Public land misuse or idiots in the forest

[newbiehunter]

New hunters need to me mentored by more experienced hunters to fully understand our culture. You cannot learn this in a classroom or in a book.

I completely agree with you, however the irony of the situation is when new hunters come out and ask for help/mentorship -- none seem to jump up and say come with me, let me mentor you[emoji12]

[Badenoch]

Not to give hunters a complete pass but from what I've seen the worst offenders are sport shooters not hunters. Piles of 7.62x39 steel casings, shot up propane bottles, TVs and large kitchen appliances, broken clay target shards and shotgun hulls strewn everywhere are more typical of sports shooters. A hunter might fire a box of rounds to sight in his rifle or pattern his shotgun. Sports shooters meanwhile burn through hundreds in a single session.

[trimmer21]

That's what happened at Nonquon a few years ago. A handful of people were target shooting there and keeping it low-key until word got out on Gunnutz. Then the place was overrun with idiots, a couple of houses were hit and target shooting was banned. The idiots were the first to whine.

The Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority has posted the east and west forest a "no shooting except for lawful hunting" zone which is rigidly enforced. Police have no problem charging target shooters and seizing firearms from violators.

[js4fn]

Not to give hunters a complete pass but from what I've seen the worst offenders are sport shooters not hunters. Piles of 7.62x39 steel casings, shot up propane bottles, TVs and large kitchen appliances, broken clay target shards and shotgun hulls strewn everywhere are more typical of sports shooters. A hunter might fire a box of rounds to sight in his rifle or pattern his shotgun. Sports shooters meanwhile burn through hundreds in a single session.

Omg I have all that at my place. Lol

[dean.f]

The Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority has posted the east and west forest a "no shooting except for lawful hunting" zone which is rigidly enforced. Police have no problem charging target shooters and seizing firearms from violators.

Once upon a time those signs were posted in a few places I hunt. They've since been shot to oblivion or removed completely with no sign of enforcement for the most part. It seems like they deterred the people who caused the problems originally, but now newcomers are back to the same old. I guess until there's complaints. There was a recent incident near zephyr where some people were blasting away at some old boats and trees, they were reported and a news article written.

https://www.thestar.com/local-uxbrid...-uxbridge.html

[js4fn]

To be honest instead of downer posts let’s see some post we could be proud of showing the anti’s god know we all have them near us.

[Badenoch]

Not having a place to sight in, pattern or practice is a worsening problem for hunters particularly in Southern Ontario. Most gun clubs are full with waiting lists and are far less accommodating to walk-in shooters for liability and safety reasons.

At our club before hunting season we'd see non-members who would try and shoot skeet with a 3-1/2" magnum despite signs warning that ammunition larger than #7-1/2 shot in 2-3/4" shells was not permitted or argue about wearing eye protection.

Gone too are our annual pre-season rifle range sessions where members of the public could sight in their rifles for a modest fee. I RO'd some of those sessions and while the majority of people were great there was always one or two jerks who ignored or wanted to debate safety rules that are standard at pretty much every rifle range in Ontario.

As always it is the tiny minority of jerks whose behavior hurts the responsible majority.

[dean.f]

Not having a place to sight in, pattern or practice is a worsening problem for hunters particularly in Southern Ontario. Most gun clubs are full with waiting lists and are far less accommodating to walk-in shooters for liability and safety reasons.

At our club before hunting season we'd see non-members who would try and shoot skeet with a 3-1/2" magnum despite signs warning that ammunition larger than #7-1/2 shot in 2-3/4" shells was not permitted or argue about wearing eye protection.

Gone too are our annual pre-season rifle range sessions where members of the public could sight in their rifles for a modest fee. I RO'd some of those sessions and while the majority of people were great there was always one or two jerks who ignored or wanted to debate safety rules that are standard at pretty much every rifle range in Ontario.

As always it is the tiny minority of jerks whose behavior hurts the responsible majority.

I think you are correct. I'll also add that through speaking with a lot of hunters and shooters, many who started later in life without any real guidance (like myself), they just don't know how to find information or they don't care to.

A lot of guys base their knowledge of regulation and safety from hearsay. It's truly amazing what some consider "law".

[greatwhite]

Actually I have seen many offers by members on here for newbies to come out. But thing have been different for obvious reasons this year.

I completely agree with you, however the irony of the situation is when new hunters come out and ask for help/mentorship -- none seem to jump up and say come with me, let me mentor you[emoji12]

[trimmer21]

Once upon a time those signs were posted in a few places I hunt. They've since been shot to oblivion or removed completely with no sign of enforcement for the most part. It seems like they deterred the people who caused the problems originally, but now newcomers are back to the same old. I guess until there's complaints. There was a recent incident near zephyr where some people were blasting away at some old boats and trees, they were reported and a news article written.

https://www.thestar.com/local-uxbrid...-uxbridge.html

Because there's people in all sections of the Ganaraska Forest,including loggers,at any given time from hikers to hunters to dirt bikers,any shooting that sounds like someone has targets set up gets reported immediately. Police can be there in minutes,especially,the ATV crew. It really is a good thing because nonsense within the forest has dropped off to a trickle,especially,with poaching. OMNRF officers and Police are there. Me and the Mrs. love going on night rides with our ATV's. It's not uncommon to run into Police patrols during late evening and into the night.