Partridge, deer should be plentiful

Partridge should shape up to be one of highlights during this hunting season, said Darryl McLeod, a biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources in Fort Frances.
“Ruffed grouse should be a good hunt this year,” he noted. “We’re either still increasing or at the peak of the population cycle.”
He explained grouse are very cyclical animals, and this season—which opened earlier this month—should see the birds at their most active since 1998.
“The other positive side is deer. Deer hunters are going to have another really good year ahead,” McLeod added. “By and large, hunters should really look forward to a good hunting season, just mainly because of the grouse and deer situation.”
But the same may not hold true for those looking to bag a moose this fall.
“They [moose] were declining the last time we surveyed,” McLeod said. “We’re hoping they rebounded a bit. We’ll know better this winter.”
Deer and moose season opens Oct. 6 for residents, but deer hunting in Wildlife Management Unit #10 (located west of Fort Frances) does not open until Oct. 27.
Dave Saunders, a local enforcement supervisor with the MNR, said things will stay this same in terms of enforcement for the upcoming season.
“There are no big changes in rules, but the same things come up every year,” he noted, referring to people hunting without licences on their person, hunters carrying loaded firearms in vehicles, and not encasing firearms at night.
He encourages hunters heading into the bush to always carry their licence.
“It’s not a big deal, it’s not a big infraction, but what it does is it takes time away from the officer,” he explained.
Firearms must be encased from half-an-hour after sunset until half-an-hour before sunrise for safety and to avoid suspicion of night hunting in the event they are inspected by an conservation officer.
Far more serious is the need to make sure hunters do not carry loaded firearms in their vehicles.
“You just cannot have a loaded firearm in a vehicle,” Saunders stressed. “Every year across Ontario, somewhere there are accidents, so we have a zero tolerance policy towards this.”
That means not just cars and trucks, but also ATV, snowmobiles, boats, and planes, he added.
Saunders said hunters who wish to report a natural resources violation can call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (1-877-847-7667) at any time day or night.
As for the opening of big-game season on Oct. 6, COs will be visible throughout the area.
“That’s always a big week and there’s lots of people around, and we’re going to be out in force,” Saunders said. “It draws a lot of people not just all over the province, but all over this country.”