In the Open: Ohio Deer Hunting Changes for 2014-2015
In the Open By Jim Freeman
Ohio Deer Hunting Changes for 2014-2015
Ohio’s deer season officially got underway with deer archery season on Sept. 27 and I have had numerous questions about changes in regulations and permits for this year.
Gallia and Meigs counties are both three-deer counties, which means hunters in these two counties can kill up to three deer, which is one antlered buck and two antlerless deer, or three antlerless deer, using either-sex deer permits which cost $24 apiece.
Most of the confusion lies in the difference between either-sex permits and antlerless permits. Antlerless permits, which cost $15 and are only good for antlerless deer, are not valid in Gallia or Meigs counties. That is because biologists have determined that deer populations are about where they need to be in these two counties. The cheaper permits are still valid in counties where they want to see fewer deer.
In any event, hunters can only tag one antlered buck.
With that being said, what constitutes an ideal population level is largely a matter of individual preference; for instance the deer hunter who wants a deer hiding behind every tree (large bucks only please), has a different viewpoint than the farmer who is sick and tired of his alfalfa and soybean fields being used as giant food plots. Undoubtedly the insurance company executive who cuts the checks for deer-vehicle collisions views the population differently from the auto body shop owner who relies on the repair work from the collisions. Furthermore there may be variations in deer populations between adjoining townships, or farms even – one person may be complaining about not having enough deer, while another person two parcels over says there are too many deer.
In determining the appropriate limit, biologists even consider changing trends in hunting methods and the amount of effort and time that hunters are expending to harvest a deer. Hunting methods have changed and there is a chance that hunters don’t put as much effort into finding deer like they did even 20 years ago.
Driving a four-wheeler out to a heated, enclosed blind overlooking a corn feeder that has had a trail camera watching over it the past six months (that you can check from your phone), and expecting the deer to come out on cue, is a far cry from the days when you had to personally scout the woods prior to deer season, and just hope that it was a big buck making the rubs and scrapes that you found.
Who is right? Possibly everybody, or nobody, but no matter what the final decision is, you can rest assured that there are going to be unhappy people.
Another change in store for this year is that Ohio deer hunters will be allowed to use pistol-cartridge rifles (essentially rifles chambered in certain straight-walled cartridges that were already legal for handgun hunting) during the gun seasons. A lot of people I talk to say they aren’t interested in using them, but these certain rifles and carbines seem to be in short supply indicating that at least enough people are considering them to affect availability.
Although deer hunters are not allowed to have more than three shots in their guns (one in the chamber and two in the magazine), magazine plugs are no longer required. This could be because certain magazine types (box, rotary, etc.) do not lend themselves well to being plugged, but in any event hunters will be bound by the honor system and those found afield with more than three rounds or shells in their guns will be cited.
Coming up, the early antlerless-only muzzleloader season is Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11 and 12 (only antlerless deer may be taken that weekend, regardless of the harvest method). Youth gun season is Nov. 22-24 and the weeklong deer-gun season will be Dec. 1-7, the Monday after Thanksgiving, the way it has been as long as I can recall. Muzzleloader season is Jan. 2-5, 2015, and archery season ends Feb. 1, 2015.
Like last year, hunters will need to make and their own deer tags to attach to the deer. For more information consult the Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations handbook for 2014-2015, call 1-800-WILDLIFE or check out www.wildohio.com
Jim Freeman is the wildlife specialist for the Meigs Soil and Water Conservation District. He can be contacted weekdays at 1-740-992-4282 or at [email protected]
