Ontario expands spring bear hunt to most wmus

torontogungal said:
It was the supposedly gun and hunting friendly harris conservatives that cancelled the Ontario spring bb season back in the late 90s.
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The spring bear hunt was cancelled by Mike Harris and John Snobolen after Robert Schad threatened to spend 10 million campaigning against the Ontario Conservatives in ten key ridings, if they did not cancel the hunt... after that meeting and despite overwhelming community and biologist support for continuing the hunt, Snobolen made a statement to the effect of "even one orphaned cub, is one too many... the spring hunt is cancelled."

The ridiculous fact is that it is the fall hunt that may cause orphaning of cubs... not the spring hunt, a fact they had been made aware of, but chose to disregard in seeking an excuse for political expedience.
 
torontogungal said:
This is good news even for those who don't hunt black bears as it gives them an opportunity to carry a gun in the bush for black bear protection under the authority of a license.
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You have always had the right to carry a centerfire firearm on crown land outside of a big game season.

When you can't carry, is when there is an open big game season for which you are not licenced. So now, if you are fishing in the spring and there is an open bear season in that unit, you will have to purchase a bear licence in order to carry your rifle.
 
Ontario cos have legitimate concerns about the motives of those carrying firearms during the big game off seasons.
You will certainly need to supply a credible explanation if you are found carrying a firearm in the bush say in the middle of May.
There is a lot of poaching going on in northern ontario.
Now I'll be able to carry a rifle and the explanation is in my pocket.
I was fishing in the 3rd week of august in the gowganda area of north eastern ontario and encountered a co probably because of a dime drop.
The locals aren't used to seeing armed people in the bush in august.
The fall bb season opens on august 15 where I fish.
bbs love fish and the scent of them is a powerful lure for unwanted bb encounters.
I showed him my bb licence and that was the end of the conversation.
Remember to wear your red jacket and hat and follow all the hunting rules and regs if you are using the hunting alibi.
 
torontogungal said:
Ontario cos have legitimate concerns about the motives of those carrying firearms during the big game off seasons.
You will certainly need to supply a credible explanation if you are found carrying a firearm in the bush say in the middle of May.
There is a lot of poaching going on in northern ontario.
Now I'll be able to carry a rifle and the explanation is in my pocket.
I was fishing in the 3rd week of august in the gowganda area of north eastern ontario and encountered a co probably because of a dime drop.
The locals aren't used to seeing armed people in the bush in august.
The fall bb season opens on august 15 where I fish.
bbs love fish and the scent of them is a powerful lure for unwanted bb encounters.
I showed him my bb licence and that was the end of the conversation.
Remember to wear your red jacket and hat and follow all the hunting rules and regs if you are using the hunting alibi.
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Again... it is NOT against the law to carry a firearm during the "off season" on crown land... you don't need a licence or an excuse. However if there is an OPEN season for big game in that WMU then you must have the applicable licence.
 
It's great that there will be a spring bear hunt , but so many new rules to go with it and cutting it back to 1 tag a year instead of 2... As far as I can tell they don't want the Bears in the urban areas , but what they are doing is not going to take the bear population down enough to help our moose at all!!!
 
hoytcanon said:
Again... it is NOT against the law to carry a firearm during the "off season" on crown land... you don't need a licence or an excuse. However if there is an OPEN season for big game in that WMU then you must have the applicable licence.
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I get that and got it the first time but legal or not if you think you're not going to be questioned or noticed or reported by members of the public for having a gun in the wilderness in the off season think again.
I've been there and done that.
I go to the wilderness for hassle free time.
If a $40 license will buy me that so be it.
I don't fault the cos.
They're doing their jobs.
 
torontogungal said:
I get that and got it the first time but legal or not if you think you're not going to be questioned or noticed or reported by members of the public for having a gun in the wilderness in the off season think again.
I've been there and done that.
I go to the wilderness for hassle free time.
If a $40 license will buy me that so be it.
I don't fault the cos.
They're doing their jobs.
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The uninformed public will report you whether you are legal or not.
 
Looks like smart politics on Wynne's part. Ontario approves the spring hunt then when the Federal Liberals take away our guns Ontario can claim it wasn't their fault. As you can tell I am a cynic when it comes to politicians. I usually support the Conservatives but I have never forgiven Harris for this decision even though I am not a bear hunter. I even refused to work again for the local Conservative candidate following this decision. My comments on the subject were not well receive

Jim
 
torontogungal said:
We should take a lesson from the OFAH illustrated by this example that we need to work with whatever government is in power.
Power being the key word.
Taking an antagonistic confrontational stance from the onset benefits no one.
Calm rational dialogue is the way to go.
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The OFAH is a very good example of an organization that produces results provincially for hunters and nationally for gun owners most recently through it's involvement on the Firearms Advisory Council.

What they've not done is pander to the more extreme elements of the hunting and shooting community. As a result the organization could conduct their affairs in a mature and professional manner. I don't always agree with them but their successes such as the bear hunt, expansion of turkey hunting, reintroduction of elk to Ontario and expansion of Sunday hunting to name a few are undeniable.
 
I don't hunt but I am sure glad the spring bear hunt is back in most WMUs now!
The NIMBYs won't be up in arms when a hunter shoots a bear out in the woods because they can't see it. Less "nuisance bear" calls to Police is better for everyone me thinks!

Happy hunting guys/gals!
 
Little White Dove said:
It's great that there will be a spring bear hunt , but so many new rules to go with it and cutting it back to 1 tag a year instead of 2... As far as I can tell they don't want the Bears in the urban areas , but what they are doing is not going to take the bear population down enough to help our moose at all!!!
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The bear population will go down faster than you think. Since this spring hunt is now open and is the first hunt of the year for all those U.S hunters. N.W.Ontario camp owners with BMAs will be contacting all of their clients asap. It will be a good boost for their spring start up costs.
 
delta1 said:
The bear population will go down faster than you think. Since this spring hunt is now open and is the first hunt of the year for all those U.S hunters. N.W.Ontario camp owners with BMAs will be contacting all of their clients asap. It will be a good boost for their spring start up costs.
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I don't think so , my family has owned a camp for 70 years now , it is where I grew up and still am. In wms areas 9b ,9a ,12 a ,12b ,11a this spring bear hunt is not enough. I mean think about it the ministry controls how many bears can be taken off of each bma . Americans paying top dollar for a hunt will take 1 trophy bear each . The people who own the bma's I mention only have had about 2-4 bear hunters every fall , at best that is 16 bears taking in those areas , look them up see how big they are!!
They need to leave it with the 2 tags a year and the spring bear hunt , that may help a little!!
 
The reason for a lower amount of U.S hunters in the fall is they then have other hunts to go on such as elk and deer plus others. The spring hunt was always the first for them. I have hunted and guided for many years in the areas you mention. Most bears taken in the spring when the hunt was on where by the folks from down South. CW knows this to.
 
delta1 said:
The reason for a lower amount of U.S hunters in the fall is they then have other hunts to go on such as elk and deer plus others. The spring hunt was always the first for them. I have hunted and guided for many years in the areas you mention. Most bears taken in the spring when the hunt was on where by the folks from down South. CW knows this to.
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Very true, and once a hunter takes his spring bear, he can't take another in the fall. Ridiculous. These new regs are not only hurting our moose population, but it's killing our tourism in the north!
 
Bill, it's better than what we had. More bears gone in the spring can only help the calf population. In all the years I guded bear hunters from down South it was few and far between i would see in the fall. I would see them again the following Spring though. Ill take mine in the Fall though not so lean and the rendered fat will cook about anything you want to deep fry. Plus keeps the mud off my boots.
 
Good points Uncle!!

In the last many years up here I have noticed it's a lot of the same fellows coming back in the fall. Bear hunters are bear hunters!!

I sure hope it helps anyway!!

Why aren't you guiding as much anymore? Trying to slow down?
 
Lol, I feel old!!!

You're on, we will make an effort as soon as we can. I wanted to ask you about my guns, and my dads. My lawyer is slow, and the b!tch did something with them. :(
 
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