Deer Hunting Manitoulin Island

Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray

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My girlfriend and I just got back from a weekend on Manitoulin Island. We were both very impressed with the place. It's beautiful and apparently has a pretty high deer population from what I've heard from others and read on the 'net. Anyway, I've looked around a bit but I'd like to pick the brains of anyone on CGN who has any knowledge of outfitters on the island who do deer hunting packages. We're interested in going back to do a hunt in the fall but don't really know where to start as far as outfitters go. Ideally we'd like to keep it around 1k$ or under for the week if possible. Any recommendations or tips, either here or by PM, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
Here is what i can tell you at MI

You have to have written permission on your person from the land owner while hunting. No exceptions.
I am not aware of any outfits but I am sure there are probably some
I know there are people who rent out their cottage/property for the week (check Kijiji) or google "deer hunting on Manitoulin island"

I believe it is the last rifle hunt of the year in Ontario, the Ferry is closed by then so there is only one way on/off the island
There will be lots of CO's, and be ready to go through a vehicle check on your way off the island
Not that any of this is stuff to be concerned about, but its just FYI

There are tons of deer. If you don't fill your tag it is because you chose not to (waiting for a bigger buck)
 
The deer population is actually down considerably... there has not been a check station coming off the island for years. The only way you will do it for under 1K for the week is to connect with a private landowner that is leasing for the rifle hunt... many are gone to long term commitments... short of that, you can drive early and late scouting and start knocking on doors... be prepared for rejection. I have a cottage on the island and have been hunting there for more than 40 years.
 
Rifle season is tough to find a spot on the island. You might find some land for rent but the short term rentals next to impossible to find that week. Plan to camp. It is late in the season and there has been years with heavy snow. We had better luck with the archery season, Mac's camp rents stands and the cabins are ok. We found a place and had some success with archery, it was small about 60 acres, cottage, we paid around $800 for the week. They rent for the rifle but same group has it booked indefinitely for the rifle hunt. We had some hits just placing an ad in the local paper but nothing panned out. After 4 years of doing that and having some issues with rentals being cancelled and gouging when they know your hunting over bird watching, I've had enough and find the island too busy even after thanksgiving, I go North now for grouse and enjoy hearing and seeing no one. PM if you want info for the archery hunt.
 
Check out the local paper “Expositor” there are rentals listed sometimes. Start checking the ads starting now.
 
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My family has hunted in 43a for probably close to 100 years, don't come to 43a if you are looking to shoot a deer. I see deer in summer but I actually hunt at home now because you just don't see them in season and as stated above, numbers are way down. 43b on the other hand, from what I gather, the success rate is much greater. I've been up to open the cottage this week, I've seen 2 doe, sometimes I see several, other times, none. Bear also used to be a big draw but I've seen 1 bear in the past 10 years. There is a camp down the road from me, in the span of 3 years, 15 guys took 13 bears (this was about 10 years ago) and that was the end of the bear population on this end. I've seen 1 grouse in 3 years but I have seen 4 rabbits this trip already and I haven't seen a rabbit in years. Actually, I did see 2 grouse last fall that were shot on the road, just after a truck of guys that were clearly driving around looking for grouse drove by but that's a other topic.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I appreciate the inside scoop from those who know the island well. Looks like I may have to return to the drawing board on this one. The original plan was to head out by Dryden and we may just have to go back and look into that one some more. :yingyang:
 
We had a farm on the East Bluff /GoreBay for 4 generations that had/has lots of deer .Problem being they sold small lots behind our farm to city folk who care nothing about property lines and threatening landowners while trespassing.It has become a poker night/drunkfest with more time spent running trash off your property.Last fall an OPP responding to a complaint was murdered by a squatter who thought he could hunt wherever he wanted.A fire would be a blessing.
 
Dorian Gray said:
Thanks for the replies guys. I appreciate the inside scoop from those who know the island well. Looks like I may have to return to the drawing board on this one. The original plan was to head out by Dryden and we may just have to go back and look into that one some more. :yingyang:
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No indication of what part of Ontario you reside but I suspect more to the populated south. Not trying to be smart but you do realize it is a solid two day drive to get here and your still 1.5 hours from the Manitoba border..! You can drive to Tampa Florida in the same time it takes to venture up here. I live in NW Ontario, so I can tell you first hand the deer population is away down in recent years mainly due to several harsh winters. Wolves and over hunting hasn't done them any favours either. This area got popular when a record buck, hence named the Dryden Buck was taken here many years ago. Now folks come up here thinking we have big bucks standing around all over the place, not so unfortunately.
Many properties are owned by American folks who come here to hunt deer, also there are vast acreages under lease by camp owners who cater to deer hunters. All prime deer hunting land is under private ownership or leased out. Two quarter sections near me are American owned. Neither land owner has hunted there properties in a couple years before covid due to very low deer numbers. 10 to 15 years ago the deer population was very high here, deer literally all over the place. But like I said earlier that is not the case now. It is down about 75%.
So before you spend two days driving you might want to rethink Dryden and do some thorough research.
 
mrgoat said:
No indication of what part of Ontario you reside but I suspect more to the populated south. Not trying to be smart but you do realize it is a solid two day drive to get here and your still 1.5 hours from the Manitoba border..! You can drive to Tampa Florida in the same time it takes to venture up here. I live in NW Ontario, so I can tell you first hand the deer population is away down in recent years mainly due to several harsh winters. Wolves and over hunting hasn't done them any favours either. This area got popular when a record buck, hence named the Dryden Buck was taken here many years ago. Now folks come up here thinking we have big bucks standing around all over the place, not so unfortunately.
Many properties are owned by American folks who come here to hunt deer, also there are vast acreages under lease by camp owners who cater to deer hunters. All prime deer hunting land is under private ownership or leased out. Two quarter sections near me are American owned. Neither land owner has hunted there properties in a couple years before covid due to very low deer numbers. 10 to 15 years ago the deer population was very high here, deer literally all over the place. But like I said earlier that is not the case now. It is down about 75%.
So before you spend two days driving you might want to rethink Dryden and do some thorough research.
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I appreciate the info but i'm not from Southern Ontario. I'm actually from about as far north as you can drive in the eastern part of the province. So its not a full two day drive for me to get out to your neck of the woods. But definitely a 12 hour drive anyway. I'm looking into a few outfitters but no decisions have been made yet as to where we'll be hunting. We'll see what happens. Thanks to everyone for responding.
 
mrgoat said:
No indication of what part of Ontario you reside but I suspect more to the populated south. Not trying to be smart but you do realize it is a solid two day drive to get here and your still 1.5 hours from the Manitoba border..! You can drive to Tampa Florida in the same time it takes to venture up here. I live in NW Ontario, so I can tell you first hand the deer population is away down in recent years mainly due to several harsh winters. Wolves and over hunting hasn't done them any favours either. This area got popular when a record buck, hence named the Dryden Buck was taken here many years ago. Now folks come up here thinking we have big bucks standing around all over the place, not so unfortunately.
Many properties are owned by American folks who come here to hunt deer, also there are vast acreages under lease by camp owners who cater to deer hunters. All prime deer hunting land is under private ownership or leased out. Two quarter sections near me are American owned. Neither land owner has hunted there properties in a couple years before covid due to very low deer numbers. 10 to 15 years ago the deer population was very high here, deer literally all over the place. But like I said earlier that is not the case now. It is down about 75%.
So before you spend two days driving you might want to rethink Dryden and do some thorough research.
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We hit Nakina in 14h door to door. I'd venture even Windsor to Kenora can be done in a day with a strong bladder and enough redbull
 
Fisherguy55 said:
We hit Nakina in 14h door to door. I'd venture even Windsor to Kenora can be done in a day with a strong bladder and enough redbull
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It can be done. I do regular service trips and drive from the Orangeville area to a Nugold mine NW of Emo. 1778 km door to door. I usually do it one shot. Leave at 5 am and pull into the mine camp between 11 pm and midnight. The only caveat is deer season is November and that time of year i always budget 2 days in case of weather but if conditions are good will still do it in one shot.
 
Species8472 said:
It can be done. I do regular service trips and drive from the Orangeville area to a Nugold mine NW of Emo. 1778 km door to door. I usually do it one shot. Leave at 5 am and pull into the mine camp between 11 pm and midnight. The only caveat is deer season is November and that time of year i always budget 2 days in case of weather but if conditions are good will still do it in one shot.
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When I quoted a two day drive I meant two days of reasonable hours behind the wheel. Not a marathon drive. Since 24 hrs. still exist in a day it may be possible to do Windsor to Kenora with dual drivers, and doing Nascar pit stops, and speeding, a lot. But why?? I see the results of this mentality weekly up here with transport trucks and cars that have run off the road into the swales or worse rock cuts after the driver has fallen asleep. One such marathon driver passed my wife on Hwy17 four yrs ago, hit a transport head on, the resulting multi vehicle collisions left marathon man and his daughter dead and his wife a vegetable, the babe in arms survived to be raised by next of kin. My wife incurred head injuries which has left her with life long chronic issues. Pardon me if I seem anti marathon driving. I see and live with the results of it daily.
 
Species8472 said:
It can be done. I do regular service trips and drive from the Orangeville area to a Nugold mine NW of Emo. 1778 km door to door. I usually do it one shot. Leave at 5 am and pull into the mine camp between 11 pm and midnight. The only caveat is deer season is November and that time of year i always budget 2 days in case of weather but if conditions are good will still do it in one shot.
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If this is for "regular" service work, you might want to look into the ESA hours of work regs and the exemptions to what is considered commuting time. Won't be many attaboys if you or someone else gets hurt at the end of a 18-19h drive for work purposes.
 
So...any other manitoulin deer hunt advice? Anyone do the black powder season after the rifle hunt? I always wonder how that would be?
 
DBeato said:
So...any other manitoulin deer hunt advice? Anyone do the black powder season after the rifle hunt? I always wonder how that would be?
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I've been at the cottage a few times during that hunt. There is almost always snow on the ground but I've seen very little movement. There have also been times that there was 2' of snow even then. I can walk a couple hours a day if the snow is light and maybe cut 1 fresh track. (43b). It's weird. Maybe the deer on the far end of the island really do know when the seasons are on these past few years.
 
jlovie said:
I've been at the cottage a few times during that hunt. There is almost always snow on the ground but I've seen very little movement. There have also been times that there was 2' of snow even then. I can walk a couple hours a day if the snow is light and maybe cut 1 fresh track. (43b). It's weird. Maybe the deer on the far end of the island really do know when the seasons are on these past few years.
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It is not weird at all, Manitoulin deer yard-up in the winter, so many areas that are spring/summer/fall habitats are devoid of deer once the snow starts to pile up.

I hunt the late season, which is not a muzzleloader season, it is a combination archery/muzzleloader season, and I bow hunt it. I am general hunting for bigger bucks in the earlier seasons and then meat hunting a dry doe in the late season if I still have a tag available. The area I hunt in 43B is near a yard and there are usually still deer around then.
 
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