Eastern Ont Crown Land : Limerick forest

For the past two weekends I driven thru the main access roads to the Limerick Forrest early in the morning and have not seen a single truck/car sitting in any of the parking areas....makes me wonder how truly hard/desperate guys are looking for places to hunt.

The Deer are plentiful in that forest and lots of trails to take you deep into the areas near the swamps etc.

I was surprised that no Bow hunters are taking advantage of this resource.

note: not the same can be said for the rifle season opener....the place is crawling with people :)

I hope there is nobody there for the RIFLE opener, because such a season doesn't exist in WMU 65 :).
Pesonally, I've never hunted deer in the Larose Forest, but I have come across the odd hang-on tree stand while hunting small game. Maybe I should give Larose forest another look for the archery season. A couple of things have turned me off of Larose Forest for deer hunting. Much of it is just a monoculture plantation, which doesn't strike me as good deer habitat. Also, a big chunk of the forest is compleetely closed to hunting, so it might be tricky to stay on the right side of the law.

I think Limrick is 63 and has a rifle season.

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Originally Posted by rf2

I hope there is nobody there for the RIFLE opener, because such a season doesn't exist in WMU 65 :).
Pesonally, I've never hunted deer in the Larose Forest, but I have come across the odd hang-on tree stand while hunting small game. Maybe I should give Larose forest another look for the archery season. A couple of things have turned me off of Larose Forest for deer hunting. Much of it is just a monoculture plantation, which doesn't strike me as good deer habitat. Also, a big chunk of the forest is compleetely closed to hunting, so it might be tricky to stay on the right side of the law.

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I'm pretty sure it is 65, so shotgun only. Also, the bow season for deer is currently closed in 65. It opens for 4 days on October 1, then closes and reopens on October 15. That could explain why Mike didn't see anybody bowhunting :)

It's all part of 66A...Kemptville down to Prescott...open for everything.

(65 is east of the 416)

There are some huge swamp bucks in that area. There are two local camps that border on the forest and it's the source for some of the biggest deer that have been hung on the poles in these parts. Great deep bush with lots of swamp land and farmers fields on the perimeter.

Sorry guys, I'm on crack today. I thought Mike was talking about LAROSE.

I've hunted turkeys in and around Limerick. I've considered trying it for deer too, but I've been concentrating mostly on Marlborough Forest, the Winchester Bog, and private land. Maybe I should take a close look at Limerick, especially after what Mike has just posted.

Its been too warm. Most people aren't hunting yet that I know. Who wants to shoot a deer and have to butcher it same day without any time to hang it; especially if its during the work week. Once it cools off and the opportunity exist to hang it for a few days you'll see more activity.

Usually I hunt the Bog the first week, this year I going the 3 days of the second week.

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Originally Posted by rf2

I've hunted turkeys in and around Limerick. I've considered trying it for deer too, but I've been concentrating mostly on Marlborough Forest, the Winchester Bog, and private land. Maybe I should take a close look at Limerick, especially after what Mike has just posted.

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Originally Posted by greatwhite

Usually I hunt the Bog the first week, this year I going the 3 days of the second week.

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Last year I hunted the Bog only a few mornings during the shotgun season, and only very late season (end of Dec) during the bow season. This year I am hoping to hunt it a bit more during both the shotgun and bow season since I don't have an antlerless tag in the other WMU I hunt.

With regards to the Limerick Forest, Mike, are you familiar with the Forest? Have you ever hunted deer in there?

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Originally Posted by rf2

With regards to the Limerick Forest, Mike, are you familiar with the Forest? Have you ever hunted deer in there?

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I've hunted the north side of it , my buddy owns a house that borders on the forest so we would venture back in. The place is thick with deer. Always saw deer when we were out.

Same issues with using public land as with any other. I was back in hunting coyotes last winter and we kept having ATV's come thru. We just pushed farther in till we were well off the trails and it was fine.

Was there a week ago with the dog for grouse...put up one bird..lots of spent casings..there's a bunch of guys in there the one day setting up..so they are there for sure. Warm weather...hi 25 today...is putting a lot of people off...

Old thread but I am curious if Limerick is still under pressured. I was in Carp Hills this a.m. with a bunch of bikers and not surprisingly no white tails.

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Originally Posted by IDD65

Old thread but I am curious if Limerick is still under pressured. I was in Carp Hills this a.m. with a bunch of bikers and not surprisingly no white tails.

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Didn't look like there was very much activity there again this hunting season. I went thru a few times during the two weeks and never saw more than a couple of trucks. Looks like lots of room for everyone to play nice.

During the rifle season this year on another local piece of public land, I spoke to a couple of guys that had been hunting the Limerick forest. The decided to try this other piece of public land in the middle of the rifle season without doing any pre-scouting because they had no luck in the Limerick forest despite having hunted it for the last 5 years. I think they said they had never even seen a deer in all that time.
I told them that there were definitely deer where we were, but there was a lot of pressure and a lot of motorized activity outside of the hunting season too. Because of this, most of the activity was during the night. I've been hunting this public land for several years now, and have taken a few deer out of there, but I have never laid eyes on a buck there. This is despite the fact that the spots that I hunt have fresh buck sign year after year.
It's the nature of hunting public land in areas close to a major city.

I have seen the same result and density in the MB

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Originally Posted by rf2

The decided to try this other piece of public land in the middle of the rifle season without doing any pre-scouting because they had no luck in the Limerick forest despite having hunted it for the last 5 years.

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Hard to judge based on that...That's the same thing the guys say at our camp and they hunt the same bush as I do. I see lots of deer and fill their tags year after year....yet they see nothing.

I have a buddy who's yard backs onto the Limerick and he has deer coming into his yard year round. Lots of deer back there. You just have to get off the beaten paths and do a good recce.

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Originally Posted by MikePal

Hard to judge based on that...That's the same thing the guys say at our camp and they hunt the same bush as I do. I see lots of deer and fill their tags year after year....yet they see nothing.

I have a buddy who's yard backs onto the Limerick and he has deer coming into his yard year round. Lots of deer back there. You just have to get off the beaten paths and do a good recce.

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Yes, their comments are anecdotal, so you can't really reach any conclusions. I sort of told them to expect the same thing in the Marlborough forest (where I met them) because of all the hunting pressure.
Then again, it's anecdotal to say that only a few trucks were spotted the couple of times you drove through Limerick forest, so hunting pressure must be low. I'd be surprised if that place is an underused deer hunting goldmine. Any public land that allows for hunting close to Ottawa and that has easy access will have plenty of hunters.

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Originally Posted by line052

I have seen the same result and density in the MB

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Did you have any luck there this year?

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Originally Posted by rf2

Yes, their comments are anecdotal, so you can't really reach any conclusions. I sort of told them to expect the same thing in the Marlborough forest (where I met them) because of all the hunting pressure.
Then again, it's anecdotal to say that only a few trucks were spotted the couple of times you drove through Limerick forest, so hunting pressure must be low. I'd be surprised if that place is an underused deer hunting goldmine. Any public land that allows for hunting close to Ottawa and that has easy access will have plenty of hunters.

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Have you been to the Limerick? It is a giant swamp, there are deer in there and lots of them.

The weird part is that this year we did not see deer on the roads, in the fields, nothing. The deer were there, we had tons of tracks around on similar property very close to the Limerick.

I used to go down there to shoot in the summer, tall pines, swamp, farmers fields, ponds, hydro cuts, the deer are there for sure. That being said, the first year we moved out there, 5 years ago, there were lots of orange coats around, the last 3 years we have hardly seen another hunter, in the Limerick driving through or anywhere else around, the number of hunters is way down, which is just fine for me.

Opening weekend (Sunday) at about 9:00 am I counted x4 car/trucks in the main parking area and 2 more at the south end near the farm fields. On the second week, Tues Morning 8:00 ish, I saw only one truck on the road thru the forest. There is no other place to park but along that main road so that was all that was there.

Way back when, it used to be busy the Sat/Sun end of first week....never much during the week. In the past few years it's hardly ever busy during the hunting weeks.

Lots of deer in there, like Fox says...perfect habitat.

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Originally Posted by Fox

Have you been to the Limerick? It is a giant swamp, there are deer in there and lots of them.

The weird part is that this year we did not see deer on the roads, in the fields, nothing. The deer were there, we had tons of tracks around on similar property very close to the Limerick.

I used to go down there to shoot in the summer, tall pines, swamp, farmers fields, ponds, hydro cuts, the deer are there for sure. That being said, the first year we moved out there, 5 years ago, there were lots of orange coats around, the last 3 years we have hardly seen another hunter, in the Limerick driving through or anywhere else around, the number of hunters is way down, which is just fine for me.

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I've been there several times during spring Turkey season, but never during deer season. No doubt there are deer in there, but like the Marlborough forest, I wouldn't be surprised if they are mostly active during the night due to both hunting pressure and dirt bikes and atvs. Who knows though, maybe it is a deer hunter's paradise just what, 50 km from Ottawa?

Can I get in off of Limerick Road? I am not sure if you told me Mikepal were there ever many rabbits in there?

You'd have to go into the forest after a snow fall to see where the bunnies congregate GW. For a start, I would think where the Hydro corridor, on the north end, would be the best place to walk down and check for track activity.

The forest is south of Limerick Rd if you come at it from the 416 on the north end. There is a left hand turn and you head toward Roebuck.