Deer Hunting in Canada

[Gunslingergirl]

Hey all,

We're looking at subsidiary markets for our products, and Canada has come up in the conversation several times. I don't know anything about hunting in Canada, so I thought I would ask all of you.

One thing I have heard is that the deer population is depressed in Canada. Also, I would like to know if people hunt from tree stands there. It seems like they would, but I've not found any information yet that says one way or the other.

Does anybody know anything about hunting in Canada?

Thanks, as always, for the information.

Gunslingergirl

[BILLY D.]

GSG

Skyline probly knows about as much about hunting Canada as anyone. He is a professional guide there. And an all around good guy.

I suppose he is as busy as one armed paper hanger right now though. So just hang in there, he'll be around.

The man knows that of which he speaks.

I haven't heard of any lack of deer in Canada. And they have some monsters up there.

[L. Cooper]

I know something about hunting in Canada; not everything............ well, some of my hunting friends say I sometimes act as if I think I know everything......... but not everything.

I know no one who thinks the deer population is "depressed" anywhere in Western Canada. I know a few people who have experimented with tree stands, and very few who use them regularly. Most people you find in a tree stand in Saskatchewan will be American.

My experience of hunting is not "normal" by American standards. We (my hunting family and partners) view many of the experiences reported on sites such as this one to be quite alien to our own hunting experience. I suspect a converstion that would be long enough to really explain "hunting in Canada" would be long and boring to most members on this forum, and my ideas, of course, represent only my opinions. (A short search of my posts here will reveal my tendancy to be on the fringes of the hunting bell curves.

If you are truly interested in such a conversation, maybe we should take it off the board.

[toxic111]

It depends on where in Canada you are hunting.. in the east, tree stands are fairly common. Here in the prairies, it can be hard just to find a tree. Where I am, I know several that hunt from treestands, but mainly for bow season. During rifle season there tends to be many more road hunters.

As for deer numbers, they sure are not depressed, in some areas there are way too many. However, if you compare our herd to the numbers you may see in Mississippi, Gerogia, or some of the other states, it would seem that way. But there seems to be enough to go around, I've already tagged 3 myself this fall.

[fabsroman]

GSG,

A good indication of how many deer are around is the bag limit of deer for an area. Here in Maryland, about 15 or 20 years ago we were only allowed to take an antlered buck because the deer population was quite sparse. Now, in several counties in Maryland we can kill an unlimited number of does a year. The reason we are allowed to kill does in the first place is because the deer herds are pretty insane. In the county I live in, more accidents are caused by deer than by other motorists. Farmers are crying about crop damage too. What used to be a big outcry in favor of bambi when professional snipers were used in subdivisions has pretty much gone away. Homeowners are complaining about the thousands of dollars in landscaping that the deer are eating.

Just look at bag limits in Canada and this should give you a good idea of what the deer population is like.

[Gunslingergirl]

First of all, thanks for the answers everyone. It is great to have this forum as a resource and I really appreciate it.

I did do some reasearch since I posted the question and I did find that people do hunt from tree stands. It looks, however, like a lot of the stands are used by people on guided hunts. That may be because I was coming upon a lot of guided hunt sites when I searched Google.

As to the deer herd being depressed, that was just something I read somewhere. I'm glad to hear it is not so.

Thanks everyone.

GSG

[petey]

I never hunted western Canada, but have in Quebec. Seems like the prefered method for bear and mainly moose by the locals (since many locals think a bear is trash) is to hunt from stands. But let me rephrase that..moose hunters hunt from "houses" where by it's a hunting party system. 2 people per tag and they will litterally sit all day and swap out by day until they shoot their moose. From my conversations, many of the locals where I've hunted weren't too keen on non-resident moose hunters since this is their primary source of meat. You think sitting in a stand for 8 hrs is a chore? These parties sit days until they kill their moose.

Anyhow, hunting bear primarly over bait will result in you spending some time in a tree stand. I've seen more bear and moose in the dense cover of Northern Quebec more than I have deer.

[Gunslingergirl]

I read about that. Hunting bear from a tree stand seems kind of crazy to me. Bear can climb trees. Doesn't seem like you'd be any safer in a stand, but maybe that's not the point.

At any rate, it does appear there is at least some stand hunting in Canada. It really doesn't matter what animal is being hunted from the stand, our product will still work. :D

As always, thanks.

GSG