Ontario Elk Hunters?

canadian hunter312

canadian hunter312

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Location
Brant County
Just wondering who else on board is applying for one of the whopping 12 tags available this season. I’ve applied for probably 10 years in a row now without success and it probably won’t get any better as they’ve went from 70 tags (2012) down to 12. I believe there’s around 3,000 people who apply each year so not the best odds.

Hopefully this will be the year to get drawn. Then comes seeking permission for property to hunt and learning how to hunt these things.

Probably better odds of winning the lotto than tagging a bull….
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Just wondering who else on board is applying for one of the whopping 12 tags available this season. I’ve applied for probably 10 years in a row now without success and it probably won’t get any better as they’ve went from 70 tags (2012) down to 12. I believe there’s around 3,000 people who apply each year so not the best odds.

Hopefully this will be the year to get drawn. Then comes seeking permission for property to hunt and learning how to hunt these things.

Probably better odds of winning the lotto than tagging a bull….
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I've heard Ontario woodland elk are very hard to hunt. It might have been the MNR sold lots of tags but had lots of complaints too.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Just wondering who else on board is applying for one of the whopping 12 tags available this season. I’ve applied for probably 10 years in a row now without success and it probably won’t get any better as they’ve went from 70 tags (2012) down to 12. I believe there’s around 3,000 people who apply each year so not the best odds.

Hopefully this will be the year to get drawn. Then comes seeking permission for property to hunt and learning how to hunt these things.

Probably better odds of winning the lotto than tagging a bull….
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Don’t know the area, or anything about elk hunting but I applied for the first time this year.
 
I have applied since the first draw in 2011. I was told the tag drop in recent years was largely due to a recent aerial survey that showed the population was significantly less than anticipated.
 
buckchaser said:
I have applied since the first draw in 2011. I was told the tag drop in recent years was largely due to a recent aerial survey that showed the population was significantly less than anticipated.
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Having friends in the Bancroft area, locals claim it’s due to farmers shooting elk to protect their crops (SSS) along with a certain group poaching elk as they please.
 
Last I heard or even cared to follow, was that the initial herd was dropped smack dab in crown land surrounded by private land owners. Access was extremely hard to obtain permission for crossing into the crown land area where the herd originally was coupled with limited tags ie; one Bull tag per year.

There was rumours of the herd splitting off and heading towards the Ottawa Valley area, but unconfirmed at the time.

This is typical MNR stuff. When they reintroduced Turkeys, they held back access and/or an actual opening citing not enough population to sustain a open season for years. Meanwhile residents both non-hunters and hunters across were reporting birds all across S.Ont. indicating sustainable populations just scant years after the initial releases.

And let’s not even bring up the Spring Bear debacle that the MNR caved into for 14yrs and how that turned out..
 
ShrtRnd said:
Last I heard or even cared to follow, was that the initial herd was dropped smack dab in crown land surrounded by private land owners. Access was extremely hard to obtain permission for crossing into the crown land area where the herd originally was coupled with limited tags ie; one Bull tag per year.

There was rumours of the herd splitting off and heading towards the Ottawa Valley area, but unconfirmed at the time.

This is typical MNR stuff. When they reintroduced Turkeys, they held back access and/or an actual opening citing not enough population to sustain a open season for years. Meanwhile residents both non-hunters and hunters across were reporting birds all across S.Ont. indicating sustainable populations just scant years after the initial releases.

And let’s not even bring up the Spring Bear debacle that the MNR caved into for 14yrs and how that turned out..
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When the elk hunt started here there was 70 tags available, meaning the population was growing and had reached a level to support a hunt. Now, with so much illegal killing (farmers and natives) they’ve had no choice but to drastically reduce tags. There is nothing the MNRF can do to help this issue, besides eliminating the hunt completely to possibly help the elk herd repopulate.

These same types of people are a major issue for moose as well. Not enough resources to catch poachers, and if a certain group of poachers are caught they’re set free.



As for turkey, considering the enormous success of their reintroduction, I can’t argue against anything that was done during that process 👍
 
ShrtRnd said:
Last I heard or even cared to follow, was that the initial herd was dropped smack dab in crown land surrounded by private land owners. Access was extremely hard to obtain permission for crossing into the crown land area where the herd originally was coupled with limited tags ie; one Bull tag per year.
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Regardless of where the herd is, the moment bullets start flying and pressure is felt, they would go deep and be hard to reach anyway. Such is elk hunting.

Finding public or private access is getting harder and harder, day by day. We can thank all of the hunting influencers and "MeatEaters" of this world who have turned the sport into a trend where people are more interested in hunting to talk and post about it, rather than the hunting itself.
 
They will never amount to any kind of population....as CH312 mentioned, too many being shot by "locals".

Wouldn't surprise me if they become "extinct" again in ON.
 
ScottB said:
Maybe choose another area? doesn't seem to be any where you are looking.

I haven't seen any in north western Ontario.
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That's where my camp is, apparently they are in the area I just haven't been lucky enough to see one yet.

Farthest north I have ever seen any was just north of Iron Bridge. Was fortunate to see a small heard bedded down in a hay field one a beautiful crisp morning a few falls ago. No season up there though.
 
Trimmer 905 said:
Most Ontario hunters trying to get involved in an Elk hunt quickly realized that the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. They simply cut their losses and decided to stick with hunting different species.
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For the vast majority, there will never be any involvement other than applying for a tag. If you get a tag, some research and scouting will be the name of the game.
 
Waterfowler said:
For the vast majority, there will never be any involvement other than applying for a tag. If you get a tag, some research and scouting will be the name of the game.
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Yep,that's quite true. After the no small feat of getting a tag,once the scouting starts and the frustration sets in fom extreme difficulties with access to private property,that usually discourages most people.
 
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