Ontario moose results are out!

For those of you who HATE to use the MNR IVR and those stupid long announcements..

you can create a contact in your phone with the following dial string.. it will auto wait/respond to the IVR prompts.. you don't have to dial any digits
(I made an android app to do this since I'm checking 15 of the moose gang to find out who got the tag this year)

Here is the phone number to save in the contact, modifiy whats in the brackets to match what you want to check)

18002881155,1,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,1,(2=moose / 3 for elk etc..),,1,,1,,(Outdoors card #),,,,,,,,1

example..

18002881155,1,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,1,2,,1,,1,,708158555555555,,,,,,,,1
 
it should be a "preference point" system... so that the next in line is assured of success...

Agreed.. they should do what they did to the northern tags.. keep a block of tags back, and then create a pool of hunters who have gone the longest without a tag, and give them a second chance (after the random draw)..

we have guys who've never had a tag in over 15 years.
 
It still amazes me how uneducated most hunters are about a draw system that has been in effect for decades... people do not understand the basics let alone how to maximize their chances of a successful allocation. Yes, the system is poor, unfair and imbalanced... it should be a "preference point" system... so that the next in line is assured of success... BUT, until that changes... read the stats, project the pressure based on the previous applications and current tags available and then apply "smart." With some thought and a willingness to move to a different hunting locale, you can considerably up the odds of drawing a tag.

We have a "preference point" system here, for me to draw a sheep tag in the zones on draw will take 400 - 420 years from where I am with a priority of 2. The random draw system is not that bad
 
My father's group applied as a group -8 Guaranteed Group Size- and received a Bull tag for WMU3. Two of the guys applied as individuals and wouldn't you know...one of them got ANOTHER bull tag!

Another guy I know applied as an individual for WMU15B where the GGS is 7 and also got himself a bull tag, the funny part is he doesn't even belong to a gang but I'm sure he'll be "courted" to join one soon.
 
We have a "preference point" system here, for me to draw a sheep tag in the zones on draw will take 400 - 420 years from where I am with a priority of 2. The random draw system is not that bad

if that is the case then you shouldn't get a tag for 420 years...

In Ontario... it would not be unreasonable for a hunter to receive a tag every five years, if they apply to an appropriate unit with sufficient preference points... as it is, there are surplus tags in units where there are more tags than hunters... but these units are generally very remote and inaccessible.
 
Hoyt is right.....if you are really serious about moose hunting in Ontario, study the MNRF Info provided to choose your WMU. Yes it will be remote...but tags are available...if you wish to hunt 3 hours north of Toronto...take your chances.
 
I live and hunt 17 hours north of Toronto (12 B) and individual tags for adult moose take years to obtain. (if you are lucky) The system suits the group hunter not the single hunter. I read on some MNR propaganda that most moose hunters in Ontario hunt in groups and that is the way the system was built. In my town it is single hunters or sometimes two old friends out hunting. The larger groups (that qualify for tags) come from afar. Having said that if the moose had been properly managed over the past 20 years a large cut in tags would not have been necessary. Being politically correct for a moment I have to allow the MNR's position on totally ignoring two major factors in moose mortality when they add up the numbers for available sport hunting tags. To be fair they are not ignored but the data relating to these factors is non existent and the MNR bios guess what they may be. Hardly the way to manage anything. Yes we can seek out tags in remote areas and paddle and carry in for a few days to get to the moose. But some of us are not 25 anymore and pretty much takes that sort of hunt out of reach.

Darryl
 
I live and hunt 17 hours north of Toronto (12 B) and individual tags for adult moose take years to obtain. (if you are lucky) The system suits the group hunter not the single hunter. I read on some MNR propaganda that most moose hunters in Ontario hunt in groups and that is the way the system was built. In my town it is single hunters or sometimes two old friends out hunting. The larger groups (that qualify for tags) come from afar. Having said that if the moose had been properly managed over the past 20 years a large cut in tags would not have been necessary. Being politically correct for a moment I have to allow the MNR's position on totally ignoring two major factors in moose mortality when they add up the numbers for available sport hunting tags. To be fair they are not ignored but the data relating to these factors is non existent and the MNR bios guess what they may be. Hardly the way to manage anything. Yes we can seek out tags in remote areas and paddle and carry in for a few days to get to the moose. But some of us are not 25 anymore and pretty much takes that sort of hunt out of reach.

Darryl

I agree with what you say Darryl, except the system being biased toward groups... it is not. The group allocations which are predetermined are based on the ratio of previous applicants to current available tags... the draw is in three stages... first the Guaranteed Group stage... all groups that meet the predetermined Guaranteed Group size are allocated one tag AND THEN ALL members are removed from the draw (that is important to note)... the next stage is the Large Group Allocation stage; here the numbers are recalculated after the removal of successful group applicants and a new ratio of hunters to tags is determined, all groups meeting the required number for this draw are allocated one tag and all group members are removed from the draw... the final stage is the Individual Allocation... the remaining tags are randomly allocated beginning with Pool 1/Choice 1 applicants and then Pool 1/Choice 2 and then Pool 2/Choice 1 and then Pool 2/choice 2... or until all tags have been allocated... the point is, at every stage the ratio of tags to hunters is very close to the same... so your "odds" of receiving a tag do not decrease as a result of the group allocations... I don't like the system any more than you do, I believed that we should have a preference point system... and that is despite the fact that I can use the current system to my advantage and receive far more than my share of the tags as a result of playing the statistics, adjusting applicant numbers (size of our hunting group) and moving to different units... this is what we have done since the system came into effect and there have been only a couple years when our little groups of two or three hunters have not received a tag.
 
Very clear explanation of how the tag allotment program works. A lot of hunters do not understand that so it is good to see it well explained. BUT with the reduced numbers of tags and the portion of guaranteed tags not decreasing much the round two and finally round three (individual) have little chance as the tags have run out. There are better odds of getting one of the very, very, few northern resident tags than getting a tag in the draw. I have seen ONE of those tags issued to a person I know since they became available. The system works with your style of hunting ( being mobile and willing to move to other areas to hunt) I for one would like to be able to hunt from my home and that really limits the chances of an adult tag. I do travel 6 hours north of my home every year to attend a moose camp with old buddies. I hunt birds and fish and do some cooking and they hunt moose. This year 8 hunters ( not counting me) have a Bull tag. I do not participate in the group draw with them because one year I got a cow tag in the group and could not be free to hunt birds or fish without being in constant contact with the other group members. What I am saying is that my preferred style of hunting (alone, near home) means I am not likely going to see any adult tags. I guess that is my lot in life and I shouldn't complain as I have set limitations on my hunting preference. Overall a sad state of affairs regarding one of our greatest hunting opportunities, the Canadian moose. Now another kettle of fish, moose numbers are down, adult tag numbers are down but in most WMU's we are still allowed to harvest calves on every moose licence. I should be quiet about that as I can see the calf harvest going to the draw system soon. ( I think some WMU's already require the lottery system for moose calves)
Darryl
 
Very clear explanation of how the tag allotment program works. A lot of hunters do not understand that so it is good to see it well explained. BUT with the reduced numbers of tags and the portion of guaranteed tags not decreasing much the round two and finally round three (individual) have little chance as the tags have run out.

The tags do not run out before the individual draw... they can't... the tags are allocated at each stage based on a ratio of hunters to available tags... individuals get their fair chance at a tag regardless...

This year with the huge cut in tags there will probably be some snafu's due to an influx of hunters moving to areas where tags were not reduced... this happened in our unit... but in general the stages of the draw are fair, even if the system is not. The most unfair element is that with only two preference pools (1 & 2) to prioritize applicants some people will just get "lucky" every second year (pool 1 years)... I know a guy who got six tags in twelve years, every year he was pool one, in unit 38 which sees a very low success rate... I know another fellow who has applied to 38 for 20 years and has never drawn a tag... that is clearly unfair.

As far as hunting in your backyard... I live in prime moose country... I could walk out my back door and hunt, "IF" I could get a tag... but I can't get a tag... for the past 15 years I have driven 8-15 hours to various units where the statistics suggested I had the best chance... and we get have gotten a tag every year... the previous 25 years the tags were plentiful enough for us to hunt local units... I probably won't see that again in my life time...
 
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Once again we get 4ucked by the Ontario moose tag draw. And the MNR $hitbags and red to liberals behind it all. Another waste of tag money!

Life's to short for this $hit anymore.

SO, instead of griping, I took a mortgage and bought a place in Quebec! If anyone's looking for me, I'll be hunting there from now on!!

4UCK U Ontario!!
 
I phoned in for a surplus tag and finally got one in 21A, an area that I've never hunted before. I'm up for a new adventure, though. I phoned 548 times in 90 minutes but I finally got through, lol.
 
For those of you with 21A tags…it will probably be one of the most hectic years to date. 21A is always overpopulated, even though it is a very large area, simply because so many tags are allocated. This year, with the massive cut in tags, means even more people are going to be in 21A. The first couple of weeks will be a zoo.
 
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