Whats the chances?

[1madtrapper]

Well with the MNR more worried about caribou reintroduction rather then moose numbers we are stuck with no tags this season.Whats the chance i can make it 14 moose in 14 yrs with a calf only to shoot for? Any takers on a lil bet? Cheers all hope you have a great hunt stay warm stay safe and most of all enjoy your company and suck in the outdoors.

[blasted_saber]

Good luck

And just a note; its not caribou re-introduction. They were never extirpated. They are however a species at risk.

[1madtrapper]

Yes they will distroy the rest of the province's moose hunting for one area they want more moose killed...why not give out free tags to them areas and leave the rest alone..MNR continues to destroy our resources I am a trapper hunter and fisherman and I for one think they do far more bad then good...Hell i havent seen a warden in 13 hunting seasons in this area..Its sad.I have seen so many moose this yr but we are down 93% in tags when there count was only down 50 % and we know they did a poor count job.As I see moose every day while trapping the hwy culverts..had a bull and cow standing in my front lawn last friday when I put the kids on bus.Cheers hope to se yha in the bush.. sorry for the mnr whinning i just cant help myself seeing our dollars wasted...

[1madtrapper]

Out west the moose and caribou all live in the same spots why do they think they wont co exsist in the same area here...Just like deer n moose i can look on one side of my 230 acres see a moose look on the other see a deer, or looking threw my bino's a cpl yrs ago watching a huge buck at 603 yrds and he mounts one of the 6 does he is with then out of nowhere comes walking a bull moose he walks right by them all.He then crossed a crk walked to the very limit of my 1500yrd range finder and jumped a cow at 900yrds with the deer a mere 200-300yrds away..seems they co exsist here just fine.Anyhow i am off to the bush, safe travels to all and the best of luck in your 2014 season.

[blasted_saber]

As I understand its not that they cant co-exist, its that the hope is moose levels dropping will force wolves out of the area, thus aiding the caribou.

Anywho, the moose population in my area has been going up up UP. 50 years ago there was nary a moose around, now it seems theres more moose then deer around my parts. MNR has done a marvelous job here, at least.

[trappermatt]

Good luck on the moose hunt Steve

[SK33T3R]

As I understand its not that they cant co-exist, its that the hope is moose levels dropping will force wolves out of the area, thus aiding the caribou.

Anywho, the moose population in my area has been going up up UP. 50 years ago there was nary a moose around, now it seems theres more moose then deer around my parts. MNR has done a marvelous job here, at least.

Yes there are more moose showing up in the Muskoka to North Bay area. We've had a few bad winters which can affect the deer but benefit the moose. Problem is that you need 50 guys for a tag. In the areas way up north and where the caribou roam along the north shore of Superior the MNR has totally dropped the ball! These are the areas where the local economies could use the cash input that higher game densities would bring. If this whole master plan to reduce the moose herd to decrease the wolf predation to allow the caribou to return plays out ... then to me it seems the entire plan is to reduce the wolf population ????DUH??? Why in the h#ll did they remove the wolf from the small game licence and create a wolf licence on its own??? and of course a 2 wolf limit???
Alberta announced last year a wolf cull of 6,000 per yr for the next 10 years. And they're trying to keep every moose/elk/caribou they can. AND the caribou will get instant help in the very first yr. How low will our caribou herd get before our goofy plan finally hits rock bottom. AND OF COURSE how many DECADES before the moose herd rebounds!

If your moose population in Muskoka went up it went up in spite of MNR involvement! Also the Muskoka moose really have no predators YET! those little 100lb Algonquin wolves usually prey on deer/beavers etc. It's only a matter of time before those big 180lb northern wolves migrate down to complete the cycle of life. THEN WHAT MNR will cull all the moose to get rid of the wolves! AGAIN

[x_xeon_x]

I think they want to keep the wolf numbers as high as they can for as long as they can while giving out as many moose tags as they can (basically a slow cull). The plan would keep moose numbers low for a few years while the wolves would starve themselves off and leave the area, resulting in a crash of the wolf population. This will give the caribou a few generations to increase exponentially in numbers... but we all know nature doesn't work like that. Essentially they're accomplishing next to nothing in the long run and everything will reach its balance again.

The dumbest thing about it all is, the moose numbers are going to go back up once they stop handing out tags or people realize the hunting is getting bad, and the wolf population is going to take an enormously huge swing upwards with it. When that happens, they're going to be facing the same problem with the caribou if not worse. I say let nature take its course on the caribou or remove the predators. I'm sure there are a few Americans south of the border that wouldn't mind coming up for a wolf hunt if they didn't have to pay $269.58 per wolf tag PLUS $118.11 for a small game licence.

[SK33T3R]

I say let nature take its course on the caribou or remove the predators. I'm sure there are a few Americans south of the border that wouldn't mind coming up for a wolf hunt if they didn't have to pay $269.58 per wolf tag PLUS $118.11 for a small game licence.

RIGHT ON! Our grandsfathers knew the cure! Back then all predators from wolves to bears to hawks and owls were fair game 24/7!

Some of the meat poles back then could hardly hold all the game. Rabbits/jackrabbits/pheasants all over the place! And most of these game populations flourished with minimal management! Then along came big brother gov't with their newly educated biologists and of course they seen the profits they could extract from increasing licence fees and having separate licences for everything that walks or flies.

Pretty sad! I've got a 2 yr old grandson that will just have to sit on my lap and hear about how good it used to be! Hey maybe by the time he's 40 the moose population might be huntable again.

I bet in 40 yrs the caribou population will be stable and then they'll cull the caribou trying to save the moose!

It seems obvious that everything is cyclical even gov't decisions. HAH!

[fishermccann]

Do you think that the # of hunters now, as compared to the past might have something to do with it? In the past people who lived on the land, hunted to eat, only the very rich went to lodges to hunt for sport. In pictures from the past, I have seen a lot of poles with a dozen muskies\ sturgeon on them, how did that work out? P.S. I have been on a lake in the Kawarthas for 38 years, and the fishing has never been better.