MAXIMUM rifle caliber for deer in South Western Ontario

[JohnCaper]

I've just moved home and found that a lot of the regs have changed for hunting. I've tried find/ make sense of some of them but still have questions.
To the point - what is the maximum allowable Centerfield rifle for deer in South Western Ontario? I don't remember the old rules exactly other than the fact that my .303 wasn't allowed.

[dutchhunter]

Depends were you are. In are camp near the park there us no limit to cal.most of Ontario is 270 cal and under.and the south is shotgun and muzzle loader. For deer

[Fox]

You are asking about hunting deer with a rifle in SW Ontario? First off find out if your zone actually has a rifle season for deer, most of SW Ontario is shotgun only.

Then take a look at the regulations, there is a restriction on centerfire caliber but it is only for small game, no restriction for hunting big game, if there is a legal rifle hunt in your area.

Then you have to make sure there is not a restriction in your municipality, some do have them.

Best of luck, SW Ontario is not small and there are a lot of municipalities, without more details any answer had to be vague.

[fratri]

It depends what you mean by SW Ontario but if you are talking around the Paris area, there is no rifle season. The only guns you can use for deer would be shotgun and muzzleloader during the control (application required) hunt in that area.

If you can be a little more specific to location (WMU) you will get a more accurate response.

[SpriteMcBain]

London area there isn't a rifle season.

[Dythbringer]

Southern Ontario doesn't have a rifle season. Once you get past the magic boundary of Hwy 118 (I believe it use to be Hwy 7 a couple of decades ago), WMUs have rifle seasons for deer, with a few exceptions.

[JMatthews]

Southern Ontario doesn't have a rifle season. Once you get past the magic boundary of Hwy 118 (I believe it use to be Hwy 7 a couple of decades ago), WMUs have rifle seasons for deer, with a few exceptions.

I live just north of Walkerton and we have a rifle season here. WMU 84. Check the regulations to be sure. Many of the guys I hunt with use 30 30 or 30.06.

[trimmer21]

Southern Ontario doesn't have a rifle season. Once you get past the magic boundary of Hwy 118 (I believe it use to be Hwy 7 a couple of decades ago), WMUs have rifle seasons for deer, with a few exceptions.

I don't know about a magic boundary,Dyth. The only time we can't use C/F rifles for big game is during the Deer gun hunt (shotguns only-no dogs) in designated municipalities listed in the Summary. C/F rifles larger than .275 can still be used for Black Bear during the open season. In south western Ontario,there's still some townships that have the old "shotgun/rimfire only" bylaws,but,you can count them on one hand,simply because their bylaws were never updated when the Game&Fish Act was rewritten into the F&WCAct.

[Dythbringer]

I live just north of Walkerton and we have a rifle season here. WMU 84. Check the regulations to be sure. Many of the guys I hunt with use 30 30 or 30.06.

I wouldn't qualify Walkerton as southern Ontario.

I don't know about a magic boundary,Dyth. The only time we can't use C/F rifles for big game is during the Deer gun hunt (shotguns only-no dogs) in designated municipalities listed in the Summary. C/F rifles larger than .275 can still be used for Black Bear during the open season. In south western Ontario,there's still some townships that have the old "shotgun/rimfire only" bylaws,but,you can count them on one hand,simply because their bylaws were never updated when the Game&Fish Act was rewritten into the F&WCAct.

If you do a comparison of WMUs, doing a straight line across Hwy 118 seems to be a boundary where most WMU's north are rifle and most WMU south are shot-gun with a few exceptions.

[trimmer21]

I wouldn't qualify Walkerton as southern Ontario.



If you do a comparison of WMUs, doing a straight line across Hwy 118 seems to be a boundary where most WMU's north are rifle and most WMU south are shot-gun with a few exceptions.

If you lay a map of Ontario out and compare the northern boundaries of the "shotgun only for deer" and the ".275 caliber for small game" counties and regional municipalities as listed in the Summary regulations,I think you'll find it's a lot further south than that,Dyth.