In Ontario there are millions of acres of Crown (public) land. Little of it, however, is in the densely populated south-east, central part of the province. Our group hunts on Crown land in northern Ontario but we have to pay an outfitter to fly in and for use of his cabin and equipment (boats, motors, etc.) We are still subject to the luck of the draw for tags. In addition we have to drive 725+/- miles to reach the area. For this hunt it runs us close to $2,000 a year. Not every one can afford to do this but years ago after some scary encounters with others who hunted the same areas we decided paying for access gave us peace of mind we otherwise didn't have.
For deer hunting we have free use of 50 acres granted by a neighbour of my s-i-l. (Free except for the gifts of various kinds that have been made. Not requested but freely given.)
Most of our acquaintances who deer hunt have purchased small, more or less abandoned farms. In some Crown land areas parties who have hunted there for years think they have acquired rights to the areas.
For the most part nothing is free. Usually we have to pay in one way or another.
Jim
