Has the Ontario bubble burst?

[Mountain Hunter]

I have always wanted to go to Ontario deer hunting. It's on my bucket list of hunting locations. Does anyone know anybody who still goes? It seems all the people I know who used to go, no longer make the trip. They said a few harsh winters put a big dent in the herd.

Obviously, Maine is much closer. I just love the way those bucks look with their chocolate brown antlers.

 

[NH Hunter]

I was curious about the same thing back in Sept. It was always on my to do list. The biggest regret I have when it comes to hunting is Lane inviting me to go up with him, and I couldn't because I had to work. I would have followed him around filming . Once he was tagged out I was going to hunt.

http://www.huntingchat.net/forum/sh...-to-Ontario-anymore&highlight=Ontario+hunting

 

[Mountain Hunter]

I was curious about the same thing back in Sept. It was always on my to do list. The biggest regret I have when it comes to hunting is Lane inviting me to go up with him, and I couldn't because I had to work. I would have followed him around filming . Once he was tagged out I was going to hunt.

http://www.huntingchat.net/forum/sh...-to-Ontario-anymore&highlight=Ontario+hunting

Yikes. That had to be really hard to turn down.

 

[longbow]

Even if deer numbers are down, I bet it is still pretty good compared to northern Maine.(more deer). This was taken at the Harris Hill Resort, Ontario. Don't know when but pretty impressive!

 

[longbow]

I was curious about the same thing back in Sept. It was always on my to do list. The biggest regret I have when it comes to hunting is Lane inviting me to go up with him, and I couldn't because I had to work. I would have followed him around filming . Once he was tagged out I was going to hunt.
]

Decisions, regrets.... And now you have also decided not to buy the 35 Whelen carbine....

 

[NH Hunter]

Decisions, regrets.... And now you have also decided not to buy the 35 Whelen carbine....

Id like one, but I can miss just as well with my 06 carbine. LOL

 

[shadow]

I've spent some time hunting NW Ontario in the past. From what I here the wolf population along with a couple harsh winters and a lot of hunting pressure has taken its toll. I can remember driving through Kendora and literally seeing pickup trucks full of big bucks. On my last trip there over 20 bucks were hanging in the garage where we rented a cabin. It's a big area but pressure like that eventually catches up. Toss in a bad winter or two along with wolves and the heard took a major hit. Still some great hunting to be had but not like it was in its hayday.

 

[VTHunter08]

I've heard the samething as shadow. I went up from 2005-2008. Killed my 3 biggest bucks up there, and the one year I didn't get anything I saw a 170-180" that I couldn't get the scope on quick enough, and hit but couldn't find a good buck with matching split 2's. My dad went up from 2004-2012ish. He and the guys we went up with shot some beauties too, but they also said the last few years up there the winters and wolves had taken a pretty bad toll on the heard. The last year they were up there they saw more wolves then deer. We've stayed in touch with a few locals up there and the birds word is that they're starting to get the wolves under control again, and the winters have been manageable lately and the deer seem to be coming around again. I'm betting in a few years it could be good again.

Here's a few pics of deer we killed the years I was up there.
man I was young back then! haha

 

[VTHunter08]

 

[Mainewoods]

I follow a lot of the Northwest Ontario hunting post and the jist of it, is what VtHunter is saying. They've had a couple mild winters and I think I read they reduced the cost of a wolf tag to but I'm not sure. Regarding big deer, I guess there's plenty around the towns areas that are unhuntable, so the genetics are right there to repopulate.

 

[longbow]

VtHunter, very nice deer! Were you just up there hunting on your own or with an outfitter?

 

[VTHunter08]

DIY, public land

We shot the majority of the deer in places very opposite of where every one else was hunting, and in places locals said "don't waste your time there's no deer there" uh huh whatever you say

Most people we bumped into up there said "you have to hunt the powerlines, you have to hunt the clearcuts, you can't hunt the woods they're to thick" and in the next sentence they were crying about not seeing mature deer! I can tell you Yes you can hunt the woods, and the whitetail's "northern range" extends further north then most people think.

 

[VTHunter08]

I follow a lot of the Northwest Ontario hunting post and the jist of it, is what VtHunter is saying. They've had a couple mild winters and I think I read they reduced the cost of a wolf tag to but I'm not sure. Regarding big deer, I guess there's plenty around the towns areas that are unhuntable, so the genetics are right there to repopulate.

So first year I went there after you filled your deer tag you could go and buy a small game tag for $75 and a wolf tag would come with it so all the non residents would do that and you'd literally never see a wolf. I think Ontario saw this as a potential money maker b/c after that they made it so you had to buy a small game tag AND also purchase a wolf tag for $200 or something. So everyone stopped hunting them, and the population within a couple years boomed. I had heard a rumor that they either laxed the price of a wolf tag or went back to the original tag system.

There was no hunting inside the town limits like mainewoods said. It was nothing to go into town and see monster bucks crossing the road in front of you. One evening heading back to camp we saw a truck in the ditch so we stopped to give them a hand. It turned out to be a highschool girl moose hunting with her grandfather. When they found out we were deer hunting she said "oh you should drive by the school some morning, every morning theres a 14 pointer eating on the football field"

 

[longbow]

DIY, public land

.

Where did you stay, motel, lodge, camper?

 

[Big D]

Place has been shot off. Everybody and their brother was heading there for years.

 

[VTHunter08]

Where did you stay, motel, lodge, camper?

We rented a couple cabins

 

[longbow]

We rented a couple cabins

So, you rented a couple of cabins and then just drove your trucks from there to hunting? Did you have ATV's or could you do without them?

 

[Big D]

Vthunter, some great bucks there. Love the narrow rack with the mass.

 

[VTHunter08]

So, you rented a couple of cabins and then just drove your trucks from there to hunting? Did you have ATV's or could you do without them?

We use to go up with 5-6 guys and usually bring up 3 atv's Only time we'd really use them was when we needed to travel to the back of big cuts to start hunting. They saved our a$$'s a few times with getting deer out too. But yes we rented the cabins and would drive to our hunting areas. Very seldom did we hunt near camp, b/c there was usually decent hunting pressure close to camp.

 

[Mountain Hunter]

I have a co-worker that is going to Ontario in November. I'll let you know how it goes. He shot a nice buck up there last year.