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Imagine a country consisting of steep rocky ridges and forested with thick stands of pine, spruce, poplar, and birch. Mighty tamaracks and cedars guard hidden marshy areas. This land is home to many big game species, including whitetail deer, moose, black bear, and the elusive timber wolf. This is the Canadian Shield. This is our back yard.
The life of a Canadian Shield whitetail deer is challenging. These animals face harsh winters, and are pushed heavily over difficult terrain by numerous natural predators. In spite of these conditions the whitetail has flourished here. Not only are deer numerous, but as a result of the harsh conditions and terrain, they are very sturdy. In preparing the deer to cope with their environment, nature has created some of the largest bodied animals to be found anywhere. Three hundred pound whitetail bucks are not uncommon here. These are the conditions for your hunt. The hunt of a lifetime.
As challenging as the conditions are for the deer, they are more so for the hunter. Vast wilderness areas covered with thick forests and swamps provide shelter, sustenance, and security for the whitetail. For true hunting success, a hunter must be prepared to venture into the heart of this country. Your Larsson's Camp guides will take you there.
Northwestern Ontario has some incredible whitetail habitat. If there is any difficulty at all, it is in how MUCH land there actually is to hunt, and how little road access there is to many areas. There is little doubt that there are world record animals here, when you compare the amount of prime deer habitat to any other Canadian province. Again, the difficulty is actually getting to the deer. The terrain here is rough, and the vegetation is dense. Hunting areas are often inaccessible, except by foot. The deer browse on multiple types of naturally occurring food sources that can be found almost anywhere, so hunting food source is not an option, and baiting is not permitted.
We hunt travel routes and funnels, doe pockets, and areas where we are targeting a particular buck we have seen on more than one occasion. We do a great amount of scouting, and often get our hunters into areas where they will simply not see another hunter. Many deer in these areas die of old age having never seen a human being, and these are the ones we are after. We utilize mainly ground blinds constructed from deadfall, but also occasionally ladder type tree stands and commercial pop-up blinds. We do not road hunt, or hunt clear cuts. the idea being to see deer, not other hunters. We do not hunt by stalking, or by making drives.
Deer hunting in Northwestern Ontario can be tough, so the hunter must enjoy the hunt as much as the kill. We have an excellent deer population (resident hunters are allowed 7 tags each), but there is so much prime habitat that you may only see a few deer in a day. However, one of those few could easily be the Ontario "brute" you are looking for. So the bottom line is that a NW Ontario hunt is best suited to experienced, patient hunters who simply enjoy the hunt.
Our hunters are always amazed at the number and size of the scrapes, rubs and tracks that we show them. We simply have a LOT of big deer here. Our guests are also amazed at the physical size of the deer here, not just rack size. From does to spikes to mature bucks, they are all full bodied animals. Of course, to get on the biggest of the bucks requires patience and some good quality time in the field. If you are looking for a 130 to 160 class animal your chances are excellent, as they are common here. There are many 170 to 200+ class animals here as well, but these take the utmost in cunning, patience and timing to see. Every season without fail there are huge animals like that taken somewhere in the NW Ontario region. Of course, hunting is hunting, and there are no fences or pens here. Just millions of acres of a buck's back yard. We feel that successful hunting is 50% scouting, 30% technique, patience, and time, and 20% sheer luck,or being in the right location at the right time. As your outfitter we take care of the scouting you would do if you lived here year round. We also give you tips on the techniques that we have found work best in the areas you will be hunting. This leaves you free to fully and confidently enjoy the time you spend in the field while on your hunting vacation with us.
Your guided hunt package includes comfortable accommodations (cabin or motel unit), as well as excellent meals in our on site Bar & Grill. It's a great way to and an enjoyable day spent in the field. Our guides have been avid hunters for many years, and always treat our guests exactly as they themselves would want to be treated if they were on a guided hunt. And when you kneel beside your trophy, holding its head high for a digital photo, you will be capturing a memory and feeling of a lifetime, one that can only come from a trophy whitetail hunt in Northwestern Ontario's rugged Canadian Shield.
General Season Whitetail Deer Hunt Package:
Season dates: Second Saturday in October through November 15th.
Hunt Price: US$2150 per hunter. Your whitetail deer hunt package includes:
- A seven night stay (6 days of hunting)
- Guide service (one guide per two hunters)
- Private accommodations (cabin or motel unit) for your group
- Three meals daily in our on site Bar & Grill. A bag lunch is prepared for those that prefer to remain in the field
- Tracking and retrieval of game
- A framed digital photograph of you with your trophy
- Dressing of the game and preparation of the head and hide for your return home (NOT taxidermy)
- Processing of the meat at a nearby butcher (time and temperature conditions permitting)
- Boat and motor package for a little fishing on Caliper Lake
- Hours and hours of story swapping and joke telling
Hunters are free to build their own package from the options below. Note: for safety reasons hunters are required to return to camp after shooting at an animal. Tracking is done by our staff, without exception.
- Full package: $2,150 USD
- Without meals: deduct $400
- Without professional cutting and wrapping: deduct $150
- Without retrieval, digital photo, weighing, skinning, preparation for taxidermist, freezer service: deduct $350
- Without accommodations: deduct $300
Deposit and payment policy for guided hunts:
There are a limited number of spaces available for our guided hunts. Often there are more guests interested in hunting than there are available spaces, and hunts are often booked a year or more in advance. It is extremely difficult to fill spaces that become available due to cancellation. For these reasons we ask that our guests do not book guided hunts lightly. Our deposit and payment policy is as follows:
50% of the hunt package price is due at the time of booking. The remaining 50% of the hunt package price as well as taxes and balance due to exchange, if any, are due upon completion of the hunt. All deposits are converted to CDN$ using the exchange rate current at time of receipt. On completion of the hunt the hunt cost is converted to CDN$ using the current exchange rate and taxes are calculated on that amount. Payments may be made in CDN or US funds. Fair exchange is given based on the current rate. All monies paid toward guided hunts are non-transferable and non-refundable.
The above rate does NOT include (subject to change) or applicable sales taxes::
- Non-resident license to hunt deer: CDN$198.25
- Gratuities
- Non-resident export permit for deer: CDN$35.00
- Harmonized Sales Tax (HST): 13%
What to bring on your Whitetail Deer Hunt
IMPORTANT: You must bring a hunting license in your name from your home state in order to purchase an Ontario hunting license. The license should be an old one that you no longer require, as you will need to surrender it to the issuer here. It must be an original license (no photocopies). If you do not bring this license, you will NOT be able to purchase your deer license here.
- A small chest freezer to transport your deer head and meat home in a frozen condition. If you are unable to bring a small freezer, a very large cooler will suffice
- A soft gun case or gun sock
- Rifle and ammunition
- Camouflage clothing
- Camouflage bug mask
- Camouflage rain gear
- Hunter Orange coat or vest and hat
- Mild weather clothing
- Cool weather clothing
- Cold weather clothing
- Safety harness
- Compass
- Hunting knife
- Survival/first aid kit
- Two way radio, 5W with GMRS channels
- Binoculars
- GPS
- Camera
- Calls (estrous doe can, buck grunt tube)
- Scents (estrous doe urine spray bottle and hanging wicks)
*PLEASE CONTACT US WELL BEFORE YOUR HUNT OR CLICK ON OUR LINK TO THE MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES WEB SITE TO ENSURE YOU BECOME FAMILIAR WITH CANADIAN HUNTING LAWS. THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. |
