Hunting Seasons and Bag Limits

A Must have $5 Archery Season Permit as well as hunting license. It is prohibited to use bows equipped with sights or aiming devices with electronic computational capabilities or light (laser) projection during Archery Season.

C Must have $5 Crossbow Season Permit as well as hunting license.

M Must have $5 Muzzleloading Gun Season Permit as well as hunting license. The only muzzleloaders that can be used during Muzzleloading Gun Season are those that take black powder or a non-nitro-cellulose substitute and are fired by wheel lock, flintlock, percussion cap or centerfire primer (including 209 primers). Muzzleloaders using smokeless powder, those that can be loaded from the breech or those with self-contained cartridge ammunition capabilities are not legal during Muzzleloading Gun Season.

D Free-running dogs may be used for hunting but must wear collars listing the owner’s name and address. When using dogs to hunt deer on private property, hunters must first register with the FWC (at no cost) the tract of land they have permission to hunt, and all deer dogs must have their FWC-issued registration number on their collars. Copies of the registration also must be in hunter’s possession when using dogs to pursue deer.

T Must have Turkey Permit ($10 for residents, $125 for nonresidents) as well as hunting license to hunt turkeys.

F Furbearers may be taken with live traps and snares, but must have $26 Trapping License. Live traps and snares must be checked at least every 24 hours. Using or possessing steel or leg-hold traps where wildlife might be found is prohibited, unless authorized by permit from the FWC executive director. Trapping License also is required to sell hide and meat of furbearing mammals year-round, but otter and bobcat pelts may be sold to licensed fur dealers or agents from Dec. 1 through March 31 only. It is illegal to transport wild-trapped live raccoons within, into or from the state, except by FWC permit or authorization.

1 Antlered deer: Deer having at least one antler 5 or more inches in length visible above the hairline; Antlerless deer: Deer (except spotted fawns) that do not have antlers or have antlers less than 5 inches in length. It is illegal to take spotted fawns.

2 No antlerless deer may be taken on that portion of the eastern Ev­erglades south of Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and east of Everglades National Park; or in Collier County south of I-75 during Antlerless Deer Season.

3 In Holmes County, there is no fall harvest of turkeys allowed.

4 When hunting spring turkeys on wildlife management areas, only shotguns and muzzleloading shotguns using shot no larger in diameter than No. 2 may be used. Bows and crossbows, where allowed, also may be used. All rifles, pistols, buckshot and slugs are prohibited. This rule does not apply to hunting spring turkeys on private lands.

5 Only youths under 16 years old are allowed to harvest a turkey while supervised by an adult, 18 years or older.  However, adult supervisors with a hunting license and turkey permit are allowed to “call in” the turkey and otherwise participate in the hunt, but they are not permitted to harvest one.  Any turkey harvested during the Youth Spring Turkey Hunt counts toward the youth hunter’s spring season limit of 2.