New Guy from Jersey

Post by **dond3131** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 5:57 pm

Hello everyone first post on here.Will be moving to the Homosassa area sometime later this year from the People's Republic of Jersey,the west coast side,which is still mostly farm land.Recently retired Union Carpenter looking forward to a more friendly gun state and wondering whats in store for us after the big move.Where I'm at now there is plenty of deer to the point of being over run in some area's ,we can take six bucks through out the different seasons and unlimited doe.Just north of me there is a lot of bear to be hunted along with pheasant,rabbit and squirrel for small game.Used to be a lot of turkey around my area but a couple of wet springs and over abundance of coyote and fox have done a number on them but other areas are over run with them.Also looking forward to riding my quad once we get down to FL.I would really appreciate any advice or insight on the best way to to go about finding either hunting clubs or places to hunt and shoot.Up here most guys belong to clubs to get bigger pieces of land to hunt or go on public land which can be a pain sometimes depending are where you are trying to hunt.

Thanks
Don

Post by **Cr0ck1** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 6:54 pm

Welcome, born and raised in clifton, nj.

Sent From Cr0ck1' IPhone most likely from the woods.

Post by **davedirt** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 7:37 pm

Welcome................

Post by **bellyacher** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 8:45 pm

" wondering whats in store for us after the big move" as for your hunting your in for a big surprize, Im not saying it gonna be a good one either

Post by **OldCrab** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:27 pm

bellyacher wrote:" wondering whats in store for us after the big move" as for your hunting your in for a big surprize, Im not saying it gonna be a good one either

X2 -RIDING YOUR QUAD ? ONLY A FEW SPOTS IN MY NECK OF THE SWAMP

Post by **Iluv2hunt** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 9:34 pm

Don't let these old codgers sway you wrong.

There are plenty of opportunities both public and private. Public land does get over crowded and our quota system is confusing to new guys. We have a lot of deer, hogs and the only state to have Osceola turkeys. Plus the best fishing in the country. Hernando sportsman club is a great place to shoot. Also Croom has a great ATV riding park. Both are less than 1 hour from Homosassa
Welcome

Post by **GoodOyster** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 11:17 pm

Welcome! I second what Iluv2hunt posted. As long as you're willing to learn and adjust, and not bring the attitude of "that's not how we did it up north", then you'll have as good a time as you want to have!

Post by **Triple Creek Reaper** » Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:25 am

Welcome, good luck with your move.

Post by **dond3131** » Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:45 pm

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.Just wanted to clarify one thing,just because we are allowed to take that many deer here doesn't me I do or most other guys for that matter.Actually the property I hunt had the EHD hit pretty hard and I was happy to take a nice 8 and a doe this year and nothing the last year.I could care less if I kill,I just enjoy being out there and spending time with people that love it as much as I do.If I kill a deer ,that just icing on the cake.As the time gets closer,I'll be asking more questions I'm sure but will be following the board in the mean time to pick up tips on hunting in FL..After hunting the last week here during winter bow with temps in the teens,kinda looking forward to some warm weather.Also looking forward to doing some warm water scuba diving,instead of diving in a dry-suit all the time,lol.

Post by **dond3131** » Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:15 pm

Cr0ck1 wrote:Welcome, born and raised in clifton, nj.

Sent From Cr0ck1' IPhone most likely from the woods.

Your gonna laugh,I was born in Miami 57 years ago,the old man was in construction to and happened to be working down there.Only spent 3 years there ,so don't remember any of it,I'm sure it was a whole lot different back then.The rest was spent outside of Trenton,the last 27 in Washington's Crossing right on the river.

Post by **nachogrande** » Mon Jan 28, 2013 9:50 am

welcome from a fellow yankee. there is a big adjustment/learning curve, just with the temp alone. a few must haves a pickup truck 4wd preffered is handy, a big azz cooler in the back cuz if you do get some game youre gonna have to cool it down quick, also just for food shopping in hotter weather. a thermacell for skeeters, and carry plenty of water and bug spray. as il2h said hernando gun club is close by and a good public place to shoot. depending where in homo you live there are 3-4 wma's (wildlife management areas) possibly 30 minutes or less away. chazzahowitzka has app 40,000+ acres, homosassa has 5,000, citrus and croom are both pretty big but not sure of the # of acres. rules/regs/season dates are diff at each and the quota system can be challenging. most serious hunters seem to join leases, the better/closer the more $$. you will miss hunting in cool/cold temps with leaves off the trees and snow on the ground to help visability and dragging, but after a while slogging through palmetto thickets sweating your butt off getting eaten alive by bugs and torn up by thorns, you will actually enjoy it.

Post by **M12Gunboy** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:52 pm

Find you some private land and buy it outside of the more populated areas because as nacho stated above, public land can be a challenge. The quota system will take you some time to figure out as well. Most WMA's do not allow off road vehicles, therefore if you get back in the middle of some public land and kill something, you'd better be ready for a long hot drag, even in November-March.

Welcome to the site. You are in for a differnet type hunting and outdoors experience than anything you've ever experienced up north. Private land is near imposible to find for hunting privledges unless you A. lease it (Big $$$$) and have plenty of "Hunting Insurance" or B. own it.

This might sound bad but alot of us hunt GA just because of the hunting access issues here in FL. Come October you'll see tons of pick-ups and SUV's with FL plates headed north on I-95 loaded down with tree stands, 4 wheelers and coolers. A lease in South GA can run 1/2-1/4 the price of a FL lease and GA WMA's are all pretty much governed by one state regulation, not individually regulated.
As Iluv 2hunt points out there are opportunities to hunt but it's not just asking and getting permission to hunt a private farm, and then getting access. That is the exception in FL, not the rule like up north.

Hunting deer and hogs in short sleeves was something to get used to. Bug spray is a must, don't even go to the woods without it.

This is a great forum, with alot of information, and a great group of folks.

Post by **houseofmicah** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 4:53 pm

Invest in a couple thermocels and get nachos homebrew recipe for the pads.

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