Ontario WMU 47 vs 54 for Deer

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canoetrpr

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I'm trying to decide between two hunting lodges for deer for a Nov 2013 trip with three other guys. I've found two hunting lodges that look good. One in 47 around the Nippising area (not Port Loring) and the other in 54 in the Haliburton area.

Trying to get some more details from each of them on what their setup is like The one in 47 seems quite well set up with blinds looking over baited areas with the opportunity to hunt from a trail as well. Hoping to get the same sort of details from the one in WMU 54. We are also hoping we can hunt for partridge / grouse on trails.

We are newbies - 3 of us our anyway. The 4th has hunted moose a lot with his dad and will be able to guide us with field dressing. None of us know these areas though.

It seems in 47 everyone who applied for a antlerless tag last year got one. In 54 it seems to be 84% or so but if I understand correctly an antlered tag is pretty much guaranteed over the counter.

I'd appreciate any guidance on one vs the other WMU if you have experience in hunting in this area.
 
I have never hunted WMU 47 but hunt in WMU 49 which right beside it and there is good hunting there. I know some guys who hunt WMU 49 and say there is a lot of deer, in fact you can purchase an extra tag. We had a supplier in the Haliburton area and it has a lot of deer as well.
If you purchase a tag over the counter or your antlerless tag for any WMU it will be good for an antlered deer in any WMU.
 
Not sure of the situation in 47, but I would expect 54 to be pretty crowded, unless your outfitter has a lot of private land to hunt on. Lots of camps up that way, and most of them run hounds.
 
I will make it a point to ask. The outfitter in 47 told me he has 200 acres of private land to hunt on along with the crown land they are close to. I was really trying to plan a moose/deer hunt in WMU 13 but one in the group can only be gone Sunday night and back Friday night; best he could negotiate with his Mrs. That makes 13 too far of a drive.
 
I have hunted deer in 47 for 16 years and the area I gois full of deer. This season we filled 9 of 10 tags by Wed without trying that hard.
 
I've lived in 47 for over 30 years. The deer population is as good as I have ever seen it. If you have an outfitter with blinds, trails etc go for it. Areas to hunt there can be hard to gain access to as there is a lot of private property and the deer do not yard up the way they used to in Port Loring since the MNR cancelled winter feeding programs and more and more landowners have taken to feeding and /or managing their properties for hunting. The deer movement in November to traditional yards has dropped considerably but the deer population in 47 is very good. Good luck whichever you decide on....

P.S I wouldn't hold my breath much on the grouse though. It is not like it was many years ago.....
 
My cottage/camp is in 47 (just west of Sundridge/South River) I saw more deer this past year then any in the past 6 or 7 years. Even throughout the summer, lots of deer around. One evening bow hunt I had 7 does within sight of my stand at the same time....and there was one less when I stopped watching.:)
 
I have a cottage and hunt in wmu 54. Never hunted 47. IMO deer population in 54 is on a slight increase from low levels in 2010-2011. The deer hunt this year was good but I think it was more a case of cold temperatures had deer moving in the day than than many deer around. Didnt see sign like 10 years ago. This year I saw 12 deer over the summer in my cottage back yard, a few were the same deer more than once. 2 years ago didnt see one.
 
The spot in WMU 54 is only situated on 4 acres but they hunt on a 4800 acre section of the privately owned 80000 acre Haliburton Forest Wild Life Reserve. Sounds like a really nice spot and a great owner. The owner has offerred to help us with transporting and field dressing and to point us to a local butcher if we would like someone else to do the butchering. Both places sound good actually. I might have to flip a coin!

Regardless, I'm pretty darned excited. My Winchester Model 70 30-06 might actually see its day hunting!
 
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