NEW FOR 2026: Happy Camp Ontario will be Traditional Archery Only. We do have some exceptions, so contact me directly to discuss this, email is getthenet@wi-net.com, cell phone is (715)-630-4444, HCO Phone is (807)-826-4440.
RENTRY FEE of $500 on any Bear that is shot and not harvested!
BEAR HUNT 2026 will take place starting May 23 thru June 15, 2026.
Hunts will take place in one of our 2 BMA, that are over 475,000 acres of wilderness leased exclusively to Happy Camp Ontario for Non-resident Bear hunters.
Each hunt will be a 6 day, 6 night hunt. Hunters come in by Noon on Saturday, leave before 10 a.m. Friday
Sites are pre-baited. Each site will only have one hunter per year, that means you get your own active bait.
Baits are placed no more than 20 yards from your tree.
This is YOUR hunt, I will cater to how you want it, but usually I walk hunters into the site, rebait, make sure you are set in your stand, then leave. I will arrive after dark to pick you up unless you have shot a Bear. We will all assist in retrieving your Bear, then bring it back to camp to hang and cool.
Hunters need to bring the following: Bow and arrows, hang on tree stand, steps and harness. Hunting equipment to include head net, flashlight, Thermacell with refills, boots, clothes, Scent eliminator, gutting knife. If you wish to process your Bear, you will need knives, paper and tape. We have a large stainless steel table and will assist you with this if you so choose.
During our 3-4 week season, we take no more than 4 hunters to provide personal, exceptional service to each hunter. Each hunter is taken into their stands. At the end of each hunt, I come in and take you out of the site. We assist in any tracking and retrieval of the Bear. There is a local meat cutter who can cut up your Bear for you for a fee. If you wish to cut it up yourself, we have a large stainless table and will assist you with processing of your Bear.
Hunters need to get their hunting license, all can be done online for 2025! Make sure to print off all of your license and kill tag. The cost of this tag is $250 which include your Bear licence and Outdoor card. If you wish to fish, you can get this online as well. In addition, you will need to bring sleeping bags, pillows, towels, personal items and food. We usually have a potluck meal before heading to the stands for a hunt in early afternoon.
With that said, Bear Hunt 2026 cost will be $1800 per hunt. As always, any non-hunters are more than welcome, their cost is $350 per person per week. We require a $500 deposit for each hunter, please contact me with any questions or for further details. I can be reached via email at getthenet@wi-net.com, cell phone of (715)-630-4444 or Happy Camp at (807)-826-4440. Please leave a message if I do not answer and I will respond promptly.
Rook and I look forward to hunting with old friends and exposing new outdoors people to the awesome wilderness adventures with Happy Camp Ontario!!
Bear Hunt 2024 is almost complete, with a great hunt for all who hunted at Happy Camp Ontario.
August 12th brought hunters into camp, the next couple days we hung stands, got to know each other, sight in guns and get ready for the Hunt.
Opening Day brought us temperatures in the 90s, high humidity and little breeze, tough hunting to say the least. But alas, Tim put the hammer down on a beautiful 205 pound Boar near 5 p.m. Tim dropped the Bruin in its tracks, then took it upon himself to dress, drag and place the bear near the trail where I picked him up! In fact, when I drove in to pick Tim and the Bear up, he was sleeping near the Bear. Congrats Tim!
John saw a smaller Bear which he passed on, the other hunters did not see any Bears. Day 2 the heat broke a little, but still humid when we left Happy Camp around 1:30 p.m. for the evening sit. All baits had been hit during the evening, so anticipation ran high for the hunters. Tim and I went to the rest of the baits that were not to be hunted, then sat waiting for the hunters. Near dark we started picking up hunters, lo and behold Jim had shot a Bear around 9 p.m. Jim was very excited, but I tried to calm him down so we could track the Bear. Going to the bait, there was a little Blood there and tracking about 25 yards brought Bear #2 to the HCO Hunters. Jim shot a fat Boar full of Blueberries. I guess that there was enough Blueberries in that Bear to fill a Garbage can, now that’s a LOT of Pies! Jims Bear, the 2nd Boar, weighed 275 pounds. Day 2, the other hunters saw no Bears at their stands.
Day 3 was much cooler, and the remaining 3 hunters started their sit around 3 p.m. The woods was quiet, near 9 p.m. I said to Jim and Tim, I just heard a shot. They both said, you are hearing things, but about 5 minutes later Amber radioed us that she had shot a bear which ran off. We told Amber to relax, stay in her stand, we would be in in about 30 minutes to help her. Dark came, we picked up Henry, Amber’s Grandpa. Henry was so excited in the stand that he was jumping up and down. I told Henry, Calm Down or you might fall out of your tree!!
We then made our way to Amber’s stand, Jim took the truck to pick up John who was hunting elsewhere. We went to Ambers bait, began tracking and good blood brought us to Ambers 240 Pound Boar! Amber has brought another beautiful Bear to Happy Camp Ontario. All of the Bears had beautiful coats and each were processed by Kevin Nelson in Manitouwadge! John had seen a Sow with 2 Brown cubs this night, Henry saw nothing!
Interestingly, there are Helipcopters and Airplanes flying around the area, I wonder if they are making a movie of our Hunt! Trail Cameras have started to show a shift in movement, and we changed our tactics slightly. Henry decided not to hunt Day 4, he went fishing with Amber, they had a grand time catching many Walleye and Northerns. John was in his stand around 3 p.m. hunted until dark, was a quiet night in the woods Tim, Jim and I checked out some Berry Patches where I saw a bear leaving the patch and we saw a Sow and 2 chubby cubs in our ventures!
After a scrumptous potluck lunch of pulled pork, potatoes, fresh veggies and much conversation, Day 5 hunt started. John walked into his stand around 2 p.m. when a Bear walked into the trail, John tried to get his gun up to shoot, but the Bear had quickly shuffled into the Cedar swamp near John’s Bait. John had thought he spooked the Bear, when trail cameras showed that there was a much bigger Bear at his stand when the smaller bear crossed John’s path. John had decided to remove his stand and pack up as they were leaving in the morning. During John’s hunts, he had seen 5 Bears without firing a shot.
Day 6 came and Henry was the only hunter going to the woods with me. Henry changed stands, started his sit around 3 p.m. Shortly before 9 a nice Bear appeared near the bait, walked to the bait, turned around and looked at Henry. Henry was trying to get his gun, but the Bear slipped away out of sight before Henry could get his gun. The remainder of the night was quiet, Henry saw 1 nice bear.
Day 7 was very warm again, humidity, then cooled slightly before nightfall. Henry sat again and no Bears were seen, thus ending out 2024 Bear hunt. 2024 was the first Bear hunt without our Buddy Magoo, she is and was a huge part of Happy Camp, Magoo Camp is not the same without you girl!
New Hunters came to Camp and a great time was had by all! Thanks to all of you who had a helping hand in making it such a success. From Uncle John to Aiden and Buddy, 2024 Bear Hunt will be one we will always remember!
