RMelaragni

First post. Thank you for having me.

I've lived in Florida for many years but always hunt in New England.
I've been very reserved about hunting here because the requirements seem to be different in every district. Which is frankly confusing.

I plan to hunt the Green Swamp since it is closest to my home, in Tampa. I have the pamphlet for there but it's very wordy and not concise.

Do I need a hunting license to hunt boar?
What is required?
Any specific regulations I need to be aware of?
Is it likely I will be able to walk in and get a daily quota?
If I bring a none hunting partner, what is required for them?


Honestly hunting in Florida is very different from what I'm accustomed to up north. There, you buy your single hunting license and you walk into the woods. Here it's buy a hunting license, get a WMA permit, find the very specific regulations for that WMA. Go to a check station and get a daily quota. I fear I'm going to miss a step somewhere and get burned.

Any assistance you can give would be greatly appreciated. I'd love to hunt near home.

MaineRida

I can't answer all your questions but from what I have read you need a hunting license for boar unless you are hunting private property. You will also need a wma permit, thats about all i can answer. Good luck, I'll be hunting in the wma's for the first time next season.

Chuck7

Hey , I'm from New England as well..totally different. Because of the damp swamp..you don't hear FL deer..so keep your eyes open..During achery it's VERY difficult to track..because of the water..

OK to hunt..

Go to Walmart and buy a hunting licence and a deer permit..and then you are ALMOST set..NEXT buy the Wildlife Management stamp...

Just show up at the gate at 5:00 AM or later and a man gives you a daily quota.{ Piece of orange paper} and then hunt. Your hunting friend will need the same thing,,If you plan to Spring turkey hunting you will need a turkey permit...

God Bless,
C7

Boosted

During general gun season you must wear 500 sq inches of blaze orange. (vest and hat I usually wear)
can't use a magazine on a rifle with a capacity of more than 5 rounds.
only main roads can be used by vehicle during general gun season.

Chuck7

On the red...I have a reversible hat...I wear camo in the dark and in the stand..but when I come down the tree..I wear the red out and I have a fold up vest in my pants' pocket..I put on..There are some bad hunters out there..Here's a couple instances..

1. I was walking to my stand..a crazy man is sceaming for 1/4 mile Get out of my woods..I just ignored them.

2.During archery..my son { who is a big weight lifter } and I were scouting a spot during archery..and another bow hunter cussed us out..{ Lot's of F bomb words} We were all 3 heading toward the road to leave..He was in front of us with this bow ready to use..When we approached out trucks I noticed his had an "I love Jesus " sticker on it..I said, "Excuse me sir what was all the bad language about and then driving around with that on your truck.?" He apologized.

MANY TIMES..I 'll be sitting in my stand and anywhere from 7:45AM till dark.."Hunters" will unload 50 rounds at targets...at any place at any given time.

So I only hunt in the middle of the week..and that still happens 10 % of the time.

Boosted

true story there chuck. not a single time have I been out during general gun have I not heard gun shots. glad they're in the far far distance. tends to make a fella uneasy at times though.

MaineRida

The issues listed above are the reasons I have taken to the trees. I feel much safer 25' up than when on the ground. Traversing to and from the stand I wear a red headlamp to help improve my visibility to others!

Boosted

absolutely a great idea. I always have my head lamp on early mornings as well as late evenings. The weekends are the worst as there's kids from the high school out there and all the yahoo's are off work so they head on out. I haven't had any bad run ins with people in the few years I've been out, but have definitely heard stories of which I cannot verify to be true or not.