As hunting season approaches, experienced hunters and newcomers alike are gearing up for a time-honored tradition.
Ohio's upcoming deer hunting seasons for 2023-24 will closely resemble those of the previous year.
Deer hunting season dates for 2023-24 are Nov. 18-19 for youth gun hunting, Nov. 27-Dec. 3 and Dec. 16-17 for gun hunting and Jan. 6-9 for muzzleloaders.
In addition to deer hunting, fall turkey hunting will also be available in 70 counties from Oct. 14 to Nov. 12.
One crucial aspect of hunting preparation is ensuring that your firearm is correctly sighted in.
“You got to figure out where your zero point is,” Rick Musick, owner of Rick’s Sporting Goods in Mount Vernon, told the Mount Vernon News. “It Is going to be 100 yards or 200 yards.”
“So that's where you want to set the set of your crosshairs on that to your sight at 100 or 200 yards. And then, of course, you get just your scope up or down or a left or right to get your your vertical target and your left and right windage.”
In modern hunting, scopes have largely replaced open sights due to their advantages.
“Most people now are using scopes rather than open sites,” Musick said. “So open sites are limited on the distance you can go because it's based on your eyesight. Where with a scope you've got some magnification involved so you can see a little more precise where you're going.”
Musick recommends using quality scopes from trusted brands to ensure durability, especially against recoil.
“As far as if a gun is having trouble being sighted in, if you have a scope on it, sometimes it's a matter of your scope is not properly tightened,” he said. “So it won't stay sighted usually that means, your scope is not tightened down or your scope is bad. Some people put cheap scopes on and they won't handle the recoil of the gun they have it on. That's the reason we handle certain brands of scope that have a lifetime award regardless of what you put them on.”
Regardless of experience level, Musick encourages hunters to practice before embarking on their hunting expeditions.
“First of all, they've got to practice. You just can't pick up a gun and say, 'I'm going to go hunt,’” Musick said. “You’ve got to get some practice time in. And the way ammo is right now, don't wait till the last minute to get your ammo because the closer season gets the harder it is to get. So they want to get out in the shoot. I'd say at least 20-30 rounds just to get used to the gun, get it dialed in so they know they're accurate. What you don't want to do is injure the deer and have it run off and die somewhere and not be harvested.”
Musick said deer hunting seasons is the most popular hunting season for locals.
“That's our number one season we have here for hunting,” Musick said.
Deer hunting season holds a special place in the hearts of many local hunters and is known to be the most popular hunting season. However, Musick underscores that safety should always be the top priority.
“The number one thing for hunting is safety,” Musick said. “When you go to shoot that gun and make sure you know where that bolt is going. If you're hunting with a buddy, make sure he's not in that direction. Hunting accidents happening all the time from people being in the wrong spot and they don't know where they're at. So safety's number one thing. Always know where that bolt is going to go and make sure you're not going to hit a house. Make sure nobody is in the direction of fire. Makes sure you have a backdrop so that bolt is not going to get away from you.”
