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  1. #1
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    Default Hike with dog during hunting season?

    I'm trying to put together a little overnight hike this weekend with a friend and our two dogs somewhere nearby (central FL). I looked up some withlacoochee citrus tract info, and it appears muzzleloader season starts this weekend.
    That's my go-to place for a nice overnight hike...
    Is there somewhere else I can go with my dog (a fawn boxer) that is safer? Meaning no hunting?

  2. #2

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    If you don't mind driving a bit there are several places in the Tallahassee area. Torrey State Park, Bear Creak Educational Forest (Lake Talquin State Forest, Fort Braden trail (Lake Talquin State Forest), Lines Tract trails (Lake Talquin State Forest). Occasionally a state forest may get taken over by Operation Outdoor Freedom for a hunt so check their website. I don't think state parks ever have hunting.

  3. #3

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    I try and hike with our dog during hunting season, on National Grasslands. Out there it is shotgun only. It can be a struggle as he is 100 pounds with sled-dog genes and he does NOT like gunfire. And he hears a lot more of it with his ears than I do. When he decides it's time for us to turn around.....last Monday he must have heard something. He stopped. 10 minutes of me trying to get him moving forward and I gave up. We hiked back the mile + to the truck. That morning we'd already hiked 4+ miles.

    So, here is what I do. 1) I have two orange safety vest, purchased from the big-box hardware store. I wear one over my shirts and under my day-pack. 2) he always has a harness on. I tie the other vest thru the handle part of his vest so we both have blaze orange on. 3) I use a runners style hands-free lead on him. It's strapped to me and the lead is only a few feet long. So he is never far from me. (Yes, he can also decide to chase a rabbit/fox/raccoon/armadillo and HAS pulled me to the ground). We start hiking around 10 AM. The hunters are either trying to sleep or out driving around trying to decide where they want to set up the next night. On national grasslands, no blinds, no feeding and such. So they have to hike around and find a place where there are some deer tracks in the earth and try and set up there around 4 or 5 PM. Deer are looking to go sleep in the back country during the day so the hunters are not in the woods when we are hiking. We also ONLY hike on the main trails, which are horse trails and when the hunters get permission to hunt on national lands, are given the maps of the trails so they SHOULD know where NOT to be. The only other trail we take, is across the actual grasslands with about a mile of visibility. Last Monday, we were hiking that and a hunter came out of the woods to our east, he didn't see us for a time until he'd hiked up on a plateau. Then we all just waved at each other. He was probably heading to a truck that was parked near where I'd parked. His shotgun was slung over his shoulder the entire time.
    All that said, it's not the best time to be out.
    For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
    Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes. - sargevining on HF

  4. #4
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    Default

    maggiedaygloshirt.jpg I went to walmart and bought a dayglo shirt (they didn't have blaze orange simple t-shirts) cut the sleeves off, and tied it a knot on the top. Worked like a charm.
    Oh, I also treated it with permethrin.
    *I call this photo "the five mile flop".
    Last edited by MtDoraDave; 12-09-2021 at 06:50.

  5. #5

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    ^ +1
    Mine will go for 8+ miles. He'll keep going beyond that I suspect. But then when he can barely walk up his ramp into the back seat of my truck.......and sleeps half the way home....

    Facebook post yesterday from someone on the Lone Star Trail, her dog had a very nice blaze orange vest. Chewy.Com has them! No why didn't I think of that. Still, an orange "Safety" vest from big box hardware store was $10. But my dog has lost that once....
    For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
    Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes. - sargevining on HF

  6. #6
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
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    01-23-2019
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    Harpers ferry wv.
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    Default

    Ha "the five mile flop" thats funny. That looks like my dog after the 3,5 miles up ravens rocks from rt 7 .
    Hey check out Ruffwear they have some really nice dog supplies.

  7. #7
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
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    That's so ironic, your dog wears his tee shirt like I wear mine everywhere I go. And I still wonder why I can't find any hiking partners.

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