GRRRRRR..... I'm getting fed up with the lottery system for doe tags in Ontario. I apply WMU 49 every year for my first choice. The allotment in that area is about 65-70% of those who apply. In an ideal world this would mean I would get a tag 2 out of every 3 years. I know it's not an ideal world out there but when I phoned for my results this morning I was skunked again... for the 8th year in a row!!!! To make matters worse I phoned the MNR to complain and the lady there said that she feels bad for me but she buys lottery tickets and she can't expect to win every time either. I tried to explain the math to her again but I don't think she was getting it. She told me there were a number of WMU's that often have 100% allotment and "perhaps I should sell my huntcamp and buy one were there is a better chance". I've let at least 8 does go in the last five years alone due to lack of tags but I did manage to score a small buck last year. Very frustrating when some guys in neighbouring camps have gotten doe tags every year for the last 10+ years.
I did manage to get a tag for WMU 80 which is where we xbow hunt but chances of getting a buck are a lot better down here than up there so I usually don't worry about getting one for this area.
TPM
Sound like you better become real good friends with you neighbors in the next camp. Are they filling all their tags? Maybe you could help them.
It is worth a try. If you explain the situation to them they might help out. Seeing as odds will turn aginst them eventually.
The only ex who has a piece of my heart is Excalibur
Do you fill out the survey form they send you at the end of the year where they ask how many deer you saw? I've heard, but I don't know if it's true, that people who fill it out get a better chance in the lotto the following year?
I've hunted in WMU 59 for 8 years and I've gotten a doe tag EVER year. I don't know what percentage of hunters get one but...
I guess you'll just have to settle for a nice 10 point.
Last edited by Partikle on Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Population Control Specialist
00 Buck - Licensed to kill
Don't feel bad, a buddy of mine just received his first WMU 47 doe tag in 20 years! Can you believe it, 20 years is a long time to wait, through both the good times and the bad!!! I myself have been pretty lucky in 47, drawing every 1 to 3 years. My camp as a whole usually draws enough tags to go around.
ninepointer
____________________________________
Exocet 165 retrofitted with Magtip Limbs
Boo Custom String
Big John's Custom Arrows
Slick Trick 100 gr. Standard broadheads
Groundpounder Quiver Mount
Your friend must have missed a few years of applying, because in the late '80s and early '90s we had a 100% draw for 3 or 4 years in zone 47.
Myself, when the draw started in the early '80s we had very few available tags, and I missed the first two years in the draw, and then was successful for the next 4 in a row. A little later when they upped the ratio to about 95% I managed to miss my first one in a few years.
Man, all of this talk makes me glad I live where it's not so tough (and expensive) to do a little hunting. Here where I live in Eastern North Carolina, we can take six deer per season, four of which may be antlerless, at any time from September 11 until January 1 ... you can kill all six during bow season, or during muzzleloader, or during rifle season, or you may kill some in all or in combination. If you can prove crop depredation, you can get doe management tags besides.
The discussions I've seen on here about short seasons, expensive tags, lotteries, multiple perrmits and designated limits per season makes me aware of just how good I've got it ... and I can kill every one right here on my own land. I could kill every one sitting in my living room chair, if the window were open, including some crossbow kills! Many times I could have eased the door open and dropped one ... but I always go out in the fields and woods. Can't bring myself to shoot the ones I "know!"
I only wish everyone had access to good hunting on lots of land with reasonable fees and generous limits. I really am sorry it's so tough for lots of you.
To make matters worse I phoned the MNR to complain and the lady there said that she feels bad for me but she buys lottery tickets and she can't expect to win every time either. I tried to explain the math to her again but I don't think she was getting it. She told me there were a number of WMU's that often have 100% allotment and "perhaps I should sell my huntcamp and buy one were there is a better chance". 
I've let at least 8 does go in the last five years alone due to lack of tags but I did manage to score a small buck last year. Very frustrating when some guys in neighbouring camps have gotten doe tags every year for the last 10+ years. 
