The 9 day quota hunt is a tradition in Fl for as long as I can remember.I finally ran my hounds in Richloam yesterday and was surprised that I was not over run with people. HAd a few good races with mypotlickers. Problem I have is all the stupid rules and laws that differ from private land. About 2:00 yesterday we were running the hair off of a hog when,shots being fired when out of nowhere this bunch of hippy hikers with binoculars come marching thru the woods,right in the middle of our trucks and across the road.
My belief is the first 9 days is the best time to kill a buck still hunting,then after that most should be opened up to dog hunting. With the end of all the type 2 wma's most guys don't have many options for running dogs. And with the massive amount of hogs they absolutely need to be thinned down some.Hopefully one day we will get it right in this stae,but until then be prepared to have an attorney with you to figure out all the season dates and rules for each wma.
Why open more roads? They give every frigging body a handicap pass. More people riding around and Green Swamp will be no better than Richloam.
I agree 1000%. While I am all in favor helping out the truly handicapped hunters, this system is getting abused. You can't hunt a "closed road" in Citrus,Croom, or Upper Hills w/o someone driving by you. They are doing it to ride around, not to get access to hunting spots
There was a guy camping in Croom next to us years back who had all the handicapped plackards and a 4 wheeler. His exact quote...."I got my 4 wheeler and am completely legal to ride any of these closed roads I want to. And I don't give a goddamn who is hunting off of them and don't give a goddamn if i mess their hunt up"
He had no visible troubles getting up multiple times and walking to his beer cooler
I lost respect for the system after that
I got checked by the man yesterday and he was worried more about my guest than me.He asked everyone in my party if they had a guest and who they were. I seen enough rigs with seniors in them that I guarantee they were way over what the quota called for.I heard of one crew who brought a disabled hunter with them so they could drive down the roads of green swamp to get any dogs thatmay get in there.
You know all you have to do is have a kid in your truck and you can run in there.
Theres a guy who was at the GS campground the other day who had gone hunting with someone who had a handicap permit and after hunting with the guy he said he was gonna get one but CLEARLY this guy was NOT handicapped at ALL. I was just thinking open like 2 or 3 roads as main roads to get to parts that dont get hunted but then have more trails made with road closed signs, theres a road at the 471 entrance that goes a couple miles down to the rock quarry, why cant that be open to allow people down there, theres a couple places they could allow more access but make trails also that you have to walk down. As far as the road with the closed signs, I like that idea b.c it keeps most people off and not messing your hunt up. But I guess they probably dont wanna make new roads as it will destroy some habitat.
