Florida camping gun thoughts

9

9ballbilly

New member
I've lived in Florida for a year now. This winter will be the first time my son and I will have a chance to do some tent camping. I plan to bring along my
.44spl Bulldog with the regular load out of CCI shotshells and Critical defense ammo. It seems to me this would be adequate for any situation encountered. Do you Florida folks see any reason I'm not aware of why I should consider scaling up to my .45colt Blackhawk? Appreciate your thoughts and opinions.
 
M

MLeake

New member
Florida critters are typically small, aside from gators (or saltwater crocs, between Miami and the keys).

Black bears are typically under 200lbs.

Panthers are typically 90-ish.

Neither bears nor panthers typically bother hikers or campers in Florida. Boar tend to avoid contact, too.

The bulldog should be fine.

More important would be proper securing of food and trash at your campsite, so as not to attract predators.

Also important would be not stepping into or sticking hands into places where you can't see - the main threat is venomous snakes, and they don't normally look for people, but instead get cornered or surprised by people.

A first aid kit would be a good idea, as would DEET, and plenty of water.

Edit: Aside from snakes -

Boar could be encountered anywhere (including rest stops on I-75...) but they like to hang out in palmetto scrub, the thicker the better.

Do not feed the raccoons. They are cute, but can get aggressive, and sometimes carry rabies.

And

Beware the possibility of stumbling into a marijuana field. Wildlife officers used to have a higher casualty rate than Tampa PD, due in large part to growers shooting at them - as well as the fact that poachers are usually armed.
 
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D

Doyle

New member
Wildlife will be the least of your problems. It's the 2-legged varmints that you have to plan for.
 
K

Kevin_d77

New member
And of course our state bird, the mosquito. Take plenty of bug repellant and use it. I had a coworker die from West Nile virus last year up in Jacksonville, given he was an older gentleman but still. West Nile and encephalitis are not pleasant experiences.

I have lived in Fl my entire life and have never personally seen a Fl Panther or wild boar for that matter but I do know they're out there so be careful.
 
S

steelbird

New member
Florida critters

As a Florida resident who spent a bunch of time in a woodland area here, I agree with what has ben written so far. The gators I encountered swam away from me, as did the times I encountered the boars. I only saw bears from a distance, no big cats. There is always the possibility that you MIGHT encounter an aggressive animal - but unlikely. If that should happen, though, that creature is very likely going to be faster than you are, so I would use a DA gun - in this case, your Bulldog would be better. Just be aware of your surroundings, and don't move TOO quietly, so not to startle a snake or bear. I made the mistake of going around a bend in a kayak quietly enough to startle a gator - thankfully nothing more than a stare down resulted. It would be a good idea to read up a little on animal behaviors, so as to understand when one may be actually be a threat. Shooting a bear or a gator can get you into some legal trouble, so you don't want to do that unless absolutely necessary.
With that being said, yes, the greater threat is the two legged variety. I would suggest you keep at least one extra speedloader ready to go with your Bulldog,
Your grestest animal threat, though is the mosquito - I'll second the bug repellent.
Have fun, and stay safe!
 
T

Tactical Jackalope

New member
Wildlife will be the least of your problems. It's the 2-legged varmints that you have to plan for.
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Yeah, just this. I'll throw in the snakes too by the way.

A nice small revolver with CCW shot shells for those and your normal CCW gun should work fine.
 
D

DaleA

New member
I don't know about the laws of Florida or the land you're going to be camping on but is there any chance for some recreational shooting (plinking) while you're camping? Some light target loads or a .22 might be fun for that.
 
D

Doyle

New member
I don't know about the laws of Florida or the land you're going to be camping on but is there any chance for some recreational shooting (plinking) while you're camping? Some light target loads or a .22 might be fun for that.
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Not much chance of that here. About the only public land that would allow both camping and shooting would be some of the national forest lands - and shooting on those is kind of iffy. This isn't like the west where there are thousands of acres of BLM land.
 
S

steelbird

New member
Public range in Ocala National Forest

There is a public range in the Ocala National Forest. I've never been there; I think it might be long gun only. I think it's also absent of any RSO's, so extra self vigilance is neded there.
 
M

MLeake

New member
Last I was there, it was not long gun only, but there were no RSOs. It's on a logging road off Highway 40, a ways east of Silver Springs. Turnoff is near a fire tower.
 
B

Bullcamp82834

New member
Just kidding Kevin. I really like Florida. It's the only place I've ever been where a guy can get .....well..... prone with a girl, for the price of a six pack and a couple moon pies.

Now, back to the topic at hand. My choice for a Florida carry gun would be my 44 hogleg loaded with one chamber of snake shot followed by five hard cast semi wadcutters.

:)
 
9

9ballbilly

New member
Thanks for the thoughts. I do keep a "clean" camp so as not to attract critters. I also "scent" mark the area to deter them (a trick learned long ago). Some may discount this practice, but in my experience it does seem to work, at least with four-legged mammals. I think based on the responses I've gotten I'll add a couple speed loaders for the Bulldog and call it good.
 
B

baddarryl

New member
I really like Florida. It's the only place I've ever been where a guy can get .....well..... prone with a girl, for the price of a six pack and a couple moon pies.
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Totally off topic, but OMG that's funny!

A .357 with first round of snake shot and the rest old fashioned hollow points would be my carry.
 
P

P5 Guy

New member
Just kidding Kevin. I really like Florida. It's the only place I've ever been where a guy can get .....well..... prone with a girl, for the price of a six pack and a couple moon pies.
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Glad to hear you got away from Aileen Wuornos safely. :eek:
 
K

Kevin_d77

New member
Just kidding Kevin. I really like Florida. It's the only place I've ever been where a guy can get .....well..... prone with a girl, for the price of a six pack and a couple moon pies.
Click to expand...

You say that like its a bad thing....sounds like high school to me!
 
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