HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
At Midwest Whitetail Ohio, BLOGREADY.jpg)
we love Thanksgiving week. Â Not only is it a time to celebrate the holiday with our families, it's also a week of mature buck movement. Â The rut is winding down and the big boys are out there searching hard for the last few hot does. Â This is an outstanding time to be in the woods because you just never know what might step into your shooting lane and the possibility of seeing a mature buck during daylight hours is very good. Â Gun Season opens on Monday so get out there and enjoy some of the best hunting of the year! Â We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and good luck in the whitetail woods. Â Be safe & God BlessÂ
___________________________________________________________________________________
YOUTH SEASON SUCCESS
Once again, we had a great time during the 2011 Ohio Youth Shotgun Season. Â Several of the Pro Staff guys accompanied a youth hunter during the two day hunt. Â Although not everyone was fortunate enough to take a deer, a few of the youngsters did have the opportunity to fill a tag. Â Jake Sellers, son of Ohio Pro Staffer Matt Sellers, was one of the lucky hunters. Â Matt tells us the story below. Â Congratulations Jake.
Well the day started off very slow
for Jacob and I. On our morning sit accompanied by my girlfriend Kelly Hotlosz, we saw nothing moving at all. We decided to meet up with my buddy and put on a small deer drive hoping to get the deer moving. We had a 140-145" 10 point come out, but did not offer a good shot for Jacob. After a little lunch we were ready for the afternoon/evening hunt. We sat on stand while the rain continued to get heavier. We saw one big doe feeding off in the distance, when all of a sudden a nice buck appeared out of nowhere. Jacob prepared for the shot as the buck turned broadside at 35-40 yards. The buck stopped and Jacob let the lead fly. The end of the hunt had come, but the the memories we shared will last a lifetime. Hope all the youngsters had a safe and memorable hunt as we did. Things are really heating up here in Southeastern Ohio, so get out there and brave the elements, it just may pay off as it did for us.
You can see Jake's hunt next week on Midwest Whitetail OHIO!
 Â
___________________________________________________________________________________
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
The last few weeks have been a
roller-coaster of emotions for Nate Little of the Ohio Pro Staff. Â Not only did Nate take a great buck during an exciting hunt in Southeast Ohio, but he also was able to watch as his son Easton take his first deer. Â Nate is a great deer hunter but he also understands the importance of passing along the tradition to the next generation. Â Easton might be a little fellow, but the love of hunting and his passion for whitetails is already huge! Â Congratulations to Nate and Easton and all of us at Midwest Whitetail Ohio want to thank you for sharing your hunts with us. Â You can see all of the action on SHOW 13 - LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON!
roller-coaster of emotions for Nate Little of the Ohio Pro Staff. Â Not only did Nate take a great buck during an exciting hunt in Southeast Ohio, but he also was able to watch as his son Easton take his first deer. Â Nate is a great deer hunter but he also understands the importance of passing along the tradition to the next generation. Â Easton might be a little fellow, but the love of hunting and his passion for whitetails is already huge! Â Congratulations to Nate and Easton and all of us at Midwest Whitetail Ohio want to thank you for sharing your hunts with us. Â You can see all of the action on SHOW 13 - LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON!___________________________________________________________________________________
PRO STAFF UPDATES
.....November 23, 2011
EVAN HASTINGS - Southeast
Well with youth season ending 
this past weekend it means one week left before the regular gun season kicks in and that means one more week of hard bowhunting. This past weekend I had a great encounter with the buck I was after but with a high hit he will get along just fine.  In fact, he came back to the same place later that night in the food plot and I got a few pics of him eating so that made me feel better. This week and the past week are my two favorite weeks during the rut.  It's definately a lot slower but every year that is when I see the biggest deer of the year.  This year was no exception. I just didn't do my part and take my time on the shot.
DUSTIN & DERIK NIPPERT - Southeast
At the beginning of the week we were in Missouri hunting where Derik harvested a beautiful 12 point. It was a tough hunt on public ground so we were happy to come home with that deer for sure. This weekend was the youth season so Derik took our little brother Logan on Saturday with no luck. Then on Sunday Logan had a few bucks, one really good one push a doe by him. All i will say about that is Logan wishes he had a do-over. But we did see a lot of deer moving through out the entire day including mature bucks. Some were alone and others were pushing does. Derik did get to see "Moose Buck" in daylight, even though he was a few miles away from where we normally get pics of him. So they are moving around here so we are going to get after them this week. Good luck to everyone and be safe!!Â
JASON & TED HUNTSMAN - Southeast
It was a week of hard hunting with less than desired results. Â We saw a ton of young bucks chasing all week. Â Tonight, I saw 4 more bucks on the move but just no shooters. Â It's frustrating but we're going to keep at it. Â We have a few more days of bowhunting before we get out the shotguns! Â Good luck next week and be safe. Â God Bless - Jason & Ted
___________________________________________________________________________________
PRO STAFF UPDATESÂ
.....November 16, 2011
TRAVIS VANHOOSE - Central
I somehow seen this last week going differently. Me and Tj hunted hard! I seen one of my hist list bucks...Captain Hook. Seen him twice. One time he was working some scrapes on a field edge. The next time I seen him he was walking through a cut bean field and wouldn't respond to any type of call. Then by mid-week the temptures had came up and the deer activity slowed down. We stayed at it and managed to see a few more small bucks and a few does, but the big boys where not moving very much where we was hunting. It's kinda aggervating to hear others talk about seeing bucks chasing doe's everwhere and all this great buck activity and you are not seeing anything good. That's the kinda luck me and Tj had this past week! But we are gonna stay focused and stay at it and hopefully this weekend coming up we will be able to finally get a shot at a monster! From what I've heard and seen out the window of my work truck lots of small bucks following doe's and some bigger bucks are starting to chase as well. Good luck everyone! Be safe, and Have fun!
MICHAEL EWING & EDDIE PENNINGTON - Central
We finally got to see some deer movement this weekend. The rut was in full swing and the bucks were up on their feet. Anytime a doe went by you just had to wait and a buck would be soon to follow. Unfortunately luck was not on our side this weekend but there is still plenty of time to get out there and fill a tag. As the rut starts to calm down we will have to turn our focus back to food sources. This weekend we hope the bucks will still be up looking for the does, we just have to be in the right place when he walks by.
JEFF & JUSTIN MULLINS - Southeast
We have been seeing some bucks the past couple of weeks, some young loner bucks and a few of our hit list bucks. Old Greg is a buck we keep seeing. Saturday morning we had him within sixty yards but he was just over the ridge with just his head and top if his back showing. There was a doe with him and I couldn't get her to come down.
I was in Michigan last week for Fanuc robot training which left Justin here by himself trying to hunt and film for himself. I am heading back to Detroit this week for some more training but when I get back I'm on vacation. The full moon will be over when I get back, the corn should be picked and it should be cooler so the bucks will be up on their feet in the daylight so Thanksgiving week should be a good one. Â
God Bless  - Â
Jeff
JASON & TED HUNTSMAN - Southeast
It was a very slow week for Dad and I. Â We saw plenty of deer but just not anything worth shooting. Â The rutting activity was very slow for us. Â Apparently we were just in the wrong place and couldn't get anywhere near a hot doe. Â However, everything changed on Tuesday evening. Â I finally had a 5 bucks chasing a doe in front of me and Dad had the same deal on a different farm. Â Neither one of us saw anything that we really wanted to shoot but the excitement of the evening has us both ready to get back out there. Â I'm heading to the woods as soon as I finish typing this! Â Youth season is this weekend so we'll both be out filming the young guys in our family. Â Hopefully, we'll have a hunt to share with you next week.
___________________________________________________________________________________
PRO STAFF UPDATESÂ Â
.....11-9-2011
JON MORBITZER & ADAM MOORE - Central
 .jpg)
Well the rut is in full swing. Hope all is well with the hunters out this week. This weekend Adam and I were hunting in Delaware Co. and watched a lot of younger bucks chasing. Also, we've got two new hit list bucks, one in Delaware Co. and the other in Morgan Co. So far this week we have seen many bigger bucks out searching. Not many does though.  I have the rest of the week off, so maybe I will be able to film a good hunt to put on the web site. Good luck to all the hunters out there, be safe and God Bless.
Â
Â
.jpg)
This great buck pictured to the right just showed up on Jon & Adam's trail camera. Â Hopefully, they will get an up-close view at him from a treestand
TRAVIS VANHOOSE - Central
It sure was a great weekend! Saturday evening me and Tj had a great evening sitting in the stand! We seen two bucks, the first one was a really nice buck! Somewhere in the 140's...Had nice mass and decent main beams and tines. But just not the size buck that we are looking for off that farm. So Tj passed the buck, and another buck came in. The bucks looked like they was gonna fight some but instead spent the evening eating acorns and grooming one another! Have to say I have never seen two bucks in November act like that. But its all on film....Then Sunday evening I was hunting and I got to see one of my hit list bucks! He was making a scrape and working up a fence row. Then monday morning sitting in another stand I seen him again! No shots either time. But it is getting right...Monday evening...I didn't see any deer, but it was really warm. I did hear some chasing in a wood lot. I'm on vacation all this week and hopefully after the next cold front we will be into some great hunting here in Ohio! Good luck everyone! Be safe!
DERIK & DUSTIN NIPPERT - Southeast
The rut is just about to explode and hopefully everyone is ready for it. We hunted this whole weekend and all we saw were bucks, no does in sight. We had multiple encounters with smaller bucks, and had one really nice three year old come to the horns. He was very nice but just needs one more year. Most all the bucks either came in to the horns or to grunting. Also whiile driving to where we hunt we saw some bigger bucks chasing does after dark. So the rut should be in blasting off in the next couple days or at the most a week. The weather is really warm right now and it is supposed to drop by the end of the week, so this should gets those bucks moving during the daylight. My brother and I are leaving for Missouri on Wednesday to go muzzleloader hunting out there this weekend. The season opens on Saturday, so we plan on getting out there a couple days early to scout. Well good luck to everyone out there.
EVAN HASTINGS & DAMON DETLING- Southeast
Well things are finally starting to heat up
here in Ohio. As you'll see on this weeks show Damon and I had a real close call on a huge deer. That was the November 5th, in the past it's been Damon's lucky day but this year an unlucky limb fell thirty feet after it cost him a shot and this deer. The day after was my turn and we snuck into my best stand , shortly after daylight it was ruined by four coyotes, but only three of them got away. On the brighter side of things we're starting to see alot of bucks cruising but only one shooter so far but from here on out it only gets better and we're gonna concentrate on sticking close to the doe bedding areas which is almost always a sure thing to see alot of different deer. Hopefully by next week one of us will get a deer on the ground. Â
Â
MICHAEL EWING & EDDIE PENNINGTON - Central
This past weekend was another slow one for us. We spent most of the weekend in the trees and still only managed to see five deer. One of those was a nice eight pointer that we have no history with. We were able to get some good film of him but he never came into bow range. All of the movement we saw this weekend came between 10am and noon. We are going to hit it hard again this coming weekend and hope we are in the right place at the right time.
JASON & TED HUNTSMAN - Southeast
I hunted 4 evenings last week. Â I haven't been in a stand for a morning hunt due to work. Â I spent most of my tree-time on the edge of a Frigid Food Plot and saw several bucks checking does and working scrapes as well as stopping to grab a quick bite in the process. Â Nothing panned out from these encounters. Â The last few days the food plot sighting have dwindled to only fawns walking aimlessly without their mothers. Â This tells me that the bucks are definitely getting with the does and it's time for me to get back in near the doe bedding areas or highly traveled funnels that are traditionally good during the rut. Â I might hang over a food plot as well because you just never know where the big boy will show up right now. Â Dad has been hunting with the grandchildren over food sources and just hasn't been seeing much. Â He's gonna start hunting for himself this week. Â Good Lord willing, we'll have safe hunts and maybe just bring home a buck.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Â
THE 219 INCH GHOST!
        
With Halloween weekend approaching, it only seems fitting that Kurt Mallett of Southeast Ohio arrowed a giant buck that he called "THE GHOST." Â 
The young hunter and his Dad, Mike Mallett, have been watching this buck for a few years now and the Ghost had become a household name for the Malletts. Â Several trail cam pictures and a brief sighting last summer fueled the desire for Kurt and his Dad to pursue this monster whitetail. Â The dream of taking this great buck finally became a reality when The Ghost appeared out of nowhere last week as Kurt filmed from the stand. Â The buck came in to check a doe and Kurt had the camera rolling. Â When he could take it no longer and knew the buck was coming within bow range, Kurt stopped filming and picked up the bow. Â The shot found its mark and the story of The Ghost had come to an exciting end for the Malletts. Â When they found the enormous buck, the sight of this magnificent animal was more than Kurt
 had expected.  He is a true giant Ohio whitetail.  The buck green scored around 226 6/8 inches gross and netted 219 6/8 inches non-typical.  Again, that's a green score and will be officially scored after the 60 day drying period.  The humble young bowhunter has been rewarded at a very early age and all of us at Midwest Whitetail Ohio want to thank Kurt and his Dad Mike for sharing their story with us.  You can watch Kurt and Mike tell the story and see the video of this outstanding buck on SHOW 11.  Congratulations to the Malletts on the buck of a lifetime!
The young hunter and his Dad, Mike Mallett, have been watching this buck for a few years now and the Ghost had become a household name for the Malletts.  Several trail cam pictures and a brief sighting last summer fueled the desire for Kurt and his Dad to pursue this monster whitetail.  The dream of taking this great buck finally became a reality when The Ghost appeared out of nowhere last week as Kurt filmed from the stand.  The buck came in to check a doe and Kurt had the camera rolling.  When he could take it no longer and knew the buck was coming within bow range, Kurt stopped filming and picked up the bow.  The shot found its mark and the story of The Ghost had come to an exciting end for the Malletts.  When they found the enormous buck, the sight of this magnificent animal was more than Kurt had expected.  He is a true giant Ohio whitetail.  The buck green scored around 226 6/8 inches gross and netted 219 6/8 inches non-typical.  Again, that's a green score and will be officially scored after the 60 day drying period.  The humble young bowhunter has been rewarded at a very early age and all of us at Midwest Whitetail Ohio want to thank Kurt and his Dad Mike for sharing their story with us.  You can watch Kurt and Mike tell the story and see the video of this outstanding buck on SHOW 11.  Congratulations to the Malletts on the buck of a lifetime!
__________________________________________________________________________________
PRO STAFF ENTRIES.....November 2, 2011
TRAVIS VANHOOSE - Central
Man o Man.......The first of November is here!.jpg)
The weather is good, the bucks are starting to get in the mood. I've heard of some nice bucks being taken! I have seen a few nice bucks, but nothing real big yet. I have seen smaller bucks fighting and chasing does around. But I've noticed over the years it is about 2 weeks after the smaller bucks start that the big bucks really get going...so I'm hoping my vacation this year is going to be right on the money. Â I start my vacation on 11-5-11 thru 11-15-11. So me and Tj will be out hunting daylight to dark to try to get us.jpg)
 two big bucks! We got the spots and the deer are there, just have to get in range of them! We got a small buck in on a decoy Sunday evening! Grunting and rattling, and using some scent bombs are gonna work! Give them a try!Â
Here are some nice pics of some bucks showing up on the Trail camera!
EVAN HASTINGS - Southeast
Well it's finally here... November and my vacation. That's the good news.  The bad news is I just got word that my camera is not fixable so I guess that means I'll be counting on other people and their camera.  Damon and I just got out of the woods a little bit ago and things are slowly starting to happen. Seen a nice two year old cruising through at daylight followed by a few does. Give it a few days and things oughta really pick up. The weather is supposedto be good all week, for hunting that is. I've got all the best stands in place ready to go. Hopefully by next week a few of the pro staff will have something on the ground. It's camera shopping time now, YIPPPEE!  Take care and good luck everyone.
DERIK & DUSTIN NIPPERT - Southeast
Well this weekend we were not able to get a deer on the ground but it was still a good weekend. On Saturday we woke up to almost two inches of snow so we thought the deer would be moving. We got set up in a stand on a ridge that we think a couple good bucks are using. We tried some grunting and some rattling but nothing came in, or nothing was moving. The snow and the wind must have had the deer beddedÂ
and not traveling. After the morning hunt we checked a couple trail cams and found Moose buck was using the food plots and he was coming in before dark. So I decided to sit in a stand so I could watch all the food plots, so I could see which deer were going where. Not to mention Moose buck had been under that stand at 6:30 the night before. I sat there until dark but no shooters came in. I did see 5 does and 6 bucks but they were not shooters yet. The rut is still probably a week away because none of these bucks were interested in the does yet. A couple of the smaller bucks were sparring around a little bit, and one buck made a couple scrapes. All the deer were just wanting to eat. They were all over the Frigid Forage plots. Hopefully this weekend will be a little better for the bigger buck movement. We are still getting the pictures of the big boys but they are not coming out until after dark, and we do not want to move closer to the bedding areas because then we would take a risk in pushing them off the property. Once the first doe or two comes into estrous this will get them up on there feet and traveling there core areas looking for these does. This is when we will hopefully get a chance at them. Make sure you have some stands hung around the doe bedding areas and get ready to hunt them. Good luck to everyone. It won't be long now and the deer will be running wild!!!Â
B.A. STARR - Southeast
It's been a slow season so far but it's starting to warm up. I did fill my doe tag Friday and that weekend I noticed that with the cold weather that moved in the bucks are starting to bump the does around and starting to search a little  more. I did have some new bucks start to show up on my trail cameras but nothing big yet, all small bucks. So I will be hunting the evening hard after work and on the weekends and starting to hunt mid day. Good luck to the pro staff and can't wait to see how many of the hit list bucks hit the ground this month.
MASON PLUMLY & BRIAN CLARY - Southeast
Brian and I hunted hard this past weekend hoping to seal the deal on aÂ
good buck. We thought with our first bit of snow coming in we would      Â
have saw a ton of deer, but we did not see to many. Our trail cameras      Â
show that some bucks are starting to show up in daylight. Although we      Â
still have plenty that are nocturnal. Even with the slow action this      Â
past weekend I was lucky enough to put some meat in the freezer with a      Â
nice doe kill. This week we are hoping to see more bucks on their feet      Â
in daylight. The corn on my farm is suppose to be getting picked this      Â
week so hopefully that helps jumpstart our rut action. Be safe out      Â
there and remember to wear those Muddy Safety Harnesses.
MICHAEL EWING & EDDIE PENNINGTON - Central
The bucks have been on their feet more in the last few days. Saw a lot of buck activity this weekend, seemed to be at all hours of the mornings but nothing in the evenings. All the deer that we saw were small ones but it is only a matter of time before one of he big boys make the mistake of walking within bow range of one of our trees. Now is the time to head to the best stands you have, that is what we will be doing this weekend.
_______________________________________________
