Ohio Bucks (Pix)

JR, you may find you've wasted your money with an outfitter in Ohio, unless he has a good amount of private land. I've heard of a few "outfitters" that just take hunters on public land they've scouted in SE Ohio. There is a lot of public land in Ohio, you just have to make a few trips and scout it before season. If you're going to DIY, I would look at the SW part of the state. We will probably be looking into that this winter. That is where all the monster cl [no swearing please] bucks seem to be coming from...the Beatty buck, The Jerman Buck, Heather Martin's Buck and so many more come from a little 3 or 4 county area between Cincy and Dayton.

As for Ohio being a sleeper, I don't really think so. Many people know about it, but it will never be like Ill or Iowa...the hunting is very different, that's why it's not as popular. SE Ohio is like hunting the big woods of Maine, or mountains of West Va. There isn't much agriculture, but lots of steep, heavily wooded terrain as far as the eye can see. Those other mid west states are more popular because they have higher deer numbers, and offer the classic farmland/woodlot hunting situation. Success can be had in Ohio, but it's tougher to score in just a weeks time, and it's not as scenic as sitting over a corn field, bean field or CRP/hedgerow/woodlot habitat. Ohio also gets more bowhunting pressure because crossbows are legal, and the woods get pretty crowded with them on the weekends. So, while it's a good state, it will never be the destination that Iowa, Ill. or Kansas have become...the circumstances are just too different.

Good luck this year...hope you have a good hunt.