Hunting in Florida

[sarduy]

Hello guys,

first of all, i'm going to start by saying that when it comes to hunting i'm a complete newbie , is not that i dont know what caliber to use or how to use a firearm, I'm very good with rifles and i know the limits of my calibers, anothing thing i may add is that i'm confident taking shots at 400-500 yards but most of my shooting is under 200 yards.

My problem is i want to start hunting here in florida but i have no idea what i need or where to start, the only thing i know is that i need a Hunter's Safety Course which i'm taking next month. I want to hunt deers, hogs, and some varmits that's about it.

Is there any Florida Hunter who can point me in the right dirrection or provide a "List" of things that i need?

ETA: Those are the calibers i'm planning to hunt with,

Deers = 30-06 with 7.62x54R as Backup
Hogs = 30-06 with 7.62x54R or 7.62x39 ad Backup
Varmint = .223 with .22lr as Backup

are those ok?

 

[Zip7]

I don't do much hog hunting, but I have been known to deer hunt a little, and I live and hunt in the deep south too.

Best advice I can give you for deer hunting is this: Be observant. Take notice of everything - watch what deer eat, where you see them, what time of day, what time of year, which way the wind is blowing... EVERYTHING.

The other part of being observant is you need to study deer hunters as much as deer. So talk to other hunters you meet. Go to the sporting goods store, and take note of what people buy and how they hunt. Listen to what other hunters say about how they hunt, and what they know about hunting, what kind of gadgets they use... And don't buy any of it unless you see it with your own eyes. If everyone around you rides ATVs, you walk. If everyone uses a grunt call - never use one. If everyone believes in a certain scent, don't use any scent...And so on. You'll learn what works and what doesn't on your own, but it's very helpful to know what "everybody else" does because the deer are already pretty familiar with "everybody else" and you don't want to be like them any more than you have to.

So my "list" is easy:

1: Eyes
2: Ears

30/06 is fine for deer and hogs. But by the time you get to actually use it, all the "hunting" part will be done. You hunt with your powers of observation and instinct.

 

[Art Eatman]

I wouldn't worry about backup, particularly, unless you're thinking of an in-camp spare in case of stumbling/falling and all that unhappiness.

Lots of general information on the Florida wildlife folks' website.

"Woods & Waters" newsmagazine, on sale at a lot of mom'n'pops, hardware and sporting goods stores, is full of information about where and how much. It's oriented toward hunting in Georgia and Florida.

Quite often there will be notices or business cards at gunstores or seed'n'feed stores about places to hunt.

 

[davidjblythe]

I live and hunt in FL. Check out http://www.floridaconservation.org/ for some good information.

Take the safetly class. You will get a lot of good knowledge about what to use and where to hunt.

 

[superhornet]

The question becomes, where do you live? Most of the Florida hunting is done on game management areas unless you know someone who will let you hunt their land. I live in NW Florida and hunt a lot in Camp Blanding and Osecola.
Hunt with a 30/30 single shot, scoped, and most shots under 100 yards. Deer of course are fairly small, but still cook up good. Also lots of Turkey and squirrel in Florida..

 

[sarduy]

that's cool, i'm going to get the couse next month

 

[Shawnee]

The people you meet in your Hunter Safety class will be a very valuable source of information, and they can point you to even more. Make as many good contacts among them as you can.