northern ontario hunt camps having hard time deer

This is Manitoulin Island, Ontario... a 7 day intensive hunt... probably 7-8000 hunters on opening morning... 5,500 of them with doe tags... and the 300 shots was not an exaggeration. But it has been mostly quiet since 10 am... a few scattered shots... I'm sitting in a stand as I write this overlooking a timbered swamp. Will try rattling shortly.

P.S - the butcher I use did 40 deer last weekend, including my archery meat doe, and still had two coolers full to do... he will be really busy this week.
 
Saw 1 doe with 6 pt buck in tow.....she was so distracted running away, and he doing the chasing that, me and the dog got within 10 yards without seeing or being seen (late dusk, flanked wind)...The dog and the doe almost sh!t themselves and the Buck just turned and ran.......good thing the dogs trained.....they might of made it to the border before she stopped??
 
Rut is in full swing here now, the weather has been messing it up, but the Bucks seem determined to breed anyway lol.

Nothing but fawns alone this morning, no does or bucks in sight.
 
mrgoat said:
Was speaking yesterday with the fellas who hunt in WMU 49 Huntsville/Axe Lake area. They had no doe tags. Didn't matter anyways as they seen no deer or tracks for that matter. To mild and the rut was simply not on and the deer not moving about. maybe there wasn't that many deer to move about either.
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We are about 15 minutes from you. Very sad deer hunting up there now. We have got some big bucks in the past, But nothing in the past 5 years. I think 3 years ago was the last deer we got, a young doe.
 
WMU 54 north end of Haliburton county. 3 deer killed with 12-15 hunters each week over the 2 week rifle season. Using hounds so not blaming it on the weather, just very few deer around. Moose population seems on the upswing in the area. Saw 2 wolves on the second day, first one was 10-15M away when we saw each other, second one oblivious at 40M until I made a deer bleat sound.
 
I counted 90 shots in the last hour and a half of light... much quieter than the morning... wind was up and I could not hear nearly as far as in the morning.
 
Ok, so I'm probably going to get flamed, told I'm wrong, booted or generally brushed off but maybe, just maybe all the people complaining about no deer should look at their behaviour. How many of you take a yearling or small doe just cause you have an antlerless tag? Can't go home without something. If it's brown its down as the saying goes. Keep doing that long enough, throw the damn coyotes into mix, and you have a recipe for low population numbers. Please don't blame the past winter for what's going on.

If anyone here thinks that the MNR have a clue as to the population numbers I have some property to sell you. They completely mismanaged the moose population to the point of collapse and now they are doing the same to the deer. Just cause you have a doe tag doesn't mean you should fill it. the mnr doesn't know ####. They are nothing more than a revenue collection agency now. When was the last time you saw a CO? I haven't seen one in years.

Flame away.
 
I have seen CO's almost weekly, however, they are only out there to collect taxes, and never wander more than 20' from their trucks. If you ask them anything about game populations, they look at you like you are speaking Byzantian. The CO's are not wildlife biologists, they are ENFORCEMENT officers, don't get them confused with each other.
 
WMU 47 just north east of Parry Sound... nothing during the day, very little sign. The trail cams picked up some activity at night. Way to warm. I think I got sun stroke ;-).
 
Git said:
Ok, so I'm probably going to get flamed, told I'm wrong, booted or generally brushed off but maybe, just maybe all the people complaining about no deer should look at their behaviour. How many of you take a yearling or small doe just cause you have an antlerless tag? Can't go home without something. If it's brown its down as the saying goes. Keep doing that long enough, throw the damn coyotes into mix, and you have a recipe for low population numbers. Please don't blame the past winter for what's going on.

If anyone here thinks that the MNR have a clue as to the population numbers I have some property to sell you. They completely mismanaged the moose population to the point of collapse and now they are doing the same to the deer. Just cause you have a doe tag doesn't mean you should fill it. the mnr doesn't know ####. They are nothing more than a revenue collection agency now. When was the last time you saw a CO? I haven't seen one in years.

Flame away.
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No flame... no point... you have no idea what you are talking about.
 
hoytcanon said:
No flame... no point... you have no idea what you are talking about.
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion I guess. But my wife's family is from Manitoulin and I'm from the north as well. I hunted there for years and have seen the changes in deer numbers. And the lack of moose. I dont bother going anymore as I have the same luck closer to home (what I call home anyway). How's the moose population doing? That's what I thought. Next up, deer.
 
Git said:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion I guess. But my wife's family is from Manitoulin and I'm from the north as well. I hunted there for years and have seen the changes in deer numbers. And the lack of moose. I dont bother going anymore as I have the same luck closer to home (what I call home anyway). How's the moose population doing? That's what I thought. Next up, deer.
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Read a little higher in the thread... I'm on the island now... plenty of deer here.
 
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61 we got 3 deer. Two does, and a young buck. Lots of sighting of moose though. No bear, no wolves. Near Denbeigh and Bon Echo.
 
Wait, who is referring to Manitoulin as north? That is way south of here, which is on the 49th and this is "southern" Canada lol.
 
hoytcanon said:
Well... I called that one.

Did not see anything in my little corner, but opening morning dawned bright and clear and calm... and not ten seconds went by without a shot or shots at some point on the compass... during the first hour the shots were echoing over one anothwr and it went on from legal light until 9:00 am before it started slowing down... at least 300 shots within hearing distance of my stand... a whole bunch of venison went down this morning.
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Wow, that sounds more dangerous than moose hunting in the Khutzeymateen with a ripe salmon tied around your neck. :)
 
hawk-i said:
Wow, that sounds more dangerous than moose hunting in the Khutzeymateen with a ripe salmon tied around your neck. :)
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Shouldn't be with everyone wearing orange... but those bullets have to end up somewhere... hopefully guys are aware of the ground behind their target.
 
the spank said:
Hoyt don't you realize northern Ontario starts at the King City exit and that Haliburton and the Muskokas are REMOTE?!! :p
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I missed that post... lol

If people would only look at a map and see how much land mass is North of even Sudbury/Sault St. Marie/North Bay. .. even Timmins... they might reconfigure their concept of "North"... it certainly does not mean the "Vaughan Mills Mall."
 
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