MASSIE TOWNSHIP — Decked out in a modern-day, insulated hunter's jump suit, Ron Chasten proudly showed off the deer he shot with a weapon out of the 19th century.

        The deer, one of the nearly 110,000 expected to be killed by Ohio hunters before deer season ends at sunset Sunday, was downed in a single shot by a muzzle-loaded gun, a replica of a 19th century weapon that requires manual reloading with gunpowder after each shot.

Jamie Becker, right, tags a deer at a Massie Township check station. It was killed by Ron Chasten, left, of Lebanon Township. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        The single-shot hunting philosophy is an ethic shared by Mr. Chasten and his hunting buddies, who joined hundreds of other sportsmen tracking deer in the northern Warren County woods of Caesar Creek State Park and nearby private land, where allowed.

        “It's more of a challenge than using a shotgun,” said the Lebanon resident.

        Fellow hunter Robert Bright, also of Lebanon, said using a muzzle-loaded gun and its single-shot limitation makes deer hunting “more of a true sport.”

        The annual Ohio deer season for all types of guns began Monday. Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials project that from initial deer totals — opening day's total of 41,257 deer was an 18.3 percent increase over last year's first day — nearly 110,000 deer will be killed by hunters, the highest total since 1997.

        At the Spillway Party Supply store in Massie Township, it's been a busy week. The small deli store and bait shop also doubles as a state deer check-in station where hunters are required to bring in their kills for registration.

DEER SEASON

Ohio's gun season hunting opening day, Nov. 26, saw more than 41,000 deer killed statewide, which was an 18 percent increase from opening day 2000, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) officials.     In Northern Kentucky deer hunting with modern firearms was from Nov. 10-25 but muzzle-loader guns can be used from Dec. 8-14.     Indiana's deer hunting season for modern firearms began on Nov. 17 and ends Sunday, but muzzle-loader hunting is from Dec. 8-23.

        Store worker Jamie Becker said the week's rainy weather — combined with sitting for hours in tree stands in the cold — had many hunters “shooting the first deer they see” regardless of size.

        “It's stayed pretty steady all so far,” Ms. Becker said, motioning to a wall covered in Polaroid photos of dozens of men posing with their fresh kills.

        Chris Douner, assistant park manager for Caesar Creek, said the higher kill totals for this hunting season may reflect an overabundance of deer in Ohio.

        “A lot of people don't realize it, but the bottom line is that there are more deer in Ohio now than when the pioneers first got here ... because they have no natural predators left,” Mr. Douner said, referring to the disappearance of wolves, mountain lions and bears that once thrived in the state.

        The annual hunting of deer by hunters is essential, he said, otherwise “a lot of them will starve in the winter.”

        Thinning deer herds can also reduce the number of the animals hit by motor vehicles. Deer-vehicle collisions in the state accounted for more than $71 million in insurance claims in 1999.

        Meanwhile, the state's first human fatality of the shotgun deer hunting season was reported Thursday when a Pike County hunter was killed by a single deer slug. The victim's name and hometown were not released.

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