedules now. It is easier to find a day to hunt in a seasonlong season than one that is a weeklong.”
Other hunting seasons available
The ODNR also offers other times for hunting. There will be a bonus season Dec. 28 and 29. Hunters using a muzzleloader will have another opportunity from Jan. 9 to 12. Youth deer-gun season was completed Nov. 21 and 22. Ohio’s young hunters checked 7,223 white-tailed deer during the two-day youth gun season according to ODNR.
Jerry Rupert, of St. Marys, took all three of his sons, ages 10, 14 and 16, on a controlled youth hunt at a training center that was sponsored by Minster Machine.
“It is a family tradition that we decided to create and we are following through,” Rupert said. “It is quality one-on-one time. You are out in nature enduring the hardships, such as the weather. It is a challenge.”
Rupert said the family would also attempt to get out for the regular deer-gun season.
Huge economic impact
Hunting has a $853 million impact in the state of Ohio according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Hunting in America: An Economic Force for Conservation publication. Ohio ranks fifth nationally in resident hunters and 11th in the number of jobs associated with hunting-related industries.
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