This monster buck is ‘Still at Large” in the wilds of Emsdale.

The buck has been frequenting my friend’s trail cam and with ‘the rut’ in full swing local bow hunters may be able to fill their tag with this one. That is – if Craig does not get there first. That rack casts a big shadow so hunt with care. Thanks for the photo Craig!

Ghost Buck in Elmsdale - Somewhere

Almost like the night before Christmas, many of us in Wildlife Management Unit 49 are sitting around our hunt camp stoves enjoying their warmth and flickering glow. Plans are made and watches are set as we eagerly await the morning light which will usher in Moose Hunt 2009. Remember your orange, identify your targets and make ethical choices as the week progresses.

Here is a list of Ontario Hunting links that may interest you:

Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary – 2009-2010
Ontario Moose Hunting Regulations
Ontario Moose Program Review

If you see or suspect someone of poaching or otherwise abusing a natural resource, please call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll-free any time to report a violation.

You may also contact your local ministry office during regular business hours or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Please visit Muskoka Outdoors throughout the week as I will attempting to blog right from my moose stand. Unfortunately, I have to work by day – but I will be hunting the early morning and evenings all week.

For over 100,000 Ontario residents, the month of October is a time to dig out the hunter orange clothing and participate in the annual moose hunt. The Ontario Conservation Officers Association (O.C.O.A.) and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) want to wish all Ontario hunters a safe and successful hunt.

“During the moose hunt, Conservation Officers (C.O.’s) will focus their activities on violations that threaten our moose herds and public safety,” says O.C.O.A. President Dan VanExan. “Officers will be out in force — conducting uniformed patrols, running road check stations, and undertaking specialized investigations targeting habitual violators.”

“Responsible hunters strive to maintain the highest standards of public safety and have a profound respect for wildlife,” said O.F.A.H. Executive Director Mike Reader. “Hunters and anglers led the conservation movement in North America more than a hundred years ago, and to this day are leading efforts to conserve and enhance wildlife throughout the province. Hunters are partners in wildlife management, and they respect wildlife seasons and limits which ensure a sustainable harvest, today and into the future.”

Every year, C.O.’s investigate cases of moose carcasses that are found abandoned in the bush. This often occurs when hunters mistakenly shoot an animal for which they are not licensed, and leave the animal to rot because they are afraid of being charged for their mistake. C.O.’s are hunters themselves, and have the utmost respect for someone who calls to report accidentally shooting the wrong moose. Hunters are encouraged to report any accidental kills immediately, and to trust officers to respect this cooperation during their investigation.

“Officers will have zero tolerance for anyone who allows a moose to spoil,” said VanExan. “Walking away from an honest mistake and allowing a valuable game animal to be wasted is an offence that no one should tolerate. Help us do our jobs by reporting this illegal and unethical behavior.”

Anyone who observes illegal or unsafe hunting activity is asked to help C.O.’s protect our natural resources and ensure public safety by calling the M.N.R.’s violation reporting line at 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7677), or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

For more information about natural resources regulations and enforcement, please visit the O.C.O.A. website at www.ocoa.ca or contact your local Conservation Officer.

Representing more than 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is the province’s largest nonprofit fish and wildlife conservation-based organization, and the voice of anglers and hunters.

Contact
Lezlie Goodwin
Communications Coordinator
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
705-748-6324 ext 270

Dan VanExan
President
Ontario Conservation Officers Association
(613) 478-6132

*Press Release used with Permission

The Ontario moose automated telephone licensing and draw application due date is June 1, 2009.

The deadline is coming up people. Don’t Forget!

The phone number is: 1-800-288-1155

There is a spikehorn buck running around Aspdin forest with an invisible horseshoe dangling around his neck. Besides noticing the horseshoe, the buck can be easily identified by his lack of antler growth and a lack of survivor mentality. You know you are looking at him when that ‘decision making slot machine’ in your head starts spinning while you decide if he is a legal deer to shoot.

I would suspect we all have seen a horseshoe buck.

I first saw my horseshoe buck about 3 years ago at a deer watch I call the ‘Bunker’. It get its name from the cover it provides from within the trio of uprooted trees that have fallen over and kept the interlocking root system intact. The root end of the trees is high enough to rest your rifle on while taking a standing shot. All that is visible is your head and your rifle. The three trees are lying in an inverted triangle formation with 2 trees at chest height (front and rear) and one at perfect sitting location below. The body coverage is phenomenal.

Bears also like the ‘Bunker’. Sections of the wind-felled trees have claw marks and bear hair from frequent undetected visits.  I may have to borrow and post the ‘occupied’ sign from the outhouse in order to share one of my favorite watches with these mystery bears.

Getting back to my encounter, we were approaching the end of an unsuccessful deer hunting week. Deer sightings were few. After a completing a deer drive, the guys had started to make their way back to the cabin for coffee. My radio cackled to life as the news of the break traveled around to all the watches. As I was about to leave the confines of the tree bunker, a spikehorn materialized out of the swampy cover about 15 feet from the root end of the tree. I slowly brought my rifle up to the natural shooting bench and tried to confirm the length of the buck’s antlers before putting my eyes up to the scope.

I could see short spikes but I could not remember how long they had to be to qualify as legal deer for my buck tag.

A silent slot machine began to spin in my head as I considered my options. I could shoot first and measure later and explain to the game warden that I thought the spikes were the right size (illegal). I could shoot and borrow a doe tag from a friend in town if the antlers were too small (also illegal). I could shoot and hope that nobody asks any questions before I got the small deer to the butcher (very illegal).

Frustrated, I dropped down behind the root and pulled my orange jacket over my head and whispered on the radio. I felt like I was calling in an artillery strike.

“Does anyone know how long deer antlers need to be?!”

Silence.

I quietly stood up and peered over the roots to see where the deer was. It was now 7 to 10 feet from me and my rooted bunker. His silvery horseshoe flashed and shimmered in the mid-morning light like a ‘naner-naner’ beacon around his neck.

I dropped back behind the root and asked my desperate (low-volume) request for recon again,

“Guys, there is a deer 7 feet from me and I can’t remember how long the antlers need to be!”

Finally, somebody answered back,

“Well…down him!”

-To be continued-

*bunker photo from Webshots News

Heritage activities returned in Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park

After years of discussion and public consultation, the Ministry of Natural Resources (M.N.R.) has released the decision on amendments to regulate hunting in the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site (K.H.S.S.). The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) is pleased that Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield has responded by appropriately restoring significant hunting opportunities to the park.

Posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights (E.B.R.) registry in October of 2008, the amendment to the regulation under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, had proposed more closely restoring traditional K.H.S.S. hunting activities to those that were practiced before the park’s regulation in 2005. The initial regulation did not impact on deer or moose, but it did overly restrict other opportunities. In the decision, the M.N.R. reported that there were 2,714 comments submitted to the E.B.R. posting, most of which were favorable to hunting.

“The broad support of local stakeholders and O.F.A.H. members greatly assisted our efforts with the M.N.R. to recover important hunting opportunities in the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park,” said Mike Reader, O.F.A.H. Executive Director.

The K.H.S.S. is a 37,587-hectare park that lies within Wildlife Management Unit 60, and is situated approximately 50 kilometers north of Peterborough. The regulation amendment restores the black bear season to September 1, permits a wild turkey season, restores rabbit and hare seasons, as well as seasons for fox and raccoon. It does, however, institute a moratorium on wolf and coyote hunting for a minimum of two years, closes hunting for non-scheduled wildlife such as porcupines and crows, and prohibits all hunting from the Friday before the May long weekend through August 31.

With over 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters, and 655 member clubs, the O.F.A.H. is the largest nonprofit, charitable, fishing, hunting and conservation-based organization in Ontario, and the voice of anglers and hunters. For more information, visit www.ofah.org.

Fast Facts:

* The Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003, and the park charter also signed in 2003, provided for hunting, fishing, boating and other traditional activities in the park.

* There were four signatories to the charter, including the Kawartha Highlands Local Stakeholder Committee, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, the Stakeholder Groups of the Kawartha Highlands, and the Partnership for Public Lands.

* All four signatories agreed that hunting would remain as it always had been, regulated under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, similar to Wildlife Management Unit in which the K.H.S.S. is located.

Contact
Lezlie Goodwin
O.F.A.H. Communications Coordinator
(705) 748-6324 ext 270

Robert Pineo
Forestry and Wildlife Biologist
(705) 748-6324 ext 240

*Press Release Copied with Permission*