The glory days of whitetail deer hunting in Ohio are over. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which by law is required to conserve the deer herd, has instead destroyed it.

The unelected bureaucrats that run the division of wildlife, Chief Scott Zody and Deer Herd Administrator Mike Tonkovich, have no incentive to protect the herd. Instead, like others before them, they can take a lucrative retirement from the state and walk out of office with a smile on their face and a skip in their step.

Mr. Tonkovich has repeatedly stated that a smaller deer herd is a good thing because it means fewer farmer complaints and fewer vehicle accidents. This begs the question: Who is he really representing here, big agriculture and big insurance companies or his legally mandated duty to protect and preserve wildlife for future generations?

Their latest proposal to allow handgun cartridges chambered in rifles for deer hunting is another example of their basic ignorance and incompetence. Chief Zody has been publicly quoted as stating that these cartridges are not a 30.06.

Apparently he does not know much about firearms, because the 375 Winchester, 38-55, 444 Marlin, 45-70, 45-90, 45-110, 50-70, 50-90, 50-100, and 50-110, are by no means pistol ammunition.

Ohio is way too populated to be using these types of ammunition. These weapons will shoot through a house, motor vehicle, school bus or church at distances up to a mile or more. Apparently he has never watched the movie “Quigley Down Under” where the main character utilized a Shiloh Sharps 45-110 to regularly shoot distances of 1,200 yards or more accurately without modern day optics.

Not long ago, a horrible tragedy occurred in Holmes County. A muzzle loader discharged and killed a young girl in a buggy that was a mile away.

That muzzle loader was a toy compared to the modern, high powered cartridges that they are talking about allowing now. These are the very same cartridges that destroyed the great buffalo herds and the grizzly bear. I guess they now want to use them to finish off the deer herd in Ohio.

And as far as Chief Zody’s comments about the 30.06, I will be happy to meeting him on the firing line with my 45-110 Sharps reproduction and he can bring his 30.06. We will see who knocks down the steel ram at 1,000 yards.

 

Randy Wilhelm

Sunbury, Ohio