Been reading the threads, and got a lot of good information. Got a few ? of my own.

Someone said something about hogs in southern citrus groves. How southern?

Hogs in swamps - does that include the 'Glades?

How long do you have to reside in Florida to gain your resident hunters license? And for that matter, CCW?

I will be living in Davie Florida, which is pretty much west but next to Ft. Lauderdale. Any comments or hints as to where to hunt down there? I have read online that the hunting is poor in the big WMAs down there, but don't nesseccarily go with EVERYTHING I read.

This is going to be a HUGE change from Pa hunting, but I imagine it can be just as pleasurable with a little adjustment.

And what's this I hear about coyotes in Florida? Is it true?

I like to hunt for deer, hog, and would enjoy the oppurtunity to predator and varmint hunt.

Help a brother out.

Mike,

Hogs in the glades - yes! And the further south you go the bigger they seem to be...at least that's what I've been told since I've been down here.

I'm pretty sure resident hunting status is 6 months...check out www.wildflorida.org to be sure. Got my CCW after a few years down here so not sure on that one - but they do have reciprocity with PA.

The deer are here - small but they are here and everything I've heard has them plentiful in the Glades.

Take it all with a grain of salt though because I've only been here 4 years!

Mike,
I'm a fifth generation Florida native...I hunt mostly in Georgia if that tells you anything. Hog hunting is excellent in Florida. Deer and turkey hunting are fine on private land and special quota hunt WMA's. I hunted some private land in South Florida many years ago and the deer hunting was pretty good. The leases are expensive, though. Learn to deal with sweat and mosquitos, because both are a gaurantee. Natural Florida is bueatiful and being in the woods is still great here.

Duckbill - I lived in southern South Carolina for about ten years and loved every minute of it, the weather, the flora and so on, the shrimping and especialy the deer season.

I have gathered that most of my local hunting in south Fl is going to be hogs, I can dig that. The fishing will likely be very good, although I will have to relearn everything since living land locked for the last 14 years. And I have a buddy in west Ga that has access to all sorts of land to hunt deer, so I may start traveling up there a few times in the fall for that.

Like I said, I really enjoyed the untouched portions of the SC lowcountry, and can see the difference between that and what is going to be 'glade excursions, and I am looking forward to it!

Mike,
I would have a hard time leaving SC for south Florida. The population explosion in central Florida has got me dreaming of getting out of here. South Carolina is on my list of desirable states :) .

I left SC about 13 years ago for PA, where I grew up. Now it's time for a change. If I had my druthers, I would live in the SC lowcountry again in a heartbeat.

And there is no garrantee that this will be the last place I live, although I don't think my wife will ever be convinced to move on a grand scale again. The population explosion in CF, and the westward expansion in SF is what I am counting on when it comes time to retire. Our home there is an investment in the future, without having to devote loads of cash to an IRA. I look at it this way - the market can fail, and at least I will have a place to live.

Besides, every geographical change is an adventure to be enjoyed to the fullest. I am sure I will find plenty to do, and have each whole year to do things instead of being cooped up for at least two to three months during a northern winter.

Wow! A fifth gen native! I thought I was unique at being fourth gen native.
Anyway, ditto on contacting the state at the link above about residency reqs.
There are PLENTY of hogs in FL, especially the glades. For hogs, public land is plentiful, good deer habitat is more abundant on the as afforementioned very expensive private hunting clubs. There are yotes in FL, I don't know if they've made it that far south yet, but from central FL...say Lakeland and north, they're pretty plentiful. The pelts never get really prime, but they act the same as far as coming to the call. Bobcats are pretty abundant in the swampy areas too. There are no varmints so to speak that I know of in FL, maybe way north or the panhandle, but in most of the state, the only varmint style hunting will be, crows, armadillos, and opossums. Oh, yeah! almost forgot about my favorite varmint/predator.....feral cats! Plenty of them here. I've taken 15 in the last 10 mos. Gator hunting is a blast too, restrictive permitting procedures though, I believe.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/arborman/100_0941.jpg

Mike:

I've live in S.W. Florida for 27 years. I only hunt in Michigan's U.P. and Colorado. Deer here are very small and swatting mosquitos in the swamps never appealed to me.

The population explosion here is real. Whats left of the disappearing rural land is very private. You may enjoy fishing in South Florida more than hunting.

i'm not a hunter myself, but-

PLEASE KILL ALL OF THE ALLIGATORS!

Been in Central Florida for 20 years transplated from Connecticut. Hunting & fishing here is much different. I befriended the locals and they helped me adjust much more easily. Hog hunting is great here. So's fishing, osceola turkey's , but deer are better farther in the north in the panhandle.