Central ohio Public Lands

I am thinking of starting to research public land in Central Ohio for a long weekend bowhunt this fall.  Being from PA I know our public lands get hunted hard and with the current deer management program are hardly worth the effort.  Are Ohio's public land hunted hard?  I am not looking a P&Y'r behind every tree but a good time seeing deer with a reasonable change of being successful. Any advice is appreciated.  Thanks

Dale,

Just north of Columbus is the Delaware Wildlife Area. It does get a lot of pressure on the weekends but it is not impossible to find a secluded spot. Sometimes the pressure will work in your favor. I have hunted small game here only but I know a couple guys who have success here regularly.
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/wild_resourcessubhomepage/WildlifeAreaMaps/CentralOhioWildlifeAreas/DelawareWildlifeArea/tabid/19699/Default.aspx

A little closer to Pa. and maybe worth a serious look is the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area. I have never hunted but drove around a couple winters ago and there was a ton of deer trails and sign visible from the roads. It looks like perfect deer habitat with the swamp areas surrounded by crops.
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/wild_resourcessubhomepage/WildlifeAreaMaps/NortheastOhioWildlifeAreaMaps/KillbuckMarshWildlifeArea/tabid/19773/Default.aspx

South of Columbus near Chillicothe is Tar Hollow State Forest and Park. It has over 16,000 acres and most is rough terrain. I have hunted this area for about 15 years. It's a tough hunt but if you want to go in a little you can get into deer with out seeing anyone else.
http://ohiodnr.com/forests/tarhollow/tabid/5168/Default.aspx

Zaleski State Forest is near McArhtur and it is close to the size of Tar Hollow although the break up is different. There is a massive no hunting zone around Lake Hope which is in the center of the park. I have a camp down there close by but only hunted here a couple times last year. I need to scout more to be confident. There are hogs in the area although all I have seen is the sign. I have seen more wildlife in this area than Tar Hollow.
http://ohiodnr.com/forests/zaleski/tabid/5171/Default.aspx

If you want to go big Wayne National Forest is the biggest in Ohio. I have hunted, in fact killed my first deer in the Wayne. You can camp anywhere and there are camping areas.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/wayne

heydeerman,

THANK YOU very much for the information. I appreciate the help.

Any luck?

Mohican State Forest in Ashland county is worth a look: http://www.mohicanstatepark.org/

This is mature forest land with a nice lodge and campground. Best of luck.