Hill country gear

[Hatchet Jack]

You said 3-500 ft in elevation ...
If the slopes are steep I would highly recommend a pair of "Hillsound trail crampons" they will make hill climbing and decent a lot easier and safer.

Dude those things look legit! i added trekking poles this year and gained a ton of traction packing in a 95lb pack up steep mountains..looks like those crampons are next!

[flinginairos]

Good advice here. Def take lots of milkweed and don't trust the forecasted wind. It's normally not right in the hills Either stand will work, i'd opt for the stand/sticks so you can get in the right tree, I use a saddle myself just because climbing those hills with a stand sucks! Cell service in the Ohio hills sucks too with At&t so plan accordingly. There's usually service on top of the ridges tho. as far as packing one out, pretty sure you have to check it on first via telecheck other than that it's fine and what I would do if I was way back in there. Good luck!

[Greg4579]

Thanks Dewey! I'm told you can't quarter out a deer on Ohio public. I'll check out the climber! I have lots of milkweed

I know of no such regulation, don't quote me as law, but I am pretty sure it's legal to quarter and pack them on all the SE OH public land I am aware of. You have to make your own carcass tag and telecheck within 24 hours.

Climber is hit or miss in SE Ohio, I would recommend taking both if you can. I hunt a couple places there you can get in every tree. Another area of public I hunt in SE Ohio was my inspiration for getting a hang on, it's all twisty trees and finding one to climb in my Summit was impossible.

Personally, always hunting hill country, biggest thing gear-wise is having a system down to walk in without getting sweated up. The suiting up at the stand. To me, I get sweated up very easily, so I usually walk in with uninsulated boots and minimal baselayers. I carry an extra baselayer shirt and change that if mine gets sweaty. I pack in insulated coveralls on my stand and get dressed in the tree. Finally I put Arctic Shield Boot Blankets over my boots and I'm good to go.

csoult had a podcast talking about their Ohio hunt last year and they got into trouble for quartering their deer. No clue on the law myself, but wanted to share here.

[keepthefevercalls]

300-500 foot hills shouldn't be too much trouble for you. I would just have some kind of sled to drag it out, and a pack that is comfortable enough to strap your stand and sticks to.