Ontario Groundhogs

Depends where you are in ON. Heres a link to the regs

You'll need at the least a small game license. Generally in Northern ON you cannot hunt them between June 16th and August 31. Southern ON you can hunt them all year.

In certain townships in southern ON there is a maximum of 275 cal rifles.

Heres the regs, any questions just ask

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/FW/Publication/MNR_E001275P.html

Relevent sections

- The WMU maps. beginning of the book
- Pg 13. section 5
-Pg. 79. Lists the municipalities which have firearms restrictions as pertaining to the .275 rule. On a side note, .275 refers to the common name of the cartridge, not its actual diameter, so 270 WIN is OK tho use.

EDIT - Another note ~ Southern ON is almost entirely private property. Dont go for a drive just expecting to find crown if you're anywhere south of Barrie.
 
I saw a good size one on the front lawn of Collins Bay Pen this afternoon. Or maybe that was just one of the fine outstanding residents of the facility heading out for the day through the secret underground passageway.
 
I saw two yesterday in my travels from Cornwall to Perth. I wish there were more of them around.

Regards,

Chizzy
 
I sincerely hope your not making the trip just to shoot ground hogs as your going to be awfully disappointed.

The coyotes have cleaned them all out in most areas. In my area for example 25yrs ago they were very plentiful. In this area now you would be very hard pressed to find one.

I have an aquaintance who farms 4000 acres in this area he stated the other day he hasn't seen a ground hog on his land in many years.
I hear it is like that in many parts of Ontario.
 
mrgoat said:
I sincerely hope your not making the trip just to shoot ground hogs as your going to be awfully disappointed.

The coyotes have cleaned them all out in most areas. In my area for example 25yrs ago they were very plentiful. In this area now you would be very hard pressed to find one.

I have an aquaintance who farms 4000 acres in this area he stated the other day he hasn't seen a ground hog on his land in many years.
I hear it is like that in many parts of Ontario.
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CFB Trenton is littered with them...I think the MP's would be a little sour if I showed up to work with a .22 tho. haha
 
I was born in Ontario, grew up near Oxford Mills. Back in the 1960's-1970's, when I was living there, groundhogs were everywhere.

We're going to Ontario this summer, and I'm planning on bringing my Marlin 39A with me and was hoping to pop a few groundhogs.

Sounds like times have changed...
 
Demonical said:
I was born in Ontario, grew up near Oxford Mills. Back in the 1960's-1970's, when I was living there, groundhogs were everywhere.

We're going to Ontario this summer, and I'm planning on bringing my Marlin 39A with me and was hoping to pop a few groundhogs.

Sounds like times have changed...
Click to expand...

They have. Not a lot of them around for the most part. It would be extremely difficult to make an entetaining day out of 'hog hunting throughout much of ON these days
 
Years ago i never hunted groundhogs with a gun i used to use a slingshot or a bow & arrow it gives them a chance and besides there easy to hunt and kill theres tons around in Niagara Falls especially around the railroad tracks coming in and out of the city. I killed 4 of them in my garden one year they were eating my cucumbers & tomatoes. So one day i was sitting on the back deck drinking beer waiting for the bastards and got them with my SlingBo LOL......
 
15-20 years ago my brother-in-law and myself would consider 50 to 60 'hogs a good day running and gunning in the Bruce Peninsula. We are a bit less intense now but getting 10 in a day is difficult. Still a good excuse to get out the camping gear and head up for a few days in May.

Dan
 
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I see 2 or 3 a year...its more of "varmint" target of oppertunity for me...last I time I had a shot at one he was coming out to sun himself from under a deck/cottage (where he was living).
 
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I grew up in the Brantford - Galt area over 50 years ago, and Ground Hogs were one of my favorite varmints. Usually, about 20 a day was a good shoot.

Last year, I went back to visit for about 10 days, did a lot of touring around, and I don't think I saw 20 all that time.

Also, Civilization, (if you really want to call some of those people wandering around Civilized,) has encroached many of the areas where the Ground Hog population was thick, and houses are being built all over the place. I think today I would take a smaller .22, such as a Hornet or .222 because of the noise factor on the locals.

:p Loud noises = lots of danger, especially if you are located near Jane and Finch in Toronto.

It definitely is not like the Prairie Provinces, with hordes of Gophers, thousands of wide open acres of land, and Farmers who welcome you when you ask to shoot Gophers on their land. On a good shooting day here, you do not come back with many rounds left out of a brick of .22 rimfires.
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