Things to Consider by Ohio Whitetail Deer Outfitters

Here at Ohio Whitetail Outfitters, we are concerned with safety, so we ask all our clients to wear a safety harness when hunting from tree stands. Also, we produce a lot of high value timber on this property, so there will be no screw in steps that damages the tree. Climbing tree stands are OK and ladder stands are also good.

All Deer hunters must wear blaze orange in Gun season.
All Deer hunters must follow Ohio hunting regulations.

For those of you that tag out early, or want a break out of the tree stand, we have a nice lake. The lake is a few acres in size and is private. You will not need a fishing license to fish it. It is stocked with Bass, Bluegill and Channel Catfish. It is catch and release. When hunting with us, you are limited to 1 Buck and 1 Doe. Ohio has a 1 Buck limit and several Does, but we want a lot does on the property, so only 1 doe per hunter.

You can see Seneca Lake from the deck of the lodge. It is a 3,000 acre lake. If you want to fish there, you will need a license. We have a large professional Taxidermy Studio with over 35 years experience. Check it out on the web site.

Be sure to practice and be prepared for a shot opportunity, but be patient. Wait for a good high percentage shot. We have a Bow and Rifle range at the lodge for you to double check your equipment.

We offer a $100 bounty on Coyotes killed on our property.

This hunt is not for everyone. Read it all, think on it. Call me for any information you need. Make sure this is what you want. A kill is not guaranteed in any way. We require a 50% deposit to hold your spot and we often turn away guests after you have booked. We have little opportunity to fill cancelation spots, so we must stick to the "no refund on deposits" policy. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you book. I know you all think I have the greatest job in the world, and most of the time I do, but it's a lot of pre-season work and investment, and cancelations can really hurt the bottom line. If you have questions, give me a call.

Picking the right Whitetail Deer Outfitter
There are a lot of folks out there offering Whitetail Deer hunting in Ohio. There are a lot of different types of operations and services available these days. This industry is growing fast, so you might want to look at your outfitters history and experience, as well as services and price. Ask yourself; is this a part time business, or a brand new venture? Is this a chosen profession with many years of guiding clients and providing positive hunting experiences? I bring this up to emphasize the need for good research. In Ohio, the guiding and outfitting industry is growing fast, and is basically unregulated. There is no set operating rules or state mandated licenses, code of conduct, insurance requirement or the like. It's not like the western states where the Fish & Game Departments license and regulate outfitters to ensure quality and help protect the hunters interests.

I would suggest you look at the number of years devoted to guiding professionally. Look at the monetary investment into the operation, the support services and facilities, the lodges, the land holdings. Not just recently acquired lease land, but land they actually own and control and have managed for trophy Whitetail Deer production for many years.

When it comes to prices; the old saying "you get what you pay for" comes to mind. That saying is timeless. Beware of the low prices, the "deals", "group rates", "specials" and make sure you KNOW what you are getting. Even more importantly, make sure you know what you are NOT getting. Do not ASSUME. You as the consumer have to decide if you want a low price or a quality hunt, very seldom are you going to get both.

Take the time and do your homework. I welcome your phone calls to answer any questions you may have.

Home Range - Bigger than You Think
Whoever said a Whitetail Buck lives and dies in a square mile obviously never raised, managed and hunted mature Whitetail Buck's. A mature Buck is always traveling. Wherever the best security is located is where you will find him most of the year. Food is important, especially in the winter. But food is not as important as staying away from hunters, poachers, dogs and Coyotes. Then throw in the Rut. He will travel anywhere to find a hot doe. More often than not, that is his downfall, a hot doe or getting hit by a car while looking for her.

We have some great property to hunt, but you never know if the Bucks walked away, and if so was it last week or last night. That's why we put so much importance on canine control and not pressuring the Deer too much and of course, feeding them. Most of the ground you hunt is farmed. Tractors and ATV's, cattle and herdsmen are there year round. The Deer pay little attention to them. That is in our favor. When you are scouting, look like a farmer. When you're hunting, be scent free and invisible. We have tens of thousands of acres of cover in this part of Ohio, so a lot of Bucks survive the "golden years." We have fewer roads for poaching access and even fewer paved roads, so few Deer are hit by cars near our farms. All these things help to have a few more Bucks to hunt each season. The majority of the local Bucks are aware of our large resident doe herds. They keep checking in to visit the girls. That's but one reason why we feed and protect the doe population. We can't and we don't guarantee we have the Bucks anchored to a piece of property. Be we are sure we have done what it takes to improve the odds that they are around here somewhere.

For over 25 years, I have raised and hunted Whitetail Deer behind high fence. We do not guarantee these hunts either. I do guarantee that he's on the property, but not that we will get a shot. We have a high success rate, but we do send a few hunters home without a Buck. I have learned so much about a Whitetail's reasoning ability while hunting them for several months out of every year. It's frustrating when you know a Buck is on the property and you sometimes can't find him for days or weeks, or months. If it wasn't a fenced in area, you would say there was no Deer in the area and leave. Many times we have picked up sheds in March off of mature Bucks that were NEVER seen the entire hunting season. They were there under our nose for the entire season. You would not believe how many Bucks keep you in sight and move with you while you hunt them. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it many times over the years.

While I can't guarantee you a Buck, I feel I have done all I can do to make him favor my farms over the surrounding land. With literally thousands of hours managing and hunting Whitetail Deer over a 25 year career, I think I have gained a little insight on what makes them tick.

Whitetail Deer Trophies - What to Expect
I believe that thanks to outdoor writers and the outdoor channels, a lot more people are aware of the great Deer hunting in Ohio. Our local hunting has gotten better than I have ever expected. We don't have the hunting pressure we once had and that is leaving more Deer in the woods each year to mature. It's great for hunting, it's bad if you are trying to be a farmer. We have lost many fields of Clover and Alphalpha to Deer in the summer - entire crops!

One point I want to make clear to prospective clients is the size of trophy Whitetail Deer you can expect. The TV shows and magazines keep showing you monster Bucks. They seem to imply they are everywhere, just for the taking. That's not how it is here (or anywhere for that matter). We do have large Bucks that live here, and cross our farms, but number one, they are not common, and number two, they are smart and cautious. They usually move at night. They are tough to see and harvest. Over the years you will occasionally see 150 to 170 inch Bucks. But most of what is harvested is 120 to 130 inch Bucks. A mid 130" 8 or 10 pointer isn't getting past my tree stand. Over the years we have seen many big ones - missed many big ones - been busted way too many times. We pick up a lot of good sheds so they are obviously here. The smaller first and second racked Bucks are pretty common here. They stick close to home, close to mom and they are not very smart yet. The third racked Bucks have physically matured. They will have big bodies, nice racks - usually in the 120 to 130 inch range, and they want to patrol all the ground and breed all the does. That habit causes him to cover a lot of ground in the daylight. That will put him past a hunter sooner or later. He is a trophy most hunters would be happy to harvest.

If a Buck lives to four or five or older, he has been shot at enough, chased and educated. He is now nocturnal most of the time. He is however, still here somewhere. He doesn't have super natural powers, but he is on high alert most of the time. This Buck moves slow and cautious, and any hunter that ventures into his living area had better be good or lucky (occasionally I am good, although I will take lucky any day). Naturally the harvest of 4 or 5 year old Bucks starts to decrease. They are here, the trail cameras and sheds prove it! To sum it up short and sweet - if you're looking for a high percentage opportunity at a 150 & 160 inch Bucks, we should NOT be your destination. We have way too much timber and cover to be able to find him in a week. You need the open crop ground in the Midwest. Our clients should be happy with 8 and 10 pointers in the 120 and 130 inch class. On average, this is a realistic expectation.

We do allow the use of 4-Wheelers on your hunt, but we do limit the use. Some of the parcels are large with some big hills so a 4-Wheeler will come in handy for taking in the stands and pulling them, it also will come in handy for recovery of deer. A two man crew can drag deer off any of our leases, but a 4-wheeler will do it a lot easier and if you have one anyway you might as well bring it, one of our barns is used just for clients to park their bikes inside.

Each parcel will have multiple trees and shooting lanes prepared ready for you to set your stand. Some parcels will have stands already there for you to use if you wish but not all of them, also because of current weather, wind direction etc. there could be a variety of better stand locations each day, so we suggest the clients bring a ladder stand to put up, maybe for the morning hunt, and bring a climber for last minute moves and sometimes the afternoon hunts. I will offer a common sense pointer here, there is a lot of deer in the area, sometimes they are close, so, on those super quite mornings when sound carries a great distance I like to be able to silently climb up in a preset ladder stand and not try and climb with my climber, I always make too much noise, now if it is breezy or raining, the noise factor is not as important. But if these deer hear something it could cause a lot more caution on their part. There could be some old does that have busted hunters before on these corn feeders, so obviosly it's important that they do not know your there, these same old does really enjoy the dependable food source each day, so if you are camoed, scent free and quiet, they will take advantage of that consistent food source not knowing you are about. Those does will keep the bucks in the neighborhood. The timed feeders reduces the amount of nocturnal feeding by these bucks, the trail cams show that is when most bucks hit a "corn pile".

Many parcels receive a week of rest between hunts, but this is not etched in stone" for every parcel, for example, the funnels areas during peak rut, there is such an influx of bucks on the properties that last weeks hunters are not a factor on this weeks sightings.

The parcels are well defined on the line fences, the property is adequately posted, and all trespassers are arrested and prosecuted, not just warned. This has been standard procedure for years, therefore you will not find other hunters wandering around on your parcel, this not only improves your ability to see deer, but just as importantly safety, and peace of mind is improved. We take our property rights and hunting very seriously.

ARCHERY HUNTS
I will need to know what type of set up a hunter wants, I need to know the shooting distance they can handle, how high they want to get up a tree, or if they want a ground blind, how far they are willing to walk in to a stand location, we have some big pieces of ground, you could have a one or two mile walk, with some steep hills, we have some short walks, some stands will produce fewer deer, but the possibility of a Big Buck is better, or medium sized bucks could be plentiful on certain stands, some stands are in open mature hardwoods, some stands are in the thickest hedge apple trash you ever seen, I want to talk and visit with each perspective client by phone so I can learn what he or she can handle and would like a stand set up.

MEALS
You will be providing your own meals, we have a complete kitchen to work with, two refrigerators and one chest freezer so you can prepare and bring frozen or refrigerated meals or casseroles and we have plenty of room to store them till you cook or reheat them. Also you have a very nice family restaurants only 3 miles away (The Cove), it sits on the edge of Seneca Lake or at the town of Senecaville or Buffalo you have Deli's, subs, pizza joints, Subway, carry outs and the Buffalo Grill has very good food and specials every night, all this is less that 10 miles from camp, so bring a couple of prepared meals for supper and you can go out a few nights and have some cold cuts for lunch, preparing you meals can be kept pretty easy!

Here are just a few meal & casserole suggestions to bring to camp. Lasagna, Home made Vegetable soup, Chili, pasta salad, Beef stew, Cabbage rolls, pot roast etc. you know what you like. We also have an outside barbeque grill on the north patio to cook some steaks or burgers, chicken, and maybe some Fresh Venison Tenderloins!

NO RACK SIZE MIMINNUM
We do not impose rack size restrictions on our clients when hunting with Ohio Whitetail Outfitters, we have found our clientele is not here to fill a tag" on the last day of a hunt, but if your son or your dad or (you, yourself) thinks that a pretty, but smaller buck is a trophy and would like to tag him, then I say take your time and take your shot"!

25 years of guiding clients has proven there is no size restrictions to each hunters opinion of a "Trophy". I know from personal experience that the events of the hunt and the people you share it with along with challenges and ultimately tagging that deer is what makes it special, what makes it a trophy, points or score is just a way to evaluate and compare size. When I think back over the years, a lot of my most memorable and rewarding hunting memories have been some rather small bucks, even a couple old does, but it was a great hunt and I appreciated the animal, that's what makes them a trophy.

When hunting with Ohio Whitetail Outfitters there is no size restrictions or fines if you decide to harvest any buck.

BULLET POINTS
Last year (09) we had over 800 deer pictures on one camera in a 30 hour period, all does. It was early season on a feeding station, most people say 'shoot the does, you have too many", I disagree, when the does started to come in heat the big buck presence will change over night. All of a sudden you had trees 3 to 5 inches in diamiter tore up, scrapes all over the place, 3 to 5 feet in diameter, one client seen 4 "Book" bucks in one day last November. When you have that many does you can attract, and Hold higher numbers of Bucks, not to mention the obvious, those does produce dozens of new baby bucks every spring.

Cell phones are mandatory! After I get the clients settled in the lodge and show them the stand location I might not see you again for a day or two, but I can be reached by cell phone It is mandatory for any single hunter to have a cell phone with them and check in with me so I know they are O.K. we all know you can fall out of a tree or twist an ankle or the like, so I want to know that all my clients are safe at the end of the day. If there is a group of two or more then I need to hear from at least one of them that all is O.K. If there is a problem, an emergency or a deer to recover and you need help then use that cell phone. If I don't hear from someone a hour after dark then I am coming to your stand, so don't forget to check in!

While hunting you can hunt any legal game that is in season and you have the appropriate tags, this year clients either harvested or passed on three color phases of squirrels, coons, red fox, coyotes, turkey. Coyotes killed on my property earns a $100.00 bounty.

If you have the time, click on to www.WhiteOakHunting.com and read that website. It will help you to see the level of experience and investment I have put forth in hunting and guiding clients.

I know a lot of deer hunters that look down on high fenced hunting, (and sometimes for good reason), but when it's done right, it's as good or better or harder that free range. When they have enough acreage and food and cover, and they have lived there entire life avoiding hunters, then a mature animal inside a fence has more experience at avoiding hunters than free ranging animals, but I emphasize, it has to be done right, large acreage, good food and cover and resident, reproducing, healthy herds.

I am not trying to change anyone opinions at the moment, but I am asking if there is a hard core anti-high fence hunter reading this, than give me a fair shake on my free range hunts, don't hold the high fence against me.

Although, to many people it seems to be two different types of hunts, they are in fact, really the same hunt, just in two different environments, the deer are the same, the guide had better do his homework and the client better not make any mistakes. It doesn't make any difference which side of the fence your standing on. The players are the same. The game is played the same. I am just a guy that loves hunting deer so much that I do both types for a living.