Hello guys,

I am going to be doing my first small game hunt here in FL and was wondering if anyone had any tips that they could give me. Is it best to still hunt or just set up at the base of a nice shady tree and let your eyes do the work? I had posted that question on another forum and had a decent amount of people saying that by walking around and hunting I will ruin other people's hunts...I had thought that still hunting was the way most people hunted small game but i thought i would post on here and ask. My savage .22 is going to be the rifle that i will primarily use. Keeping an eye out mainly for squirrel and rabbit, since i have never hunted rabbit or squirrel before and I was wondering if you guys will field dress the smaller animals immediately after the kill or once you head back to the truck.

Any tips, tricks, personal stories or pictures of your small game hunts/ gear set ups would be awesome. Just hoping to have a decent discussion. Thanks guys!

I've only ever hunted in TX but we have always moved around when hunting squirrel and rabbits. 

For tree rats we have the best luck moving into an area we think will hold them and then get still, then wait to see if anything starts moving. If nothing moves after a while (5-10 minutes) we moved to a different spot and repeat. 

Rabbits were normally flushed while walking. When they run, you STOP. They normally only go a short way before stopping. You can then shoot them or move to a better angle to get a shot. 

Many of the WMA's (Wildlife Management Areas) have a stand-alone small game hunting season, usually later in the year... in my opinion, that would be the best time to plan on "hunting and moving" as yes, you will most likely annoy deer/hog hunters perched in a tree when you walk by.

For squirrel, just look for a food source such as acorns. Walk in before daylight, take a seat, and if there are squirrels around you will see them in short order IF you stay still. If after about 30 minutes you don't see some, walk a quarter mile and repeat. Usually the first couple hours in the am are good and the last few hours of the day are good. Squirrels will "bark" at you and it's their way of sounding an alarm... just hold still and sometimes they will come closer for a look.

In cooler weather, it's fine to clean game once home... if warm or hot, best to clean ASAP and get the meat on ice.

If it's warmer than 60 degrees, you will most certainly want to invest in a couple ThermaCells so mosquitoes don't kill you.  

Where in FL do you plan to hunt?

Thanks for the advice Bow. Bull Creek/ Upper St. Johns / Ocala are all about equal distance from me. I have hunted Bull Creek and Upper St. Johns a few times so I will most likely be going there for the majority of the small game season. You are correct that both these WMA's have small game after general gun, so id assume I would not be disrupting many hunts since general gun would be over.

Are you a hunter here in FL? have you had much luck at any of these WMA's if you have hunted there?

Born and raised here... hunted most my life... started as a kid, dad took me out camping and hunting on the Apalachicola River/Florida Rivers. Lots of squirrels as I recall.

I now live in central Florida but have long since abandoned small game hunting in favor of deer and hogs. I've hunted a few WMA's in my time, but have long since given up on them as I own property in north FL and have access to a considerable size ranch here in central FL.

Find you some oaks in the woods... you won't have any problems getting squirrels.

"I now live in central Florida but have long since abandoned small game hunting in favor of deer and hogs. I've hunted a few WMA's in my time, but have long since given up on them as I own property in north FL and have access to a considerable size ranch here in central FL."

Eventually I can hope to be in that position. For now I will be trying my luck in the public lands. I appreciate the help for sure!