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This fall I'm counting on my northern Ontario hunt, because I'm not getting excited about my local Simcoe County prospects. I've walked a lot of great looking deer cover over the last month; all the ingredients are, except for the deer. Few tracks, no well-used trails, no last year's rubs, next to nothing on the cams. Anybody else finding there is a scarcity of sign?
I thought the same thing two years ago. Just seems the deer have changed their travel routes and bedding areas. Has anything changed in your area? Housing, construction, logging?
I'm the one that's changed; I moved here from Niagara. Guess I had it good down there.Quote:
Originally Posted by robster
they are public forests...what do you expect? don't think there's a great deer population when thousands of hunters (GTA a few minutes away) hit those spots..look for private land permission
The trouble with most of the Simcoe County Forests ( as we have with the ones in Dufferin County), is that they aren't being effectively managed.
There is very little logging or harvest taking place, and as such, they are now mature growth ( typically reforested with pine or spruce). This doesn't provide the browse, or cover that deer typically like.
The court of public opinion tends to rule with respect to our public forests, and some of the less educated nature types don't understand that logging actually promotes renewal, they just see it as taking away their precious nature walks. If the County forests were actually managed from a forest and wildlife perspective, rather than a recreational use perspective, you would see lots more game, including deer, grouse etc.
Public or private land, I'm finding that the deer sign is slim, at least in those (northern) parts of the County I've been poking around. I've been deer hunting 30 years (northern & southern Ontario) and I've never found sign so lacking.
Splaker and Blue are right, most of County Forest planted pine deserts with their dog walkers and mountain bikers are generally devoid of game. There are however some out of the way gems (gnarly, swampy with lots of edges and young mixed growth) where the Tilley Hat crowd dares not venture. Yet despite great looking deer habitat and no human foot-prints in these places, the deer just aren't there. On the bright side, the small game hunting might be OK.
Our property had very little visible sign compared to past years. Very few deer sightings. But I put the cameras out and there are deer around they have changed their patterns.
do you have a lot of big corn fields up that way .you may start to see a lot more deer once the corn starts to come down Dutch
Deer sign around my farm is up this year, I'm seeing deer every night just driving around my block. I'm 2.5 hrs from toronto and it's all all private land. my friends farms seem to be on the increase as well after a few down years.
My theory believe it or not is the extreme winter had more effect on the coyotes than the deer. Last year I would hear two or three groups of yotes yipping every night. This year I am lucky to even hear a yote. The harsh winter had yotes out all winter long coming to calls looking for food. ( 2 guys I know got 15 themselves ) and One day late winter I heard the cattle making a ruckus around 730 am and and some yotes yipping, was able to grab the rifle and sneak on up, there was 4 yotes just outside the barn yard as an old hiefer had died that night. The cattle had her surrounded to protect her. I was able to get into easy shooting range with my and drop a few.