New deer hunting rules take effect this year

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have approved some rule changes that impact deer hunters in North Florida.

The commission agreed to split the deer hunting area in Northwest Florida into two smaller deer management units each with its own unique set of deer antler-point regulations and antlerless deer harvest days.

The new rules require that bucks harvested north of I-10 to have antlers with at least three points on one side. 

South of I-10, the minimum antler requirement is two points on one side.

The rule includes an exception for hunters 15 years old and younger who can still harvest bucks with at least one antler that is 5 inches or more in length.

There is also a change to the antlerless deer season on private lands within Zone D. 

South of I-10, the antlerless deer season was reduced to 4 days- those are the weekends after Thanksgiving and Christmas.

North of I-10 the season was expanded to 8 days across 4 weekends.

The Commission hopes that by spreading out the hunting opportunity, more hunters can participate without substantially reducing deer populations. 

The new rules will take effect during the 2014-15 hunting season.

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