Outdoors Insider, with Dale Sunderlin: Men of muzzle’s harvest — 20,659

DALE SUNDERLIN
Star Beacon

January 04, 2009 10:32 pm

— Hunters took 20,659 deer during Ohio's four-day muzzleloader season, Dec. 27-30, with Tuscarawas County again leading the state with 934 deer checked.
Last year, a preliminary total of 21,473 deer was taken during muzzleloader season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
Counties reporting the highest number of deer checked during the muzzleloader season included: Tuscarawas-934, Washington-774, Harrison-764, Licking-688, Meigs-613, Coshocton-598, Guernsey-565, Belmont-539, Monroe-533 and Holmes-528.
A total of 239,549 deer have been harvested so far this season when combining the adult and youth gun seasons, early and statewide muzzleloader seasons, and the first nine weeks of the archery season. Hunters took a total of 232,854 deer during all of last year's hunting seasons.
Hunters can continue to enjoy deer hunting through Feb. 1, 2009 as the archery season continues.
The following is a list of deer checked in and tagged by hunters during last week’s statewide Muzzleloader deer hunting season. The number taken during the 2007 season is marked in ( ): for example 2008 (2007):
Adams -305 (305); Allen -86 (96); Ashland -541 (511); Ashtabula -322 (359); Athens -511 (460); Auglaize -47 (63); Belmont -539 (507); Brown -352 (389); Butler -117 (125); Carroll -244 (284); Champaign -151 (148); Clark -88 (93); Clermont -316 (317); Clinton -103 (112); Columbiana -403 (469); Coshocton -598 (631); Crawford -156 (144); Cuyahoga -40 (31); Darke -46 (43); Defiance -92 (107); Delaware -124 (173); Erie -81(53); Fairfield -371 (374); Fayette -49 (44); Franklin -80 (48); Fulton -38 (37); Gallia -282 (435); Geauga -92 (112); Greene -60 (67); Guernsey -565 (697); Hamilton -116 (138); Hancock -82 (74); Hardin -75 (74); Harrison -764 (815); Henry -41 (26); Highland -353 (364); Hocking -376 (498) ; Holmes -528 (720); Huron -196 (207); Jackson -431 (391); Jefferson -457 (523); Knox -416(436); Lake -75 (59); Lawrence -288 (268); Licking -688 (763); Logan -152 (170); Lorain -180 (172); Lucas -72 (47); Madison -24 (33); Mahoning -136 (157); Marion -54 (51); Medina -157 (95); Meigs -613 (560); Mercer -22 (31); Miami -22 (18); Monroe -533 (481); Montgomery -55 (62); Morgan -294 (301); Morrow -199 (182); Muskingum -419 (401); Noble -446 (430); Ottawa -23 (40); Paulding -76 (48); Perry -351 (382); Pickaway -60 (148); Pike -207 (210); Portage -133 (120); Preble -86 (82); Putnam -96 (104); Richland -187 (226); Ross -413 (437); Sandusky -67 (40); Scioto -363 (313); Seneca -148 (164); Shelby -77 (122); Stark -339 (317); Summit -76 (101); Trumbull -272 (278); Tuscarawas -934 (971); Union -80 (98); Van Wert -69 (49); Vinton -201 (325); Warren -135 (145); Washington -774 (588); Wayne -171 (89); Williams -97 (86); Wood -63 (81); Wyandot -98 (128). Total -20,659 (21,473

Two nabbed
The first case in Ohio involving the new restitution value for white-tailed deer was brought against two men who pleaded guilty and were convicted of the illegal taking of white-tailed deer. They have been ordered to pay restitution of $12,988 according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
The Honorable Judge Thomas E. Bunch presided and assistant law director Michele Route prosecuted today over the first case in the State involving white-tailed deer restitution under Ohio's revised restitution law. The law went into effect March 2008 and allows the Ohio Division of Wildlife to seek an increased recovery value on all illegally harvested wildlife.
Cory A. Posey, 19, of South Salem has pled guilty to charges of taking a deer with a rifle, deterring an officer, taking a deer after hours, and taking more than one buck in a license year. Posey will pay $100 in fines, additional court costs, and $6,494 in restitution. He will serve 200 hours of community service, five years of community control and hunting privileges suspended for five years.
Kyle E. Kruger, 20, of Washington Court House has pled guilty to charges of spotlighting, deterring an officer, and aiding an individual in the unlawful taking of a wild animal. Kruger will pay $100 in fines, additional court costs, and $6,494 in restitution. He will serve 200 hours of community service, five years of community control and hunting privileges suspended for five years.
In addition to fines, restitution, license suspension and community service, the deer, firearms, and all other equipment used in the illegal activities were ordered forfeit. All venison was forfeited and will be donated to a local food pantry.
Note on Restitution: The recovery value for individual white-tailed deer is derived from the formula listed in 1531.201 of the Ohio Revised Code. The value is determined by measuring the antlers and using the following formula plus the value derived for wildlife. The formula for white tailed deer will be applied to all individuals whose gross score exceeds 125 Boone and Crockett (B&C) inches. The formula is:
Recovery Value = ((gross score - 100)2 x $1.65) + the value derived in the Wildlife Value Formula ($500 as of 3/08). (Both of the above Reprinted by permission of the ODOW)

Aaron’s own
You may remember back a couple of months ago a story I did on a young man named Aaron Painter and Camp Camo taking him out and helping him get his first deer. Well this time he did it again but with no help from anyone, completely on his own.

Baby, it’s cold outside
Aaron woke up early on the morning of Dec. 21 during the extra gun weekend and decided it was a bit windy and real cold, 14 degrees, to be exact, so he rolled over and caught another 40 winks. Waking again at 10 am he ate breakfast and decided to watch some TV, the hunting channel of course, hoping the weather would calm and warm some. That got Aaron cranked a little and by 11:15 a.m. he decided to head out. He suited up, in all the warm clothes he could muster, and started for the woods.

Breathe and squeeze
When he first broke into the woods, he spooked some doe out of their beds to his left, but no shot. He was now within sight distance of his stand and started to walk towards it. Suddenly something caught his eye, right in front of his stand, there was a group of deer, slowly milling around, eating what they could find.
He immediately put down his bag, slowly of course, he couldn’t really see if they were buck or doe so he picked one out that was walkin’ right in front of his sights. Aaron waited until he could see the kill zone, by now he was a little nervous and unsure of himself, thinking that he might miss.
Then he remembered what his dad, Bill, had told him, “just take a deep breath and slowly let it out and squeeze the trigger.” (Good call, Dad, just the way it should be done), so that’s what he did. As his Remington 870 exploded so did the gathering of deer. In all the excitement, Aaron couldn’t tell if he had hit one or not.

Call for backup
No knowing for sure about the shot he called dad and told him he had taken a shot and was pretty sure he had hit one, he was also real sure he needed his help tracking it.
Aaron slowly walked toward the area where the deer was when he shot at it, sure enough blood and lots of it. By this time dad had arrived and they both proceeded to follow the sign. Aaron noticed that after a ways there were tiny drops of blood but lots of them. Bill told him it could be a lung shot and she was blowing the blood out of her nose.
Shortly after that, Aaron started to find big clumps of hair. About 90 yards into the tracking ordeal Aaron saw a spot on the ground where something kicked all of the leaves up from under the snow and about 10 yards out from that there she laid!

Young stud
During the field dressing process, they noticed that the top of both lungs had been clipped. It was then they discovered that it was in fact a button buck not a doe! Hey, ya can’t eat the horns anyway, right?!

Aaron’s stats
Aaron Painter is 15 years old and attends Jefferson Area High School where he is in the 9th grade. He harvested his button buck while hunting on his own land in Jefferson Township at 11:35 a.m. on Sunday Dec. 21. He was using a Remington 870 Magnum Express 20 gauge shotgun launching Remington 2.75- inch rifled slugs. He shot his deer at 70 or so yards away and tracked it for another mile or so, at least that’s what it felt like to Aaron.
This was his second deer this year. He harvested his first one while hunting with myself and Camp Camo Pro Staff member Don Powell in southern Ohio on a management doe hunt.
Congratulations, Aaron, on two successful harvests, that’s the way to do it!

My call
In my haste this year to bow hunt, gun hunt, bonus weekend gun hunt, muzzleloader hunt, bow hunt some more, etc., etc., etc., I forgot to wish all of you, my loyal readers, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. So here’s hoping you had one and will have a great 2009.
Remember, pass it on or it will surely pass on.

Sunderlin is a freelance writer from Geneva. Reach him at djss@roadrunner.com.

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