Hi
Just wondering if any members have deer hunted in Dryden (ON) or Michigan (UP or LP) in the last few years. Looking as a non resident for Michigan.
Any positive feedback is appreciated.
Pbonura
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Hi
Just wondering if any members have deer hunted in Dryden (ON) or Michigan (UP or LP) in the last few years. Looking as a non resident for Michigan.
Any positive feedback is appreciated.
Pbonura
Hi I have hunted dryden for moose and deer we got a moose early and was able to try to get deer the numbers where down that year harsh winter .We hunted crown land and where not successful that being said the closer you get to town the population increases but very difficult to get permission on private land .I would contact the local mnr and see how they faired this past winter
I do not have a personal experience ,but have heard about the "slow"deer hunting aroun Dryden and area.Quote:
Originally Posted by pbonura
At the other hand have some suppliers for the Company i am working for-around the Iron Mountain area in the UP-they harvest several nice deer each season.........
The “Dryden - Kenora- Fort Frances” triangle was a great deer hunting area from 1990 -2010 and it produced some really impressive bucks. What drove the deer herds back then can be attributed to favourable winters, few wolves, and good habitat. That period of time also coincided with a spruce budworm infestation and balsam fir got hammered. As those trees died, they became hosts to “old man’s beard” which deer ate like candy and helped deer get through winters - thus reducing winter losses.
Since then, there’s been some tough winters, the wolf population exploded, and old man’s beard has disappeared. Not surprisingly the deer population crashed and hasn’t recovered. There are still deer (including some bigger bucks) around particularly adjacent to agriculture and human settlement but not like it was 25 year ago. Some outfitters there use bait (with abundance) and have pretty good success rates). If you plan to hunt Crown land, don’t expect to witness a parade of deer all day long. Two - three deer/day is a pretty good day.
I’ve never hunted Michigan, but can speak in general terms:
1) more hunters
2) less public land
3) less chance of shooting a bigger bucks - many hunters never shoot anything bigger than a spike buck.
4) antler point restrictions, not sure if this is state-wide
5) more deer in the southern lower peninsula, a lot fewer deer in the UP.
6) potentially higher costs due to exchange rates.
https://99wfmk.com/michigan-deer-population-problem/
Michigan has approximately 2M deer. They report around 250K to 350k. Numbers look healthy...
You cant beat the herd population in Michigan! man, its hunting heaven for an Ontario guy! however i have heard that non resident license fees have tripled since the last time i hunted there 5 years ago. At that time $150 would get you set up with a couple of tags.I would look into that first.
I have hunted deer successfully in Michigan in the LP near Howell. Mainly private land but there is a lot of public land in the area. Yes, expensive for the tags, but you can actually get (I believe) 22 tags per year (2 antlered, 20 antlerless). Gun season starts Nov 15 and ends in January (with a couple weeks off). So many does - I shot 4 last year, all with my Henry Big Boy in 45 Colt (using +P rounds). I paid to have all the deer processed to make it easier to import back into Ontairo.
I'm planning on going again this year.
YMMV
Lots of deer in Michigan. Driving from the Soo to Sarnia last month I saw at least 15 roadkill. Michigan is a two-hour drive away, Dryden is 18 hours. I'd spend a lot more getting to Dryden than I would on the higher cost of at tag in Michigan. Better highways, roads and hotels too.