October 07, 2011 2:00 PM
Bill Gamblin
Due to the diverseness of the state those who wish to hunt deer could actually do so from July all the way to February based on the zones and environmental conditions.
Ironically Northwest Florida is the leader for deer taken statewide with Santa Rosa County ranked tops across the Sunshine State.
In Santa Rosa County according to the 2010 FWC Deer Harvest Survey Report, 10,584 deer were harvested and hunters reported spending a total of 151,118 hunting days in the woods, which was also tops in the state.
Next in both categories were our neighbors in Okaloosa County with 10,163 deer and 146,843 days respectively.
Escambia County also finished in the top 10 with 6,238 deer harvested and 69,041 hunting days reported in its survey.
The numbers actually are not that surprising to some.
“Personally those numbers sound high,” said Donna Tucker, Executive Director of the Santa Rosa County Chamber of Commerce. “But I can sit here and give you a list of people who hunt in private hunting clubs or own land to hunt on.
“The word is already getting out in the hunting segment, but what we will have to make sure of is the accommodations for the groups and the fuel necessary to meet their needs.”
While residents in South Florida and around the Everglades have been hunting since July, hunters here in northwest Florida are preparing for deer season to open on Oct. 22 with crossbow season.
“The dates to the deer seasons across the state of Florida correspond to the rut,” said Stan Kirkland, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission Public Information Coordinator for Northwest Florida. “Florida is so diverse compared to others states that it has several different ruts and it would be hard to set one period of dates to accommodate the entire state.”
While the local gun season in Zone D – which is comprised of all or portions of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Gadsden, Franklin, Leon, and Wakulla counties – the break is designed to meet needs of the hunters and when they traditionally like to hunt.
General gun season will begin on Nov. 24 and last through Nov. 27 before taking a break until Dec. 10.
After Dec. 10 the general gun season will run until Feb. 19, with a period from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 where antlerless deer may also be taken.
“It would be just way too hard on the deer if we ran the season for lets say 72 straight days,” Kirkland said. “If we started on Nov. 24 and ran so many day then many hunters feel they would miss out on the rut.
“By having the break from Nov. 27 to Dec. 10 it allows those who traditionally want to hunt during the Thanksgiving Holiday to do so while also allowing those who want to hunt near the rut that opportunity as well.”
An antlerless deer is a deer, other than a spotted fawn, that does not have antlers or antlers shorter than five inches in length above the hairline.
The rut, or deer-breeding season, is when many hunters feel they have the best chance for a big or trophy buck.
Hunters feel the buck, or male deer, is too preoccupied with breeding a doe and eating for energy in order to breed and sighting become more frequent.
Rutting of deer usually occurs in late summer into early fall.
“We have done a great deal of studies and surveys recently to get a better understanding of the rutting seasons so we can set the deer seasons accordingly across the state,” Kirkland said. “We have a ton of information we have put together to help us nail down the deer rut.”
While Florida’s geography or sheer size has something to do with when seasons are established, another factor is the topography or dense wooded conditions.
“In places like Kentucky or Illinois it is not as dense with wooded conditions during the deer season and it allows for a shorter or condensed season,” Kirkland said. “Here in Florida we have much denser wooded conditions where in places like Kentucky or Illinois you can see for much longer distances during the season when the leaves fall.
“By being able to see for several hundred yards you will be able to harvest deer much faster.”
According to the 2010 Deer Harvest Survey conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, deer hunting was down overall last year compared to 2008 and 2009.
Overall most hunters participate in the general gun season (93.3 percent), state wide the number of hunters have fallen to 63.7 percent compared to the past two years when the percentage of total hunters were 68.9 (2008) and 68.1 (2009) respectively.
There were two increases compared to 2008 last season and those involved crossbow season and the NW Zone Special Archery and Muzzleloading Gun Season.
Kirkland indicated one other area that has gone down in numbers is where hunting dogs are concerned.
Free running dogs must be permitted now and have permission to hunt on private land, but public lands remain unregulated.
“We are not getting that many permit request for dogs,” Kirkland said. “These regulations we put in place regarding a permit were to provide relief to landowners who had an issue with free running dogs on their land.
“We know the dog cannot read what is posted and what isn’t, but it is a mechanism to help hold the owner of the dogs responsible for not keeping the dogs under control.”
In Northwest Florida (Zone D) 69,321 deer were reportedly killed over 944,995 deer hunter days.
Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties were at the top of that list as they were number one and two in the state respectively for the number of deer harvested and the number of deer hunter days.
Santa Rosa led the state with 10,584 deer harvested with Okaloosa a close second with 10,163.
In the number of deer hunter days Santa Rosa led the state with 151,118 days while Okaloosa was second with 146,843.
Total Harvest by County (Public and Private Lands)
County Deer Killed Hunter Days Bag per hunter day
Escambia 6,238 69,041 0.151
Santa Rosa 10.584* 151,118* 0.086
Okaloosa 10,163 146,843 0.107
Walton 4,977 63,013 0.071
Holmes 1,963 31,471 0.046
Washington 4,065 48,192 0.113
Bay 3,925 47,239 0.098
Jackson 5,467 74,227 0.109
Calhoun 4,135 42,898 0.131
Gulf 771 10,163 0.085
Liberty 1,752 36,027 0.045
Gadsden 4,416 62,382 0.096
Franklin 491 11,215 0.042
Leon 3,154 42,686 0.162
Wakulla 3,715 58,317 0.072
Information from the FWC Deer Harvest Survey 2010 Report
Sidebar
Zone D – Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Gadsden, Franklin, as well as the eastern parts of Leon and Wakulla counties.
Archery Season – A
Oct. 23 – Nov. 23
Antlered or antlerless deer by bow only
Crossbow Season – C
Oct. 22 – Nov. 23
Antlered or antlerless deer by crossbow or bow only
Nov. 28 – Dec. 2
Antlered deer only by crossbow or bow
Muzzleloading Gun Season - M
Dec. 3 – Dec. 9
Feb. 20 - Feb. 26
Antlered deer only by muzzleloader, crossbow, or bow
General Gun Season - D
Nov. 24 – Nov. 27
Dec. 10 – Feb. 19
Antlered deer entire season.
Antlerless deer may be taken Dec. 26 – Jan 1 by all legal centerfire rifles and pistols, shotguns, muzzleloaders, crossbows, and bows
A – Must have $5 Archery Season Permit as well as hunting license. It is prohibited to use bows equipped with sights or aiming devices with electr onic computational capabilities or light (laser) projection during Archery Season
C – Must have $5 Crossbow Season Permit as well as hunting license
M – Must have $5 Muzzleloading Gun Season Permit as well as hunting license. The only muzzleloaders than can be used during Muzzleloading Gun Season are those that take black power or non-nitro-cellulose substitute and are fired by wheel lock, flintlock, percussion cap or center fire primer (including 209 primers). Muzzleloarders using smokeless powder, those that can be loaded from the breech or those with self-contained cartridge ammunition capabilities are not legal during Muzzleloading Gun Season.
D – Free-running dogs may be used for hunting but must wear collars listing the owner’s name and address. When using dogs to hunt deer on private property, hunters must first register with the FWC (at no cost) the tract of land they have permission to hunt, and all deer dogs must have their FWC-issue registration number on their collars. Copies of the registration also must be in hunter’s possession when using dogs to pursue deer.
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