Some outdoor enthusiasts are counting down the days to the season’s opening day like Christmas.
Their Christmas morning will be here in a couple months — archery begins Saturday, Sept. 28, in Ohio; and Tuesday, Oct. 1, in Michigan.
Meanwhile, what to do?
Staying in good physical shape is important to keep your muscles toned to shoot archery gear, as well as having your bow tuned, arrows cut to the right size, and sights in working order — if you use sights. I shoot instinctive when I use my recurve, so no sights are needed.
Many enjoy shooting archery gear as a hobby in itself. If you’re lucky enough to have property out in the country where you can practice on your very own 3D target, that’s cool, but a lot of us in the city don’t usually have that luxury.
It was awesome being able to practice that way when I lived in Michigan’s Thumb region. Ninety percent or more of my hunts are from a climbing tree stand 20 feet and above and as many experts say, “You should practice like you would hunt in the woods.”
I just watched one of those “experts” — actually a deer hunting icon whose adventures go back to the early days of videos in the 1970s — Dan Fitzgerald — give some tips around his house on his Facebook page. He suggests to practice hitting center mass of soybean bales, then shooting stumps, and in the spring, testing your skill on dandelions and all kinds of different targets. He also suggests going out in all kinds of elements (rain, snow, cold) to practice.
I would set up the 3D deer target and shoot at it from the roof or balcony. But alas, now I’m in the city, and I have to improvise.
There are a couple of great public outdoor ranges in northwest Ohio that I have visited.
One of which I’ve shot at frequently when I lived on the east side of Toledo was the range at Ringneck Ridge Wildlife Area, just outside of Gibsonburg, Ohio, which is free and open every day, sunrise to sunset.
Another, which touts itself as “Toledo’s only public archery range and 3D archery course” on its Facebook page, is Westwinds Metropark, 9918 Geiser Road, Holland. I really like this course. What I mainly used was the static range, where the lanes with bullseye targets are spaced out at various yardages from 10 to 60. There also is a crossbow course.
Archers can shoot from an elevated platform or the ground.
The static range is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 17 to Oct. 31.
Its 3D archery course is open daily, 7 a.m. until dark. From the social media reviews and the first couple stations I’ve tried, it rates highly.
One course that I’ve yet to try is the one at the Maumee Bay State Park, 1400 State Park Road in Oregon. It features seven shooting lanes with static bag targets and 3D targets, according to the park’s social media.
Speaking of iconic, Cleland’s Outdoor World, 10306 Airport Highway in Swanton, has been in the area since the 1960s. The mother and son duo, Jan Trask and Ken Shields, took over ownership of the business in 2018.
So if practicing outdoors isn’t your thing, the store has an indoor range with 10 lanes. Times may be reserved online, and archery classes are available, as well.
I decided to stop in on Wednesday and take a closer look at the indoor range. While I was there, two archers were using the range, and I asked them what they thought of it and the store in general.
“Galen [Banks] just takes care of people like they’re a family member,” one of them told me. “You come in and you have everything you need. He’s fletched arrows for me. He’s helped me with technique a little bit. Tuned my bow. This is my go-to spot for shooting.”
Banks is the shop’s bow technician.
Later, Trask took me on a tour of the 3D range the outfitter provides behind the building. Admittedly, the course was needing the lanes cleared in places and other work but as she said in its current form, “It provides real life hunting situations.”
She also said Cleland’s will be providing archery qualification next month for the special state park deer hunts.
BOAT SOLD: I know there will be plenty of happy pro and everyday anglers at this news, well ... maybe: The 22-foot Ranger boat seized from Chase Cominsky — one of the two infamous convicted Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament cheaters — was sold for a little more than $96,000, including fees and taxes, in an online auction on Tuesday, according to an ODNR news release.
The money will go toward funding a new Lake Erie law enforcement patrol vessel for Ohio wildlife officers.
LEWT angler Joe Whitten of Curtice, Ohio, who took second place in May with his partner Rob Lester in the Huron Pro Am, told me in a text he has been following the whole saga from day one.
“It doesn’t matter or make me happy because there is no retribution from the money that they stole from the fishermen,” he said. “Unfortunately our legal system sometimes doesn’t do what’s right.”
He said the pair were allowed to take “all the electronics off and the rod holders” from the boat.
Another LEWT angler, Gary Zart, who has placed fifth, seventh, and 12th with his son Nicholas in events this season, was more upbeat about the auction sale of the boat.
“I’m glad they got all that money for the ODNR,” Gary said.
Cominsky, 37, of Hermitage, Pa., and Jacob Runyan, 44, of Ashtabula, Ohio, were convicted in May, 2023, of felony cheating and misdemeanor animal ownership charges.
After reports of a cheating that included putting lead weights in walleye during the LEWT 2022 season, the Division of Wildlife conducted an investigation, which resulted in the boat being seized with motor and trailer. Cominsky and Runyan each had their fishing licenses revoked for three years. They also were sentenced to 10 days in jail and 18 months on community control.
SPECIAL DEER HUNTS: There are eight nature preserves across the state during the 2024-25 hunting season where officials have determined excessive browsing by white-tails presents a threat to native plants, some of which are some of the “rarest and highest quality ecology,” an ODNR news release said.
The result: Special deer hunt periods.
There are special gun hunts at two preserves, a muzzleloading, gun, and archery hunt at another, and then the final five will be archery only.
Hopeful hunters are required to attend a mandatory meeting for the preserve or preserves they want to hunt. Then they can pay $5 for the draw.
Goll Woods in Fulton County is the closest one in our area and is an archery-only hunt.
The mandatory meeting will be at 9 a.m. Aug. 24 in the preserve office, 26093 County Road F, Archbold, Ohio.
For more information, contact Preserve Manager Ryan Schroeder at (419) 445-1775 or at ryan.schroeder@dnr.ohio.gov.
Go to wildohio.gov to see what other nature preserves are holding hunts and where the meetings will be held.
First Published July 27, 2024, 11:30 a.m.
