Hunter Recruitment

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Originally Posted by r-ice

lol the same people who complain about shooting on crown land also complain about gun clubs.

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I'm not sure if you understand what I am trying to convey here, where I live there is a sign says "discharge of firearm without intent to hunting is prohibited" for arguments sake if there is a chance of 1 to a million that an enforcement unit happens to be there while I am discharging without intent to hunt; but say plinking or hitting a paper target, its still prohibited.

I'm not complaining about gun clubs; some are "full" others less welcoming and very few have public access. I only need to use my rifle twice in a year, doesn't justify spending $500+ for a membership.

Lots of guys are taking both PAL and Hunter Ed. But most of them end up just shooting on ranges and tactical BS...
not so many nature and hunting enthusiast like before when PAL was taken mainly to hunt...After all zombie apocalypse movies ,more and more guys are just piling guns and ammo at home,practising on gun ranges and waiting for D-day...

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Originally Posted by chris lavoie

Are revenues including the funds from Non Resident. There are fewer non residents visiting Ontario. So you have more recruitment of Ontario youth but the ones paying top dollar license fees are not buying licenses anymore in Ontario. Just a thought. Resident deer about $50.00. A non resident deer $230.00.

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There is not much opportunity for non-res. without guides other than kenora area WTdeer that is worth paying so much...for much less prices in other provinces you can experience better hunting and variety of game. Much less red tape and private properties than in Ontario and cheaper tags. I think we have most expensive tags both res.and non-res. than any other province...

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Originally Posted by Drastic711

After all zombie apocalypse movies ,more and more guys are just piling guns and ammo at home,practising on gun ranges and waiting for D-day...

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I don't know how prevalent it is in Canada, but your absolutely right in regards to the South of us....the preppers and hoarders crippled the ammo supply for yrs after Obama was elected .... gun sales sky rocketed and the industry is thriving.

I don't use a public range, but it sounds like they run at max; filled memberships and fully booked range time. Must make it hard for a guy to get into shooting as a hobby.

Just drive to Silverdale on weekend and you will see guys better equiped than any SWAT team...they bug me before but now i dont care any more,however there is your answer regarding newly recruitment and licence sales...

For what its worth, in 2012 I was one of those 21,000 who took his Hunter Safety and Firearms safety course. I purchased an outdoor card, and got a small game license from 2012 to present. Despite taking the turkey course, and purchasing firearms, I have yet to hunt deer or turkey, the main goal of obtaining my licenses.

My reasons for not following though as of yet are as follows.
1. There is more to hunting then pulling a trigger. The idea of gutting a deer on my own with the bare minimum learned in the hunter safety course, and a few youtube videos I have watched concern me a lot. I had intended to go out with an experienced hunter, but did not get my paper work in time for the 2012 deer hunt. Between that hunt and 2013 season he has become unhealthy and can no longer hunt.

2. Thus the second issue, costs. The second issue is costs / knowing what to buy. I had purchased my firearms, hunter orange / camo clothing. I had intended to borrow / use my friends equipment for everything else (knives, skinning equipment, butchering equipment etc). While I am sure I could still ask him, if feel like a dick, so I am slowly figuring out what I need to have and am buying it when I see it on sale.

3. Access. Getting permission to hunt on land is way harder then I thought. Again, I was dependent on my buddy for this. Having to do it on your own, with no experience takes time. Then there is the complicated matter of understanding our laws to figure out what kind of tag I need and when to be able to hunt where I find land and what lotteries / draws I need to enter to get them.

4. Time. My son moved up to AA hockey in 2013, and as any hockey parent knows you pretty much put your own life on hold. You can't hunt on Sundays. Saturday is always hockey of some sort, which leans Mon - Fri to hunt, meaning vacation days. As someone who only gets 3 weeks of vacation a year, its a tuff sell to the family to be able to take 2 days off to go deer hunting, when that could be used over x-mas, march break, easter, etc when the rest of the family is off.

All of those reasons combined lead me to be part of your statistics. I do still intend to go deer & turkey hunting, but it might be a few more years down the line.

I agree with @itgeek81. I am hoping to find a mentor. I had a family friend offer but now he is too ill. I have begun to approach pro shops and ask for advice. I do not want to steal your location. I do not want to steal your secrets. I am only trying to learn what we did generations ago.

As well, here in the GTA, the previous mayor and council closed all of the ranges. Now there is no where to get into to practice.

I would love to not be a statistic, but how do you start?


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Originally Posted by kw70

I agree with @itgeek81. I am hoping to find a mentor. I had a family friend offer but now he is too ill. I have begun to approach pro shops and ask for advice. I do not want to steal your location. I do not want to steal your secrets. I am only trying to learn what we did generations ago.

As well, here in the GTA, the previous mayor and council closed all of the ranges. Now there is no where to get into to practice.

I would love to not be a statistic, but how do you start?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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by going out to places just like me out to WMA/Crown Land. lots of scouting, researching and patience..... lots of patience.
12 expeditions so far... still come up empty handed. but i'm not gonna give up yet. I found out that I love exploring out in the woods and through the bush. my 870 express got the marks to prove it.

you can take up on the offer when you get a chance to be guided by seniors/experienced here. i finally got one to go out deer hunting, thanks to our family friend who finally decided to take us. jeez.

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Originally Posted by kw70

I agree with @itgeek81. I am hoping to find a mentor. I had a family friend offer but now he is too ill. I have begun to approach pro shops and ask for advice. I do not want to steal your location. I do not want to steal your secrets. I am only trying to learn what we did generations ago.

As well, here in the GTA, the previous mayor and council closed all of the ranges. Now there is no where to get into to practice.

I would love to not be a statistic, but how do you start?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I finally got accepted into a gun club so I have a place to practice shooting. Im aloud to bring 3 guests a year so if you want we could hook up some Saturday and do some target shooting. (Club is in orangeville)

I finished hunting class in Feb this year. I bought a turkey tag. I went out 5 times and got no bird.

Hunting is harder than I thought. There are so many birds around in cities/towns. But when I went to country where hunting is allowed there was no bird. Finally I got some birds at a game farm.

I bought migration bird license this fall. Since I have no land to hunt I will use a guide service. If I find I love hunting I will buy my own land.

One advice to new hunters is to read more and ask none. There are some experienced hunters having fun/excitement to discourage new hunters. They are very disturbing. They judge people in a unreasonable way.