Frischkorn's reflection on Ohio's archery deer-hunting opener/w video

After spending nearly 10 hours in two ground blinds during the first three days
of Ohio’s archery-deer-hunting season I’ve seen two white-tails.

Add three more deer that I spotted after I had exited one blind. The two does and one fawn were munching on grass behind a barn where I had parked my car. Go figure.

The guess is in many circles that Ohio’s abundant crop of white oak mast is keeping the deer from exploring all of their feeding potentials. That would include shelled corn, apples, salt blocks and similar deer attractants left by archery hunters near their stands.

Even in many suburban settings are reports of people seeing fewer deer than were noted just a few weeks ago.

Still, I was happy to have had the chance to enjoy a couple of mornings and a couple of evenings in an effort to refuel the freezer with fresh venison.

One is never disappointed with the constant ebb and flow that can be sen and heard while archery deer hunting.

On Saturday just before legal shooting time arrived my ears picked up the notes of a nearby singing pack of coyotes.

And I watched from one of my ground blinds a red squirrel take it upon itself to bully away several chipmunks from off the corn pile. This same red squirrel then proceeded to dine on an apple that I had also tossed onto the bait pile, the little critter happily gnawing away on the fruit.

I was likewise rewarded this morning when a male American towhee visited the bait, not worrying a couple of female cardinals. There’s no way of telling whether this is the towhee that I saw for much of last year’s archery season but I’d like to think that it’s the same fellow.

With a season that runs clear through to the first Sunday in February there is still enough time left to complete by venison-gathering mission.

This story is accompanied by a video, available for viewing on The News-Herald’s web site and under the “blog” heading. Go to the “sports blog” section where you’ll find “Outdoors with Frischkorn.” It’s the last item.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com