Newb hunting advice - Ontario

sphen

sphen

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Ok, so I'm looking to get into hunting. With that said, I grew up in a REALLY small hunting fishing town in northern Ontario. Some of my first jobs as a young teenager were running the bear bait lines and helping drag out whatever was harvested by the hunters. Despite growing up with it all around I never got around to hunting myself. My uncle owned a cattle farm so we were the beef supply and traded it for moose, bear, etc... We really had no need to hunt and my dad wasn't interested in it.

But it's been too long and I miss the wild game, so how would you guys recommend a tight budget newb get back into hunting? I'm set for gear, just wondering about actually going about the hunt (moose and/or black bear). I can't really afford a guide but so I'm thinking of going back to my home stomping grounds (just south of Timmins) and doing my own camp and hunt. I know a few good logging roads I could set up down, so assuming I get myself a tag, how would you guys direct a newbie to start out? Looking for some tips and tricks I can garnish from the experienced!
 
Spot and stalk bears on large blueberry fields would be good if the crop comes in this year.

For spring you could try taking a stand and doing a honey burn or spot and stalk but you know the bush is big and it's not known for long sight lines.

For moose, your biggest issue will be getting a tag. The numbers are poor for a lot of the north. While some regions are offering more tags than usual that's more a reflection of the governments desire to lower the moose populations in those areas than a reflection of the population numbers.

Plenty of bears south of timmins but if you know the area and are comfortable you may still want to start there.
 
Thanks. Yeah, moose is what I'd like to go up for but I'm well aware of the tag issue. I do have a few guys who'd probaly be up for going and tossing their hat in the ring for tags. Who knows, we may get lucky and pull one. How effective is the stand if you don't have time to set it up and get the bear coming in on a regular basis? I've always been involved with the setup, putting those doughnuts out for weeks ahead of time. I've never tried it on the fly in hopes of pulling one in on no prep.

Correct on those sight lines, pain in the arse that bush.
 
You could try small honey burns rather than dragging bait in and waiting for them to get hit. Never done them but I believe you just light up a pot of honey and let it smoke and stew away, the scent can attract bears from good distances for what I understand?
 
cdn1canhunt said:
You could try small honey burns rather than dragging bait in and waiting for them to get hit. Never done them but I believe you just light up a pot of honey and let it smoke and stew away, the scent can attract bears from good distances for what I understand?
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What do you do, just boil a pot of honey so it produces honey scented smoke?
 
I use two coffee cans, no lids..... I punch holes in the bottom one and place two pieces of lit charcoal in it..... Then I rest the top one on the bottom one, then I pour a jar of honey into the top one and let the heat and wind do their thing......
 
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If you want to add another dimension, I like to add bacon to my burn. another can between those two with a 1/2 pound of bacon in it, fat side down. you get the honey dripping on the bacon and through to the coals, and the bacon cooking and dripping too. It is really tough hanging out nearby and not going to grab a honey bacon sandwich.
lol
 
Sniper-T said:
If you want to add another dimension, I like to add bacon to my burn. another can between those two with a 1/2 pound of bacon in it, fat side down. you get the honey dripping on the bacon and through to the coals, and the bacon cooking and dripping too. It is really tough hanging out nearby and not going to grab a honey bacon sandwich.
lol
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That's a really neat idea..... I wonder if mixing bacon grease in with the honey would work as well...... One of the buildings st camp has bear claw marks on the door and the doorknob was but and damn near pulled right off because somebody walked out and closed the door behind them with bacon grease in their hands....
 
Interesting, I currently have alot of bacon fat for the bear hunt, if i can find one... The honey sounds intersting and alot easyier than brining out my baitbarrel lol
 
Sniper-T said:
If you want to add another dimension, I like to add bacon to my burn. another can between those two with a 1/2 pound of bacon in it, fat side down. you get the honey dripping on the bacon and through to the coals, and the bacon cooking and dripping too. It is really tough hanging out nearby and not going to grab a honey bacon sandwich.
lol
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Jeebus! Catch many people? I'd fall for that. Honey Smoked bacon. Yum. Might be worth getting shot.
 
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