etothepii - Also consider Muskingham or Guernsey counties; there is plenty of plublic land in both. I normally hunt an area outside of Dresden each year with success, and yes, there are times when there seem to be hunters everywhere, but that isn't too frequent. Really, the only time I get bothered by the other hunters is when they are totally inconsiderate of everyone else in the woods. Fortunately, we don't encounter those types too often.

I share your desire to have your own hunting land. Problem is that not only is it not cheap, most parcels that are available at a decent price per acre are pretty small. Really need to have several guys go together to buy a bigger chunk when one becomes available.