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Southern Ohio Rut?

Bominiscious

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2023
Messages
265
Location
NC Mountains
Started a thread looking for the best dates to hunt Middle Georgia to potentially hit the pre-rut/cruising phase. Got great feedback -was very helpful.

Now I'm asking for the same thing with Galia county Ohio. I have a couple of farms there that I've been granted permission to hunt and also a small property in Licking county, which is middle part of the state east of Columbus. Any Ohio hunters that could help me out? I want to carve out a four day hunt in Gallia County and possibly stretch it out and do a trip for a couple of days to the property in Licking County. I should add the Licking county property is only 50 acres and Gallia county I have over 500 acres.

This is fairly last-minute and I'm trying to decide when to go. My schedule is flexible from the last week of October through the third week of November.
 
I live on 100+ acres in SE Ohio (Athens County). My recollection (pretty poor now days) is that the gun season starts right after Thanksgiving. You can check this online. The rut is usually just before the gun season starts.

As for 50 acres vs 500, I think the big bucks favor wooded areas. If your 50 acres are wooded, and if you're looking for a buck, that would be a better choice. If you're happy with one or more does, 500 acres of corn would be a good place to look. If both places are wooded, the 50 acre plot might still be better, because 500 acres of woods could be pretty dense and hard to move around.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE, EVERYONE! GUN OWNERS ARE TYPICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE VOTE!
 
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The Ohio rut shouldn't be much different than the PA rut. The rut is typically during the first two weeks of November. However, you can never discount the last week of Oct when bucks are tending scrapes and actively looking for any does that come into heat early.

The Ohio season dates may become an issue depending on what type of hunting you intend to do.
 
The Ohio rut shouldn't be much different than the PA rut. The rut is typically during the first two weeks of November. However, you can never discount the last week of Oct when bucks are tending scrapes and actively looking for any does that come into heat early.

The Ohio season dates may become an issue depending on what type of hunting you intend to do.
Guessing archery hunting as gun season doesn't come in until Monday after Thanksgiving. I lived in Ohio for the past 9 years and just moved recently.
 
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