2015 trip of a lifetime

[JMFrame]

hey all first thanks for letting me enjoy in this sight. I am not from Ohio, I am from Pennsylvania. I spent a short time living outside of Cleveland back in 06. While I was there I almost wrecked my truck into a giant 150 inch 10 that stood calmly in the rode as I swerved. anyway, I have always wanted to come back. that being said the Marines and getting married and starting a family got in the way so I never got a chance when I really wanted to. Now that I am home and back to a normal routine I have decided that 2015 will be the year. I understand and do not disagree with the feeling most of you get when you see all the out of staters come in. My intentions should be very clear, I will treat your states resources as if they were my back yard. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to do this. I am hoping that some of you could give me a chance, im not asking for your honey hole or your favorite ridge, just pointed in the right direction, things to look out for, how things work, maps, sights, etc. I plan to do 90% of my scouting in the maps so when I make a few trips this year my areas will be narrowed down. I am planning from the 6-15 of Nov. is that to early or to late to catch the rut? I am a die hard, and very compulsive with having 2-4 spots picked or more and at least 2-3 stands and maybe a blind ready to go when I get there. I have narrowed my areas down to...... all of Ohio haha. but I was looking into the Dillon wildlife area, Egypt valley (jockey hollow)??? AEP, or ultimately woodbury maybe. my head is spinning and ive just started. its new to me so I don't know how to do it? sorry for the rambling. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks for your time.

[mrbb]

welcome to the site, I too am a PA resident.
but on the east side of PA.

As for info on hunting Ohio, the best information I can give you is pick an area, and try and get there and spend as much time as you can walking area's you like
you can do a bunch of looking on Google earth first, and then pick area's youluike, go there and look them over in person!
the hardest part maybe will be finding a good spot that isn't being hunbted in your time slot!
the rut these days brings out folks at that time of yr, so any spot that you might like, might be someone else's spot come rut time too!
so when scouting for deer sign, scout for hunter's sign too, like watch for tree's that have sign's of being used with a climber tree stand, or loc on stands/climbing sticks
any markers they use to get into the stand in the dark or??

Ohio is a great state, BIG bucks get killed all over the state every yr
so any where can be a great spot
a lot comes down to food pressure, and what locals and hunters hunting area's let walk or don't!

I strongly suggest talking to the local game warden in area's you like as well, or any park rangers too
they can tell you a lot of GREAT info if you ask, they can tell you about pressure in the area, any problems locals have with hunters or deer(like crop damage) or trespassing, or poaching problems
they can tell you when trhe rut is on average in THERE area
you can also ask about what public lands have food plots and where they are, what is planted, how much, and possibly tips on where to try your luck, any BIG bucks they ben seeing

be suprised how helpful some wardens can be
NOT all will offer up info to you, but like they say, never hurts to ask, and also, getting to know the local warden, can be a plus down the road too IMO!

like all hunting, the best places are places that few hunters hunt, and deer feel safe YR round! and have food, cover water, all yr either right there or close by!

I also suggest you think about maybe the early season,. over say the rut too
everyone gets caught up in the rut, pulls hunters out off the couch and out of work and fills the woods
when honestly, the best time a buck can be patterened and maybe killed is the first few day's weeks of a season when there still on fee patterns, and predictable??

think about it
they haven't been hunted in a yr, fewer guys are out there, and the best foods are still standing??
NOTHING wrong ith the early season
plus you never get cold in a tree LOL

I also like this time of yr too, any standing crops are 100% deer magnets
big bucks are out there, if they were not, there wouldn't be any come the rut?? 5-6 yr olds live thru many seasons to get old and BIG!
so odds are good
its the temps that keep most folks home and NOT hunting this time of yr!

[mrbb]

last tip for you
IF you can get out there this yr still, its also a great time to see where hunters have ben parking and hunting, giving you a heads up on pressure from hunters and where

second IF not hunting this yr, getting out in March, looking for sheds, is a great way to scoutand have a chance to still see the woods without leaves on tree's as you will later after green up!
and the bonus of maybe finding a big shed to get you more interested in an area? leting you know there are bucks there!

the snow also helps with scouting too

so getting out there NOW is a big jump start on waiting till next yr!

[nomad_archer]

Welcome. There are lots of us from PA on here. I am from south central PA. I grew up in Southwestern PA and moved lived outside Cleveland for a few years before I moved back to PA where I am today. Everyone is friendly here there is not hostility to non-res hunters on this site.

[JMFrame]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will definitely be out there this year. I may do some shed hunting too the dog would love it.

[Griz]

As you can see I'm a non resident also. You live alot closer, so the drive isn't that bad. Your lucky. Thats allows you to scout more often. I've been hunting Ohio since 09, and it was a learning curve. At first things were tough but got better after a few trips. I only have one suggestion, Find the biggest piece you can find and go to the furthest point. You will have success.