Hunt Camps

Jonty

Jonty

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
24   0   0
Hi all,

So I'm new to Canada, and never realized how good I had it for hunting back home. Deer 20 minutes away, duck and rabbit on my doorstep and loads of foxes anytime, anywhere.

So I kinda see from a few threads here that hunt camps are nearly the best way to get hunting in Ontario, is that the consensus?

So how's the best way to get in and be part of one?

Jonathan
 
Where are you in Ontario? Depending how new you are the first step is getting the required hunting permits and licenses, like an Ontario outdoors card. I believe you will be able to hunt crown land but not camp on it without a permit. I don't know anything about organized hunt camps that have land and memberships so I can't advise...
 
You can camp almost anywhere on crown land for up to 3 weeks, no permit required. After 21 days you have to move camp. Organized crown camps lease the land the building is on ( I was told one acre) and aside from that hold no special privileges to hunt crown land. These camps have been there a long time, and while they can't legally prevent you from hunting there, a lot of them feel quite territorial about "their" spot.

There's nothing wrong with hunting alone or with a couple of buddies. There are some advantages to it. Finding a place to go will require some research and leg-work. You could try the OOD forum and see if there are any camps looking for new members.
 
You don't say where you came from and what location you live in. I live outside of Ottawa and I live 20 minutes from my deer spot, 45 minutes from deer spot 2, 45 minutes from where I hunt rabbits and 5 minutes from where I hunt Geese and Ducks.

So it really depends what province and area you live in as to how close it is to hunt. If you live downtown Toronto well then your probably are quite a distance from a hunting area.

I hunt with one group of people for deer and others for small game. You can occasionally find hunting camps looking for members on here and on the Ontario Out of Doors forum, word of mouth, hunting clubs and even Kijiji.

Jonty said:
Hi all,

So I'm new to Canada, and never realized how good I had it for hunting back home. Deer 20 minutes away, duck and rabbit on my doorstep and loads of foxes anytime, anywhere.

So I kinda see from a few threads here that hunt camps are nearly the best way to get hunting in Ontario, is that the consensus?

So how's the best way to get in and be part of one?

Jonathan
Click to expand...
 
Jonathan welcome, and not to worry, you're just new and haven't found out what's here yet. You moved to the country with the best free range hunting in the world.

Wait til you spend some time on the forum and see what guys like Hoyt and others are tagging in Ontario. Oh and if it's not too late move to British Columbia or the Yukon before settling down. :p
 
Where you live in Ontario makes all the difference. I live in what is widely considered to be "Northern" Ontario... but just got back from a hunting trip where we travelled North for 1200 km (one way) and ended up in... "Northern Ontario." It is a big province. I can hunt off my deck if I want, but tags can sometimes be the issue. For deer, small game and waterfowl, you normally don't have to travel very far. You can camp on crown land for 21 days without a permit, but only "if" you are an Ontario resident... this may not technically apply to you yet, depending on how new you are here. As a non-resident you are required to purchase a crownland camping permit. With a little more details of your circumstances, we can give you better info.
 
Jonty said:
Hi all,

So I'm new to Canada, and never realized how good I had it for hunting back home. Deer 20 minutes away, duck and rabbit on my doorstep and loads of foxes anytime, anywhere.

So I kinda see from a few threads here that hunt camps are nearly the best way to get hunting in Ontario, is that the consensus?

So how's the best way to get in and be part of one?

Jonathan
Click to expand...

If you live in the Country you can have all that you had back home, if you live in Toronto then God help you!
 
What's all this about permits for camping on crown land? Is this strictly an Ontario thing? I've been camping on crown land all my life here in BC and never thought twice about it...

So as a Canadian citizen, but resident of BC i need a permit to camp in crown land in Ontario for any amount of time?
 
Suther said:
What's all this about permits for camping on crown land? Is this strictly an Ontario thing? I've been camping on crown land all my life here in BC and never thought twice about it...

So as a Canadian citizen, but resident of BC i need a permit to camp in crown land in Ontario for any amount of time?
Click to expand...


The permit process and 21 day limit was to negate the selfish hogging of public areas by a select few selfish, arrogant SOB'S... who mostly set-up trailers permanently.

There were many examples of individuals and groups of people monopolizing access points to public Lakes, including constructing baracades to block access by others... some areas of contention have now been posted as "No Overnight Camping" as a result.

In one famous case... a fellow drove to a limited access lake only to find that two individuals had set up camps and parked their vehicles to block access to the launch. So the fella, hooked up chains to one of the trucks attached it to his hitch and put the "pedal to the metal," yanking the truck out of the way and off the road. The two road blockers saw it happen and raced in from the lake to initiate a physical altercation... and the fella who yanked their truck away gave them both a good thumping. Charges we're laid all around... in the court case the fella who towed their vehicle was exonerated and the other two were charged with public mischief and assault.
 
Last edited:
oldbill said:
Where are you in Ontario? Depending how new you are the first step is getting the required hunting permits and licenses, like an Ontario outdoors card. I believe you will be able to hunt crown land but not camp on it without a permit. I don't know anything about organized hunt camps that have land and memberships so I can't advise...
Click to expand...

Thanks I have all my permits and licences
 
If you are in TO, you have some driving to do...

Your best bet for nearby action is waterfowl... but the downside is that will require some gear and the motivation to get over the physical hurdles of hauling, setting out and storing all of the gear... organized deer camps sometimes advertise for new members... this is risky and you should look over "camp rules" very well as well as costs and, if possible, meet as many members as possible before commiting... a couple bad apples can make everyone's life miserable.
 
hoytcanon said:
If you are in TO, you have some driving to do...

Your best bet for nearby action is waterfowl... but the downside is that will require some gear and the motivation to get over the physical hurdles of hauling, setting out and storing all of the gear... organized deer camps sometimes advertise for new members... this is risky and you should look over "camp rules" very well as well as costs and, if possible, meet as many members as possible before commiting... a couple bad apples can make everyone's life miserable.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm moving towards Newmarket direction next year, hopefully. One of my work friends has asked me to go with him for a few days after deer in November. I can't wait.

To quote my deer hunting mentor from back home - "deer hunting to me, is like drugs to junkies, I just can't get enough!"

It's not all about getting a shot. It's about taking in the scenery and appreciating what you got around you.
 
Jonty said:
To quote my deer hunting mentor from back home - "deer hunting to me, is like drugs to junkies, I just can't get enough!"

It's not all about getting a shot. It's about taking in the scenery and appreciating what you got around you.
Click to expand...

As long as this is your attitude, and you dont mind driving a few hours to get that feeling, you've come to the right place.

If you dont like driving so much, get the F outta Toronto. Newmarket is a step in the right direction, but its still not deer-on-my-porch...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom