Are our moose dwindling? David says so

[Fishy Wishy]

I'm not beating my chest, I'm tired of people on this forum preaching their ways, suggesting what they do is better then what other people do and also telling people how they should be doing things. This alone is the reason for most fights on here...

If people follow the rules then let them / us do whatever we want. We are legal, we are doing what we love and enjoy and we are having fun. That's all it comes down to, plain and simple.

I'm not saying you did anything wrong. I merely interpreted what SeanL was saying.

Not that I can recall you ever complaining about natives and treaty rights but I guess you will abstain from that rhetoric.

[DanO]

Hey have it your way, when the MNR closes the recreational moose hunt and I am still out there you can tell me how it worked out for you.

Careful .... you just admitted you're going to harvest a struggling moose population even though the MNR is cutting the harvest for most Canadians. Just because you are allowed to harvest doesn't make it right. How can you criticize the Jeff for taking 5 legally tagged moose last year (before the situation was so dire)?

[DanO]

Last time I hunted in 48 (2011) , the local natives were limited to 8 people to a tag. Many bands have implemented limits on big game animals.

The "limit" is more like a gentlemen's agreement. I'm not sure it's rigidly enforced. I don't think many band members don't get a tag unlike the provincial hunt where many applicants don't get a tag (not even a calf tag in zone 48).

[Donnie7]

First off I think we should get over the fact that Jeff got 5 moose in one year and ask the more important question HOW?? Dam I am looking for pointers on this one as our sucess rate is nowhere near that.

As for the natives in 48, I believe they are the only organized band accross ontario that actually has an agreement in place wiht government and has the band enforce the hunt accordingly.

Donnie

[300Sniper]

First off I think we should get over the fact that Jeff got 5 moose in one year and ask the more important question HOW?? Dam I am looking for pointers on this one as our sucess rate is nowhere near that.

As for the natives in 48, I believe they are the only organized band accross ontario that actually has an agreement in place wiht government and has the band enforce the hunt accordingly.

Donnie

LOL, that's funny. I can't take all the credit. One of our group members was responsible for finding the spot before I ever came along and out of the past 10 moose shot I only shot 2 of them. Regarding our good results, that is something we keep amongst us. Totally legal but not something many guys do.... Sorry for the last statement as I am usually more then willing to share, just not in this case...

[SeanL]

Careful .... you just admitted you're going to harvest a struggling moose population even though the MNR is cutting the harvest for most Canadians. Just because you are allowed to harvest doesn't make it right. How can you criticize the Jeff for taking 5 legally tagged moose last year (before the situation was so dire)?

You right, I probably could have worded that better, but it does not change the facts. Whether I am hunting or not when most others are banned, many will. Additionally, the moose are obviously struggling right now and I would bet that most moose hunters will still go out this year. Lastly, it is inconceivable to me that anyone who spends as much time in the woods as Jeff does would really have thought the situation got so dire so fast. This has been building for years, as anyone who has watched tag numbers for the last 20 years should already know. The "I didn't know it was so bad" attitude is useful as an excuse to continue poor practices everywhere, but not good for much else.

[SeanL]

First off I think we should get over the fact that Jeff got 5 moose in one year and ask the more important question HOW?? Dam I am looking for pointers on this one as our sucess rate is nowhere near that.

As for the natives in 48, I believe they are the only organized band accross ontario that actually has an agreement in place wiht government and has the band enforce the hunt accordingly.

Donnie

You may be right, my band has no such agreement and it is desperately needed. I believe the native Elk hunt is also fairly restricted.

[270 WBY]

Jeff I'm jelly!!
I cringe at the thought of all the work that has to be done when were onto moose #2, at # 3 I start claiming that I have back problems, could've shot #4 and 5 one year but "I" decided that it was way to much work, "but" I had the riot act read to me when I told my crew as they have the same adage as Jeff..."MNR gave out the tags, we have em why not fill them if we can!!!|"
SO I support Jeff and his groups decision to fill the tags....
But moving forward things do change for all moose hunters in this province. at first change is hard to swallow then the benefits of said change will be to our liking

[Ahuntr300]

I think this is just the beginning. I would not be surprised if the hunt is cancelled in the future as it has been in Minnesota which is not too far away from the severely impacted WMUs !!!

[delmer]

Where is all the data to back these decision???? They flew 7 WMU? Most people I talk to think they just woke up from a bad dream.

I'm one of the guys that hunt in WMU 28, which just saw a 93% reduction in tags, from 457 to 30. I'm scratching my head, as are a lot of guys I talked to, as to the methodology used. We filled our tags last fall, saw no shortage of animal sign, and were visited by a C.O. who told us other camps in the immediate area were successful as well. To get to the point where we are now, either their calculations are seriously flawed, or they have grossly mismanaged the area for several years.