Adrian J Hare

Well , I'll tell ya what ! Ontario Goverment is sure out for every Dime they can get.

The Minister has passed a All Day Spring Turkey Hunt here, even if we don't have the Land layout and population of Gobblers to support it.

How do you take 60,000 Hunters and 25,000 Gobblers and place a All day hunt ,allowing 2 birds into effect with out hurting the Population here.

Some of us tried to stop this , but they don't care , all they see is $ Aswell as this added Reg. they do not have a thing at all in the books to Stop Roost shooting here.

I believe the reason for this turn around is the amount of people getting into the sport and not enough property to support all the hunters they have now, so they figure this is the answer.

My comment on this issue is The sport of turkey hunting here is going to take a Bad slide. The wood lots here are way to small to support this and hunters will be sitting at the trees as the turkeys go to roost.

With all the roost shooting I here in the mornings here , I can amagine how many will be at the same in the evenings.

If you have the urge to try out Ontario in the spring, I would say , ya better think about next spring , as I can see this sport going all to hell in a hand bag in the next few years to come...BT [&o]

trapper T

That is very sad BT. I'm afraid that most Fish&wildlife agencies see the dollar first. I know out here ours is the same way. They boast all the areas to turkey hunt even the areas where they may have just planted birds. Not allowing the populations to get established. Some areas they open up may not have even much more then 50 birds[:'(]

Good luck in your fight to stop this.

Bobgobble2

[:@][]Sucks to say the least!!!!"To call a roost shooter a hunter is degrading to the sport"!!!!!

huntnma

you'd think they'd want to MANAGE the turkey population first , then worry about the dollars.....that doesnt look like the way to do it....[:'(]

jalvja

I agree 100% with ya Adrian.The hunter to bird ratio in Ontario just won't support it without hurtin the sport.

OntElk

It is staggering the increase in the number of hunters taking the safety course, as well as the number of birds harvested. It is a catch 22 for sure. Increasing the number of hunters is most defintley a good thing. The more "average joes" who get out there, the better positioned we are to influence the government on issues that affect our hunting heritage.

We do however have a greater responsibility in managing the process. I had not considered the roosting issue Adrian mentioned. On the issue of roost shooting I will say that in Southern Ontario where I took the course it was mentioned numerous times about this being highly unethical and NOT the way to turkey hunt. It was such a key point I came across everywhere when learning this new form of hunting that it almost has made me think it IS illegal. That is a good thing I suppose.


I am not so naive, however, as to think that the there is a number of hunters out there who after being unsuccessful for a period of time may justify the action by saying "well, it is legal ya know!" With this in mind it seems to be a no brainer to make roost shooting illegal.

I understand the point of access as well. The only thing that kept me out of the turkey bush for 2 yrs following my safety course was finding access to land. I wanted a spot to call my own and go whenever I wanted. That was not any easy thing to find. Public land down here is very little and certainly haven't found any spots with a huntable turkey population. You can't argue however the growth of the Ontario flock. Roost shooters and all, it is growing. Acknowledged that we must not allow poor decisions which will reverse this trend. We also know the likelyhood of our fine governement ever changing and admitting they are wrong. If Adrian is right and the flock population begins to suffer I won't hold my breath on quick action being taken to correct a decline.


That brings us full circle to the first point. With more hunters we have more control on the issues hopefully. Organizations like OFAH and COHA need a strong voice. With that voice we will be heard. I would love to have access to more land which happens with less competition from more hunters but bigger picture the more I come across other turkey hunters like myself, the better I feel about the voice we have. We all know there is only one reason they are back in Ontario in the first place. HUNTERS! We, through the various organizations and our individual dollars are 100% responsible for the huntable turkey population. We CAN have a voice to protect it!

With this in mind I am drafting a letter to the minister asking for a change to make roost shooting illegal AND requesting a further review of the new all day hunts. If the poulation suffers we need to take steps to control it. As potential tourists, our American nieghbours have a huge voice as well. I encourage all of you to express concerns to the minster on the issue but most importantly all the Ontario hunters out there should send a note.

Mr. Longbeard

Hey I have to hunt public land hear in Md that is boardered by two states. And I have more out of state hunters then resident[:@] My state could care less if I have a quality hunt[:@] all they care about is the all mighty $$$!!! But that is ok I'll I'm a shackster and I will survive

Manybeards

>>>> I know you're a fine fella Adrian,so don't take this personally. I'll never hunt Canada again! In recent years the Canadian government has made it clear that they don't want my money. In fact,they clearly don't want anything to do with american sportsmen(or americans for that matter),and their prohibitive policies are testimony to that! It's a shame too...... I've sure had some grand times up there over the years............................

jalvja

Manybeards,I've found it just the opposite in Ontario.I've talked to game wardens there and they've always wished me luck.The place where I buy my tags has even stayed open late knowin I was gonna show up on that particular day.Just so I could get my licence.Now Quebec,That's a whole diffrent story.

Adrian J Hare

Jim , I think your getting the point as what we have to put up with

ManyBeards, what part of Canada did you hunt ? I have a few Americans that come and hunt with me including Jim and they don't seem to have a big problem . Maybe its just the place your crossing. If you ever want to give it another try for Turkeys, get ahold of me.

Big Game is another issue and the laws have changed and they have made it almost impossable for the out of Contry people to come for a hunt witch makes me [:@] aswell. Other then maybe Moose , the US has far better hunt anyway...BT