Where to go for grouse in Ontario?

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Elora, Ontario
Hey there, just wondering where my dad and I can head out in search of grouse in my neck of the woods? Elora is just north of guelph, all of my fathers old spots are now provate unhuntable property, and I would love if someone could steer me in the right direction. Neither of us mind going for a drive...within reason.

Christopher
 
Come on guys, I know nobody wants to give away their secret spot, but help a guy go hunting with his father before his father is too old. Any county forests recomendations?
 
Get a map of Ontario and look for crown land, county forests etc....

Guys don't want to give away there hunting areas, so why bother asking? Online hunting forums are full of folks looking for shortcuts to what other people have spent a lot of time working on. I can appreciate having an aging dad, as I am in the same boat, which is why we head up north, way north every fall. We always get our limit that way,

The fact is that good grouse hunting in central/southern ontario is limited to areas that will be closely guarded secrets by those that hunt them. Best thing to do is get out with your dad and find some spots yourself. If he is anything like most of the old guys I know he will love just getting out with his son regardless of what game is found. Cheers,

Patrick
 
I'm more familiar with places that are north of Toronto than your neck of the woods, but a couple of options come to mind. If you check with Grand River Conservation Authority and perhaps the Cambridge District Office of the MNR, they should be able to give you maps of dozens of county forests within a short distance of you, including which ones are or are not open to hunting. They might require OFAH membership or a small fee for a season's pass.

You could also try Luther Marsh Conservation Area, which in addition to its famous (or infamous to some) waterfowl hunting. There's thousands af acres of decent grouse habitat that you could hunt and it shouldn't be too crowded after the Controlled Deer season.

If after some hunting trips you can get access to some local farms (orchards, mixed bush, etc) I'm sure that would also help get you onto birds in better habitat than many of the planted county forests.

Good Luck,

Frank

PS. It's not too hard to get landowner permission to hunt around Mennonite country if you take the effort to ask, something that groups of hunters do to drive jack rabbits in the wintertime. Traditional, tight choked shotguns with #2 and 4 shot work fine for that.
 
try Dufferin County and Simco County (1st requires a hunting permit, $10 a year, to hunt them, 2nd one requires proof of membership with OFAH)
in general though, in my opinion, county forests arent the best bird hunting spots, too many citiods running around, trying to be high and mighty about their view of the wild, at least now, once snow comes it seems to keep them away from the nature

anything else? like other guys said, get a map and start scouting, bagging game is just a part of hunting, scouting, finding new spots is quite important part of the hunt as well, just enjoy time with your dad, if you come empty handed its still time spent in bush with someone you care about
Im in similar boat, dad is aging, and im trying to get my son into the hunting so grandpa can see at least one grandson bag a deer or moose before he is too frail to be bushbashing
 
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