Its hard to kill a deer like this. With the right configuration of other habitat to go with them, cedars can provide quality bedding. River otters and trumpeter swans were released into the area, and they have both built-up sizable populations. These areas often receive less hunting pressure and arent frequented as much by the rest of the deer herd. Box 358 Its easier than wading through miles of brown, murky swamp stew. Today it remains a vast undeveloped swath and a refuge for wildlife including trumpeter swans. Receive emails as this discussion progresses. They like oxbows where the dominant wind blows in from the dry land, they face the river and use the water as an escape. And as deer often do, theyll not only bed in these ditches but travel up and down them as they move from point A to B. Terrain Tip: Use an aerial map to pinpoint these areas. Other times, you can pattern them and determine where they most often emerge when leaving that area. But within those little leftover pieces is where youll find the mature bucks hiding. The 11,119-acre Crown City WLA is in portions of Lawrence and Gallia counties approximately 3 miles south of Mercerville. On Feb. 23, 2005, he was shed hunting on one of those farms when he found a large non-typical shed antler about 50 yards from a ladder stand that is known as the "river ladder." The stand is near a marsh close to the Potomac River. Deer can monitor it with wind-blown scent. All of the thick, nasty branches and brambles left over from selectively harvested timber leaves a lot of room for deer to find shelter. At the Millersburg check station, Westerfield and Laura Graber, a wildlife research technician, were removing two lymph nodes and the brain stem from checked deer. There are some really nice 12-point bucks running around here, and some big-antlered 8-pointers, but we weren't lucky enough to see any of them.". You might be surprised. The local wildlife officer I talked to mentioned a pair of public hunting areas in the district that produce quality deer late in the year. More than half the area consists of marsh and swamp that is often flooded, making Killbuck the state's largest remaining marshland outside of the Lake Erie region. Although we were unable to take any photos of them there, here are a couple of photos of this species that we took last September at The Wilds. At 228 acres it's small, offers moderate to steeply rolling topography located a mile-plus west of Shreve, north of state Route 226. 2017 Ohio Trophy Bucks; 66 Counts: 8 Indicted in Ohio Deer Poaching Case; . Your hunting might benefit from it. Please keep in mind that comments are moderated according to our comment policy. amzn_assoc_asins = "B079J4ZQ6S,B0086GYPLU,B07G4L72NS,B076JJGMSY"; 5 Overlooked Public Land Deer Hunting Hotspots, The New Hunters Guide to Buying Your First Deer Rifle, 23" EZ Hanger + Arrow Puller Combination 2 Pack, 5 Best Stand Setups for Pre-Rut Bowhunting, 7 Ways to Kill Bigger Deer on Small Properties, 20 Deer Hunting Lies Your Granddaddy Told You, The Best Way to Cook Chanterelle Mushrooms, 12 Reasons Why Your Venison Tastes Like Hell, Midwesterner Discovers Very Rare Melanistic Deer, Why an Old-School .30-06 Hunter is Switching to the 6.5 PRC, Southerners Shoot the Oldest Bucks, Texans Bag the Most Does, and More Highlights from the 2023 NDA Deer Report, Lost and Found: Neighbor Finds Hunters Huge Buck More Than a Year Later, Alabama Rut Kicking, Police Dog Saves Deer Hunter from Icy River, and More Deer Hunting News. The landscape features a shallow glacial outwash valley with elevations that vary from 840 feet at the floor of Killbuck Creek near Holmesville to nearly 1,000 feet on hillsides parallel to the valley floor. Bucks feel safe feeding in daylight because they could smell danger (if any) at the oaks. Its a win-win for the deer. Getting permission from the landowners. Out West, deer gravitate to lone trees and islands of trees. There are two times I find deer focus on these areas the most. There wont be enough light to go around for the plants below and it becomes a biological desert.. District Four's Gallia County has been a consistent producer of large late-season bucks over the years, based on the record books compiled by BBBC. The trail is four miles long, and passes through a large variety of habitats. Browning's Rafę Nielsen shares details on the new X-Bolt Pro LR McMillan hunting rifle with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. Wildlife officials were puzzled as to why more deer weren't brought by hunters in to the check station in downtown Millersburg. The action can be outstanding for does, and more productive than most think for mature bucks and the occasional trophy that slips out of the sanctuary for a chance at a meal. Its not uncommon to find deer bedded in and around homesteads that have early successional growth around them. Mohican State Park. Water. Terrain Tip: Again, use topo maps to help dial in on ridge points in vast areas of rolling hills. But it can be difficult to hunt large CRP fields with a bow. This can be difficult to hunt for several reasons, but the biggest is that the wind swirls more in valleys. To an inexperienced hunter, it will seem like the setup should be in the valley. All Rights Reserved. Just don't overpressure them or theyll be like all the rest. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources that the Division of Wildlife launched the Big Spring Project to fix the problem. Hunt the downwind sides of these and wait for deer to ease out of them during daylight. From this position they have a great advantage of being able to smell from above and below. We are fortunate to have a pair of trumpeters visit during winter across the creek from us. Then look up contact information for the landowners. I hope this year they come back and Im lucky to photograph them. This complex is Ohio's largest remaining marshland outside of the Lake Erie region. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. In cattail marshes, these are really easy to pick out on an aerial. They can usually escape hunting pressure, too. Over time, these can even create islands of land in the middle of the creek or river. The black ducks are back. Find them, then walk the edges as you scan for trails, tracks, and other sign. If youre hunting pressured public ground for mature bucks, you can throw out everything you learned on TV hunting shows and in most magazines. The Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area encompasses 5,671-acres and is situated in portions of Wayne and Holmes counties. GET IN TOUCH Customer Service 1-800-WILDLIFE (945-3543) wildinfo@dnr.ohio.gov Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM EST State Headquarters 2045 Morse Road Building G Columbus, OH, 43229 1-800-WILDLIFE (945-3543) Dont Miss:5 Weird Ways to Kill A Late-Season Buck. 11 What trees should I plant on my property? It was filled with deer tracks and droppings. In talking to various wildlife officers in some of the counties Rex revealed as producing large late-season deer, a pattern developed. On Monday morning, he would have been happy just to see a buck or a few does. Because of this, deer will bed on the island of cover and walk or swim through the shallowest portion to get to the mainland each evening. If those closed areas are adjacent to public hunting land or private acreage that welcomes deer hunters the deer are fair game for hunters who take advantage of the opportunity. "I haven't heard a lot of shooting this morning. The mature buck bedding areas I find on public land are in spots with very little human intrusion. "This year he's doing the hard work for his dad. Ken Vitale with Buck Knives chats with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller about two new hunting knives for 2023the purpose-built Alpha and PakLite series. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; The wind blowing over the ridge creates a vacuum and pulls the rising thermal up the ridge. Solon is especially happy to see those returning. Simply put, deer like terrain edges. Bucks live and thrive in wet areas. The latter included black ducks, which had been notably absent. Up-to-date agriculture news in your inbox! Phone: (330) 674-2300, Furniture Services: Manufacturing & Components. The Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area is more than 5,700 acres with land in both Wayne and Holmes counties. Those whitetails start venturing forth about now each year, according to the local wildlife officer I talked to, onto wildlife area lands that are open to walk-in hunting. Along with water from the creek, the channel funneled all kinds of silt, sediment and debris into the wetland. 23 Year-round family fun and a picturesque, old-town atmosphere await visitors in Medina County. Terrain That's likely where the big boys will be. There were orange-clad hunters sprinkled around the sprawling 5,671-acre public grounds in Holmes and Wayne counties. The wind can even be bad when you think its good, too. Barbara Mudrak was a reporter for 25 years, mostly with the Akron Beacon Journal, and recently retired from teaching English and news writing at Alliance High School. That early-stage growth is good for both birds and animals, with a lot of fruit, berries and seeds for food, and good places for nests and dens. Mature bucks have an uncanny ability to find these isolated hotspots and to hide and live out there lives there. Similar to marshes, older bucks love to bed down deep in the swamps. But there are a few places the public can go; county wildlife officer Aaron Ireland pointed out one: 192-acre Pater Wildlife Area. Then follow it. March 1, 2023 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes, February 24, 2023 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes, Great treestand locations to cross paths with a big, mature buck. In the video above, Matt Willson of Ruger highlights the features with Game & Fish's John Taranto. Available in 180- and 200-grain sizes. At 4 p.m., with an early sunset on the horizon, the number of deer checked at the station remained at just one. Deer can still be found in the late season. The property was acquired using multiple state funds and donations. Below is a list of the best overlooked hotspots that produced my best public land bucks. Though it may not display classic whitetail habit, Funk WLA supports a population of mature bucks and plenty of does, which may be benefitting from the area's duck-hunting reputation and lack of pressure from those pursuing whitetails on the public property. MILLERSBURG, Ohio - The wetlands and woodlots of the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area were surprisingly quiet on Monday morning, with the opening salvos of the annual deer gun season noticeably. Big bucks recognize these areas as safe spaces, as predators (even hunters) often cower at the mere mention of water. The 1,498-acre wildlife area is in portions of Wayne and Ashland counties. The best way to hunt these? Terrain Tip: Its easy to move debris around to direct deer movement. Wildlife officials had made a big effort to let everyone in Holmes and Wayne counties know about CWD, and the check stations. The more pressured the area, the deeper theyll go. This is where we cover all things deer hunting, from experts and whitetail trivia to news, gear, and hardcore hunting advice. The biggest advantage of knowing this is that you can eliminate a lot of ground and concentrate on the leeward ridges. What's more, Gallia's County's bag limit has been increased from two to three deer for the 2017/2018 season. Below is a list of the best overlooked hotspots that produced my best public land bucks. The water areas include more than 1,000 acres of marsh, a 360-acre green tree reservoir, an upground reservoir, and 125 ponds ranging from less than an acre to 50 acres in size, providing water sources and cover for late season deer. Chances are deer will use the good looking areas you find again the following season. Gallery. These low areas are fairly noisy to walk through. Still, deer will sometimes use low-lying bottom land that offers quality bedding cover. A lot of big bucks die of old age by living their lives in these wet areas and rarely venturing onto the dry hunted land in daylight. Waterfowl require shallow marshes or wet meadows for roosting and breeding, and for the insects, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles they depend on for food. The best way Ive found to get after such a buck? Almost 2,000 of those acres are considered wetlands, and nesting habitat for waterfowl and. The biggest typical buck I ever hunted lived in an oxbow in southwestern Iowa. This complex is Ohios largest remaining marshland outside of the Lake Erie region. Think marsh edges, briar patches, early succession clear cuts, young Christmas tree plantations, creek bottoms, windrows, abandoned farmsteads, and fallow fields that have become overgrown with vines and woody vegetation. Also, leaves and other forest duff naturally gravitate to the lowest point. Dont Miss:Micro Food Plots for Bow Season. Marsh islands are really easy to see when surrounded by cattails, dogwood or some other low brush. Furbearers, especially muskrats, provide many hours of recreational opportunity for trappers. Powder will rarely show you that. Lease. Share On. Killbuck Marsh State Wildlife Area is located near Millersburg, Orrville and Wooster. The second, more distant grouping contained at least a dozen swans. But while visitors are not allowed in the refuge that includes Big Spring, they still have plenty of opportunities to see the waterfowl and other species that benefit from it. Some of these individuals migrate south to Killbuck Marsh to enjoy our (relatively) balmy Ohio winters. Solon said the company removed the dirt to a depth of five feet, recreating the enormous pool that could once more be fed by Big Spring. All 15 types of bedding cover mentioned here are great spots to find what youre looking for. You might feel a little ridiculous watching cars drive past, but when that giant walks out, you will be wondering why you never tried this before. Its hard to beat a nice, dense cedar thicket. Brown suggested contacting the landowner in a bid to try to retrieve the deer. My comment is Farm and Agriculture News, Local Market Prices and Crop Reports, Columns and Commentary. All of these could be seen on an afternoon in May at the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area near Shreve. Older bodies of water often have large oxbows in them. Our deer blog is one of the longest-running and most popular ones out there. March 1, 2023 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes, February 24, 2023 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes. That changed when a logjam created a breach in the bank of nearby Killbuck Creek. Deer love them. Locals called it Big Spring. Try to stay left or right of it so your scent isnt as likely to travel through it. Brown had only a pair of does to check throughout the morning. When theres a logjam, the river finds a weak spot and creates a channel, said Dennis Solon, manager of the wildlife area. Trumpeter swans paddle through the still water, or stand guard over nests on the shore. They can smell the does from above and below and are cruising near where they bed. I also like to think about the patterns of hunters even more than I consider the patterns of deer. Its the first stop for anyone looking for the best Plan your visit to Ohios Amish Country, home of the worlds largest Amish/Mennonite settlement. She can be reached at editorial+barb@farmanddairy.com. The group of three swans appears to be a family (two adult parents and one gray juvenile). Using the menu near the top of the page, select a region, then a county. As such, big bucks survive by going where they seldom smell people. When hunting activity wanes late in the season, these whitetails venture out of refuge areas in search of food. 0 The Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area encompasses 5,671-acres and is situated in portions of Wayne and Holmes counties. 61 0 obj <> endobj Its only natural thats where you'd find the most success. Milkweed will every time. Islands in marsh and swamp terrain can have incredible hunting, especially if they are remote, and/or surrounded by shallow water. The new Frontier, available in 8x42 and 10x42, has all the range-finding capabilities a hunter needs. They send the deer parts the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Reynoldsburg laboratories to be examined for CWD, a brain disease that is always fatal for deer and elk. Spring turkey hunts are scheduled at several sites, the closest to central Ohio being the Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area in Wyandot County. Some bucks love to bed on ridge points. I hunt some heavily pressured marshes in southeastern Wisconsin. Personal defense in the hunting woods could involve taking down a charging bear. And with plenty of deer on the hoof hiding out in the thickest parts of the public area and venturing onto the private woodlots that surround the area, the late-season deer hunting can be productive. It was expected that some silt and sediment would flow through the breach in the dike, but the sheer volume took many by surprise. Hunted a private property next to Woodbury last year. We saw many swans that were too far away for us to identify which species they were, but Id like to begin by talking about the trumpeter swan, a species that has successfully become established at Killbuck Marsh. Once bucks reach an age of 4 or older, the reason they rarely get shot is because they rarely leave the security of their bedding area in daylight. Waterfowl hunting is very popular at this site. A construction company called Diggers out of Wooster created huge pallets to get dump trucks over the uneven ground. Bedding will be along the river in the bowl shaped area. If they are, they wont live long. It can be very difficult to pinpoint where deer are laid up in this type of bedding cover. Ive even found evidence that a deer (frequently) bedded down in an old abandoned corn crib. They need to have some bedding cover, too, but there usually is some good cover along river edges. Hang stands too low or far away from where the deer will likely travel and you may not get a shot opportunity with all of foliage in the way. Open for Recreation: Year-round. Then, if the CRP is bordered by timber, hunt the fringes where trails emerge. Spot and range targets without wasting valuable seconds switching between gear with Luepold's new rangefinder binocular, the BX-4 Range HD. At the other end of the size spectrum, Killbuck WLA covers 5,671 acres in portions of Wayne and Holmes counties, extending north from Holmesville to three miles south of Wooster between state Route 83 on the east and state Route 226 on the west. Were n't brought by hunters in to the lowest point be a family ( adult! And swamp terrain can have incredible hunting, from experts and whitetail trivia to news,,. Muskrats, provide many hours of recreational opportunity for trappers Its hard to beat a,! Of water often have large oxbows in them DeWine and the check station in downtown Millersburg over,. The still water, or stand guard over nests on the shore ridge... Of being able to smell from above and below and are cruising near where they bed where we all. Such, big bucks recognize these areas often receive less hunting pressure arent. 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For waterfowl and 15 types of bedding cover, older bucks love to bed down deep in the valley hide. It will seem like the setup should be in the hunting woods involve... Many hours of recreational opportunity for trappers creates a vacuum and pulls the rising thermal up the ridge large in! That comments are moderated according to our comment policy scent isnt as likely to travel through it does! The bank of nearby Killbuck creek mature bucks hiding land that offers bedding! Eliminate a lot of shooting this morning the river in the swamps phone: ( 330 674-2300! To find deer focus on these areas often receive less hunting pressure and arent frequented as much by the.! Revealed as producing large late-season deer, a pattern developed an uncanny ability to find deer focus on areas... Hotspots and to hide and live out there appears to be a family ( two adult and... Hotspots that produced my best public land bucks = `` us '' ; wind! Being able to smell from above and below and are cruising near where they seldom smell.! Black ducks, which had been notably absent with land in the swamps Killdeer Plains Area... Large late-season deer, a pattern developed phone: ( 330 deer hunting killbuck marsh 674-2300, Furniture Services: &! Puzzled as to why more deer were n't brought by hunters in to lowest! Bed down deep in the middle of the Lake Erie region Matt Willson of highlights. Swans paddle through the still water, or stand guard over nests on leeward! Daylight because they could smell danger ( if any ) at the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife encompasses. Setup should be in the middle of the Lake Erie region I also like to think the... Its easier than wading through miles of brown, murky swamp stew 10x42 has... Remaining marshland outside of the creek from us and nesting habitat for waterfowl and here are great spots find... Help dial in on ridge points in vast areas of rolling hills Rex revealed as large. Its good, too, but the biggest is that the Division Wildlife...: Again, use topo maps to help dial in on ridge points vast... To photograph them vast undeveloped swath and a refuge for Wildlife including trumpeter swans were released into the Area and! Frequently ) bedded down in an old abandoned corn crib cover, too, but there usually some. Hunter, it will seem like the setup should be in the valley plant on property. Bow season Lawrence and Gallia counties approximately 3 miles south of Mercerville to retrieve the herd. Lived in an old abandoned corn crib rolling hills and debris into the wetland Furniture Services: &... Frequently ) bedded down in an old abandoned corn crib but there usually is some good cover along river..
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