Ohio's popular deer-gun season opens statewide on Monday, Nov. 30, offering hunters a full week to harvest a whitetail. The upcoming season will again include an extra weekend of gun hunting on Dec. 19-20, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

Deer can be hunted with a legal muzzleloader, handgun or shotgun from one half-hour before sunrise to sunset through Dec. 6 and Dec. 19-20. With a pre-hunting season population estimate of 650,000 white-tailed deer, the Division of Wildlife anticipates 115,000 to 125,000 deer will be killed during the nine-day season. Approximately 420,000 hunters are expected to participate in this year's season, including many out-of-state hunters.

The white-tailed deer is the most popular game animal in Ohio, frequently pursued by generations of hunters. Ohio ranks 8th nationally in annual hunting-related sales and 10th in the number of jobs associated with the hunting-related industry. Each year, hunting has a $859 million economic impact in Ohio through the sale of equipment, fuel, food, lodging and more.

Ohio is divided into three deer hunting zones. Beginning on the opening day of gun season and continuing through December 6 a limit of one deer may be taken in Zone A (20 counties) and two deer in Zone B (30 counties). A total of six deer may be harvested in eastern and southeastern Ohio's Zone C (38 counties) through the week long gun season.

The antlerless deer permit will be valid for deer-gun week only in Zone C. Beginning on December 7, the bag limit is three deer in Zone C and antlerless deer permits are no longer valid. Any time a hunter is allowed to take more than one deer, they must purchase an additional permit.

Those hunting in urban units and at Division of Wildlife-authorized controlled hunts will have a six-deer bag limit, and those deer will not count against the hunter's zone bag limit.

Antlerless deer permits can be used for the entire season in urban deer units or Division of Wildlife-authorized controlled hunts. Antlerless deer permits must be purchased by Nov. 29. Hunters may take only one antlered deer, regardless of zone, hunting method or season. A deer permit is required in addition to a valid Ohio hunting license.

I am confident as more corn gets harvested, the next couple of weeks should yield some monster bucks. When the full moon hit a few weeks ago, it really sparked the rut and a lot of those giant bucks we saw on the trail cameras this summer are now being seen chasing does and some have already been harvested by bow hunters. The harvest numbers might not be a record this year but I am predicting there will be a lot of very happy deer hunters in the next few weeks as the rut continues and the gun seasons produce some wall hanging trophies.

•Individuals seeking information about the upcoming white-tailed deer hunting seasons, or to report violations of state wildlife laws, can take advantage of extended call center hours from November 21 to December 6. The 1-800-WILDLIFE (945-3543) general hunting information hotline will be available to answer calls prior to and during the regular deer-gun season, which begins Monday, November 30, and ends Sunday, Dec. 6.

Special call center hours prior to and during the state's popular deer-gun season are as follows: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 28-29; 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, Nov. 30-Dec. 4; 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5-6 and it will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

Ohioans also are encouraged to help enforce state wildlife laws by reporting violations to the division's Turn-in-a-Poacher (TIP) hotline at 1-800-POACHER (762-2437). The TIP hotline will also be open extended hours during the upcoming hunting seasons.

Established in 1982, the TIP program allows individuals to anonymously call toll free from anywhere in the state to report wildlife violations. The 1-800-POACHER hotline will be open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. the week of deer-gun season. Tipsters may be eligible to receive a cash award and are urged to leave a message during closed hours with as much information about the suspected violation as can be provided. Tips can also be submitted online at www.wildohio.com.

•Ohio bow hunters killed 53,959 deer during the first six weeks of the state's archery season. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife, this year's early archery season harvest is 4 percent higher than last year's kill of 51,976 deer.

Pursuing deer with a bow continues to grow in popularity among Ohio hunters. The season started Sept. 26 and will carry on through Feb. 7, 2010. Bow hunters harvested a total of 85,856 deer during last year's four-month Ohio archery season. Hunters can share photos of their success in the field online by visiting wildohio.com and clicking on Photo Gallery.

Until next time, Good Hunting and Good Fishing!