Archery season is around the corner
September 24th, 2006 by Administrator
Approximately 250,000 bowhunters, about half of all deer hunters, are expected to participate in the statewide archery deer hunting season that opens Sept. 30, according to wildlife experts with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
In the 2006-2007 archery season, deer hunters will have an additional five days to hunt. “We are pleased to be able to offer hunters more opportunities,” said Dave Kohler, wildlife management supervisor for southwestern Ohio. “Not only are there more days to hunt, we also have a variety of wildlife areas for hunters to enjoy.” Wildlife area maps can be found at www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/Hunting/wildlifeareas/wildare.htm.
During last year’s four-month archery season, bowhunters killed 60,090 deer, down less than one percent from the previous year. Crossbow hunters totaled 33,658 of last year’s kill and longbow hunters took a record 26,432 deer. Overall, archers accounted for nearly 29 percent of 209,513 deer taken during Ohio’s combined 2005-06 archery, muzzleloader, and gun seasons.
Licking County led the state in both the vertical and crossbow bow harvest. Coshocton, Tuscarawas, Guernsey, and Holmes rounded out the top five counties in crossbow harvest while Coshocton, Knox, Holmes, and Muskingum completed the list of top five counties in vertical bow harvest.
“The 2006-07 season will provide more opportunity than any single season to date. Along with a strong, healthy deer herd statewide, this should mean another excellent bow season,” said Mike Tonkovich, forest wildlife research biologist for Division of Wildlife.
Many non-resident hunters choose Ohio as a deer hunting destination for both quality of deer and hunting accessibility. Ohio has more than a million acres of land open to public hunting. In the last 10 years, the Division of Wildlife has added more than 65,000 acres to this total.
According to the Quality Deer Management Association’s Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young Record Book White-tailed Deer: 1991-2000, Ohio ranks fourth nationally in combined Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young entries.
Two of the highest scoring deer ever harvested were taken in southwestern Ohio. In Greene County, Mike Beatty harvested a buck during the 2000-01 season that scored 304 6/8 non-typical (unsymmetrical antlers). In Warren County, Brad Jerman harvested a buck during the 2004-05 season that scored 201 1/8 typical (symmetrical antlers).
This year’s statewide archery season remains open from Sept. 30 through Feb. 4, including the week of deer-gun season Nov. 27 through Dec. 3. Deer-gun hunters will also have an additional weekend of hunting Dec. 16 and 17. Archers may hunt one half-hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, except during the statewide gun, youth, and muzzleloader seasons, when they are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Archers hunting during the statewide gun, statewide youth or muzzleloader seasons must meet the hunter orange requirements of those seasons.
To hunt deer in Ohio, hunters must possess a deer permit in addition to a valid hunting license. State law allows hunters to take only one antlered buck per year, regardless the type of deer season, deer permit or weapon used for deer hunting.
Hunters may purchase up to four urban deer permits at a cost of $15 each to take antlerless deer only within the urban deer zones or during a special controlled hunt. Urban deer zones are located around Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Toledo, Dayton, and Cincinnati.
A detailed listing of deer hunting rules is contained in the 2006-2007 Ohio Hunting Regulations that is available where licenses are sold, or may be viewed on-line at Ohiodnr.com/wildlife.