I haven't been in a "real" hunting since about 1972. At that time we were in a lease on my wifes' familys' ranch in Orange County but we moved to LA(lower Alabama) and have not needed a hunting camp as our home is on 80 acres and our lease is less than 2 miles from the house. It was always nice to be in camp with friends and enjoying the food and hunting stories, but I guess you could say we live in our hunting camp year round. Last year I killed 5 bucks here at the house and none on the lease and this year I've killed 2 here and 2 at the lease. We have 3 more days of rifle season and then 7 days of black powder, ending Feb.26th then it's over till Thanksgiving Day 2012(unless I take up Archery). To be perfectly honest, I had enough "camping out" in the USMC to last a life time. Treefarmer
I sure hope I never grow too tired of hanging with my buddies, eating the best tasting food that is the worst for you, and telling hunting stories. I always look forward to the fall and getting everyone together, away from the wives and plain telling stories about the antlers we have hanging on the wall. Our rifle deer season is very short as it runs from the last Friday in October to the first Saturday in December, I sure wish we had an extended season like yours. Sounds like you have town deer like a buddy of mine has in his backyard...check this out from his backyard, just 15 yards from where he was standing
CanadianBlackBears, There is always a plus and a minus, or like the ol' preacher said "It's a mighty thin coin that ain't got 2 sides". I envy the open hardwoods and the ability to see over 50 yards at a time that you may seem to enjoy where you hunt. Also noticed the size of the racks on your camp house walls, they don't grow like that very often in Florida. This year our weather has been so mild that the deer have paid little attention to food plots or for that matter corn feeders, which are legal on private property. But all this makes for the exchange of ideas and stories from places we may never get to hunt. As for your short season, I do like the lengthy time we have in Florida. For the 2011-12 season, I believe the 1st phase of archery season started in south Florida on July 31,2011 and in the northwest part of the state our last day to hunt will be Feb. 26, 2012, thats over 6 1/2 months of continuous deer hunting per season if you could travel the whole state. Being retired, I feel some relief when it's finally over! We begin "sausage making season" as soon deer season is over. All the trimmings, neck and shoulder meat will be made into either ground meat for chili and spagetti sause or mixed with pork and and made into smoked sausage. All that "white stuff" those deer are standing in is something that would be a new experience for me to hunt in, as we seldom have snow that sticks to the ground. Again, it's good to view the other side of the coin! Treefarmer
CanadianBlackBears, There is always a plus and a minus, or like the ol' preacher said "It's a mighty thin coin that ain't got 2 sides". I envy the open hardwoods and the ability to see over 50 yards at a time that you may seem to enjoy where you hunt. Also noticed the size of the racks on your camp house walls, they don't grow like that very often in Florida. This year our weather has been so mild that the deer have paid little attention to food plots or for that matter corn feeders, which are legal on private property. But all this makes for the exchange of ideas and stories from places we may never get to hunt. As for your short season, I do like the lengthy time we have in Florida. For the 2011-12 season, I believe the 1st phase of archery season started in south Florida on July 31,2011 and in the northwest part of the state our last day to hunt will be Feb. 26, 2012, thats over 6 1/2 months of continuous deer hunting per season if you could travel the whole state. Being retired, I feel some relief when it's finally over! We begin "sausage making season" as soon deer season is over. All the trimmings, neck and shoulder meat will be made into either ground meat for chili and spagetti sause or mixed with pork and and made into smoked sausage. All that "white stuff" those deer are standing in is something that would be a new experience for me to hunt in, as we seldom have snow that sticks to the ground. Again, it's good to view the other side of the coin! Treefarmer
You are surely blessed to have such a long deer season. I should tell you, snow is only good during the deer season as gets them moving pretty good. The sausage thing I can relate to..do you make your own? We get our butcher to do a sweet Italian mix and it so so good. Here are a couple pics of the cutting across from my camp overlooking the lake and the other is the blueberry fields where I have my bear baits set up when I am outfitting. Hope you enjoy the pics.
There's camps/cabins everywhere in our local leases. I don't like to stay at any that I have hunted out of because I like my own bed at the house and it seems like alot of trouble to stay at a place that's close to my home. Besides it's only a maximum of a 20 min drive to where I hunt and mostly like a 10 min drive.
There is home and there is the camp. Home is great, no questions; however, there is something to be said about camps, a bunch of friends spending a few nights in the woods, walk out the front door to see deer, the peacefulness, the stories, the heat off the wood stove, the meals, and most of all the comradery :clap
