new post from uk

[ian]

hi folks i'm hoping to emigrate to nb from the uk (application with the gov at the moment) and am an avid hunter. bowhunting is illegal over here and my favourite methods are using ferrets and lurchers(greyhound crosses).i have found the nb site re closed seasons etc but there are loads of questions about what type of hunting is popular or even legal over there that i am struggling to find out about...is there anyone out there who can help or simply wishing to compare notes???

[cdn-redneck]

I'm in BC not New Brunswick, but here as in most parts of the counrty you can hunt deer, moose , elk, bear, caribou, ducks ,geese ,rabbits. You name it we have it there is probably a season to hunt for it. As for bowhunting in most provinces we get short archery seasons usually before the regular season opens. Hope that helps answer some of your questions. and welcome to bowzone.ca.

[Blake]

You can hunt all manor of small game up to coyotes without tags, licenses or seasons.(no night hunting though) You can use airguns, rimfire, centerfire, crossbows, bows...i'm sure i'm missing a couple options? Heck you can even use a slingshot(catapult by your terminology :wink: ), though you won't have much success on coyotes with one of those. You should really get a kick out of our 'gophers'(ground squirrels, much like your rats, only they are far easier to kill and you do it in the daytime rather than the night. Less rabbits though. We still have foxes and badgers plenty also.

You can hunt all manor of big game, some tags and seasons are very liberal, some are not and go on draw system etc. Regulations are pretty easy to follow and comprehend, plus there are many generous folks here that will help you get going and take you out to get a feel. Deer, elk, moose, sheep, black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, antelope, cougars. Guns, bows, crossbows.

Lots of upland and migratory game birds also. Grouse(several species), pheasants, partridge, geese(several species), ducks(several species) etc. Mostly shotgun territory but there are a few, and its legal to use bow in many occasions and a rimfire is legal and effective on grouse also. So many options.

Its a hunters paradise Ian. You will be in heaven.

Not sure if ferreting is gonna work here? Some get into falconry(legal) and some use dogs for cougars and bears. Most tend to just go man vs animal though.

B

[BlueNorther]

If you're going to New Brunswick,they offer white tail deer and moose.The moose hunt is Limited Entry only and a very short season.NB offers good migratory and some upland like ruffed grouse and a friend of mine says timberdoodles are awesome to hunt there.

[sir_huntsalot]

Ian, I lived in NB for 39 years and hunted there since I was a kid so I can tell you a few things about hunting in NB. As far as big game goes there are moose, bear and whitetails. Lots of bears but the average age is young and the big ones are hard to get although they are there. The moose population is ok but not great, they are draw only and the chances of drawing are less than 10%, to boot the season is only 3 days and it can be tough if you dont get the weather in your favour. As far as whitetails go the population is at the point where in my opinion there should not be an open season on them for at least 3 years or until the population recovers. The harvest in the late 80's was as high as 26,000 or more and in the last few years it has been somewhere below 5000 or not much higher. Put it this way , I went from seeing as many as 4 bucks in a single morning to not seeing 1 antlered deer in a 4 week season and I hunted hard at least 14 days of the 4 week rifle season. To spite the fact that Fish& Wildlife tends to let on that the population is not in that bad of shape beleive me it is. Alot of people that have hunted all their lives are pretty fed up with the way things are and have gave up on deer hunting. In general Fish & Wildlife have done nothing in the way of management except for closing zones after the deer have all but vanished. I know I paint a grim picture of the big game hunting in NB but the sad fact is that it is not good. Poor management and practically no enforcement of game laws has turned what was once a great spot to big game hunt into a place I would not go back to for a hunt.
However if you like to bird hunt , some good hunting can still be had as far as ducks and geese, woodcock and ruffled grouse goes. As well the coon hunting is good, my Brother in law and his kids took over 100 raccoons this past fall with dogs. One of the reasons I left NB last year was because I love to hunt and it got to the point that I would have felt quilty if I killed a deer when there were so few especially bucks.
Other than the hunting sucking and the poor economy New Brunswick is a beautiful place and a great place to raise kids, the people are friendly and the bass fishing is pretty good. If you are looking for good hunting or economic opportunity I would suggest you pick another province to the west. After 39 years there I finally got fed up and left.

[sir_huntsalot]

Forgot to mention that the hunting is great out here in Alberta, Go west young man lol.

[cdn-redneck]

What the hell is a timberdoodle? I'm am Canadian haven't heard of that before.

[Blake]

i missed the nb thing, yeah, come west, lots more going on i suspect

my bad

B :?

[sir_huntsalot]

Redneck, timberdoodle is a woodcock, dont know if we have them out west here or not, haven't seen any. They are slow to get in flight but really fast once they get going . Tasty too but not much meat on the little suckers.

[scooter]

Welcome to the bowzone Ian! Come west young man...come west! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[manford]

Ian. Welcome to Canada and Bowzone. Just wanted to let you know what to expect if you were to come to Ontario. Starting in August to October you can hunt black bear(baited if you prefer) with a bow or gun. From the middle of September to the 1st or 2nd week of October we hunt moose with a bow (populations extremely well in the north west). You must draw a tag though. You can hunt for whitetail deer starting the same time and when you purchase a deer license you are automatically entitled to 1 WT buck.Strting in October when the archery season for moose ends rifle season for moose and deer opens and lasts until Dec 15. If you prefer you can hunt with a bow right from the start of the bow season to the end of the rifle season but if you drew a bull moose tag for archery it becomes a calf tag at the start of the rifle season. Only 1 buck tag for both seasons combined as well. Mi8gratory birds start in the beginning of Sept. as well and upland birds such as ruffed grouse and spruce grouse last from Sept to Dec. Ruffed grouse populations are down here in most parts of the north west due to very wet springs the last couple of years. It is legal to hunt upland birds with a bow if you want. After rifle season ends in Dec. if you want you cna continue hunting for Timber wolves, Coyotes, and red fox and the season for these lasts all year long if you purchase a small games license. As for fishing theres to much to list Lake trout, Specks, walleye, bass, pike, perch, crappies, whitefish, and lots of each, probably even missed a few. Keep in mind Ian that all this info is for NorthWestern Ontario only and laws and seasons differ in parts of the province(its huge). Hope this helps ya. Anything else just ask.

[Dillershortbow]

Come west young man you can do what manfred said and more bear open on the first of april and run tell 15 of june you can hunt geese in march you can hunt elk and moose and sheep in a open season it truly is the land of milk&HUNTING!!!

[ian]

wow what a response :D ..thanks all..this is a short message just to check ive got rid of the gremlins that didnt allow me to post last night

[ian]

sorry about that i think there was a ghost in my machine last night :?
I appreciate all your comments about going west, I'll have to work on the wife but I am not too hopeful :roll:
I have got various questions that spring to mind:-
Am I right in thinking its illegal to put a ferret to ground over there & if so is it also illegal to use terriers to ground.
Is all night hunting illegal ( its a major way of catching rabbits & hares over here either by use of a lamp or nets across their runs, what we class as hares I believe you class as rabbits.)
sir_ huntsalot, what method does your brother in law use for catching raccoons?
Is it legal to use sight hounds to course quarry species or not?
Hopefully I will be bringing my shotguns & rifles with me but I would definitely love to have a go at bow hunting ( after lots of practice on a range). I should imagine it really tests your field craft.
Thanks very much for your patience with what must seem like simple questions to you.

cheers

[sir_huntsalot]

Ian , you can use the dogs for rabbits and birds in NB but not at night. You can hunt racoons at night with dogs as long as you are a member of the coon hunting club. My brother in law has some real good dogs , I know one is a walker but not sure on the others ,maybe bluetick. No ferret hunting as far as I know. So you want to live in Canada, why NB? just wondering.

[ian]

hi sir_huntsalot sorry for the delay but i am having a mare with posting ..i keep getting error in posting showing :x this computer drives me mad at times!!
anyway we fancied nb for various reasons ..the coastline,cheap land prices(we want our own farm),good sense of community(we have 2 children and another on the way),relatively short flights from uk,not too isolated..obviously you know far more about here than we do..any comments you may have would be gratefully received

[scooter]

hi sir_huntsalot sorry for the delay but i am having a mare with posting ..i keep getting error in posting

You have to make sure you are logged in when you try and post. Click the remember me Check box next time you log in. That should stop the problems. And Welcome to the bowzone! :D

[sir_huntsalot]

You,re right Ian, the land prices are pretty cheap there compared to some other parts of the country. Nice scenery there too especially along the St.John river valley. I lived about 20 minites out side of Fredericton, beautiful in the fall especially. I would recommend you look for a spot in the southern part of the province, the winters can be really bad in the northern part and the deer are really few and far between up there. Any where along the St. John river valley is great farm country , just make sure you are not in the flood plain. The ocean is only an hour or so from Fredericton and the area between Fredericton and St. Stephen is nice farm country. St.Andrews is a real nice spot to visit if you like the ocean but St.John is kind of a polluted city and I would stay away from there. Oil refineries and pulp mills , really poor air quaility and kind of a dumpy old city compared to Fredericton.
If you need any imformation on a good area let me know , I have lots of contacts back there and could propably help you find a nice farm and hook you up with some hunters that would help you out.