How do you find places to hunt?

cereal83

cereal83

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Hey all,

Well I finally went to the township today and got the firearm discharge map for my township. Basically I can shoot in 90% of it which is good. I am trying to find a place to target shot and then later in the year hunt.
Basically, do I just go to farmers properities and ask them if I can hunt there? I did try that today but 4 farmers all said no. Is there another way or something? Is it because I am young?

The one guy was going to let me but then he said his neighbours will start to complain so then he said no. I went to other farms but all "No Hunting" signs and everything. I have no place except 4 hours north of here to go hunting so I am lost. I am also shy to ask people so that also sucks

So how do you do it? How do you find places to hunt?
 
well i usualy just take a drive out into the wmu i want to hunt in keep an eye on the corn fields and when i see one with possibilites i pull in to the farmers lane way and ask him if he didnt mind if i hunt his back fields in the comeing season sometimes you'l get alot of no's before you get a yes remember attitude and demeanor mean alot to farmers be respectfull if he says no take it at that and thank him for his time when you do eventuly get a yes remember the following rules i use
leave your vehicle visable to the farmer when he gets out of his house in the mroning but not blocking access to anything , its always best to prearange where to park ahead of time with the farmer.
if the farmer has specific rules or areas of where he doesnt want you to go abide by them closely as your actions are the example others are judged by.
DO NOT damage any of the property without first clearing it with the owner IE: dont start cutting limbs for your tree stand or clearing shooting lanes without first showing and asking the farme rif its all right.
ALWAYS make sure what ever you bring in with you leaves with you that means wrappers boxes brass and any general garbage also if you find garbage like that pick it up it may not be yours but shows alot about your respect towards said farmer.
if you find that you were able to fill one or more tags on that farmers land ofer him some of your game when its butchered.
when xmas time comes send him a nice card and if feasable something as a gift doesnt have to be much as with most farmers its the thought.
when spring comes pay a visit on a weekend and ask if he needs help with any chores around like mending fences picking stones ETC.

and Above all a sincere thank you goes along way

it may seem like alot of nonsense at the time but it will provide you if not others a chance to hunt the lands as well in the future and it shows that even in todays times of in considerte and disrepectfull hunters *the ones who are the cause of so many no hunting zones* there are still hunters who care and have respect for the land and its owners
just my 2 cents
 
Start with maps

I don't know if your area has municipal maps showing all the land ownership. If it does this is one thing you can do.

1) Get a map
2) Look for parcels of crown land within the municipality or even railroad property. If these are in an area where hunting is allowed you can usually hunt there legally without permision ( crown land for sure ) I have found a few excellent spots next to prime feeding fields that are posted. I set a stand on the crown land and catch the deer as they come and go to feed.
3) Get the names of the map and phone to ask. This saves a lot of gas.
4) A little bull ####. I have given sob stories to fellows with posted land about having travelled far with no success and after a little while I talk my way into hunting on to posted land. Remember always be polite even if its a no go. I have a buddy that could charm the panties off a nun. He gets us in to a lot of places.

If all else fail you might just have to stick to crown land. I know things are getting tighter every year with acreages and so on.

Good luck
 
powdergun said:
If all else fail you might just have to stick to crown land. I know things are getting tighter every year with acreages and so on.

Good luck
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to much develpoment in the rural and sub-rural areas not only is it making hunting lands scarse its driving the animals further into the bush
 
Be prepared to have a lot of folk say no. A lot of folks in farm country get nervous about people firing firearms in close proximity to dwellings. I've had deer hunters walk down the driveway to my cottage - they dont know the area well, and arent aware of the proximity of dwellings (I hope thats their excuse...)
Getting farther north may not be a bad idea, less likelyhood of someone getting shot. (You can guess why certain parts of Ontario have calibre restrictions)
Hooking up with some knowledgeable hunters is the way to go - particularly if you're deer hunting. I moved to Central Ontario several years ago, and had the good fortune to get invited to several camps. You learn a lot about deer hunting in a short period of time - otherwise the effort is reduced to blind luck.
 
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Thanks guys for some tips. It just sucks and I didn't think it was so hard. I went to one place yesterday and it said on a huge sign "No Hunting on this 180 acre property" I mean come on.

I will start asking more I guess. I do have access to a camp up north but the guy who owns it is weird. He want to rent huge ass trucks, bring like $400 each to give to the camp owner even though it's just crown land and he said anything less then a 2 week trip is a waste and blah blah blah. I would like to have something alot closer then past sudbury.

I think I might know a good farm to check out today. S thanks for those tips
 
cereal83 said:
So how do you do it? How do you find places to hunt?
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My method has worked out well for me.

I usually start by being born and raised in the WMU I wish to hunt in. Then I spend my entire childhood/adolesence getting to know the people in the community and keeping up the good familly name by not being to much of a trouble maker.

Once I reach hunting age (say 12-13) I spend my summers working for the farmers/apple growers/landowners. I work long hard hard hours pruning trees or haying for small but appreciated pay.

By now I have permission to hunt groundhogs with my dad on most of the farms I want to hunt. Word gets around from farmer to farmer. I spend most of my spare time killing groundhogs with my dad for landowners.

Over the next few years the landowner gets to see me handle a gun on a regular basis and comes to trust me as much as he would his own son/brother when it comes to firearms.

By the time I get old enough to be hunting by myself without the supervision of my dad the landowners are asking me if I want to hunt deer/turkeys/whatever on thier land.

Then I grow up and buy some land of my own.

My method works even better when you can get 10 or 12 friends to do the same thing in the area..........and have a dad and some uncles who have done it in the past.



Or you can just show up and ask.................:D :D :D
 
That method is great and I do know alot of people with alot of land being I have lived where I live for 22 years and know 70% of then town people but they all have children and don't want anybody shooting anywhere on their property. There is a 300 acre farm right across the road from me with like 50 turkeys on it, deer all year long and a whole bunch of other animals but I can't go because they have 3 young children and they don't want guns there. Thats the problem for me.

There is another guy who allows people to hunt on his property but only close friends and I am not one of them.

Can I hunt on railroad tracks or near power wires that run through open fields? The power wires run for like 20 KM's in a straight line. This guy I know says it's ok to hunt there and he hunts birds there all the time but I am not sure if he really knows what he is talking about.

I saw a gun loading up to go hunting on the side of the road today and asked him a few questions but he said he had no idea who owned the property or anything.


It sucks
 
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You'll also find that right now, at least I know this is going on in a lot of places in Southern Ontario, that farmers are declining hunters permission as a protest against the government's poor support of the agricultural industry.

I know of at least 7 farmers that have denied access to some hunters that have been on their property for years. It's their way of making the general public aware of their troubles. It's a poor way of building support, but, I can understand where they're coming from.

Luckily my father-in-law works in the agricultural industry and knows a long list of farmers. Most of the members at my in-law's church are farmers as well...so I really have no trouble getting permission from them. I can't bring a group out to hunt...one or two buddies is fine...and they don't let anyone else hunt their land.

It's getting harder and harder out there due to the farmer's protest, having to deal with trespassers and finally closing off the land to everyone, people making a mess of the land when they do get permission and not abiding by the farmer's rules.

Best you can do is keep on knocking on doors, preferably at a time of day when you're not being a disturbance. Dress casually, be polite and remember that the farmer has better things to do than chat with you all day...so be concise.
 
cereal83 said:
Can I hunt on railroad tracks or near power wires that run through open fields? The power wires run for like 20 KM's in a straight line. This guy I know says it's ok to hunt there and he hunts birds there all the time but I am not sure if he really knows what he is talking about.
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Most of the time in S. ontario hydro corridors are just easements across private property. So it is quite likely that the hydro lines are on private property.

Try MNR for a crown land map. Its probably your safest bet. Like I said before, unless you buy your own land or are a local of the area, permission is getting harder to come by. Especially if you are from GTA, you wont find much sympathy from rural folk.
 
Do you folks who hunt on private property dress the animal on the property or take it elsewhere to gut and dress it? Just curious if the farmers mind gut piles as these tend to draw predators onto the property I would imagine.

I only hunt crown land myself usually so am not too familiar with the everyday courtesies or habits of hunting private land.
 
Mmmm, I know your situation.
Here in Australia we have similar problems.
I only started shooting about 5 years ago and moved into the country at the same time.
I knew nobody and nothin' about shooting and had no one outside the city to help me out.
In our first year out of the city I shot lots of rounds at the range and towards the end of the year I was invited to cull roos at a vineyard my wife was working on.
If we'd stayed in that town longer I probably would've got to shoot there again.
But we moved and I was back to zero.
But here's a hint for you.......are you a church goer?
Many people on the land are conservative and God fearing and as such are regular church goers.
All of the properties I shoot on now but one I found through fellow Christians.
Now if you don't go to church don't just rock up to find places to hunt.
But if you do attend regularly, or a member of your family does, you may find some folks who already know you that are willing to take a punt on you being an upright citizen, that is when you're holding a gun.
If you aren't a church goer try other local organisations you may be a member of....sporting clubs, citizens associations, anywhere where people are likely to contribute their efforts to the local community.
Chances are someone is tired of the deer knocking over the feed or would like some venison and can't be bothered going out any earlier in the morning than their job makes them do usually.
And for farmers that is pretty early.
They often don't have time to sit in a stand and wait for Bambi's big brother Bob to wander along so they can knock him over.
Or the fun has long gone out of it.
I like rabbit, roo & fox shooting but all of the farmers I know are tired of it and would rather be in bed sleeping than taking potshots out of a pickup in the wee small hours.
As for the "My neighbours don't like guns" issue, it's the rod for my back!:mad:
One friend who owns 200 acres and raises heifers for sale constantly has between 100 and 300 kangaroos on the property.
She applied legally for tags to cull them and got tags for less than 10% of the animals.:rolleyes:
Then when we went out for one afternoon and fired 3 shots in the entire 3 hours, all at the far end of her acreage(and bagging nothing I might add!), her neighbour who owns, 30 acres and has lived in the city until 6 months ago, complained like crazy the next morning that some terrible people had been shooting all afternoon.:eek:
She didn't have the heart to tell him it was on her property.
And then she apologised to ME that I couldn't shoot there anymore when she's the one who stresses about feed.:(
She reckons the guy is a good neighbour.......if he was mine I give him a short lesson on rural economics and tell him I'd do as I wished on my own land!:mad:
Anyhow, at the end of the day, dress neatly, and when you drop in say you were out for a drive and thought you drop in while you were there and ask.
Take an inconspicuous car, preferably something ordinary and if you have a little brother or sister, nephew or neice or cousin(nice, cute, well behaved and under 10yrs old) take em with you.
If you can dream up a plausible sob story all the better but don't piss around and be polite.
People prefer a direct question and they don't have time for hucksters.
But if I were you, I'd try and network the people you already know first.
You just never know what'll turn up.;)
 
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Buy a bow. Seriously, if the area you are in is so populated most people are worried about how far the bullets travel after the shot. If you get a bow, they are generally fine with it. No noise, no projectiles travelling farther then 1oo yards (at the most), and you still get to hunt. I've started shooting gophers with a bow just becuase I can right close to the city. In fact a buddy owns a golf course and has me come out and clean up the fields adjoining the course.


SS
 
Yes getting permission close to town can royaly suck, it usually takes some sort of connection, but that said Sam said as a bow hunter things could open up more.

Also varmint hunting is a great in, use something niegbor friendly like 17 hmr or 22 hornet and shoot the groundhogs out of a few guys fields. Don't ask for biggame permission right off (if offered take it), take time to develop relationships.

As for a place to go for more intense centerfire target action if you can't find a piece of crownland you'll probably get stuck at range.

And you know some areas just suckprobably the landowners were burned by a couple of bone heads and your not going to get in short of marring a farmers daugters :)
 
You will certainly get a lot of no's. I to am about 45min north of toronto. I must have asked 30 farmers before one said yes. I found that you had to hit the farms off the beeten path. There are also some public land which you can hunt such as the Minising Swamp near Barrie. I would start with the MNR to find out where these public tracts are located. Goodluck
 
well, i own some land and i can tell you how not to approach me.

1) do not just "show up" during hunting season. i will say no.
2) do not show up with a bunch of your buddies piled into a pickup truck. i will say no.
3) do not say any variation of, "i saw a big bull elk in your field, can i go after him". i will say no.
4) do no try to drive through my yard and when i stop you at the gate say "i thought this was a public road".

how to get a "yes"
1) be someone i know and consider a friend. or
2) show up by yourself well ahead of the season and tell me you have a doe or cow elk tag. or
3)show up as a father/child team.

as to things to do while hunting, don't litter and leave all gates as you found them.

someone asked about gutpiles, where i am, all that will be left by the following morning is a stain on the ground so gutpiles are a non-issue.
 
I love Saskatchewan!!
Most farmers here don't mind people hunting their land and no one ever said no to me if I asked permission.
What I do is about a month before deer season I will scout for deer and just stop by the farmers house ask if we could hunt his property when the season opens. Being a country boy they know that we would not drive over their swath or shoot neal buildings, leave gates open etc.
 
Same here as with most people. Just ask. But dont sit on the edge of a road night after night patterning birds, or the farmer will think you are up to something funny. Again ask way ahead of the season. Do some patterning in the summer (I know its hard when its like 90 degrees out). Then pick some corn fields in between their A and B routes, then ask. Take out a fellow female hunter, or better yet a fellow police officer hunter. Has worked for us in the past. Then when you do get the ever important permission, be sure to offer some of the harvest with him/her. Once you get to know them, and you have been on their property a few times, you will see where the birds are coming and going from and going overtop, then you ask who owns that property, and if you are lucky, (again has worked in the past) the farmer will say "John Doe" owns it, next time I see him I will ask if you can hunt there, then hopefully it snowballs from there!
 
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