Essential deer gear includes a Thermacell, 8x42 binos and a grunt call. (Photo by Ian Nance)
October 08, 2024
By Ian Nance
A few weeks ago during central Florida's archery opener, I surveyed the mess of gear that'd spilled from my backpack, strewn among the sticky leaves and sticks in the bottom of the ground blind—a rangefinder and binoculars, bug repellents, water bottles, camera tripod, a battery-operated fan, doe urine and deer calls, scent-elimination spray, various archery-related gadgets, portable phone charger and cord, flashlights, toilet paper, and breakfast bars.
Every few seasons, I attempt to lighten my load and reconcile what's needed on an average hunt. After all, I’m not hiking into the wilderness for days on end.
So, I dump much of the gear … yet steadily begin hoarding again. But as this morning ticked along, I killed time with a mental brain teaser that I’ll share here. If a transplant from Poughkeepsie were to ask about the essential items for Florida deer hunting, what would I tell him or her?
This is a chore, not only for culling the crap, but understanding that Florida deer hunting encompasses seven months of the year, from stalking the dry prairie in August through chilly February treestand sits in Panhandle timber leases.
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To begin, I skipped the obvious items that are universal for deer hunting anywhere whitetails live —a weapon of some fashion, means of communication with the outside world, a knife and toilet paper. Speaking of fashion, I’m skipping camo clothing, and today is not the day for treestands, saddles, or blind discussions, either.
And, without further ado, here’s what I came up with.
I simply won’t hunt deer without binoculars and don’t understand how or why others do. For starters, Florida has antler point restrictions enforced in all the Deer Management Units (DMUs). To register as a point, the tine must measure at least an inch, and maybe that buck is carrying the proper number through the foreboding swamp or while feeding in a field at dusk, but I’d much prefer assigning this determination to the scrutiny of the binoculars over that of my imaginative naked eye.
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(Good binos will also spare a few spikes and button bucks during doe seasons, I’ll testify.)
For an all-around set, I shy away from compact models, preferring 8x42s. This magnification is appropriate for scoping out those details on a buck’s antlers or for aging a deer. These tend to be less bulky than 10-power models, and all other factors being equal, the higher magnification reduces the light-gathering capabilities as the exit pupil, the basic factor in gathering light, becomes constrained. A solid pair of 8x42s will cover the needs of all Florida hunters from Collier to Columbia counties.
Snake boots are comfortable and comforting when hunting Florida whitetails. (Photo by Ian Nance) They say a venomous snake’s fangs can penetrate a rubber boot. I don’t know for a fact if this is true, but they won't get through a snake boot. And after you've encountered one of those four-foot long moccasins as big around as a beer can, protective footwear choices become an article of faith.
Calf-high snake boots are versatile and guard from not only fangs but saw palmettos, blackberry bushes and various other thorny Florida underbrush. Modern boots are made of a variety of materials from leather to neoprene, but the woven nylon models are preferred in Florida for their light weight. Most have strong rubber treads to prevent slipping in muck or on wet treestand rungs and are at least water resistant with light insulation.
Listen, I don’t wander the woods in fear of venomous snakes, but things happen. And despite my skinflint nature and proclivity towards those cheap black rubber boots, I’ve found spending the extra cash on snake boots both comforting and comfortable when traipsing across the state.
In the world of gadgets, the Thermacell is one of the few that works as advertised and with the most noble goal of repelling mosquitos. When leaving the truck in the morning, I’ll click this bad boy on and clip onto the stand upon arrival. Within 10 minutes, that incessant whining noise has ceased.
Folks new to deer hunting often wonder if a Thermcell will spook game. To this I reply that if they smell the burning butane, they’re likely to smell you first. Furthermore, DEET-based products are certainly stinkier, and a hunt is no good if you’re spending it slapping skeeters out from under your facemask.
Heat is a fact of life for Florida deer hunters and an enemy to table-worthy venison. Once the animal has expired, the race is on to cool the meat to 35-40 degrees to prevent bacteria growth. Not everyone has access to a walk-in cooler, and rare are the opportunities to hang a buck on the lodge pole to age in the cold weather. My solution is at least a 120- to 150-quart "coffin" cooler.
The beauty of a cooler this size is that they will fit one or two whole fully-dressed deer without wasting time quartering all the parts to squeeze into a smaller model. Once lowered into the coffin, I’ll fill it full of ice and take to the processor ASAP. However, in situations where I’ll be in camp a few days, I install a grate in the bottom of the cooler to suspend the venison above the melted ice with the drain unplugged, replenishing as needed.
Given the selections of doe bleats, rattling devices and snort/wheeze calls, a simple grunt tube is my rosary when I’m praying for some deer action.
Ideally used to lure bucks into range from a distance or snatching one back after he wandered out of view, blind calling the Florida scrubs or swamp bottoms is surprisingly effective during the pre-rut and rut. One or two short grunts and a longer bellow every 20-30 minutes have worked wonders springing the woods to life when thinking I was sharing company with just squirrels and armadillos.
So, there's my list. It's probably not perfect, but these items will help Florida deer hunters as they chase whitetails up and down the state.
