Any small game Hunters here..

ya back to small game my best seasons were back to back 43 and 44 cottontails..thats bymyself...
typical season numbers for me was over 20+ and throw in a couple jacks..
I had a pile of land and good bush to hunt..a couple were full concessions menonite property..plenty of game birds early woodcock quail pheasants & grouse.. waterfowl like blacks mallards and woodies and plenty of rabbits..
It was good huntin
way up in the north plenty of ruffies..and the best game bird for sport are the sharptails..good eatin too..we don't kill the spruce grouse...we tried soaking the breasts in buttermilk nfg..ended up hand feeding the whisky jacks..lol

lots of small game hunting is the best way to practice your shooting skills and leads to success for big game hunting..and thats a fact
 
we shot bobwhite quail years ago when there was an open season.. wild and native to southern ontario...
there small and not much meat..
 
Last edited:
mick said:
we shot bobwhite quail years ago when there was an open season.. wild and native to southern ontario...
there small and not much meat..
Click to expand...
I harvested a Hungarian Partridge or two back in the day also , but just like the ground hogs , I'd love to find within a reasonable distance from me , seems time just marches on . Just wasn't aware of quail in our area .
 
I found this Ontario out of doors
theres a copy & paste info below

just to note... we shot quail in our permission granted land western elgin county...I remember chatham kent & essex counties the quail were abundant..

just to mention walpole island has good cover for ground nesting birds in the invasive phragmites.. the ringneck pheasants continue to flourish there also..

From what I have gathered the Bobwhite quail is a native species in Ontario. At one time it was very common in southern Ontario, with its peak range being as far north as southern shore of Georgian bay. But in the last 30yrs there range has shrunk to what is believed to be there last stronghold on Walpole island and a few unconfirmed sightings scatterd around parts of southern Ontario. Some of the old timers I have talked to said they where pretty common until the major snow and ice storms of the 70's, and the last blow to them was the change of farming practices, where farmers started over plowing fields and using every square inch of land they could for planting. Leaving very little grassland cover if any. So my question is has anyone seen a bobwhite quail or covey in the wild recently, and I mean a true wild bird not game farm birds. Or has the bird become extinct in Ontario out side of Walpole island? Ontario has placed the bobwhite quail on the threatened species list for the province, should there not be a MNRF government founded action plan developed to bring the bobwhite back, since it's a native species to Ontario?
 
mick said:
I found this Ontario out of doors
theres a copy & paste info below

just to note... we shot quail in our permission granted land western elgin county...I remember chatham kent & essex counties the quail were abundant..

just to mention walpole island has good cover for ground nesting birds in the invasive phragmites.. the ringneck pheasants continue to flourish there also..

From what I have gathered the Bobwhite quail is a native species in Ontario. At one time it was very common in southern Ontario, with its peak range being as far north as southern shore of Georgian bay. But in the last 30yrs there range has shrunk to what is believed to be there last stronghold on Walpole island and a few unconfirmed sightings scatterd around parts of southern Ontario. Some of the old timers I have talked to said they where pretty common until the major snow and ice storms of the 70's, and the last blow to them was the change of farming practices, where farmers started over plowing fields and using every square inch of land they could for planting. Leaving very little grassland cover if any. So my question is has anyone seen a bobwhite quail or covey in the wild recently, and I mean a true wild bird not game farm birds. Or has the bird become extinct in Ontario out side of Walpole island? Ontario has placed the bobwhite quail on the threatened species list for the province, should there not be a MNRF government founded action plan developed to bring the bobwhite back, since it's a native species to Ontario?
Click to expand...
Guessing , unless a club steps up to stock ,it will go he way of Pheasants in Norfolk . Pay to hunt planted birds every year ,with maybe little to no success of survival and repopulation .
 
Hi Mark...
the way I see it for our not so rich small game wild species here in southern Ontario is habitat loss & predation...you can add climate change to that to..
on the flip side whitetail deer numbers and oppurtunities continues..
 
Went for a walk around this evening in search of some rabbits.
they must have been holding tight as I did not see any but saw some tracks.
Was nice to get out. I wore my snow suit I bought two years ago and hadn’t worn yet... hahaha

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Funny tho walk around the farm don’t see much of anything
Pull in my driveway today to cottontails
Tracks all over the place.
I contemplate trapping them bringing them to the farm. I usually find two or three burrows in my yard every year with babies.
maybe I could stock the barn yard at the farm with front yard wild bread free range cottontails hahahaha

although I think it will be a losing battle until I start taking down the coyotes in the block
 
Is that a left handed 870 you are carrying Derkd9 ? Gotta get me some snow cammo gear ! Make coyote hunting more comfortable. Bobwhite quail ? I would be happy to see some partridge back around here again.
 
Old Cut LongPointer said:
Is that a left handed 870 you are carrying Derkd9 ? Gotta get me some snow cammo gear ! Make coyote hunting more comfortable. Bobwhite quail ? I would be happy to see some partridge back around here again.
Click to expand...
@Old Cut LongPointer yea sir that is a left handed 870 express,
I’m a lefty so if I can get the gun in left handed I will pay the extra $ for it!
That snow camo was Boxing Day sale from Cabelas a couple of years ago it is True Timber brand down filled
It is very comfortable and warm!
Im hoping to get some coyote hunting in the next couple of weeks.
is it their breeding season? Maybe they will come into some coyote howls and chirps on my alpha dog speaker
 
I was told YES it is their breeding season. That might explain why a yote keeps coming around my backyard as I have a female Chessie but she is fixed ? Took a ride around the properties on Thursday and seen lots of bunny tracks in the North Woods along with yote and even a Turkey. Looks like in one spot the bunnies had a "Dance Off" party ! Ten foot circle trampled by bunny feet ? Lots of coyote track on the Southside as well with some Turkey track also, one of which was huge !
 
My ice fishing was cancelled so maybe I’ll get out tomorrow morning.
 
Went for a stroll today, lots of rabbit tracks and poop but again couldn’t find them haha
On the walk saw about 30 Deer, and a bunch of turkey tracks, no antler sheds
But the sun was nice.

4B3F6A82-3C9D-4EFA-9BE7-FE25826156D6.png
7EADBFA2-E261-4BC6-A5FF-3255FA42FAD7.png
8423C3A9-1F1C-4EEB-9E9D-7C511BF57ABC.pngC4F2527F-0639-4766-AEB6-9CFCFA75E8D5.png
 
Nice outfit Derkd9 ! I've always wondered about the UV glare off of new clothes . I know they sell laundry soap without UV brighteners in it for washing your old stuff but has the new fabric been treated or washed with UV brighteners ? I guess you could test by using a UV Blacklight ?
 
@Old Cut LongPointer i haven’t put it to the test like that
But all of my hunting clothes I wash with Wildlife Research Center laundry detergent

even if it doesn’t work like you think it does, it certainly adds to the confidence.
I really do believe in it, my last deer hunt back in November last year was a good test I feel.
I had multiple deer all around my stand and my wind was blowing in their direction. They had no clue what I was. I knew they smelled the doe pee I had sprayed on my boots because they seemed to be interested in the tree I was in. But not once did they spook or blow until after I shot one. 20 min later they were back and I shot another one.
 
Does it have that scent blocker built into ? My Top Gun at the November Controlled Hunt swears by that clothing. He filled 4 out of our 5 tags by Tuesday morning. Or .... he was in the right spot at the right time ? Or because his heritage is Irish and he's my lucky charm ? LoL !
 
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