Can I carry a gun while bow hunting?

[shikarchi]

So finally, what I understand is that it is illegal to have both bow and a shotgun in your car during bow only season, regardless if it is during bow only season or not.. If I am wrong please correct me.. However what Fox and rick iles said make more sense for me... Because for example, I might carrying my bow to a local store to get it fixed and at the same time have my shotgun in my trunk for waterfowl hunting in the afternoon...

As far as my very first question, so choosing between get attached by bear or COs, my only option is to choose to get attacked by bear as it is not allowed to have both of them in your hands at the same time....

Also for those of you who don't know the meaning of my username which is Shikarchi or Shekarchi, it is a Persian word and the meaning is Hunter. So I would rather to refer me as Shikarchi instead of OP..-

Thank you all for sharing your ideas. This is ultimately about having a safe and fun and legal experience while hunting...

[rick_iles]

So finally, what I understand is that it is illegal to have both bow and a shotgun in your car during bow only season, regardless if it is during bow only season or not.. If I am wrong please correct me.. However what Fox and rick iles said make more sense for me... Because for example, I might carrying my bow to a local store to get it fixed and at the same time have my shotgun for waterfowl hunting in the afternoon...

As far as my very first question, so choosing between get attached by bear or COs, my only option is to choose to get attacked by bear as it is not allowed to have both of them in your hands at the same time....

Also for those of you who don't know the meaning of my username which is Shikarchi or Shekarchi, it is a Persian word and the meaning is Hunter. So I would rather to refer me as Shikarchi instead of OP..

Thank you all for sharing your ideas. This is ultimately about having a safe and fun and legal experience while hunting...

OP means "original post". Nothing against your user name. Just to clarify ! In the future, if you need information regarding the laws, it's best to call the MNRF, and get it from an authority !

[shikarchi]

OP means "original post". Nothing against your user name. Just to clarify !

I know rick... I thought my username seems to be weird that's why people refer me as OP.-

Thank you...

[rick_iles]

I know rick... I thought my username seems to be weird that's why people refer me as OP.-

Thank you...

No worries ! Good luck with your hunting !

[Hunter John]

We need the Picard double face palmothethis thread since it has gone in many different directions. Let's look at this convoluted mess from a different angle. Lets say I am small game hunting with a shotgun, the archery deer season is also open and I have a deer tag and a small game liscence in my pocket. I decide to carry my crossbow over my shoulder in case I encounter a deer. All legal ?.. No?. If I have shot larger than #2 I will be screwed yes?? If I only have #7 I will be fine, no ?.

Couple years ago during the archery season (december 10th ) I was hunting a property with my buddy, In the morning we both had crossbows, we saw a few deer and quite a few coyotes, we met up for lunch and chatted about the plan for the afternoon, we decided that buddy would stay in his tree and continue to hunt for deer.
It was decided I would sit at the other end of the property and attempt to take a yote or 2 with my 22 mag that was in the trunk of my car all day. Just so happens a co came by and he concluded we were not doing anything wrong.. i had a small game liscence that allowed me to shoot coyotes, buddy had a deer tag that allowed him to take a deer... no where was it insinuated that I was going to shoot a deer with the 22 mag.

[rick_iles]

We need the Picard double face palmothethis thread since it has gone in many different directions. Let's look at this convoluted mess from a different angle. Lets say I am small game hunting with a shotgun, the archery deer season is also open and I have a deer tag and a small game liscence in my pocket. I decide to carry my crossbow over my shoulder in case I encounter a deer. All legal ?.. No?. If I have shot larger than #2 I will be screwed yes?? If I only have #7 I will be fine, no ?.

Couple years ago during the archery season (december 10th ) I was hunting a property with my buddy, In the morning we both had crossbows, we saw a few deer and quite a few coyotes, we met up for lunch and chatted about the plan for the afternoon, we decided that buddy would stay in his tree and continue to hunt for deer.
It was decided I would sit at the other end of the property and attempt to take a yote or 2 with my 22 mag that was in the trunk of my car all day. Just so happens a co came by and he concluded we were not doing anything wrong.. i had a small game liscence that allowed me to shoot coyotes, buddy had a deer tag that allowed him to take a deer... no where was it insinuated that I was going to shoot a deer with the 22 mag.

Yes, you were good to go !

[redd foxx]

17. (1) A person who isin an area usually inhabited by wildlife or who is on the way to or from anarea usually inhabited by wildlife shall not,

(a)have a loaded firearm in or on a conveyance or discharge a firearm from aconveyance, except if,
(i) the conveyance is a boat that is not amotorboat, or
(ii) the conveyance is a motorboat and theperson is hunting migratory birds in accordance with the regulations under the MigratoryBirds Convention Act, 1994 (Canada);

Vehicles,boats and aircraft, use for hunting, etc.
Vehicles
24. (1) A person shall not use a vehicle for the purpose of killing, injuring,capturing, harassing, pursuing or chasing wildlife.
Boats
(2) A person shall not use a boat for the purpose of killing,injuring, capturing, harassing, pursuing or chasing wildlife.
Aircraft
(3) A person shall not use an aircraft while hunting.

69. The classes of firearm set out in column 2 ofthe Table to this section, each consisting of the firearms set out in column 3,are prescribed for the purpose of this Regulation and Ontario Regulation 670/98(Open Seasons — Wildlife) as the classes of firearm that a person may use orcarry to hunt deer, elk or moose.

TABLE

Items	Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
	Species	Class of Firearm	Content of Class
1.	Moose, Elk, Deer	Class 1	Bow
2.	Moose, Elk, Deer	Class 2	Bow, or muzzle-loading gun
3.	Deer	Class 3	Bow, shotgun, or muzzle-loading gun
4.	Moose, Elk, Deer	Class 4	Rifle, shotgun, or muzzle-loading gun
5.	Deer	Class 5	Muzzle-loading gun
6.	Deer	Class 6	Shotgun, or muzzle-loading gun
7.	Moose, Elk, Deer	Class 7	Bow, rifle, shotgun, or muzzle-loading gun

O. Reg.581/99, s. 4; O. Reg. 320/06, s. 2; O. Reg. 529/10,s. 10; O. Reg. 49/11, s. 17.

70. A personwho hunts deer, elk or moose shall not use or carry a firearm unless thefirearm is of a class specified for use during the open season applicable tothe species, person and area in Ontario Regulation 670/98 (Open Seasons — Wildlife). O. Reg.581/99, s. 4; O. Reg. 529/10, s. 11.
deerfamily. O. Reg. 325/10, s. 1.

75. A person shall not use a rifle known as arim-fire rifle, a shotgun smaller than 20 gauge when loaded with shot or anyshotgun loaded with shot smaller than SG or number one buck for hunting biggame. O. Reg. 665/98, s. 75.

77. (1) A person hunting small game,when in an area during an open season in the area for a species of big game,shall not possess or use,
(a)a rifle of greater muzzle energy than 400 foot-pounds; or
(b)shells loaded with ball or shot larger than number two shot. O. Reg.49/11, s. 18.
(2) Despite clause (1) (b), a holder of asmall game licence, when in an area during an open season in the area for aspecies of big game, may possess and use,
(a) in the case of shot made of steel, shotthat is not larger than triple BBB steel shot; or
(b) in the case of shot made of bismuth,shot that is not larger than double BB bismuthshot. O. Reg. 665/98, s. 77 (2).

Above is the legislation from the FWCA and the regs that appear to apply to this thread.

In my opinion reading the regs, it is not illegal to have multiple types of firearms in a vehicle at one time.

Carrying a firearm in the field is subject to the season and class of firearm allowed. During the "bows only" season for deer, when hunting deer, you can only carry a bow while hunting deer. Your other firearm would have to be at home or in the vehicle. When you decide to switch and hunt coyote or rabbits, take the bow back to the vehicle and hunt for the other game. Nothing would stop you from shooting a coyote with the bow while deer hunting as long as you were properly licensed for them.

When hunting deer in an area where the class of firearm allowed is class 7, which includes all types of firearms, you could carry one of each at the same time. Might get a little cumbersome though. So lets say I was carrying a rifle for deer, I could carry a shotgun for birds (because shotguns are a class of firearm allowed for deer) as long as I didn't use prohibited shot for shooting the deer. If I had a slug with me I cold transition to the slug and use it for the deer.

[GW11]

What I understand from the regulation is that you may not carry a rifle or shotgun for hunting other species, which means it is not allowed for the purpose of hunting not for the purpose of self-protection. However this is my interpretation which may be wrong... But regardless, it is not fun for me when go to the bush and think about bear attack as I have seen some bear signs in the field... So I think I have to choose between either get attack by bears or get attack by COs.

Keep in mind that you sound like a nice enough guy and I'm not trying to come down on you here. Your fear of a bear attack while in the woods, while not uncommon, is about at rational as a fear of being struck by lightning while in your tree stand. The chances of a bear attack are so remote that the list of things that are more likely to happen to you while in the bush, or on your way there and back for that matter should have you shaking in your boots. Driving to the bush, climbing in and out of the tree stand, exerting yourself, weather, falling tree limbs, etc., are things probably far more likely to kill or hurt you than a bear attack.

You sound like you're pretty new to hunting and your fear of bears in the bush will subside over time. Buy a can of bear spray and keep it in your hand the entire time if it gives you peace of mind. It's far less cumbersome than carrying another firearm, and (arguably) quicker to incapacitate a bear than a gun shot. A bear wounded by a bullet or shot can put up a good fight for a while before dying. The chances of making an instant kill shot on a bear while you're fearing for your life are slim. On the other hand, a bear that all of a sudden finds his face, eyes and nose on fire and is unable to breathe will probably give up the fight in short order.

Good luck, keep at it, and hopefully you get past your fear. For what it's worth, I'm deathly afraid of being bitten/eaten by sharks while swimming in the ocean. If it was socially acceptable to swim with one of those rods that you push into the shark's snout and it fires a twelve gauge round at point blank, I would swim with one.

[GW11]

A

It is illegal to hunt from a vehicle or use a vehicle to hunt, so, if I'm travelling from one place to another, have a gun encased and am not "hunting" from or with my vehicle, having the gun is not illegal. If you wish to say it is, then it would be illegal to have the bow there as well because I'd be using the vehicle to hunt. Rick Iles has it right from what I see.

Illegal to hunt from a vehicle? I don't think you have that entirely right. Having a loaded firearm in a vehicle or shooting from a vehicle is obviously a big problem. But driving bush roads and old logging roads with a rifle in the seat beside you and a full magazine in your pocket while looking for moose in clearcuts is fine. See a legal moose, get out of the truck, step off the road (if it's actually a "road"), load your rifle, shoot the moose. Heck, while you're looking for moose, keep a shotgun and a box of bird shot in the seat with you and take any grouse you want as well. "Hunting", wouldn't you say?

If you were to ask a CO up north what the general road hunting guidelines are, many will glady take you through a little tutorial. Sort of a "road hunting 101" where they will outline which roads you have to step off of before you load your gun and shoot and which road you can treat as if they are not a road at all. It wasn't our thing, we always shot our moose while sitting, walking or calling but I wouldn't have hesitated to get out of the truck and shoot a legal moose standing in a cut staring at you while on the drive out.

So, have "road hunters" been breaking the law all this time while the law turns a blind eye?

[redd foxx]

Agreed GW11. I was more meaning actually having the loaded gun in the vehicle and shooting from it in what I posted above.

“hunting” includes,
(a) lying in wait for, searching for, being on the trail of, pursuing, chasing or shooting at wildlife, whether or not the wildlife is killed, injured, captured or harassed, or
(b) capturing or harassing wildlife,
except that “hunting” does not include,
(c) trapping, or
(d) lying in wait for, searching for, being on the trail of or pursuing wildlife for a purpose other than attempting to kill, injure, capture or harass it, unless the wildlife is killed, injured, captured or harassed as a result,
and “hunt” and “hunter” have corresponding meanings; (“chasse”, “chasser”, “chasseur”)

Now above I posted the definition of hunting from the Act. Travelling in a vehicle on bush roads is a grey area in my opinion with regards to the way the law is written (never easy). In the first part, hunting includes searching for which lots of hunters do on bush roads. So if we are driving down the road looking for moose, deer, partridge or whatever with the intent to kill one....we are illegal by the letter of the law.

The bottom section allows us to use a vehicle to search for game as long as the intention is to not kill, capture, etc. A very fine line here.

Hopefully the intention of the law is what prevails because if I travel in my vehicle looking for chickens or moose to kill, see one, stop and get out, load my gun, get off the road and kill one....I may have used the vehicle to hunt. I'm not saying this should be enforced necessarily but point out the black and white of the law. If the black and white prevailed...we'd all have to walk to our hunting grounds.