DISTRICT THREE
District Three continues to hold its own, and recently surpassed many southern counties in total BBBC entries. With an abundant deer herd and options to harvest multiple deer per county, hunters are staying home to seek their trophies.

Several northeast region counties that produced tremendous results included Tuscarawas County, which came in second in the state with 22 club entries. Columbia and Harrison counties, with nine qualifiers each, closely followed Carroll and Ashland counties, yielding 11 entries each.

The southern part of the district contains excellent habitat, and this is the region where most of the record-class bucks are falling. But according to District Three biologists, you can find three notable wildlife areas to hunt trophy bucks.

"I highly recommend Grand River Wildlife Area, due to its extensive bottomland hardwoods, swamps, beaver ponds," said Dan Kramer, a District Three Wildlife Management supervisor. "It is mostly overlooked by deer hunters, but potentially very productive. Brush Creek is my second choice due to its steep, wooded slopes and good deer density.

"Lastly, I like Highlandtown Wildlife Area with its mixed upland cover, high deer numbers and low hunter pressure."

Kramer also supports the new antlerless bowhunter's tag: "We hope bowhunters utilize the new antlerless deer permits this season (prior to shotgun season). This will produce the desired management effect and reduce the deer herd where needed."

The desired affect significantly impacts trophy deer hunting, since bucks will not be tending as many does. They'll be on the move, checking scrapes and defending their territory, thus allowing hunters more sightings.

DISTRICT FOUR
District Four has by far the most deer in the state, and the most opportunities for public hunting.

With over 30 wildlife areas, three large sections of Wayne National Forest and multiple state forest holdings, the greatest chance for a trophy buck is in southeast Ohio.

The questions to ask are, first, what is your definition of trophy? And where can you find a buck that will make the record book?

Over the past two decades, antler beam diameter measurements in District Four have shown a slight decline in size. Tonkovich said this is due to a decline in nutrition, plus higher deer densities. Other factors contribute to the reduction, but those are the main reasons.

Tonkovich believes that hunters don't necessarily understand this, due to their perception of seeing more trophy bucks.

Looking at the statistics, the northern District Four counties are producing the most trophies, so this is where you should start your quest for that mature buck.

For public land options, follow the Interstate Route 70 corridor east from Columbus to find the best trophy-buck areas. About an hour east of Columbus lie the Woodbury and Tri-Valley wildlife areas.

Between the two, they provide 36,000 acres of great hunting opportunities in Coshocton and Muskingum counties, which led the district with a total 26 Buckeye Big Bucks entered.

Many hunters take advantage of another viable option in the southern portion of the state -- the American Electric Power (AEP) lands that are open to public hunting.

AEP has 63,876 acres of land in cooperative agreements with the Division of Wildlife in Athens, Noble, Coshocton, Guernsey, Muskingum, Morgan and Perry counties, all of which are premier trophy buck counties in District Four.