At its February meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved changes to rules that will increase opportunities for harvesting antlerless deer. These changes will be effective for the 2025-26 hunting season. The FWC’s decision was informed by data on antlerless deer harvests, trends in deer depredation permits, and vehicle collision statistics. This information was thoroughly reviewed by FWC staff and stakeholders. An online summary of these rule changes was made available for public comment, resulting in over 11,000 responses.
The rule modifications will expand the number of days when hunters can harvest antlerless deer outside the wildlife management area system within Deer Management Units (DMUs) located in Zones B, C, and D. In Zones B and C, hunters will have the opportunity to harvest antlerless deer during archery, crossbow, and muzzleloading gun seasons. Additional opportunities include a nine-day period during the general gun season in DMUs B1, C1, C2, C3, C4, and C6. In DMU C5, this period extends to the first 30 days of the general gun season. Zone D will permit taking antlerless deer throughout the entire deer season. Additionally, there is an increase in the bag limit for antlerless deer in DMU D2 to three as part of a statewide annual bag limit of five.
For maps detailing Florida’s hunting zones and Deer Management Units (DMUs), visit MyFWC.com/Deer and select “Deer Management Units (DMUs).”
