With a few of the controlled waterfowl
hunts and all of the applicants for the controlled deer hunts being
drawn, take heart in knowing the odds were not in your favor.
Maybe that's why using the term
“lottery” makes sense.
For the just concluded drawing and
posting of the lucky recipients most of the hunts saw considerably
more applicants than slots being available.
A short rundown helps illustrate the
point. In all, 4,736 applicants each ponied up $3 for a chance to
hunt deer at NASA's Plum Brook Research Station near Sandusky. Yet
only 122 names were drawn for an odds of being selected ratio of 1 in
39.
This reserve's controlled archery deer
hunt saw even greater odds: One in 46.
The much-sought-after permits to the
Mosquito Creek Muzzle-loader controlled hunt were better, though not
by much: One in 23.
To participate in the Ottawa National
Wildlife Refuge/Magee Marsh deer gun hunt the odds were ridiculously
stacked against you. Try to imagine odds of one in 81 with 2,264
applicants applying for just 28 slots.
All of these odds are downright sure
things, at least when compared to the chances of being picked for
either the gun hunt or the muzzle-loading hunt at the Transportation
Research Center, wherever that place is.
For the gun hunt, 1,706 applicants
filed for one of the 16 spots with the odds thus being One in 107.
Yet the odds of being selected for the
muzzle-loading hunts at the Transportation Center were the longest of
all, that being one in 165, or 1,316 people applying for just one of
the eight available slots. Yikes, indeed.
Even the women hunts saw considerable
interest. The women firearms hunt at the Ravenna Arsenal had odds of
one in five while the women hunt at Killdeer Plains saw odds of One
in 13.
And the mobility-impaired hunts were no
better. The odds for such a hunt at the state's Castalia Coldwater
Fish Hatchery were One in Seven, and One in Three for the similar
hunts at Killdeer Plains.
Some hunters have become so discouraged
after seeing their applications fail year after year they now refuse
to apply. My two older brothers, Rich and Terry, are among them as
are a couple of hunting buddies.
Some suggestions to improve the system
include providing preference points whereby every year an applicant
is not selected he or she gets an additional free try.
Another thought is to prohibit a person
who is drawn for a particular hunt for applying again for a period of
one or more years.
Both methods are employed elsewhere
though the Ohio Division of Wildlife has reacted coolly toward
adopting either of these suggestions let alone any other.
OOPS – Hunters and anglers use the
respective game or fish law digests as guides to help keep them out
of trouble with the law.
So what happens when the digests
themselves are in error?
If you're the Wildlife Division you
squirm out of the responsibility by saying the actual code is correct
with the digest just being a helpful summary.
Oh, please. After going through the
current, 2013-2014 Ohio fishing law digest I came across a puzzlement
found on page 11. There, in black and white the Wildlife Division
specifically excludes the use of crossbow for the taking of either
frogs or turtles.
Thing is, the document is dead-set
incorrect. A quick email note to Scott Zody, the Wildlife Division's
chief, saw that the agency admitting it goofed and that the actual
several-year-old technical language says all archery tackle is legal
tender for taking frogs and turtles, not just longbows.
Of course when the 2014-2015 fishing
law digest comes out late next winter that section about the taking
of frogs and turtles is going to be my first read.
AMMO SHORTAGE/WHAT AMMO SHORTAGE – As
been said here a few times within the past several weeks, the great
ammunition shortage of 2013 is ever-so-slowly easing.
Not for every caliber and not in every
locale but enough so that hunters looking to sight-in their firearms
may sweat less in finding what they need prior to the deer-hunting
season.
The Sportsman's Guide is circulating
its latest e-version catalog, noting an adequate supply of .223
Remington/ 5.56 NATO.
Which, frankly, never seemed to have
been much of an issue here in Northeast Ohio.
The guide likewise is listing several
types of both 7.62x39mm and 7.62x54R ammunition.
Meanwhile, Ohio's Fin, Feather and Fur
Outfitters' latest e-edition flier is noting “Great Savings” on
several popular handgun calibers. Among them are 9mm, 40S&W, .380
Auto, .45ACP, and .38 Special.
And Able Ammo's web site lists no fewer
than 16 types of .308 Winchester ammunition ready for ordering. This
caliber had been one of the most challenging to buy during the Great
Ammo Shortage of 2013.
Alas, however, even Budsgunshop.com
can't help when it comes to the availability of .22 long rifle
ammunition or .45 Colt for that matter.
Hopefully with the various waterfowl,
upland game, and small game hunting seasons on the horizon sportsmen
won't similarly have difficulties finding the correct shotshell
ammunition.
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
Able ammo is out of stock on everything .308. We can thank all the doomsday preppers idiots out there for stockpiling ammunition. Now we have to use our $1000 rifles to beat the deer...
ReplyDeleteWell I hope that the system will be improve including preference points for applicant. Maybe they used this to discourage people from hunting and preserving the wildlife more. It is much better to think that the animals to be hunted are already populated or they are eliminated because they are considered to be pests.
ReplyDeleteI was one of the "lucky" hunters at the transportation center this year. It wasn't a great experience at all. 4 people thrown into 1 area, no scouting, don't know each other. 50 yds away the other lucky Hunter sits in the morning. 225 acted, he's 50 yds away. Then the other 2 lucky hunters do a deer drive. Move the deer out of the area. Its not all that. Save your time, hunt at your local state park. You will have as much success and run into the sane situations I did.
ReplyDeleteI was picked for the Transportation Center Gun hunt and it was pretty lame. I hunted Zone 4 with my buddy and another pair of hunters who I never met or saw. I did the best I could with Google Earth but still went in there blind. I watched a corner of a field at daylight and then slipped into a spot and sat still until noon (was a cold day in the low 20's) then I drove to the other 3 parking areas and picked a spot for the afternoon hunt. I saw 5 doe running across the field 200 yards away and then while sitting till dark saw 2 more doe. I was expecting a much better hunt and would have rather hunted a state park.
ReplyDelete