Outta’ the Woods

Outta’ the Woods

Get your hunt on early; pull back on a string

Tony Young

Summer’s officially over, even though you can’t tell ’cause it’s still so hot and sticky outside. We’ve finished our preseason scouting and hung our tree stands along well-traveled deer trails, hopefully next to a mature oak tree that’ll begin dropping acorns soon. Finally – the time of year we’ve been waiting for is here – the beginning of football season, and better yet, opening day of hunting season, specifically archery.

Archery season provides a great opportunity to take a trophy whitetail and is arguably one of the best times to do so, along with hunting the rut. If you’re stealthy enough and have done your homework, you’ve got a good chance of having a nice one walk out in front of you.

Florida’s divided into three hunting zones, and you’ll need to know which zone you’ll be hunting in, because season dates vary.

Hunting season comes in first in the South Hunting Zone, where archery season begins Sept. 6 and ends Oct. 5. Next up is the Central Zone, which runs Sept. 20 – Oct. 19. In the Northwest Hunting Zone, archery season begins Oct. 18 and ends Nov. 16.

To hunt during archery season, you’ll need a Florida hunting license and an archery permit.

If you’re a Florida resident, a hunting license costs $17. Nonresidents may pay $46.50 for a 10-day license or $151.50 for 12 months. The archery permit costs $5 for in-state and out-of-staters.

Anyone planning to hunt one of Florida’s many wildlife management areas (WMAs) must purchase a management area permit for $26.50.

All of these licenses and permits are available at county tax collectors’ offices, retail outlets that sell hunting and fishing supplies, or by calling toll-free 1-888-HUNT-FLORIDA or clicking www.wildlifelicense.com.

The most common game to take during archery season are deer and wild hog. During this period, deer of either sex are legal game, regardless of antler size (except for spotted fawns). The daily bag limit on deer is two. Bag limits on WMAs can differ, so consult the area’s brochure first.

Wild hogs are considered livestock on private lands and – with landowner permission – can be hunted year-round with no bag or size limits. On most WMAs, there’s no bag or size limits, and hogs are legal to take during any hunting season except spring turkey. On a few WMAs, limits do apply, so again check the area brochure.

In addition to hunting big game, it’s also legal to shoot gobblers and bearded turkeys during archery season. Only one can be taken per day and there’s a two-bird fall-season limit. It’s against the law to hunt turkeys in Holmes County during this period, and you can’t shoot turkeys while they’re on the roost, over bait, when you’re within 100 yards of a game-feeding station when bait is present or with the aid of recorded turkey calls.

If you’re quite the marksman, gray squirrel, quail and rabbit are three other species legal to take during archery season, and there’s a daily bag limit of 12 for each.

Only bows may be used during archery season – no crossbows allowed, except for hunters with a disabled crossbow permit. Bows must have a minimum draw weight of 35 pounds, and hand-held releases are permitted. For hunting deer, hog and turkey, broadheads must have at least two sharpened edges with a minimum width of 7/8 inch.

Legal shooting hours are a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset. Except for turkeys, you’re permitted to take resident game over corn or soybeans on private land. It’s against the law to use such bait on WMAs.

Some things you can’t do during archery season include possessing firearms, using explosive or drug-injecting arrows, using bows equipped with electronic computational or laser sights and possessing a bow on an airboat in Miami-Dade County.

You can’t use dogs to hunt deer or hogs during archery season, but you can use bird dogs if quail hunting. Otherwise, the only time you can have a dog in the woods while hunting is when it’s on a leash and you’re using it to trail wounded game.

Here’s hoping all your preparation and persistence pays off and wishing you luck on taking that monster buck. As always, have fun, hunt safely and ethically, and we’ll see you in the woods!