- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
Or more likely, just more anti-wolf hunter stuff from the MNRF.
No centerfire without a tag in Ontario.
- Thread starter kodiakjack
- Start date
Or more likely, just more anti-wolf hunter stuff from the MNRF.
Which is a self defeating policy in my opinion.
If hundreds or thousands of extra bear tags are sold to small game hunters, who have no intention of ever filling them, it screws up their allotment formulas and they can’t properly manage game numbers.
Anything you want, because you possess a big game tag.
That was me. I use a just right carbine 9mm for small game in the north. I usually have a bear tag but i travel with others who dont
In ontario you can hunt big game with a 22 hornet. If you have a big game tag you can use it to hunt small game as well. If you only have a small game license you cant use a centerfire rifle to hunt small game during a rifle/shotgun season for big game
The MNR response makes it sound like no centerfire period as opposed to before you had to have a tag.
Obviously if you are in a big game rifle season with a tag, there would be no problem, but what about during a shotgun only or ML only season? I think at that time, a centrefire in the woods would be illegal regardless if you have a tag or not.
The tag is the unwritten loophole.
With no tag, if I’m caught with a centerfire, it’s a cut and dried case against me. All I had was a small game licence, and I was carrying a centerfire. The suspicion being that I was actually hunting deer without a license. And without a tag, can’t prove otherwise. Case closed.
But if I have a deer tag and I’m carrying around a 223 (remember, any old centerfire is legal for deer, in ON, including loaded with FMJ), well then it doesn’t matter what I’m hunting. 223 is ok for deer AND coyotes, and I have tags/licenses for both. No charges.
Make sense?
it makes sense, however its total BS. mnr come out and a hunter has his electronic dead animal call for hunting coyotes, during a deer season, only has small game licence. Clearly not hunting deer. bam, dont pass go dont collect your $12 for your pelt...
I'm gonna give Mr. Yakabouski a call and see what he says about this.
It is a dumb rule that treats small game hunters as less than big game hunters, and presumes guilt before innocence... HOWEVER, before you go barking up the politician tree, keep in mind that this rule has existed for decades, and this is just the third generation of the rule. First, you couldn’t carry anything bigger than 22lr during big game season, then nothing over 400 ftlbs, and now, nothing centerfire. The 223 example I gave earlier would have been a no-go in all three scenarios.
Not to dissuade you from making the call of course, but just a reminder that this change doesn’t really change much. It’s more of a clarification. But if you can talk them into scrapping the whole decades-old dumb rule, then have at ‘er
It is a dumb rule that treats small game hunters as less than big game hunters, and presumes guilt before innocence... HOWEVER, before you go barking up the politician tree, keep in mind that this rule has existed for decades, and this is just the third generation of the rule. First, you couldn’t carry anything bigger than 22lr during big game season, then nothing over 400 ftlbs, and now, nothing centerfire. The 223 example I gave earlier would have been a no-go in all three scenarios.
Not to dissuade you from making the call of course, but just a reminder that this change doesn’t really change much. It’s more of a clarification. But if you can talk them into scrapping the whole decades-old dumb rule, then have at ‘er
i will do what i can lol, he claims to be a person for his constituents... i guess we will find out.
In my WMU, all big game seasons allow use of centrefire. If I am hunting coyotes with a CF rifle and bear season is open, and I have a bear tag in my posession, I am legal. Because if asked by a CO, I am hunting bear, not small game, regardless of reality. And bears do come to predator calls.
The purchase of a bear tag is the price I have to pay, to hunt coyotes with, or posess a centrefire rifle. Without the bear tag, I could be charged. With the tag, I cannot be. Section 77 applies only to those hunting small game.
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My ADD is going off. What about my 50 cal muzzle-loader? It's not a centerfire rifle but definately more than 400 ft-lb. Can I coyote hunt during deer season with no deer tag with my muzzleloader? Technically it uses a 209 primer, but legally (AFAIK) it is not classified as a centerfire rifle.
Under the 400 rule, it’d be a no-go obviously. And if following the “spirit” of section 77, particularly the “no shells loaded with ball” section, it seems clear to me that they’d probably also frown on a muzzle loader. But... it doesn’t specifically say so. So I think you’d be sitting pretty if a CO started finger wagging and you pulled out a copy of the regs.
Do you really hunt coyotes with a muzzle loader though? I’d imagine those that do are in a pretty small club...
On the one hand, a bit of a PITA, but then, at least now, it's clear. In the past, you could have ended up having to justify your loads, whereas now, if it's CF, it's a no-no without a tag. At least now, you can't inadvertently get in trouble (as long as they take steps to make sure people are aware of the changes).
