Ottawa Public land turkey hunting

[S243]

Hey guys i'm new to turkey hunting and I was wondering if there are any good public lands that are good for spring turkey hunting or are they on private land?

[trimmer21]

Private land is your best bet. Getting permission is a full time endeavor,but,can be done if you put in the leg work. If you don't have it by now,though,you'll have a tough time. Public land is doable,but,it'll be very busy. Good luck. Welcome to the forum.

[greatwhite]

Send me a PM

[anfield21]

Marlborough forest may be your best bet until you can gain private land permission. Do some scouting ahead of time to find where the turkeys are/have been and you could have success!

[Gilroy]

Private land is your best bet. Getting permission is a full time endeavor,but,can be done if you put in the leg work. If you don't have it by now,though,you'll have a tough time. Public land is doable,but,it'll be very busy. Good luck. Welcome to the forum.

I remember over 40 years ago when hunting the Nonquon north of Port Perry I spoke with an old time C.O. and shot the breeze about some of the characters walking past the stand I was on at all times of the day making all sorts of noise. He told right there and then I needed to buy my own property .

[greatwhite]

I have never had that happen on crown land, even here around Ontario

I remember over 40 years ago when hunting the Nonquon north of Port Perry I spoke with an old time C.O. and shot the breeze about some of the characters walking past the stand I was on at all times of the day making all sorts of noise. He told right there and then I needed to buy my own property .

[cantgetright]

I remember over 40 years ago when hunting the Nonquon north of Port Perry I spoke with an old time C.O. and shot the breeze about some of the characters walking past the stand I was on at all times of the day making all sorts of noise. He told right there and then I needed to buy my own property .

I've had that happen on private land too a few years ago. My stand is about 70yds off the property line and I'd been in it for an hour and a half when a hunter came down the fence line sounding like a bull walking through the corn stubble with a half hour of legal light left.

[Cameracutter]

As a new turkey hunter myself, I did a lot of scouting in some areas. Saw birds in March, but haven’t been able to find them since on the Crown Land I was looking at. So I took a page out of my fishing travels and hired a guide up by Cobden. He and his crew scout way more than I ever could. They had access to a lot of land and I was able to have a successful hunt. I call a successful hunt the fact that we saw birds. I did manage to take one, and I learned a lot about pattering birds, what to look for, when to use and when not to use decoys. To me it was worth the investment. You might want to think about that. PM me and I can give you more details if you wish.

[m1k3_88]

I'm looking at Marlborough forest for this year. Moved up to Smiths falls from Mississauga so its a 4/5 hour drive for me to hit any of my old spots

[firedeptlt]

I will try to address the whole Marlborough forest thing. If you are planning to try an do a spring hunt there it will be a little more difficult than hunting private land.
First off….
All access roads to the forest are gated and closed until September ( March-September ). There are ways around it if you have an ATV but I’ve never been able to get a definitive answer on whether or not they are in fact allowed in ( I don’t own one ). In my mind everything would be done on foot.
2. As anyone will tell you hunting a forest for turkeys will be a completely different experience than hunting an private farm. With such a large area ( for some reason 33000 acres comes to mind ) it’s hard to narrow in on them. I have never done a spring hunt for them in there but I have tried a fall hunt. Way more difficult than I anticipated. I did manage to find a small group but never zeroed in on them. I have found some sign but it’s few and far between ( in my experience).
I do hunt a small private farm ( 600 acres ) that backs onto the forest ( not my farm ).
IMHO private land is the way to go.