Public Land : Vacancy

Second year in a row I drove thru the Limerick Forest during the rifle season and it was a ghost town, almost totally void of hunters.

I counted 6 vehicles from Top (North) to the bottom (South) at 8:00 am..this is the middle weekend of the rifle season..it should have been packed. Not a single vehicle with an ATV trailer in the big parking lot (pit)

I came back thru at 11:00 and there was only one truck left and what looked like a local crew finishing a dog run at the south end by the open fields.

Seems odd after hearing from guys not being able to find a place and here, less than an hours drive from Ottawa is some great bush to hunt deer in and no hunters using it.

I hunted this week about half an hour from my house; in that specific area, I only saw one other group (but they were utilizing the only public land forest I know of in the area).
Saying that, I live about 5 mins from some oh so precious Crown land in south-western Ontario and there was a truck parked about every 50 yards in every piece of Crown land.

i stay away from public land like it's no tomorrow during the gun hunts... too many stories, too many close calls.

I was small game hunting yesterday morning (used my only deer tag during the archery hunt), and I passed by the Marlborough forest on my way to the property where I hunted. I was shocked to see no vehicles at all at the main parking lots on Roger Steven's drive. It's possible that the deer hunters drove right into the forest, but typically, at least a few park at the parking lots and rider their ATVs into the forest.

Based on what I heard though, last week was really bad for deer sightings in the area, so maybe the hunters got discouraged and stopped hunting. What I wouldn't give to be able to deer hunt this week!

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Originally Posted by rf2

last week was really bad for deer sightings in the area, so maybe the hunters got discouraged and stopped hunting.

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so then lets not call them "Hunters"..if that's the excuse they're using not to hunt.

I am in every weekend and see almost no deer hunters or the camps that used to be set up the last couple of years. I seen lots more road hunters for gouse and bird dog hunters. Seen and heard coyotes each and every time I am in woods. Have not been out for deer yet, but looks I will only get out ML/Shotgun this year.

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Originally Posted by MikePal

so then lets not call them "Hunters"..if that's the excuse they're using not to hunt.

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LOL too funny. Its tough hunting in this weather for sure.But for the most part deer can still be had. All three of the deer we got came right after thinking to myself "its going to be a bad day".Then moments later a deer was shot. Perseverance is a must. Oddly enough both last yr and this yr it seems they Peak time for us is between 8-10 am.No deer have been shot before or after this timeframe. As for the O.P. deer hunting in general seems to be in decline from what I have seen.

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Originally Posted by line052

I am in every weekend and see almost no deer hunters or the camps that used to be set up the last couple of years. I seen lots more road hunters for gouse and bird dog hunters. Seen and heard coyotes each and every time I am in woods. Have not been out for deer yet, but looks I will only get out ML/Shotgun this year.

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I hunted with my crossbow in there a few times at the beginning of the archery season. I saw deer 2 of the 3 times I was in there, which is more than I saw the entire season (Oct. 1 - Dec. 31) last year across all the properties I hunt, so I would say the deer population is getting better - either that, or my luck was better this year.

By the way, unless you plan to hunt a different WMU later in the season, the muzzleloader season in these parts allows only muzzleloaders and archery equipment - no shotguns.

This is what happens when the deer numbers drop, it is really nice to get out and not run into a pile of people or worse, a bunch of trespassers.

When the camp area had tons of deer it was insane, you were always chasing people off your land and having guys setup inside your run on crown land. When the bad winters hit the deer numbers dropped and it was really nice going to camp again. Sure you would not shoot as many deer, or see as many deer, but you could go for a hike for a couple hours in the big woods and never see another person.

Now we need Limerick to get bad to ride on so that the guys on ATVs and dirt bikes will not fly up beside me and between myself and my target in the pit to hill climb, just insanity.

Just for shytes and giggles,I took a spin through The Ganaraska Forest (west) yesterday on my ATV and stayed until dark. Usually,there's four or five gangs in there,but,nobody,nada,not even dirt bikers. I drove 8 miles of fresh,damp trails and didn't cut one single solitary set of tracks which is really rare. There's nothing around. It's really quiet.

I think a lot of guys got discouraged early in the first week of the hunt and when the weather got warmer and warmer they gave up. The deer seemed to move only at night when it was cooler.

I can confirm lack of activity in Marlborough. I hunt property adjoining the forest and heard very little activity or saw anybody this week. Here's hoping week 2 is the same.

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Originally Posted by FamilyMan

I can confirm lack of activity in Marlborough. I hunt property adjoining the forest and heard very little activity or saw anybody this week. Here's hoping week 2 is the same.

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I agree. To me, it's not a bad thing at all. I intend to continue to hunt the Marlborough forest for years to come, so if there's a turnover of hunters, that's fine with me. I've had some not-so-pleasant experiences with other hunters over the years on public land, and almost every time, it was with the older generation that seems to believe that they own the place.
I was just surprised that there were no vehicles in the parking lots on a weekend during the gun hunt.

Noticed a lot of extra hunters up on the crown land in 55B this fall. Nothing like it was in the 1980's and early '90's though. But it has been quieter than normal up there the last 20 years or so. Not that the deer pops are booming there, but I suspect hard times in the rest of Ontario makes 55B more attractive when it has remained low but stable.

I have a hawkens .50 with cast 250gr REAL and can get consistant 4" groups at 100M. Was in a new area yesterday and found 7 scrapes on a island parcel. Only one way in and huge tree right in center. Gonna build a temp stand this weekend after clearing some coyotes on friends property far west end of Fernbank.

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Originally Posted by rf2

I hunted with my crossbow in there a few times at the beginning of the archery season. I saw deer 2 of the 3 times I was in there, which is more than I saw the entire season (Oct. 1 - Dec. 31) last year across all the properties I hunt, so I would say the deer population is getting better - either that, or my luck was better this year.

By the way, unless you plan to hunt a different WMU later in the season, the muzzleloader season in these parts allows only muzzleloaders and archery equipment - no shotguns.

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I chased a chicken for 30 minutes...lol. He had me running/stalking in circles..lol