Bowhunting is Only a Month Away-Time to Up Your Practice and Get Blinds and Stands Set Up

Here in Ohio,bow season starts Sept.29th,other states have similar starting dates,most by mid Oct. at the latest.
Ohio deer  seasons-

White-tailed Deer Hunting

Species	Opening Date		Closing Date		Daily Bag Limit
Archery	September 26, 2015		February 7, 2016	Refer to the Deer Hunting Section for details on zone and bag limits.
Gun	November 30, 2015	December 6, 2015
	December 28, 2015	December 29, 2015
Muzzleloader	January 9, 2016		January12,2016

More info @  http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/hunting-trapping-and-shooting-sports/hunting-trapping-regulations/deer-hunting-regulations
W. Va deer seasons-
Archery-Sept 26th-Dec 31st
More info-
http://www.wvdnr.gov/Hunting/Regs1516/Deer_Season.pdf
Pa deer seasons-
DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D: Sept. 19- Nov. 28 and Dec. 26-Jan. 23, 2016. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. One antlered deer per hunting license year.
DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) Statewide: Oct. 3-Nov. 14 and Dec. 26-Jan. 9. One antlered deer per hunting license year. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.
More info @ http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=576240&mode=2

• don’t forget-Pa has elk hunting!

Michigan deer seasons-
*Archery: Oct. 1 – Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 – Jan. 1
More info @ http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10363-312005–,00.html
Kentucky deer seasons-

More info @ http://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Deer-Hunting-Zones-and-Seasons.aspx
Indiana deer seasons-

Archery Season – Oct. 1, 2015 – Jan. 3, 2016

2 antlerless deer OR 1 antlered and 1 antlerless deer (AND bonus antlerless county quota)

More info @ http://www.eregulations.com/indiana/hunting/deer-seasons-licenses-equipment/
That covers Ohio and surrounding states. The rest of the country has similar hunting seasons-some start earlier,some start later-but they all start in the fall. You should have your blind/stand locations scouted out,shooting lanes cut,and your trail in and out raked clear of leaves,sticks,branches,etc. with any overhanging branches trimmed,along with any low branches from small trees,and briars and berry bushes that protrude onto the trail cut off at ground level.
Save all that stuff you trim to brush in your blind or stand. If it’s legal in your state-put out fresh mineral blocks and salt blocks now.
Increase the number of arrows you shoot each day,because as the season starts,you’ll be in the woods,and not practicing as much. I shoot a minimum of 6 groups of 6 arrows a day now,and at least 3 days a week,I shoot 12 groups of 6 arrows-6 in the morning,6 in the evening. At least 2 days a week,I shoot my 6 groups of arrows at last legal shooting light-(half hour after sunset here) Everyone needs to do this-because if there’s any issues with your sights – it’s better to find out now,and have time to fix the problem than it is to find out when you draw your bow on that big buck-and you can’t see shit.
If you hunt private land,and can get your stand/blind set up now-set it up-that way the deer get used to it,and don’t see it as a threat.
If you use trail cameras-you should have had them up in July. If you don’t have them up-get ’em up now.
I know I bring this up a lot-but until more deer hunters get it-the deer herds will continue to shrink many areas-
Shoot every coyote you see-more ‘yotes= fewer deer,in some areas,fawn predation is as high as 90%. That means the ‘yotes are killing 9 out of every 120 fawns born. Shoot the damn things-they’re not native to the eastern U.S.-they are an invasive species-plus eastern ‘yotes have a considerable amount of wolf DNA that they picked upon their way east in Minnesota,Wisconsin,the U.P.of Michigan,and parts of Ontario.
The second problem animal affecting whitetail deer are feral hogs-they eat the same foods as the deer,and while deer can have twins,even triplets,hogs can have 3 litters of 6-8 piglets-(sometimes up to 10 per litter)- per year,sometimes 4. The only way to remove a feral hog family-called a sounder-is to kill or trap every single one of them.If you leave just two,a boar and a sow-within a year,there will be 60-100 hogs in the same area,as the piglets from the first litter will be able to breed and have piglets within 6 months.
The sounders are territorial,so if you take one out-it will be at least a year before another moves in.
Feral hogs have been around from the Carolinas  to Florida,and Florida to Texas along the gulf coast since the Spanish explorers in the 1500’s released pigs in every new place they came to,because the pigs could fend for themselves,and be hunted for food when needed.
It’s impossible to eliminate feral hogs from the southeast,but it is possible to remove them from the surrounding states where they are a problem. The best the southeast can hope for is to limit the billions in crop damage by removing individual sounders.
Unless you want to see the deer herd in your are crash-start killin ‘yotes and feral hogs-remember-you gotta get the whole sounder-all of ’em- to get rid of the hogs.
Get out in the woods.
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT !

Hogs a major problem for deer hunting

 This is a problem anywhere there's a large population of feral hogs or "wild boars",not just in Louisiana.
Killing off feral hogs is just as important as killing off coyotes for healthy deer herds.
The more of both you remove from the habitat-the better off your local deer herd is.
Both animals are prolific breeders,especially hogs. It's much easier to control the coyote population,as they only have pups once a year,hogs can have several litters of piglets a year,with each sow having as many as 8-10 piglets-that's 30 new hogs from just one sow's litters.
The boars kill fawns,and that puts a double whammy on your local deer herd-fawns now have to make it through the coyotes and the hogs alive-the coyote fawn kills in NE Ohio are staggering-I've seen no fewer than 30 dead fawns this year-and the entire month of June here was rain,so I wasn't out in the woods as much as I usually am,which means the 'yotes likely got many more fawns who's remains I didn't find.
In many parts of the country,hogs and deer eat a lot of the same foods-especially acorns.
It will help your local deer herd immensely if you start shooting as many feral hogs as you can-think of them as bacon on the hoof. The meat from feral hogs is excellent,better than farm raised pork.
So there's a double benefit to hunting feral hogs-you get lots of tasty free range pork-and your local deer herd gets more food,and exposed to fewer diseases.
It's best to hunt hogs at night,like coyotes. You can have lots of success hog hunting at dawn and dusk as well.
Feral hogs are smart,they learn quickly,so you have to change up tactics and hunting locations often.
Hunting hogs will also make you a better deer hunter,as you get practice at picking blind/stand locations,being quiet,controlling your scent,and at using your bow, muzzleloader,shotgun,or rifle.
If there are feral hogs in the areas you hunt deer-get out there and start getting some of that free bacon!
There's plenty of recipes and detailed instructions on making your own bacon on the 'net.


While loss of habitat is likely a main driver in Louisiana’s falling deer populations, biologists say feral hogs “continue to be a primary concern” even as the number of hogs killed is skyrocketing
A mail survey of hunters indicates 299,500 hogs were killed during the 2014-15 hunting season, according to the 2014-15 Louisiana Deer Report.
That’s a staggering 63-percent increase from the 183,600 hog kills reported in the 2013-14 deer report.
And, even more telling, is the comparison of hog kills to last season’s deer harvest.
“The mail survey hog harvest estimate was … over twice the current deer harvest estimate and higher than any recorded deer harvest estimate,” the 2014-15 report states.
The report attributed the transport of hogs from region to region as being one of the “areas of concern.”
Those who move hogs around in the belief that they are simply increasing their hunting options should understand that hogs aren’t a benign addition — the species actually impacts the ability of deer to survive.
“Hog populations affect deer numbers through direct competition for food resources and fawn predation,” the report sated. “Hogs carry infectious diseases such as Leptospirosis, brucellosis and pseudo-rabies.”

 source