Additional deer seals 2016

[seabast]

Scientific reason, none at all. The reason is easy. When all the one week a year hunters submit there surveys and complain there is no deer. I heard that same complaint 40 times last season. I seen lots of deer but put my time in. Ministry has no money to do actual counts. When the mass of shotgun hunters that get one week extremely out number deer hunters in general this happens. Most hunt 2 to 3 days.

Some truth in that; if you look at my camp, 3/4 of them would fill out a survey response with "did not see any deer"...I hunt the same bush and saw lots, shot one 45 minutes opening morn. Trail cams in the same bush showed lots of deer. But the majority sat and complained the deer numbers are way down because 'they' didn't see any.

I'm kind of in the same boat, I have seem a lot of deer since the spring 2015 and our camp did well last year too. I don't think the winter 2013 and 2014 has decimated the herbs in 53, 46 and 60 and I have the feeling it doesn't take that long to get back to normal #s. I believe many huntesr complain about predation and winters because they are just not that good or seat at the wrong spot,,,

[Farmer G]

why are the guys who only hunt deer one week with a shotgun not "deer hunters" ?

They are deer hunters that just show up hoping to see deer and do no prep or scouting. Let's face it 85% of deer hunters hunt 5 days a season.

[GW11]

Anyone expecting to see increased tags because of the mild winter is going to be disappointed. The MNR just doesn't work that fast. There isn't much science that goes into the process either. Basically, they go by voluntary hunter surveys and spring deer yard surveys done mostly by college students.

[Fox]

Anyone expecting to see increased tags because of the mild winter is going to be disappointed. The MNR just doesn't work that fast. There isn't much science that goes into the process either. Basically, they go by voluntary hunter surveys and spring deer yard surveys done mostly by college students.

They also do not cut numbers as quickly as they should.

I know that the hard winters over the last few years hurt the population in Eastern Ontario. A lot of people here say that it is just the weekend hunters who do not see deer but why is that not an indicator of a population drop? If those same hunters saw 15 deer in a day 5 years ago but now see nothing that tells me that there are a lot less deer no matter which way you slice it.

We are finally seeing some deer thing spring, last spring there was very little and almost no tracks in the bush we had permission to hunt last fall. Numbers are not what they were out this way 10 years ago.

[JBen]

I hunted 47 hard last year ( last 10 days of archery).We had 6 in camp for the final 7 days.
We hung 1 and as a group we saw a total of 4.
brutal especially for the Loring yards.

While it's somewhat disappointing to know theres no additionals this year, it's also very welcome.
Between the much needed mild winter and a couple years of low harvest, hopefully they bounce back.

[GW11]

They also do not cut numbers as quickly as they should.

I know that the hard winters over the last few years hurt the population in Eastern Ontario. A lot of people here say that it is just the weekend hunters who do not see deer but why is that not an indicator of a population drop? If those same hunters saw 15 deer in a day 5 years ago but now see nothing that tells me that there are a lot less deer no matter which way you slice it.

We are finally seeing some deer thing spring, last spring there was very little and almost no tracks in the bush we had permission to hunt last fall. Numbers are not what they were out this way 10 years ago.

You're right about not cutting them back in time either. There seems to be about a two year lag between what's actually happening with deer numbers and what's available for tags. I know that around here they were selling additional tags for a few seasons after the bottom fell out on deer numbers. The bright side is a two year lag will allow the numbers to come back up for a while before additional tags are available again. More or less what JBen said.

[Fox]

You're right about not cutting them back in time either. There seems to be about a two year lag between what's actually happening with deer numbers and what's available for tags. I know that around here they were selling additional tags for a few seasons after the bottom fell out on deer numbers. The bright side is a two year lag will allow the numbers to come back up for a while before additional tags are available again. More or less what JBen said.

There will be lots of new hunters complaining though about the lack of a dozen deer in their garage though.

When I started hunting 17 years ago deer numbers at our camp in Eastern Ontario were really good and numbers in SW Ontario were even better. Numbers dropped in 2 years in Eastern Ontario but numbers remained stable in SW Ontario and they kept trying to reduce numbers due to accidents and farm loses. Now the numbers in SW Ontario have stabilized and the guys who started hunting in the good times are complaining about doe tags and a lack of additional seals, I am just happy there are still huntable numbers.

We have to be careful, if we shoot all the does and take tons of deer when the numbers are not there we could run into the situation my dad speaks of back in the 70s or what we are experiencing now with moose.

[toddy]

Some truth in that; if you look at my camp, 3/4 of them would fill out a survey response with "did not see any deer"...I hunt the same bush and saw lots, shot one 45 minutes opening morn. Trail cams in the same bush showed lots of deer. But the majority sat and complained the deer numbers are way down because 'they' didn't see any.

Are you implying these hunters should lie and say they saw deer? I don't understand the point. If someone hunts a week a year and doesn't see any deer they shouldn't be lying on their reports just so we can all get more tags . . .

[DanO]

I hunted with a bow and a rifle in 82A and 80 throughout the fall not just the controlled hunt. The numbers are down from the two extreme winters four years ago. The MNR is just really slow to react and the tags have been cut two years too late. I'm sure numbers are fine in the extreme southwest but not in central Ontario. It's the right decision just very delayed. Remember they haven't cut the antlerless tags as far as I know just the additonal seals. In some jurisdictions in Ontario there are no extra tags. One hunter =one deer.

[Fox]

I hunted with a bow and a rifle in 82A and 80 throughout the fall not just the controlled hunt. The numbers are down from the two extreme winters four years ago. The MNR is just really slow to react and the tags have been cut two years too late. I'm sure numbers are fine in the extreme southwest but not in central Ontario. It's the right decision just very delayed. Remember they haven't cut the antlerless tags as far as I know just the additonal seals. In some jurisdictions in Ontario there are no extra tags. One hunter =one deer.

WMU 66A used to have up to 7 additional tags, last year antlerless tags were at 38% chance.

It is crazy how things can change and they have.