Florida Postings

[longbeard.386]

Hello all! I'm in Volusia County (Central Florida). I hunt public land since that's about all that's available in this area. Let's share some ideas and thoughts on turkey hunting.
Longbeard.386
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"You're never too old to have a happy childhood."

[Steve_In]

Welcome. Hunting public ground in Florida must be tough what with everyone wanting to bag an Ocesola. Also with your season opening first and us northerners being sick of snow and cold all the more reason to head south. Some areas must be overrun with nonresidents.
Steve

[longbeard.386]

Steve,
Yes, there's plenty of Northern Boys, but there's plenty of locals, too. Oh, there are plenty of birds...that's not the problem. Finding a place to hunt is the problem. I've just never been able to sneak in on somebody else's land and hunt. That's considered armed tresspass and with the 10-20-LIFE rule in Florida you "could" do up to 20 years "work'in for the state". There's very little public land available to hunt here in Central Florida. Most of the WMAs have "quota (lottery) hunts" for drawings and a certain (small number) of hunters are selected to hunt the large tracs of land. Non-quota WMAs are far apart and few in number and there are lots of fellas out there hunting them and hunting ends daily at 1:00 PM. What can you do? I took one bird last year on public land and hunted almost every day (except weekends when I just avoided the crowd). The later in the season, the fewer hunters. I like the last two weeks best anyhow. The hens are working their nests and the toms are frustrated. So, when you coming to get your Osceola?
Longbeard.386
_______________________
"You're never too old to have a happy childhood."

[Steve_In]

I would love to come down sometime. My son graduates from H.S. this spring so I hope to be able to make the trip in a couple of years. Your kind of info is great. The WMA's up here are crowded on weekends/openings too. Here in northern Indiana you either have to draw for a WMA of have a private spot.

[longbeard.386]

Steve,
It's no different here. There are lots of large WMAs but they are all on a quota hunt system, which is a drawing. I've won hunts for several years but taken all my birds by hunting the non-quota public lands. I might be able to find some private land but I'd have to drive so far to get away from the urban sprawl of Orlando that it's just easier to work harder and hunt the public WMAs. I'm looking at having one of the folks from Primos come during the 2011 spring hunt. He's not one of the "actors" but works for the company. Let me know when you can get down here and we'll do some hunting together.

"Remember, you're never too old to have a happy childhood."