Hunting in Fl.

[Teh Wicked]

SO im originally from WV and grew up hunting my arse off every chance I could. since joining the military and moving to Tampa I have yet to shoot a single critter!!! So I got serious itch to get'r dun! I would really like to take a Whitetail, I have taken a few in my life with trucks and shotgun's but none ever with my rifle. I got a .308 Remington BDL 700 bolt action that is good enough to drive nails at 200 yards. Also have a .204 that is a fun little varmit gun. the only true hunting I have done is spearfishing out in the gulf, I kill grouper, snapper, and hogfish on a regular basis. but this is not the same...

So any guys out there will to show me how to get my job done? Im willing to share some of my Grouper catch if someone could help me out in a good way.

[tnbowhunter]

There are some guys on here from Florida, maybe they will take you under their wing and show you some hunting spots. From what I hear Florida has some great hunting opportunities. The Whitetails probably wont be as large as deer from some of the northern states but they do have good populations of them. I hear the turkey hunting is also pretty good.

Sounds like you have plenty of gun to get the job done. The Remington 700 BDL is my favorite and the 308 Win. has more than enough punch to "get er done."

Thanks for your service to our country!!!!

[helomech]

Florida should have some public land to hunt. There is probably a florida hunting forum, they would be able to point you in the right direction.

[BHMTitan]

I grew up in the panhandle of FL, some good hunting in that area. But around Tampa, I don't think you're gonna find much. Gonna have to look at the management areas that's not to far of a drive away. Good luck!

[Megw3788]

Good luck finding anywhere decent to hunt deer around here. The only good places I know of are all the $10k+ leases out on the ranches, or out on the St. John's river at night. There are some management areas with decent deer, but I'm not to keen on being that close to other people with high powered rifles, and who knows when some idiot will show up two hours late to hunt and walk right underneath your stand.

[Quartz]

Take advantage of the spearfishing opportunity you have now. You will get transfered to another base where you can hunt soon enough.

I don't hunt. I love to spearfish. I live in an area where damn near every man deer hunts. They look at me as if I'm crazy or gay for not hunting. I on the other hand don't see the sport in sitting in tree or blind and waiting on an unlucky deer to wander by. It takes much more skill to sneak up within 8 feet of a fish when you are in his element than it does to sit in a tree and be a sniper. You have to have balls the size of truck nutz to shoot a 40 Lb amberjack when you are 90 feet from the surface, your gauge is at 1200 psi, you know that fish is going to fight to the death, and it's going to bleed like hell in shark country.

[Shane06fl]

Actaully there is some damn fine hunting in the Tampa area. You will need to drive North a bit to find it though.

There are whats call Wildlife management area's that are run by the Florida Fish and game.
Richloam is good place to start. It is a dog hunt area but there are several places they won't put out dogs becuase it backs up to highways or private land and guess what, those areas see a lot of deer traffic and not much people traffic becuase 90% of the hunters are chasing their dogs.

Just down the road from there is Green Swamp. It is a still hunt area and is loaded with nice bucks. It is hard to hunt becuase it is wet at times but the deer are there.

A little further north is a place called Citrus. It has some great hunting also and is a still hunt area. Citrus requires quota permits for all hunts.

Another great place that is close to I-75 a little north of tamp is Croom. Croom has a limited season but the hunting is usually very good.

the Green Swamp and Richloam area bring out someof the best racked bucks in th state year after year.

these are all public lands and you must expect see other hunters. If you do it right you can use other hunters as deer dogs. I will find a area that is heavily hunted and get down wind several hundred yards and let all those people push the deer to me.

http://myfwc.com/hunting/

this link will put you on the right path.

BTW I haved hunted all over this state. I have hunted the 10K Ranches and with a little work and effort I will take as many deer on public land as anyone will on the high priced places.

I stopped hunting Florida to try something else some years back. this weekend I am looking at new property in North FLA to lease.

[Teh Wicked]

I got a friend I work with who hunts at Green Swamp for hogs but that all. he goes up to Ga for Whitetail. Never heard him speak on any quality deer up there, I may just have to tag along and bring my counrty boys skills and show him how to find em.

[fishinfrenzi15]

not sure what you'll find down around tampa...but if you wanna come to the north end, there's plenty up here!!!

[Shane06fl]

Originally Posted by Teh Wicked

I got a friend I work with who hunts at Green Swamp for hogs but that all. he goes up to Ga for Whitetail. Never heard him speak on any quality deer up there, I may just have to tag along and bring my counrty boys skills and show him how to find em.

You don't get off the road to find pork in Green Swamp. Deer not so easy but they are there.

I am getting out of GA, I think. well at least where I am at now. Too long of drive and well yes with gas being an issue It will cost me more in gas than the lease!!