Rookie Ontario deer hunter
- Thread starter Stripes
- Start date
I dont know if I will ever get the same amount of practice as hickok, but ill take my shotgun out to the range and see how we perform with slugs at 50 and 100 yards. I can probably already guess 100 yards is going to be a hard no.
I hunt with a smoothbore but it has 1.75-4x scope on it, only have about 50yrds max to see a deer so it is all that is needed. My dad has used a smoothbore with a bead for each of the 8 deer he's gotten but again furthest was 40-50yrds
Well my week long hunt is over. I'll be eating tag soup but all in all it was a fantastic week. Learned a tonne, had some cool experiences and I'm already planning for next year!
Had a few run ins with some boneheads (nothing malicious just inconsiderate) and a few run ins with other groups of guys that were pretty cool. Was even invited to participate in a drive with a group when we realized we were both tailing the same buck.
I attempted every type of hunting we talked about in this thread. My few ambush spots that had good deer traffic all year were pretty much devoid of any deer sign at the start of the week (I'm thinking the hoards of ATVs and groups running dogs pushed them out). Used the snow to find more deer sign though (which put me onto the aforementioned buck). On Wednesday morning after sitting in a spot I was very confident in I decided to take a bit of a walk, ended up following a doe track into some dense stuff and ended up bumping her at about 30 yards, which was an awesome experience.
Wednesday afternoon I decided to check my original trail camera and wow is me a buck had been passing through steadily every morning about two hours before light. So my remaining mornings consisted of sitting there waiting for him, to no avail. It was pretty funny, seeing as how this spot was the closest to habitation and everybody had overlooked it completely.
I also saw more grouse this week than ever before. It's like they knew they were safe.
Had a few run ins with some boneheads (nothing malicious just inconsiderate) and a few run ins with other groups of guys that were pretty cool. Was even invited to participate in a drive with a group when we realized we were both tailing the same buck.
I attempted every type of hunting we talked about in this thread. My few ambush spots that had good deer traffic all year were pretty much devoid of any deer sign at the start of the week (I'm thinking the hoards of ATVs and groups running dogs pushed them out). Used the snow to find more deer sign though (which put me onto the aforementioned buck). On Wednesday morning after sitting in a spot I was very confident in I decided to take a bit of a walk, ended up following a doe track into some dense stuff and ended up bumping her at about 30 yards, which was an awesome experience.
Wednesday afternoon I decided to check my original trail camera and wow is me a buck had been passing through steadily every morning about two hours before light. So my remaining mornings consisted of sitting there waiting for him, to no avail. It was pretty funny, seeing as how this spot was the closest to habitation and everybody had overlooked it completely.
I also saw more grouse this week than ever before. It's like they knew they were safe.
That's pretty much Eastern Ontario big woods deer hunting in a nutshell! The orange army, ATVs, dogs, thick cover, and mature deer that either lay low or disappear into the thick cover - but the vast amount of dense cover does allow plenty of mature bucks to get big.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Glad you enjoyed it!
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
If you are doing that, be sure to shoot it at a target, and learn where to hold. it may not go where you expect. Generations of hunters went out armed with buckshot and slugs with a bead sight. If you mind their limitations and don't stretch it, they are very effective. But KNOW those limitations!
For me, bead sight hunting meant under 40 yards. at that range I took a few with my old side by side and buckshot. When I say try it on target I mean it. Buckshot at close range is a very tight pattern with a few strays generally, it's easy to miss. (yes, miss with a shotgun!) If you hit with a full pattern up close be prepared for a lot of damage. Don't take hail mary shots! You have little chance of success, and a large chance of wounding.
Slugs you will have to try to see. Foster slugs are what you want for a smooth bore. Some guns shoot to point of aim fairly well with a bead, some don't. Find out where to hold!
My old side by side, the right barrel shoots slugs 8" higher than the left IIRC, so I never used them for hunting.
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