Photo and story by Joshua D. Stallings, Icon intern

As you walk outside with a cup of coffee, a frosty breeze hits your face and chills go down your spine as the trek for the morning paper begins. The rising sun sits on the fence slowly melting the frost off the dying grass.

For some, the morning started long before the sun was up. And instead of slippers and a robe, these people are wearing blaze orange and camouflage. Fall in northwest Ohio brings another season with it: Whitetail deer season.

Hundreds of thousands of Whitetail enthusiasts have or will be making their way into the woods in search of that trophy buck. The deer season, which opened for archery hunting on Sept. 25, has already been good to many Ohio hunters.

With gun season right around the corner, hunters are gearing up for an encounter with the monster buck of their dreams.

"The week of gun season is our busiest time of the year," said Allen Country Game Warden Craig Barr. Gun season opens on Nov. 29 and runs through Dec. 5. The youth hunters ventured into the woods a bit earlier on Nov. 20 and 21 with hopes of harvesting a deer of their own.

"Anytime you can get outside and in the woods it's a great thing, especially as a family. It's great for the youth to get out and experience the outdoors," said Wildlife Management Supervisor Scott Butterworth. Butterworth, a Penn State graduate, has over 25 years in the wildlife management field.

Allen Country tagged in 1,002 Whitetails during the 2009-2010 season. With the deer population growing, Allen County is now a member of Zone B for the first time. Ohio is split into three zones, A, B, and C.

The difference in these zones is the number of deer a hunter is allowed to harvest in that region. Being a member of Zone B allows hunters in Allen County to harvest as many as four deer with the appropriate permits. However, only one of the deer may be a buck.

Non-hunters however, are also aware of the season. Deer move more this time of year and sometimes that means across the road. Ohio drivers certainly need to be aware of the four-legged creature as they travel.

Interstate 75, one of the busiest roads in Ohio travels right through Allen County and it sees its share of car versus deer collisions.

Since the beginning of the Buckeye Big Buck Club in 1958, Allen Country has registered 84 bucks. The Big Buck Club is a way to recognize the trophy whitetails harvested in Ohio. A minimum score of 140 inches is required to make it into the club. This includes the measurement of all scoreable points and the total inches of a whitetail buck's rack.

With the deer population growing and more habitats being restored in Allen County, hunters would certainly like to add to that mark of 84.

Allen Country possesses two deer check stations, which is two less than the four that the county had last year. Pohlman's Hardware in Spencerville is one check station, and another is Stites Grocery in Lima.

Every deer that is harvested must be registered into the state records. Information on each deer is gathered by the attendant at the check station. Stites Grocery provides a sort of "one stop shop" for hunters. They will check in your deer and process the meat right there.

As you make your way into the woods this fall, enjoy that time you can spend in one of the most beautiful of nature's creations. Even better, introduce the great outdoors to somebody new.

Family time is great; it's even better when it's spent in the woods.

Joshua D. Stallings is a student in a Bluffton University featuring writing class instructed by Mary and Fred Steiner.