New member from North Carolina

I'm an avid bowhunter and I have been reading a lot about hunting whitetails in Ohio. I'm currently trying to plan a hunting trip to Ohio for me and my father for the 2013 season. I'm hoping to find access to some private land or be able to find a good place to hunt on public land. I'm in the Army and I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan. I'm going to try to plan at least one or two scouting trips in the summer of 2013. I'm looking for a place that is going to give me a good chance at taking a 140"+ mature whitetail. I don't mind to shoot a doe, but I'm not interested in shooting small bucks. During season I will only be bowhunting and I'm going to be taking 2 to 3 weeks on this hunting trip. Anyone who is willing to reply with advice or willing to PM me with advice I greatly appreciate it. I have a strong passion for bowhunting whitetails and I hate that I'm missing this upcoming season, but I look forward to reading the success stories of the hunters on this forum. I also enjoy seeing the pictures of your successful hunts. Good Luck.

v/r,
Steven

I welcome you to the site, you've found the right place for the info your looking for. I want to thank you for your sacrifice so we civilians can live the life we want. I,m hunting this yr, your not because of your choice to serve . For that I will and I bet most guys on this site will help you.
I,m from out of state also and have been hunting Ohio for 4 yrs. You picked the right state. They have some real good deer. I,m sure there other members who are more qualified in giving advise on where to start. But I will give the best info I have. Wayne National Forest is so big that you couldn't hunt it all in your lifetime. I have 9 topo's just to cover one section. Its not a bad place to start. If you go back to previous threads alot of it has already been talked about. Also if you go to the dnr site they will give a list of all the public land and the maps you need. There's alot more but this should get you started. Feel free to PM me anytime.
As far as private land, I have paid for (do it yourself access) and do not recommend it. I think you can save money and have success on public land. But you never know if you ask for permission you may get. All the people I've meet when hunting have been great. Good luck and God Bless.

Welcome to the site, and I echo Griz's thanks.

This site has a ton of information as it relates to hunting this state. I haven't looked, but I'm sure you can find information on any corner of the state. I personally hunt my own little patch of private land in SWO. I would say the DNR would be the place to start. If you aren't able to hunt this season I would suggest spend the time you have reading and researching on here to decide where to plan your trip. Don't be afraid to ask questions, the guys on here are pretty good at answering them.

What part of NC are you from? I grew up in Raeford and know some Lunsfords from that area.

I appreciate the information from both of you.

heelbilly, I'm from western NC. I don't know anyone from Raeford or around that area.

Thank you for your service. I to was in the military stationed in Norfolk, Va. I hunted the north eastern part of North Carolina and eastern Virginia and took several bucks in the 140 class. I moved to eastern Ohio 3 years ago and I can't wait to get in the woods, a complete different class of deer out here. There is some real nice state land around the state that offer some great hunting if you are unable to find a chunk of private. Just go to the Ohio DNR web site. Good luck to you and once again thank you for your service.