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FWC Continues To Study New Deer Hunting Regulations For Northwest Florida
December 29, 2013
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is continuing to study a proposal that would divide the state’s Hunting Zone D (from Pensacola to Tallahassee) into two deer management units (DMUs), each with its own unique set of deer antler-point regulations and antlerless deer harvest days.
These proposals for Zone D, which if passed at the April 2014 Commission meeting, would take effect during the 2014-15 hunting season and are part of a larger, statewide project aimed at managing deer on a more local level and providing stakeholders with a greater say in deer management. The Commission also directed staff to provide an update on this issue at the February Commission meeting.
The FWC conducted a public outreach and input process in northwest Florida during the first three months of 2013. During that period, the Commission received input and comments from hunters, farmers and the general public regarding how they would like to see deer managed in the newly proposed DMUs.
As a result of this outreach process, the FWC is considering rule proposals for both public and private lands in both of the DMUs in Zone D, specifically north and south of Interstate 10. Currently statewide on private lands and most wildlife management areas, bucks that are legal to take must have at least one antler that is at least 5 inches long.
The proposals would require that bucks harvested north of I-10 in Hunting Zone D have antlers with at least three points (each point having to be at least 1 inch long) on one side. South of I-10 in Zone D, the minimum antler requirement would be two points on one side.
The proposal includes an exception to the antler requirements in both DMUs whereby youth 15 years old and younger may continue to harvest bucks with at least one antler that is 5 inches or more in length.
Also, the FWC is proposing a change to the antlerless deer season (“doe days”) on private lands within Zone D. Currently in that zone, the season to take deer of either sex (except spotted fawns) runs for seven consecutive days: Dec. 26 – Jan. 1. In the proposed rules, those dates north of I-10 would change to eight days distributed across four weekends (Saturday-Sunday after Thanksgiving, first weekend of muzzleloading gun season, third weekend of general gun season and the weekend after Christmas).
South of I-10, in Zone D, the proposal would change the antlerless season to four days consisting of two popular holiday weekends (the weekends after Thanksgiving and Christmas).
The purpose of modifying the antlerless deer season, the FWC said, is to spread out the hunting opportunity, so that more hunters may be able to participate without substantially reducing deer populations. These changes would be monitored to measure the impact on the deer harvest and hunter satisfaction within each DMU.
Comments
9 Responses to “FWC Continues To Study New Deer Hunting Regulations For Northwest Florida”
Is the horn rule going to apply to the Depredating Deer Permit’s!! If not a waste of time! Need antlerless deer days for everyday and let the hunters control the deer. Besides the season from may 1st til oct 15th day r night where a lot of the young bucks the hunter’s let walk get killed by the D.D.P’s!!! The F.W.C. could do something better with the antlerless deer day’s for the hunters to help out the farmers and the insurance companies!!!!
Florida needs to allow doe harvest the entire season. I’m tired of dodging doe deer on my daily travels. I’m sure insurance companies could provide some collision cost that reflect the number of deer/car accidents that we have. Hunting clubs are not killing enough doe deer. They need to limit the total number of bucks you are allowed to kill each year. You certainly don’t need to be allowed 2 bucks a day. You might get the buck/doe ratio a little closer together.
I support this, but they need to work on opening the season for wild hogs. People should be able to take hogs year round on wma without having quota hunts. They are a lot of fun to hunt. Its a great way to feed your family.. What they need to also open up more areas for people to hunt. Its slim pickins out there.
If the FWC would enforce the current laws and do more to catch poachers then there would not be a problem with the current population. If they were to change current regulations to take a certain number of does during regular gun seasons then hunters wouldn’t be so quick to shoot immature bucks.
As a hunter I am in complete support of this. We have seen too many immature deer taken that need to be allowed to grow and mature. That is why our population is so out of whack now. The mature bucks need to be thinned and the younger bucks allowed to grow to maturity. That is how healthy deer management is done. It isn’t about hunting horns!
This change in the law would mean less officers needed on the ground and would give them more options to arrest/ticket you. The more laws there are makes it easier to violate them. You almost have to be a Philadelphia lawyer to be able to fish these days – I guess it’s going to be that way for hunting, too.
BTW – I’m sure the buck is going to stand perfectly still while you measure his horns at 200 yards. Good luck with that.
I do not hunt horns. I only hunt for the meat. If given the choice between a 5″ or a eight point I will shoot the younger one every time. I only kill one or two a year, don’t have any use for more. I don’t have any need for horns. I don’t need a trophy, the trophy is when you place on the dinner table. How are you going to measure 1″ at a 100+ yards? Why change something that is working? If we need change it would be more wardens in the woods.
Unfortunately I have seen hunters take fawns that have just lost their spots. This is not hunting…this is just killing to kill. Hunting is something you do to eat or mount, preferably both. How much meat can a tiny fawn that just lost it’s spots have? I have hunted for food, no problem there…just don’t like to see baby animals killed just to kill something.
complete waste of time&money there’s no way they can enforce this.people already know how to get around the laws they have on the books now.