Would Love to Mentor New Hunters (GTA Area)

[ab2on]

Hey all! 30 y/o dude here recently moved to the GTA from Alberta. As I roll up my sleeves and start diving into Ontario hunting, I'm constantly reminded of how much my hunting mentor back in Alberta taught me when I got started.

I almost forgot how much I learned from this guy who's about 20 years older than me. Understanding regs, finding good lands, marksmanship, field dressing and processing, building a relationship with landowners/CO's/other hunters… It really feels surreal looking back at myself a few years ago: with a sudden spark of interest I stumbled upon hunting when I knew absolutely nothing about it. Heck, I remember how confusing it was the first time I picked up an Alberta hunting regs summary. Now that I have to do a lot of research and relationship building again in a new province, I get nostalgic. Good times!

I was fortunate to get guidance as a newbie. I want to contribute back to the hunting community. Thought I'd start with doing what my mentor did for me.

If you're a new hunter in the GTA looking for guidance/mentorship, I'm happy to connect. It's all unofficial ofc, I'm not a professional instructor or anything. Goes without saying you need to have your own license/PAL etc. ready.

A bit more about me. I'm mostly a recurve bow hunter. In the past few years, each season I usually bag under a dozen grouses, a couple of rabbits/squirrels, and there was one time I got really lucky with a pheasant (ikr?). Although archery is my personal preference, I also use firearms, mostly for big games. I strongly feel like the fun of hunting absolutely extends to both before and after harvesting the game. I'm super passionate about discovering lands, building relationships with various parties, honing in on game processing and cooking skills. If these sound possibly helpful for you, please feel free to reach out!

Have a great season everyone!!

[finsfurfeathers]

Good on you and thankyou for passing it forward.
On a side note you say got lucky with a pheasant- what does "ikr" stand for?

[sabmgb]

that is a really good idea. My question is if just moved here and live in TO, how have you gotten all the permission to hunt around TO. I always thought it was really hard to get permission.

[ab2on]

Good on you and thankyou for passing it forward.
On a side note you say got lucky with a pheasant- what does "ikr" stand for?

Hey thanks! "ikr" stands for "I know right?"

[ab2on]

that is a really good idea. My question is if just moved here and live in TO, how have you gotten all the permission to hunt around TO. I always thought it was really hard to get permission.

Totally, GTA is NOT the same as southern AB for sure, I found out quickly I researched a lot of conservation land and have found some promising-looking spots (i.e. having the right type of vegetation) that's open-access or anyone can apply for permission to. Looking forward to trying my luck (I mostly want to bow hunt upland birds this year so season hasn't started for me). In the long run I do hope to gradually meet and connect with farmers/other property owners as I did in Alberta, but I expect it will take some time.

IMO finding hunting spots is one of the most fun part of hunting. When I got started, one of the first things I learned was that it takes time to find lands suitable for you. In AB I have probably invested 150 hours finding and scouting land, and as a result I have built a list that works really well for me and for what I hunt. Now I'm in ON I'd say so far I've spent maybe 20-30 hours doing that. Getting there...

[sabmgb]

that good, i wouldn't broadcast that you are from the city, if they don't ask don't tell. Around here that is one of the farmers first questions though, "are you local or from the city?" If city you are now just wasting time.

[ab2on]

that good, i wouldn't broadcast that you are from the city, if they don't ask don't tell. Around here that is one of the farmers first questions though, "are you local or from the city?" If city you are now just wasting time.

thanks for the heads up! That's news for me, but I'll def keep that in mind! In AB I didn't run into issues when I tell people I'm from Calgary. But perhaps that's because Calgary is not really that "city" comparing to Toronto lol

[tom gobble]

Welcome to Ontario and that’s nice of you to try and help out other hunters.

[ab2on]

Welcome to Ontario and that’s nice of you to try and help out other hunters.

Thank you! I'm looking forward to hunting in brand-new settings for sure!