DISTRICT ONE
District One provides great hunting for local residents, but poses more of a challenge for hunters looking for public ground.

To find a trophy buck, traveling hunters need to do their homework. That includes looking for big bucks as well as access to private land.

According to the stats, Fairfield, Licking and Knox are always putting their fair share of trophies in the book. With urban sprawl starting to form high deer densities, isolated farmers are feeling the results of deer damage. With the mindset of helping farmers shoot more pests, you may be able to help them while harvesting does and seeking out record bucks.

The District One office provides a list of deer-damage complainants to the public, and this can be a source of opportunities to find good private lands. To acquire the list, log onto ohiodnr.com/wildlife.

Every district in Ohio has a few special public-land opportunities that, if scouted and hunted properly, can produce a new record-class buck.

Are you looking for a few public land choices? Gary Ludwig, District One Wildlife Management Supervisor, recommended the following:

"Our biggest public hunting areas (in order of deer hunting potential) are Deer Creek Wildlife Area (at 3,700 acres), Delaware Wildlife Area (3,600 acres) and Kokosing Lake Wildlife Area (1,200 acres). These areas are small and are mostly upland habitat, but deer-hunting opportunities are plentiful, especially for early season archery hunters.

Big Island Wildlife Area in Marion County (5,500 acres) holds deer, reports Ludwig, but it's mostly upland and wetland habitat, with woodlands concentrated mainly along the Scioto River and near the town of New Bloomington.

All of these areas are cooperatively farmed and full of buck sign.

Ludwig also likes your chances in the urban zones.

"Don't sell the urban counties such as Franklin and Delaware short," he said. "While hunting opportunities are limited, hunters lucky enough to find an urban hunting spot will see some tremendous bucks and lots of antlerless deer."

DISTRICT TWO
Ohio's most fertile lands abound in the northwest region. The better the food, the bigger the bucks, and this region's genetics and food sources are tremendous.

Northwestern Ohio lacks the cover to keep bucks old enough to grow an abundance of trophy racks. However, recent trends are changing along the riparian corridors of the Sandusky and Blanchard rivers and their tributaries that flow through Seneca, Hancock, Hardin and Wyandot counties.

Thirty-one BBBC entries came from this area, which is awesome. Much of this is due to these counties having a two-deer limit, which allows more hunters to hunt near home instead of traveling to southern Ohio. Because they can harvest two deer in most of northwest Ohio, many are taking a doe for meat and spending the rest of the season trophy hunting.

In this district, public land is hard to come by. Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area does afford deer hunters great deer habitat, but it's not the easiest area to hunt. Half of this 8,000-acre wildlife area is a refuge where no hunting is allowed.

That may sound negative, but it can actually benefit the avid trophy hunter. Look for trails leading to and from the sanctuary to set up stand sites or blinds, especially during the rut when the big deer are on the move.

In overlooked areas like Killdeer, you may find low hunting pressure -- and your next trophy.