OUTDOORS
JIM MORRIS
The Ohio deer hunting season comes to a close Feb. 6. It began with archery hunting back on Sept. 25 and ends with archery next weekend.
To some, the long deer hunting season in Ohio isn’t long enough. Once this season ends, they’ll be anxious to get going again in the fall.
Perhaps one good way to satisfy that deer-hunting appetite is taking the time to sit by the fire and read “Deer Hunting in Ohio — History, Legends and Trophies,” by Ohio outdoor writer Robert Loewendick.
Reading this 121-page paperback is easy, especially if you like hunting whitetail deer. In fact, you could say it gives hunters a greater appreciation of their sport.
For instance, as a hunter is sitting in his tree stand, waiting for the next group of deer to show up, he or she might consider that 100 years ago there were no deer in Ohio.
Deer were an abundant source of nourishment for Native Americans and early settlers of this area. But as settlers’ numbers increased so did their need for farmland. To farmers, deer were considered pests, so they were hunted and killed in large numbers. The clearing of forests drove the remaining deer out of Ohio. By 1904 Ohio had a deer population of zero.
Conservationists began restoring deer to the state in 1922 by trapping them in neighboring states and placing them in what is now Shawnee State Forest in southeast Ohio. The herd grew slowly and by 1943 a limited hunting season was brought back. Would-be hunters lined up for one of 8,500 permits. Only 168 deer were killed in that first season.
The main reason the number of deer taken was so small was hunters were not allowed to kill does. Only antlered deer were allowed to be killed during the 12-day hunt in three southeast Ohio counties.
That’s a far cry from what regulations call for today.
Now hunters go after deer in all 88 counties and they are encouraged to kill does. The difference is when conservation managers are trying to grow a herd, they need the does. But if the situation calls for reducing the size of the herd — as it is today — regs allow and encourage the killing of does.
Loewendick follows up the state’s overall deer history with segments about each part of Ohio. Then he includes the stories of several trophy hunts from southwest Ohio, including the (Mike) Beatty Buck, (Brad) Jerman Buck and (Brian) Stephens Buck. Perhaps Loewendick summed his book up best when he wrote:
“Deer have been a source of storytelling in North America for centuries. Ohio has a deer legacy that is worth telling about well into the future. ... The cycle of hunting traditions continues for thousands of hunters, just as it has for centuries.
“Although Ohio’s deer have had population-affecting events causing their disappearance and then their return, Ohio’s deer hunters have maintained their celebrated deer hunting heritage, which will continue into the future.”
• “Deer Hunting in Ohio” can also be purchased through book stores with ISBN number 978-1-59629-890-3. For a signed copy, send a $23 money order to R. Loewendick, P.O. Box 51, Hopewell, OH, 43746. Or you can go online at www.robertoutdoors.com/books and use PayPal.
Outdoors columnist Jim Morris can be reached through his Website at www.examiner.com/outdoor-recreation-in-dayton/jim-morris or by email at sports@DaytonDailyNews.com.