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Up your odds with a special-opportunity fall hunt

By Tony Young
Media Relations Coordinator
Division of Hunting and Game Management
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

If you haven't been seeing the quantity or quality of game you'd like while in the field, might I suggest applying for a special-opportunity hunt permit. For the past 11 years, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has offered these unique fall-season hunts for deer, wild hog and released quail on the state's best public hunting lands. Maybe it's time you looked into getting in on the action and experience the hunt of your dreams.

These extraordinary hunts offer large tracts of land with an abundance of game and low hunting pressure. All deer hunts allow you to take only mature bucks with one antler having at least four points. Hunters can take does during the archery hunts, and if they apply for, and draw, an antlerless deer permit, also during general gun hunts. This practice of quality deer management offers hunters excellent chances of taking quality bucks and the opportunity to take a doe on public land. There is no size or bag limit on hog hunts.

These special-opportunity deer and wild hog hunts take place in Central Florida on Fort Drum, Lake Panasoffkee, Triple N Ranch and Green Swamp West Unit wildlife management areas (WMAs). Camping is legal on all areas.

There are four general gun hunts on the 20,858-acre Fort Drum WMA in Indian River County. There is one seven-day deer and hog hunt Nov. 8-14, and there also are three three-day "hog only" still hunts Oct. 3-5, 10-12 and 17-19. Each hunt costs $50, if you get drawn, and there are only 20 permits available for each of them.

The St. Johns River Water Management District (WMD) owns the property, and hunters took 16 deer last year – including six quality bucks. Hunters also bagged 29 wild hogs.

Lake Panasoffkee, in Sumter County, has eight four-day archery hunts for deer and hog on 8,676 acres. There are 20 permits available at $100 each for archery hunting Sept. 25-28, Oct. 2-5, Oct. 14-17, Oct. 30 – Nov. 2, Nov. 11-14, Nov. 27-30, Dec. 9-12 and Jan. 1-4.

The Southwest Florida WMD owns the tract, and last season hunters took 16 deer, 11 of which were good bucks. They also harvested 27 hogs.

There are two seven-day general gun deer hunts at Triple N Ranch in Osceola County. There are 15 permits available costing $175 for each of the hunt dates, Oct. 25-31 and Nov. 8-14. Hunters took 24 deer last year off 15,391 acres, and half were quality bucks.

Green Swamp West Unit is where James Stovall took the state's highest-scoring deer on record – a 25-point, nontypical that netted a 206 Boone-and-Crockett score. He took the trophy buck in 1999 after getting drawn for the special-opportunity archery hunt.

Last year, hunters bagged 59 deer, and 44 of 'em were nice bucks! Two-hundred and one hogs also were taken from the 34,335 acres in Pasco County owned by the Southwest Florida WMD.

This season, Green Swamp West Unit has two archery hunts for deer and hogs: Nov. 1-4 and Nov. 13-16. There are three general gun hunts for deer and hogs as well: Dec. 11-14, Jan. 5-8 and Jan. 15-18. All are four-day hunts costing $100, and 54 permits are available for each hunt.

The area also has a general gun still hunt for hogs Jan. 30 – Feb. 1, and a general gun hog-dog hunt Feb. 11-13. There are 200 permits available for the still hunt and 100 permits for the dog hunt – each permit costing $75 for the three-day hunt.

To clarify for all you hog hunters who like to use dogs, a hog-dog permit on Lake Panasoffkee and Green Swamp West Unit allows one hunter, one gun, one assistant and up to three dogs. All other permit holders can bring one nonhunting guest if they wish during the deer and hog still hunts on all four areas.

The FWC also has released-quail hunts on Blackwater WMA Carr Unit (Santa Rosa County), which is owned by Florida's Division of Forestry. With these hunts, you must bring and release your own pen-raised quail. These are seven-day (Saturday – Friday) hunts that run 16 consecutive weeks, beginning Nov. 8 and ending Feb. 27.

There's just one permit available for each week, and if you're lucky enough to draw one, you and up to three of your friends will have the entire 590 acres to yourselves. The permits cost $100 each.

Special-opportunity hunt permits are transferable by simply giving the permit to another person. Permit holders under age 16, or those who are certified mobility-impaired, may have a nonhunting assistant accompany them during all special-opportunity hunts.

The first thing you'll need to do is get ahold of a "2008-2009 Special-Opportunity Fall Hunt Worksheet," if you'd like to take part in one or more of these hunts. The worksheets are available at FWC offices and at MyFWC.com/hunting.

All you have to do to complete the worksheet is list your birth date and driver's license number or your customer ID number, which is right above your name on your current hunting license. Then, include your name and your mailing address. Don't list someone else's address, or your application might not get returned to you.

If you'd like to be included in the antlerless deer permit drawing, just check "yes" in the space provided. Where it says "Hunt Choice," enter the four-digit hunt number for the hunt date you wish to apply. Then, indicate the number of times you're applying for the hunt, multiply that by the $5 permit fee and enter the total amount due.

Beginning 10 a.m. (EDT) May 6, you can submit your completed application at www.wildlifelicense.com, county tax collectors' offices or retail outlets that sell hunting and fishing supplies. The application period runs through midnight June 10.

These coveted permits are assigned through a random drawing that takes place after the application period. You may apply for as many special-opportunity hunts and dates as you like in order to increase your chances of being selected, but you must include a $5 nonrefundable fee for each one. Hunters are limited to drawing only one permit per hunt, though.

The worksheets may be photocopied, and there are no exceptions to having to pay the $5 application fee.

You may apply for only one hunt date per worksheet, but you may fill out and submit multiple worksheets for as many hunt areas and dates as you wish.

If you submit your application at a license agent or tax collector's office, be sure to get your worksheet back from the clerk, along with your receipt, before you leave. Also, make sure the receipt has your correct mailing address, because this is where your permit will be mailed if you're selected. Call the FWC at 850-488-3641 if you notice any misinformation on your receipt.

On or before June 27, you'll receive, by mail, a special-opportunity permit invoice, if you're selected. You also can check the results online at MyFWC.com/hunting, under "Limited Entry Hunts" by clicking "Check Permit Availability and Drawing Results." You have until July 15 to pay the cost of the selected hunt, if you get drawn. You do this by turning in your permit invoice to any license agent or tax collector's office or at www.wildlifelicense.com.

If you don't claim your permit by paying for it in full by July 15, you forfeit it, and it'll go to the next applicant selected in the random drawing. So make sure you get ‘er done in time.

Whether still hunting by yourself or dog-hunting with family and friends for deer, hogs or released quail, if you're looking for an unbelievable hunting experience, the FWC's special-opportunity fall hunts are just what you need.

Here's wishing you luck in getting drawn for the hunt of a lifetime. Remember to introduce someone to hunting when you can. As always, have fun, hunt safely and ethically, and we'll see you in the woods!