I was lucky enough to draw an antlerless deer tag for unit 47, I was wondering if anyone had any info on crown land that isn’t too overrun by camps? Any info will be greatly appreciated thanks.
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I was lucky enough to draw an antlerless deer tag for unit 47, I was wondering if anyone had any info on crown land that isn’t too overrun by camps? Any info will be greatly appreciated thanks.
Here is a link to the crown land ATLAS.
http://www.gisapplication.lrc.gov.on...A&locale=en-US
Crown land is public, do not let other gangs drive you off crown land, guys tried to do it to us, they have no right to it.
Your certainly allowed to go anywhere on crown but unless you get in off the beaten path it’s going to be hard to get to areas that won’t have a presence of other hunters.
Welcome to the forums Dc67.
You are hunting a great area with lots of wildlife, including a healthy population of white tails! I am guessing that you have some connections up there anyway since you have chosen that WMU on your antlerless application.
As stated above, Crown Land is a PUBLIC place and you can do anything that is legally allowed within your rights!
For hunting however, scouting would be key to your success, and planning your hunt ahead of time would ensure good results.
I have never hunted there before but on other trips to that WMU, people have told me that they always fill their tags and I have seen plenty of deer and bears around myself. Bring apples, and a grunt call anyway. You can shoot a buck OR a doe, and we look forward to reading your success story soon! :)
Reports that I have heard out of 47 the last few years is that the deer population is way down to what it used to be.
Have heard of a lot of camps only taking a deer or 2 and even some being skunked?
i`ve hunted 47 for a long time in an organized camp and the last 3 years we are seeing fewer deer as are the other camps in the area. We see more moose than anything else. They gave out way too many doe tags in past years and now the area is suffering for it. We always limited the number of does we took..sometimes just one depending on how many hunters were in camp. I wish others had done the same because the herd would be in better shape.
I grew up in 47 and the deer numbers are definitely down the last few years As grumpygeezer says, there seem to be lots of moose but yet there is only 1 tag available.
Technically yes but..Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
Many crown land camps/gangs are multi generational affairs. It's one thing to sit in the city and stick a pin in a crown land map and thats that but quite another to put it into practice.
My recommendation would be to talk to the local C.O. and you could be pointed into a good direction without conflict. Unless of course conflict is what one desires.
Although everyone has a right to enjoy Crown land, there’s a delicate balance in sharing the land with others. For example, it’s bad manners to block off roads (even if it’s a dead-end) and, on the other hand, it’s also bad manners to crowd those that are already there. The goal is to find a spot that doesn’t encroach on others while allowing you enough space to effectively hunt.
I would advise you to not hunt near established camps. Chances are we would not know your in the bush until we walk buy you. Most camps in that area use hounds as well...
Sorry buddy, not a city guy here, I know how the Crown system works.Quote:
Originally Posted by contaucreek
It is about respect, most of the time you see their truck or they see yours then you stay out but when guys start signing off and gating Crown land because their grandfather and his friends used to hunt it is total BS.
The local COs know nothing, in most of the Crown land areas there is 1 or 2 COs for hundreds of thousands of acres, they do not know where people are hunting.
I don't care where you live. You either have respect or you don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
A gate, road, bridge etc built on Crown must be built with MNRF permission, report those who dont have it.
How dare you disrespect our C.O.'s They are talented and professional and most certainly know where the established camps are and would gladly point you towards a good spot.
"Know nothing", laughable.
For crown land....just hunt mid week or preferably hunt the 2nd week...a lot of crown land is vacated after the 'opener' week.
Report it, ha ha ha ha, sorry, guys sign off land, knock down trees across roads, just to block people out of hunting areas.Quote:
Originally Posted by contaucreek
You call something in, first off you have to go 20min to a phone to call it in, then they say they will take it under advisement and nothing gets done.
I have a lot of respect for COs, they put their own money into gas for their trucks because the funding is so bad but there are not enough of them to go around, not even close. The COs do not just drive around and search people, they setup the odd road block and tour during the 2 weeks of rifle hunt but they just do not have the resources. If you are known to the COs then you probably are on their radar for doing something wrong.
I have been hunting since 1999, this is my 20th year, I have been stopped exactly once by a CO hunting in SW Ontario, Central and Eastern Ontario, NE Ontario fishing, fishing in Eastern Ontario on the Ottawa and Rideau rivers and in the lakes, being stopped by a CO is rare.
Saying that I have to stay off crown land because some guy and his dad and grandpa have hunted that land for 100 years is as good as giving them squatters rights. They do not own it, if they want to be able to hunt it as a gang then they need to allow you to hunt it as well.
Mike, just before I stopped hunting at the old camp the hunters numbers were down so much that the second week of November going into the last weekend there was not another ATV on the logging road, deadsville, and the deer were moving a lot during the day, they knew what was up.
The Limerick Forrest is like that ...a bunch the first few days...and a bunch on the weekend , but otherwise no cars /trucks in the main parking area and no sign of other hunters on the trails.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
Don't know why it isn't used more, lots of deer in there. Maybe it's just low hunter numbers and guys can't get the time off work.
For someone who has had exactly ONE experience with a CO in the field, you sure seem to be an expert on what they do or don't know, where they'll be, how they search for poachers and what they will or will not charge someone for.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
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wmu 47 does have a lot of established camps in certain areas, i have part of one. we pay our land lease, our road, property and education taxes on this one acre parcel of land amid other camps in the area that do the same. Our camp like most others are atv access only. Do we feel like we own the rights to hunt this area exclusively? In a way yes we do..in another way, no we don`t. It`s all public land and we set up no road blocks for public access. We do however if encountering other hunters let them know where we are and where other camps in the area are and what arrangements we have with them. Along with the other camps in the area there has been established areas that we all hunt. This is so we know where everyone is and we are all on the same page, for safety reasons. Now don`t go off on me saying that know your target and the rest of the crap i`ve heard some say on here.. we all get that. We have encountered few day hunters in the area because of the remoteness but the few that we did encounter have been very courteous with us, as we have been with them. Most are day hunters on their atv`s. No one can deny you the access to public land, but be reasonable and polite when encountering people from an established camp and i`m sure that for the most part they will tell you of an area suitable for everyone`s benefit. Big game is where you were after you left, maybe not where your going, but might be there if you wait long enough. That`s my 2 cents worth.
20 years and seeing 1, what that tells me is that there are not a lot of them out there as I have hunted and fished quite a bit in that 20 years, fished for more than 20 years and never saw a CO out on the water, push it out to 30 years when you take into account fishing and remembering.Quote:
Originally Posted by GW11
How can they know what is going on and who is hunting where when they are not actually out in the area? They are a reactive force now, I met a local guy working out of the Kemptville office, this is the enforcement headquarters for the area. Essentially they go and investigate when someone calls something in, any other people caught is more by luck with random stops. Bought a coffin blind from him, he was not a fan of field hunting geese. 1 guy that I hunt with was stopped in a sting, they thought he was night hunting but he was just checking his game camera, apparently poachers were using the same bush and they were called out to the area.
When the COs have no budget to enforce then how the heck are they able to get into the field?
You do not have exclusive rights but you are doing everything exactly right when it comes to sharing the crown land that exists, you are the majority but the minority are the ones that raise hell.Quote:
Originally Posted by grumpygeezer
The only issue with established camps is that they tend to keep out new people, which hurts hunters as a whole. Ideally we all need to work together on Crown land so that it is safe and those new people can come and enjoy a hunt.
I am speaking to the negative for sure, most of the gangs around our old camp were good, one of the guys in our gang was bad (hence why we left). Respect for private land, sharing crown land, enjoying the property is all that we should focus on.
I hunt and fish southern Ontario. While fishing,( year round), I get licence checked by CO's 3-4 times a year. While hunting I get checked a couple of times a year and I only hunt Bear and deer.
Wow, do they have their eyes on you or are there people complaining?Quote:
Originally Posted by fishermccann
I'm checked at least once a year, most years once fishing and once hunting. I do agree there should be more and they have a very difficult job. I wish they had the money to do more.
I must be lucky. I have only been checked once fishing, about 20 years ago opening day for trout on the Nine Mile River. Never hunting.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishermccann
Unfortunately , I hunt and fish where there are numbers of participants, so CO's get to be in a small area and check a lot of people. Like on Lake Simcoe ice fishing in a hut village, 50 huts so maybe 200 people to check. Local eastern tribs during salmon time 20 guys in half a mile. Time management I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
So you are in the perfect spot for them to get some real numbers, I can see that.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishermccann
There used to be check stations along Hwy 144 north of Sudbury but never on Hwy 11. My aunt and uncle would travel south from my grandparents down 144, they would get stopped and discuss their fishing, we took 11 as we lived in SW Ontario and never saw a CO. The last few years I have seen the Enforcement truck but always in town around Kemptville, which is where the local office is. The land they cover is just insane.
Yup they go where the numbers are. On one trib. as I was being checked by the same CO within a week, I pointed that out to him , he replied........ ' I know, it is not for me, but for those other guys down the creek watching, so they don't think I pick and choose who to check, I check everyone'.
As others have said, overall deer numbers are way down in WMU 47 thanks to 5 harsh winters in 7 years. For many regular hunters, last year's hunt was the worst in a lifetime. But there are pockets near urban and cottage areas where deer seem to have benefited from feeding and/or fewer predators.
As for camps, many only hunt the 1st week. Keep in mind that just because its public land is to does not make it right to infringe or piggy-back on their hunt. If you run into camps, ask them where they intend to be that day and tell them you will go where they are not. Some will gladly point you in the right direction, others will be less friendly. Think of a public duck marsh... it might be legal to put your boat between two manned blinds, but it may be neither safe nor respectful.
Since May long weekend i have seen about 15 does between my place and 6 or 7 km down the road your camp is on. Saw my first fawn this season last weekend.Quote:
Originally Posted by ninepointer
I don't fish and have been checked once deer hunting in 30 years only because I was blocking closest to the road when he was driving by.
We are checked yearly in 56 both at our remote acreage and the camp. Always above board, always a knock.
Used to get checked yearly during Moose in 57, always good.
Checked while ice fishing Gull lake Minden. Checked ice fishing Kushog. All in the last 14 years.
For many years there always was a game check station on Hwy 522 west of Trout Creek but not anymore .Some years they still have check points south of Gravenhurst.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
That Trout Creek check point was there this past year, might not of been a 'game' check but they put their head in the window for the smell test and asked about firearms in the truck. I went through it on the way to first week of deer camp in Commanda.
Years of driving by it as a kid with my dad, I marveling at all the deer I saw, hoping that one day I could be one of those guys. I took my first deer to that check station, I think that was the last year it operated.Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxx
MNR or OPP . I am referring to MNR checks.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishermccann
It was a MNR check station where they collected jaws for examination in exchange for patches and they weighed some of the deer. There was a small shelter building on-site. It was at the intersection of Hwy 522 & 524.Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxx
correct 100%
Wolf and Coyote population is up big time. Just last week I was scouting and I saw bone and fur remains of a white tail winterkills
Are you hunting wolves? If there is a wolf population explosion then maybe a wolf hunt would be a good idea, even at 2 wolves each person with tags.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziy8
sadly thats the governments job. from what you wrote they clearly didn't do a good job with he quotas over there. whata shame.Quote:
Originally Posted by grumpygeezer
We have a camp in 47. Been there forever. Started by good ol guys in the 50s. On deeded property but surrounded by crown and other camps. Yes it is crown but you can not access unless you use our rd and thats not happening.it makes no sense to try to walk into a group of established camps and expect to be greeted with open arms when in fact you are probably ruining their hunt. There is lots of crown. Dont be that guy to try to muscle in. As far as deer go...their numbers are way down. We ride there all winter and see maybe 20 a day while we used to see hundreds in a weekend.