Ohio Deer Hunting

Rut Chasers, LLC offers some of the best hunting trophy whitetail deer in the most renowned counties in Ohio, including Licking, Franklin, Coshocton, Knox, and Muskingum counties. We limit the number of hunts so that we can focus on you. Bigger in terms of business is not better in our opinion. See why we have an 80-90% rebooking rate! Take the best whitetail deer hunting in the country and an outfitter committed to your success, and you will feel the same. Experience our fair-chase, semi-guided deer hunts for yourself. You won't be disappointed!

Book Your Ohio Deer Hunt:
Email or Call us today at 419-543-3433

Hunt Package and Pricing Info:
Opening Week Hunts Pre-Rut Hunts Rut Hunts Post-Rut Hunts Gun Hunts Gun/Bow Combo Hunts Muzzleloader Hunts Late Season Hunts

Opening Week Hunts:

Price $3000 - Opener OR Midweek $2500 5 days of hunting and 6 days of lodging

Opening week has always been one of my favorite weeks. There is something special about the opening week here in Ohio—no pressure in the Ohio woods until that opening day. You will see a ton of deer. The deer are very patternable this time of year. So, there's a good chance you'll know exactly what bucks you'll see and what ones you're targeting. I killed Goliath, my biggest deer to date, the opening week back in 2020. Hunting greens and corn piles are typically the best this week. It has a lot to do with the weather. All my hunts have a lot to do with the weather. This week's success rate/opportunity rate is around 70 to 80 percent. It's always been a very successful week, especially for opportunities. I often get asked about success rates, and it's hard to explain. There are kills and misses; there are also guys that won't shoot unless it's 170 and pass 150's. So it's tough to go on a success rate. However, the opportunity rate at a 140-inch plus whitetail is around 70 to 80 percent. This week, we only hunt evenings. Hunting mornings do more harm than good, as getting into a food source before daylight is hard. This hunt is typically booked full before the opening weekends the year prior.

Late October Pre-Rut Hunts:

Price: $2800 - 4 1/2 days of hunting and 5 days of lodging. (Sunday afternoon through Thursday).

This particular hunt is an absolute blast. This last week of October typically falls on that Halloween time frame right before it, and hunting on Halloween is one of my favorite dates to hunt. This time, a lot of my bucks disappeared before the opener started showing back up randomly, along with new studs. The success rate/opportunity week this week of 140 plus will be around 60 to 70 percent. We need the right weather for it to work perfectly. But also, it's the beginning part of the rut, so even if the weather is warm, there is still a very good chance something BIG can happen!

Rut Hunts:

Price: $3,000 - 4 1/2 days of hunting and 5 days of lodging. (Sunday afternoon through Thursday).

Rut hunts will run the first 3 weeks of November. The first three weeks are typically all good in their own way. Weather conditions play a significant factor in this particular hunt. The deer are going to rut regardless. But movement will be reduced if it's 60 to 70 to 80 degrees. Typically, it's not that warm, and they chase and rut during the day plenty. There will be a 60 to 70 percent opportunity rate these three weeks on a 140-inch plus whitetails. I like to have hunters in for these hunts that are hard hunters and willing to sit all day. If you don't want to sit long, this hunt probably isn't for you. In that case, you're better off going early or late season. I've killed, and a lot of my hunters have killed between 10 and 2 during this time. So if a guy is willing to put in the hours during a week like this, you'll have a good chance of killing that 140+ whitetail deer. The best part about the rut is you never know what can show up. Don't let your guard down on this hunt, or you could miss your shot at the 170-200-inch whitetail of your dreams!

End of November- December Bow Post Rut

Price: $2600 - 4 1/2 days hunting and 5 days lodging. (Sunday afternoon through Thursday).

The post-rut bow season can be an excellent time to hunt, mainly because we are a bait state. These bucks have been cruising, chasing for a month, and eating very little. Then the rut starts winding down, and they hit bait, food plots, and crop fields like crazy. It can be one of the best times to get an easy bait pile shot at a big, mature whitetail, especially if we get that perfect weather situation. Cold plus snow and food equals some excellent hunting. The success rate during these weeks is around 60 to 70 percent. The hard part of hunting this time is typically a ton of deer hitting each spot. So there are a ton of eyes, ears, and noses in the same area. So scent control is big deal. as well as getting in early before they start moving. This hunt can also be great because the last does and fawns are coming into heat. Those big mature bucks are cruising to find those last few does to breed for the year.

Gun Week Hunts

Price: $2800 - 5 days hunting and 6 days of lodging (Monday through Friday)

Gun week hunts are 5 days with 6 days of lodging. On this hunt, you will arrive on Sunday, start Monday, and run until Friday. There's also an extra weekend hunt the following weekend after the gun week. We have very little gun hunting here in Ohio. Gun week is a great week to hunt. It's a great time to kill a mature buck that we haven't been able to cooperate. They get forced to cooperate. Monday morning of shotgun week is awesome. Some absolute studs have went down that morning and throughout that week. It is gun week, so expect mid-week action to be slow and pick back up as the pressure drops. A lot of guys hunt this week. This week, it's about 60 to 70% on opportunities on a 140-inch plus whitetail.

Bow and Gun Weekend Combo

Price: $2400 5 days hunting and 6 days of lodging. (Wednesday through Friday is archery, and Saturday and Sunday are gun season) with lodging.

This bow-gun combo hunt allows you to score a buck either during the three days you hunt with the bow or the last two days with the bang stick. This combo hunt can be action-packed, as deer frequent the baits after all the hard rut action.

Muzzleloader Season

Price: $2400 - 4 days hunting and 5 days with lodging

Muzzleloader season is a great time to book. It's one of my favorite times, especially if the weather is good and cold. We could have snow and frigid temperatures, and that's just what we need to kill studs late and during muzzleloader. I love it because the late season is good all around, but you have a gun in your hands. It makes the opportunity so much better. This hunt is 60 to 70 percent opportunity at a 140-inch plus whitetail. You just have to be willing to hunt in cold temperatures. Some of our biggest bucks come from this time of year. These hunts are over a food source, and I highly recommend only evening hunting. It's hard to get into food sources in the mornings. This hunt will make you want to rebook it each year. You just can't beat late-season hunting on food sources with a gun. If you're interested in our combo hunt, reach out, and we'll discuss it.

Late Season Whitetail Hunts

Price: $2400 5 Day Hunt with Lodging. (Can be extended for $300 a day.)

These hunts are some of the coldest and most successful hunts. If the weather is right, the success rate is close to 70 to 80 percent. I enjoy this hunt. If you have a flexible schedule in January, we can watch the weather and hunt it accordingly. It's perfect. You will mostly be hunting for food sources. All my mature bucks start randomly showing up and become regular at food plots or bait piles. Makes for an exciting and cold hunt. I've typically got regularly daylighting bucks for this hunt and the opener. This is when the deer are more aware, so you must be still and ready. Mostly Evening only hunts, but it will depend on the situation and deer movement. Call me, and let's talk about late-season whitetails!

Additional Hunt Info

Lodging:

We are in the process of buying/building a lodge for Rut Chasers. But for the last few years and the next year or two. I will be renting cabins/houses for hunters to stay in. They are very nice places with great reviews, and we stay there many times a year. The way I do it is I see what cameras are doing, and then I book your lodge so that it is as close to your hunting property as possible. I have properties all over the top 5 counties in Ohio and try to coordinate the lodging accordingly with where the hunters will be hunting.

Booking

80 to 90 percent of our hunts are from rebooking of past hunters. Our high rebooking percentage keeps our availability window small; call ASAP to determine the best dates for you.

How our semi-guided hunts work with going in and out of properties:

All the hunters drove their vehicles to the properties once we showed them where they were hunting. They wanted the freedom to come and go on their own schedule. That is fine with me, but I encourage you to stay in your stand as long as possible or as long as we recommend. Some of the properties you will have to be dropped off and picked up by us because that is what the landowner wants. When I drove to an outfitter to hunt whitetails in the past, I always preferred to drive myself to the property if it was allowed because I wanted all of my hunting equipment in my vehicle in case I needed it. I also didn't want to be on the outfitter and other hunters' schedules.

Success Rates:

One of the most asked questions for an Ohio whitetail deer hunt to an outfitter is, "What is your success rate?" I think it's fair to say that a success rate is an outdoorsman's best honest guess, and that is all that can be expected. In different articles, I have written that the higher the success rate, the more attractive the outfitter looks. We must be careful with the high success rate numbers because it could become a "participation trophy." I like my hunters to be happy, not just kill, so they don't go empty-handed. Some guys don't shower and/or smell like an axe body spray. Others don't put the recommended time in the stand that they should. Others just don't make the best choices, for example, opening every window in the blind, using a bunch of scent lures, not sitting still, or doing candy crush marathons. Simply put, there is no real success rate percentage number because it varies based on the hunter's preparation, patience, and performance, among other variables we can't control (such as weather). So the guy taking scent control seriously, putting in the right amount of time in the woods, and getting in and out properly will have a much better chance than the guy not taking anything seriously. So it's hard to give a 100 percent answer on our true success rates because of all these factors. Last year, we killed a great amount of big mature whitetails. But we also had around 25 missed opportunities! Missed opportunities aren't included in an outfitter's success rate, although the opportunity was presented. No one sees this unless the hunter and outfitter succeed and the trophy is harvested. Hopefully, this will help clear up the success rate question. I promise as the owner of Rut Chasers, LLC, anyone who comes to hunt with us will be on a mature shooter buck. Weather, hunter ability, and everything else determine whether that deer gets harvested. Over the last few years, the opportunity rate has been around 70%, but even this number could be higher if all hunters put in every effort mentioned.

Size restrictions 130 inch minimum

A 130-inch antler minimum is implemented and enforced on all of our farms. Shooting a substandard buck will result in a $1,000 fine. Only by myself or a guide will some leeway be considered. This fine is not about making money and alienating customers; it's about growing the kind of bucks our customers want to shoot. It will help you as a Rut Chaser customer in the future. Quality deer management is one of the reasons you will want to hunt with us in Ohio!

Rut chasers size restriction exceptions:

Each of our farms holds a few fully mature bucks whose antlers do not reach the desired 140" requirement. Most often, our guide or myself will inform hunters of the presence of these management bucks, in which they are welcome to harvest without penalty.
We do NOT impose antler restrictions for our youth hunters.