Ontario boys - what been going on inyour area?

[bearhair]

Just thought I ask what's been happening around Ontario.  On the properties I hunt the ground is scraped up real good now.  Very few rubs but lots of scapes.  The trail cameras are picking up bucks but way too late to hunt.  I was out tickling the tines on the weekend but no buck answered the call.  The can call hasn't brought in any young bucks either.  The gun week in our area didn't seem to be any more crazy than in other years.  Had a couple does at 15 yrds but swirling winds busted me.

What has been going on in your area?

[B.O.D.]

Well,   I have only seen 1 buck and he wasn't that big... :(


I have seen a ton of does, some scrapes and a few rubs.
Had 6-7 of them come in the other morning, only one came my way and she busted me, looked right up at me and walked away.
I have since put more stands up in big pines that afford alot more cover from the prying eyes of our local herd.
The rut is not moving here yet, but i think it may be soon.

BD  

[Chris Lantz]

I’m hunting public land (Ganaraska forest) and have yet to see a deer, haven’t even bumped one while walking around looking for sign. I’ve found a fair amount sign, only a few rubs but lots of scrapes so not seeing any deer has left me scratching my head. Could too much pressure from Bird hunters and ATV users in certain areas.  This is my first year deer hunting in Ontario so did expect there to be a bit of a learning curve.

[Luke Vander Vennen]

Chris the Ganaraska forest is only a little bit from my house. I live in Cobourg. I won't be back home until mid December, but if you want another guy to climb that curve with, give me a shout.

p.s. was that you that was looking for the osage? If so, I still have some at home, if you're still looking for it let me know. I probably wouldn't be able to ship it, but maybe we can work something out.

[twisted]

Hey guys i got to go ut for the first time in my 29 yrs lol and i had 3 does about 30 to 40 yards out from me way to far for my liking a friend that went through the same hunting coarse i did had a buck about ten feet from him and let and arrow fly through a shoot through screen blind and he wont use it again since it deflected his arrow and he went over the bucks back as for me i was hunting over what i would call a huge scrape almost 4 feet by 6 feet hoping to get out later this morning lol

[Ontario Longbow]

Not that bad so far,,,, Frank

 

[bearhair]

Way to go Franki.  I've got a few of those on the cameras scattered around the property.   Sow with two big cubs also roaming around.  Plenty of scrapes, this weekend should be chilly out on the stand.

[Chris Lantz]

Anyone have any updates? I finally saw a few deer last Saturday, just 3 does but I’m happy to finally see something. Unfortunately saw just as many Gun hunters as deer. I’m hoping to get out a couple times this weekend, the shotgun season is closed now in the unit I’m hunting so there should be less people around. What is everyone seeing in terms of rut activity? Have things peaked and started slow down in your area?

Luke, I’ll have to get in touch with you sometime. I’m a transplant in Ontario and don’t know any people who hunt right now. I would definitely like to get out hunting with some other people.

[bearhair]

Things have slowed down a bit here.  Seems the peak for bucks being active during the day has passed in my area.  Still picking up sightings on my trail cameras but always well after sunset.  With the change in the weather hopefully it will force the deer to be more active in daylight.

[Ontario Longbow]

It has been slow so far,, The guys I hunt with have not seem much, It seems like a lot of nocturnal movement. My hunting partner and I went to NY State (Catskills) again this year and I managed to take this button buck. Then a bear took one of the rear quarters. Good luck in the rest of the season to all the Ontario boys,,Frank

 

[bearhair]

Well I was able to slip away from my chores this morning and take a quick cruise around the property to check out tracks in the recent snow.  A couple areas where there were active scrapes a few weeks ago are pretty much dead.  However there are a couple areas where the bucks have dug down to establish their scrapes again!!! Nothing like a fresh scrape with some yellow snow in it.  Now I know where to concentrate my efforts and which areas just aren't active anymore.

[Chris Lantz]

Got out for a bit on Saturday and Sunday morning. The scrapes I found earlier in the season are all covered in snow and appear to be dead. I did manage to see 2 deer on Saturday though.

It was still too dark to get a good look at the first deer of the morning so I’m not sure what it was. It showed up only minutes after setting up and sitting down, before legal shooting time. The other deer was a decent 8 pointer. He slipped in behind from the opposite direction I was expecting (or hoping lol) Deer to come from. He was casually walking along until he got about 20 yards from me and quickly turned and trotted off in the direction he came from. Must have caught my scent. :-(

Saturday was a beautiful morning to be out. Fresh snow, no wind, the woods were so quiet and peaceful. Best of all the colder weather and snow seems to be keeping most of the ATV users out of the woods, or they are a least coming later then usual. They usually show up around 9 or 10 am but I didn’t hear anything on either Saturday or Sunday.