A Few Fla Deer Hunting Tips

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
I had one of my hunting buddies and his son who turns 17 this aug,
stopped over to talk about the upcoming deer season.
as usual, the newer hunters have a bunch of rather predictable questions,
so his dad brought him over to talk and discuss his options.
like most kids his age he is not yet convinced his dad has all the answers.
his dads both experienced and capable , but the kid wants a second opinion,
and likes to discuss hunting and likes going to the range with his dad.
the kids been reading and watching videos ,
I asked if he had his hunter safety certificate yet and hes scheduled a class next month
https://myfwc.com/hunting/safety-education/courses/
https://myfwc.com/license/recreational/hunter-safety-requirement/
I have no idea why but most new hunters are worried the rifle they select is not adequate,
the truth is that finding a legal bucks the hardest part of hunting.

the fact is that almost any centerfire rifle,s that throw at least a 75 grain or heavier bullet ,
will in my opinion, with proper shot placement, get the job done.
guys I know have killed dozens of deer with a 223 rem AR15, ,mini 14 ,or even a 357 mag revolver, so its not all that difficult to do.
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yeah theres some that are better than others but most work in experienced hands.
personally I've used a 44 mag carbine for decades,
here in florida on most local hunts.
it limits me to shots of about 150 yards, max.
(I can,t remember needing to take a shot in most areas I hunt over about 120 yards in 4 decades.)
but I've never felt the least handicapped, using it!
and it has nowhere near the power or range of the rifle the kid's dad supplied him with.
which has about double the range and power.
its the skill and experience of the person using the weapon of his choice,
not the weapon that matters most here to success.

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but the younger son, wanted some assurance that his dad supplying him with a
cz rifle in caliber 308 was going to do the job?
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Like I told his dad, thats a gorgeous rifle ,
light handy and feels great in your hands,
if you ever want to sell that rifle, let me know,
I don,t think theres many options that could be suggested that would be any improvement or a better choice that will work around here.
as thats one of the very best options I could think of.
in fact its better than most rifles I own for that particular application.
the only change Id make is to install a rear receiver peep sight.
but with 72 year old eyes thats almost required.
you don,t need a scope as 90% or more of the shots youll get,
will be under 75-100 yards

https://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/proddetail.php?prod=4731

and sight in with some 165 grain bullet handloads
https://www.speer.com/bullets/rifle_bullets/hot-cor_rifle_bullet/19-2035.html

42 grains of imr 4895 and a 215 fed primer works very well,


I've posted this info before but it may help here

get out in the field with your dad , or at least a buddy ,and spend as much time walking the area you hunt, and observing as you can,
and take a camera and a note book, a back pack and a cell phone and don,t forget to carry a days supplies and let your dad know exactly where youll be, if hunting with a buddy.
find satellite photos get topo and boundary maps, and get the wild life area regulations,
and get a gps so you can locate those areas once your on the ground where things look a great deal different,
if you get out the recent satellite photos your looking for areas that channel deer movement, between cover and feed.
watch the wind, youll rarely see deer directly down wind, keep to the shadows as much as you can, wear good camo.
I can assure you no one can tell you exactly where too find deer or hogs consistently on any given location,
simply because the animals constantly change location due to changes in hunting pressure, food supply, cover, weather etc.
yet you can markedly up your odds of success,by getting to know each area, and personally scouting out the constantly changing factors that influence the game.
on the particular area you choose to hunt, nothing beats on site current observation, and documenting and mapping out the area.
one of the biggest helps will be actually getting out and observing the area and learning specifics about both that area and the game, as a great deal changes,

deer will love a secluded peninsula or any other area that has very limited human traffic as long as it has feed and cover,
here in florida much of the hunting management areas consist of swamp, if you pull a topo map,
many are endless small peninsulas extending into shallow drainage ponds, and islands in the swamp.
deer are not phased with crossing chest deep water, or even swimming a canal to gain access to decent feed and cover
Ive used a cannoe for decades to allow easy transport of equipment and downed game
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almost daily, but there are semi dependable and if your observant patterns to the games movement.
a good quality climbing tree stand, patience, a management area map and decent binoculars will allow you get a good perspective on what your potentially dealing with,
a call to the local biologist and game department can be helpful.
obviously if you can find an experienced mentor familiar with your selected area that could be a big advantage.
but be aware that about 75% of the people that "hunt" are basically spending most of their time,
wondering aimless and clueless, hoping to spot game and while they are occasionally going to shoot game,
you can vastly increase your odds going at the process by doing detailed research and breaking down the process of locating the game logically.
http://www.mytopo.com/products/publi...e.cfm?state=FL
ideally youll want to locate a choke point concentrating deer movement like the narrow land area between two lakes, or the tip of a heavily wooded area adjacent too a second heavily wooded area with a small open meadow between the two.(natural game travel choke points)
if you have access to a welder and chop saw you can build a damn nice climbing tree stand for under $60 similar too this
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http://myfwc.com/viewing/recreation/...rative/osceola

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untill you know the area,increase your odds by finding areas deer constantly travel between cover and feed, be in a tree stand with a wide field of fire ,
up at least 15-25 feet up a tree so you command/control dozens of acres,travel with a scoped rifle, limit movement, ideally place the stand back a few yards from the edge of the timber (yeah I'm well aware you seldom have ideal choice locations for tree stand locations)
if you plop down in a random area on the ground your chances of success diminish a great deal.
your perspective changes giving you dozens of times more area you can see, from a tree stand 20 ft up.
get the largest and strongest cooler you can afford, keep it in your car or truck and throw a bag or two of ice in it every morning to keep a couple plastic gallon milk jugs you freeze solid before each trip from melting , then place a few sodas or gator-aid bottles in it, if you get lucky and drop a deer you place the number of 2 gallon zip loc bags of meat in the cooler to prevent spoilage untill you can get home, and properly process and label the meat packages.
coleman sells a usable fairly cheap,120 quart for $65, if you have the cash, pelican, grizzly and others sell premium coolers but they cost $260-$600
the cheap cooler will work on one or two day hunts if filled with frozen milk jugs
http://www.outdoorsmantime.com/best-...SAAEgLt7_D_BwE
the basics are simple you'll need to learn to be able too,
consistently find game on a regular basis,
and once found you need to be able to quickly place lethal shots precisely.
knowledge of where and when the game travel and skill with your equipment helps immensely.




so let me answer a few and post a few links.


https://myfwc.com/hunting/deer/get-started/

https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsession/blogs/deer/deer-hunting-in-florida

https://www.wtvy.com/content/news/N...19-2020-Florida-hunting-season-559941711.html

https://myfwc.com/hunting/regulations/?iframe=true&width=95%&height=95%

https://myfwc.com/hunting/season-dates/

https://www.realtree.com/deer-hunting/antler-nation/2019/florida-deer-hunting


 
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it helps a great deal to have a GPS for what should be very obvious reasons.
get and use a decent back-pack
carry a note book and pen and camera, that stores digital pictures , carry extra batteries, carry water, Toilet paper a cell phone
game does not report to a certain location at a set time, (no bus to catch too work, no restaurant seating hours.
they move due to changes in hunting pressure, changes in food sources,major environmental changes,and mating season and weather.
the more time you spend becoming familiar with the area youll hunt the better your grasp of the wildlife and how it spends its time and where it spends that time,
game will detect you about 80% more often than you detect game, observe by finding a concealed area and sitting, it will take 30-45 minutes for the natural process to resume.
learn the local food sources, be aware of changes, oaks don't drop acorns all year.
will be to your benefit, wear a watch take notes and what I do is divide the map of the area into roughly 1/8 mile grid squares,

heres a tip you really need, carry (3-5) several extra 1 liter soda bottles full of fresh water in your back pack,
you'll need them over and above the water in your canteen, in a days hunt in floridas heat most days,
they don't weigh much to carry out, don't take up excessive room, and don't cost much
carry baby wipes for several reasons.
label them A-Z then you can make readable notes like
"8 am, oct 12, zone G- kicked up 3 does, found several game trails converge south of oak stand 30 yards from north end of canal" or
"11Am zone D,oct 28, found perfect tree for climbing stand for winds from north, over mixed myrtle and oak, lots of hog digging sign "
"5pm zone C oct 26 large oak grove obviously torn up by hogs"
organize notes by zone, and month on your home computer data base
learn to be a damn good shot from field positions (shooting skeet also helps)
you can aimlessly and randomly wonder around like most "hunters"and occasionally see game
or you can up your odd markedly by understanding where when and why game move and where they are more likely to be.
youll also up your odds by getting in before dawn and hunting till after dusk.
http://www.northamericanwhitetail.co...t-do-deer-eat/
http://www.wideopenspaces.com/whitet...ld-foods-pics/
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw121

https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsessi...ing-in-florida

https://www.qdma.com/know-native-deer-foods/
go to the local fish & game office and grab all the local area brochures ,of areas your likely to hunt
http://myfwc.com/hunting/wma-brochures/
once you find an area that appeals to you get a detailed topo map and sat photos
talk to the biologist, if you do your home work, its not that hard.
visit the local rifle ranges and larger mom & pop gun-shops you might find a knowledgeable & helpful mentor
get up off the computer and grab a compass, and a map a back pack with water and a snack, your cell phone, etc.
and actually walk through the area,take pictures and get familiar with the ares,
in many cases your allowed to as long as you follow a few simple rules
after a few dozen trips youll get a clearer mental picture of the area
after several seasons youll know pretty much where to set up a stand to have an excellent chance of success,
as youll have a good grasp on how and when game moves,
if theres been a grass fire or the game department used a dozer to cut a new dirt road through the area,
or the adjacent farm burned sugar cane or it rained enough that your walking through knee deep water most of the time
, it will effect the game travel patterns. the basics are simple you'll need to learn to be able too,
consistently find game on a regular basis,
and once found you need to be able to quickly place lethal shots precisely.
knowledge of where and when the game travel and skill with your equipment helps immensely.
being able to see down between the brush and optically cover a very large surface area (several acres)from an elevated tree stand helps in both cases

tips
be paitient, get a good stand location, relax be observant,
have a quality set of 8x or 10x compact binoculars
never leave your stand over time someone will steal it
never piss near your stand
the higher the tree stand , generally the more area you can observe
wear a safety tree stand fall harness, let the wife know the grid (s) on the map your likely to hunt
charge your cell phone, ideally have a spare battery or battery charger
put a sling on your rifle use a cartridge holder butt sleeve
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ideally youll want a pack large enough to carry most of the boned out meat from a deer.
heres a quick memory jog list, for hunt day pack
(remember you might be forced to stay out over night, & weather is unpredictable)
skinning knife
kukri
compact blade sharpener
compass
area topo maps
large canteen
licences
cell phone
several lighters
granola bars
rain poncho
2 gallon zip lock bags
small block & tackle hoist & rope
(50 ft parachute cord)
spare ammo
toilet paper
mosquito repellent
alcohol hand wipes
heavy hoodie jacket
 
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heres a few tips,
keep in mind with archery your best chances will be at ranges of under 35 yards
,past about 45 yards theres a time lag that might alow the deer time to move enough to ruin your shot placement.
so practice until you can hit a 4 inch target at about that range or a bit further very consistently.
with a pistol like a decent 357,41, or 44 magnum revolver youve effectively increased that range to 50-75 yards with iron sights in the average guys hands,
now you can certainly extend that range to over 100 yards with optical sights with a good deal of in the field practice,
but its certainly not going to have the range and accuracy of a good rifle in skilled hands.
you will increase your chances of being successful in many areas if you use a tree stand as it lowers the chances,
of you being seen or scented, and increases the area you can clearly observe without moving.
deer generally locate you by noticing movement and scent and yes good camo can and does help, but its not always critical to success.
\ carry your cell phone and licences ,compass, lighter, and wallet in double zip lock 2 gallon bags to prevent problems if you fall into water unexpectedly (YEAH, I KNOW, YOU THINK YOU WON'T)

I was recently asked what to buy if you wanted a rifle designed to hunt deer and hogs in thick brush,

(youll rarely need to take shots over 100 yards in most areas on deer or hogs)
Hogs in florida are hunted on private property all year,
as they are considered vermin,
as they destroy millions of dollars in farm crops and do lots of property damage every year
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ranges tend to be short in florida brush
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well that answer depends mostly on your budget and personal preferences,
if you have to have a kick butt and take names carbine I doubt you can improve on a BLR.
I've found these two lever actions both dependable and accurate
THE BROWNING BLR in either 358 win 44 grains if IMR4064 and a speer 250 grain bullets very effective
or 450 marlin caliber chamberings 50 grains of IMR 3031 under a 405 grain speer or remington bullets also very effective.
I received a brief e-mail asking why I seem to be promoting the 450 marlin BLR
Im not promoting any caliber or action type, simply pointing out what I see rather frequently, used. they easily shoot tight groups and can be used on anything, even ELK out a 250 plus yards in skilled hands.(certainly the most versatile choice but it could easily cost near $1000
with a scope and mounts extra)
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the marlin 1894 in 44 mag is about the most common and well liked carbine around here and loaded with a lee 310 grain hard cast alloy bullet over 21 grains of H110 powder its certainly very effective out to about 140 yards... most hogs are shot at less than 60 yards
cost generally runs close to $500 currently, its no ware near as powerful
,nor does it have the range of the 358 or 450 BLR,

but for hogs and deer at shorter ranges its very effective.

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these Norinco sporters are an excellent choice in my opinion,
but are hard to find,
and generally cost about $475-$550

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certainly, a 16"-20" barrel AR15 has become very popular in this area
keep in mind your limited to use of a 5 shot magazine in florida
prices vary with options but $650-$800 should get you a decent example
I would suggest a heavy varmint barrel in a 16" version

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https://www.model1sales.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=78
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https://www.toolazine.com/spook-deer/

https://www.outdoorhub.com/how-to/2012/11/09/18-top-deer-bowhunting-tips/
 
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