Ohio's new early muzzle loader season- I'm liking it

R

redneck

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Went out yesterday and got a nice doe. This is a good time of year to be out in ohio, nice weather and the deer are pretty active. I was only on my stand for about 45 min. All the pressure is off now. I may bow hunt some and will definitely go out gun and muzzle loader season, but I probably won't spend as much time when its 20 degrees out as I did last year :)
She was about 50 yards away and facing me. I was in a 16 ft ladder stand. I tried a shot from the school of Art Eatman and aimed for the top of the white spot. She started to put her head down just as the trigger broke and I ended up hitting her right between the eyes. That works too, not tracking required!

Gun is a Lyman Great Plains rifle built from one of their kits. Its a .54 caplock and I shoot hornady .530 ball in an ox yoke patch over 90 grains of pyrodex select.

Not much of a pic, but you tell shes nice and fat.
 

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Nice doe for sure redneck.

Are you talking about the early M/L season limited to Wildcat Hollow, Salt Fork and Shawnee State Forest areas? Or were there other changes this year?
 
I had not heard of this until last Friday at the range. Wondered why all the muzzleloaders being sighted in, and one of the guys told me we got a 2-day muzzleloader hunt for does Oct 12 - 13. I had the same comment, "You mean the draw hunt in Shawnee, etc?" Nope, statewide. Apparently a fairly recent decision by DNR.
 
Congratulations! Nice deer.

I wish they'd do something similar in WV, our muzzle loader season is in the middle of December and it's usually cold enough to freeze your sabots off. ;)
 
Good shooting with your "old style" caplock. Now you've got some good eatin' ahead of you.

I hunt with an in-line CVA Optima in northern Maryland. But in Pennsylvania I hunt the late season with a TC flintlock in 45 caliber. Its no long range wonder but at 50 yards, it'll kill deer.

Jack
 
Congratulations! Nice deer.

I wish they'd do something similar in WV, our muzzle loader season is in the middle of December and it's usually cold enough to freeze your sabots off.
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Same here in NY. Except for the Adirondacks, their ML season opens next Sat, I think my brother and I are going up for the day to see if we can fill our ML tags so we don't have to worry about going out in Dec.
 
redneck,
Congratulations! :)

I wonder how many bothered to read the regulations for this NEW rule. :confused: Usually, the ODNR will print a change in the regulations in RED.

The reason I mention this is that I know of a guy that was hunting in Coshocton county that shot a buck with his bow, yesterday...and checked it in online. I'm sure he'll be getting a visit from a GW, soon. :rolleyes:

On page 10 of the hunting regulations, rule #8 states:
"Deer archery hunt during the antlerless deer muzzleloader season. Archery hunters must comply with the hunter orange requirement and can only take antlerless deer during the season."

Bowhunter57
 
Guess I need to get out more often. :o

Didn't even know of this special 'statewide' m/l hunt.

When I purchased my hunting license a month or so ago, the store was out of 2013 regs. booklet. Been having so much computer server issue's and the puters been sooo slow I haven't got on ODNR's site or my mail site to see the rule changes.

Well, I'm just glad ODNR finally extended the ml season if only for two days.

Hope all that hunted were successful.
 
The change caught me by surprise. At first, I was kind of mad because they did away with the 2nd weekend of gun hunting in december so technically we lost 2 days of gun hunting for bucks. I always see the most deer bow hunting in october, but I hunt over a beanfield most of the time and can't always get into bow range, so having a short chance with a gun is a nice opportunity.

I don't understand why its an antlerless only hunt but I'll take what I can get. It seems like ODNR is never really happy with the number of deer taken but they never let you hunt with anything but a bow during the rut. And gun season is so short that everybody goes out in a panic and the deer are hunkered down and never moving by the 3rd day. With the annual bag limits we have, I really don't even think the diffferent seasons are necessary. 5 deer is 5 deer whether you use a gun for a week or a month. But now I'm just ranting, the new season is a move in the right direction and it got me a deer I wouldn't have gotten with my bow.


As for people knowing the regs changed, thats a good question. I'm going to say that folks who didn't want to take advantage of the muzzle loader season, didn't pay any attention to it changing the rules for everything else this weekend. I do remember reading the rule posted by bowhunter, but if I had been bowhunting I'm not sure that I would have thought to wear orange, or let bucks walk when I went out unless I had read the regs that day.
 
Was finally able to get into my email account and lo-and -behold it was there. A notice from ODNR about the special season dated Oct. 3rd. :rolleyes:

Again, finally being able to get onto ODNR website, I see there are a few other important changes in our deer hunting as well. Example, allowable 'harvested' deer are not going to be counted by zones but rather by county.

While I'm glad for the early m/l season, albeit at the cost of the two day extended shotgun season, I sure wish they would extend our regular m/l season.

Four days{ Jan. 4-7} is a real joke! :mad:
 
I wish they would lower the price of the either sex tag, and eliminate the anterless tag (that expires the day before gun season) for simplicity's sake. I do like the simplification of the bag limits this year.

Hardly any hunters were out on Sat here (public land). Heard only two shots all day. Weather was warm and sunny and nothing was moving. Sunday was better day, but I couldn't go.

I do like the early season being statewide. I don't undertsand the logic in making it anlerless only when you alreday have a one buck limit anyways.
 
redneck said:
I don't understand why its an antlerless only hunt but I'll take what I can get.
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TimSr said:
I don't understand the logic in making it antlerless only when you already have a one buck limit anyways.
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Gentlemen, it's quite simple...money. The Ohio Insurance Commission puts pressure on the ODNR for more permits due to their having to pay out more because of deer/car accidents.

Due to deer/car accidents, it stimulates the economy. After a deer gets hit, there are a lot of people employed: meat processors, tow trucks, car rentals, insurance claims adjusters, body shops, mechanical repair shops, parts replacement shops, etc. Unfortunately, sometimes, there are rescue, paramedics, law enforcement for traffic control, ER personnel, etc. too.

The only thing that keeps the ODNR from allowing PCRs (Pistol Cartridge Rifles), centerfire rifles and BPCR (Black Powder Cartridge Rifles), is the liability. Despite the surrounding states already having it in place. :rolleyes:

Bowhunter57
 
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