"No big deer in Florida". The hunt is on...

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Dec 10, 2016
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While most seasons are coming to an end, down here in the Florida panhandle things are just starting to pick up.
Having just moved down here in October I was a bit excited and nervous to try hunting a new area. I knew I was going to be at a disadvantage coming down here 10 days before the season started, but I spent months before I came down picking out points of interest on google.

When I got down here I hit the woods running.
I spent a lot of time hiking areas the few days prior to the season starting and then spot hunted areas during the season.
Some areas were turning up dry, but one area really stuck out to me, so I really tried to learn it's ins and outs.
Within my first two walks of this area it hit me that I was in for a treat.

On the first walk I uncovered this little gem....




Before I moved down here I was told by numerous people that had hunted here before that there were no big deer.

Well this shed got my excited. It had some character and wasn't a small deer by any means.
If this is what Florida deer held on their head then I wasn't upset at all... I just wanna shoot deer!

During that first walk I found some cool areas and decided to focus hard on them my next trip.

Well on the next trip I sweep the area a little slower and more in-depth and once again, I left with a huge smile on my face.



[

I'll be honest with you all, when I saw this thing I almost fainted.....
My brain was able to register what it truly was well before I could comprehend it.
I nearly puked!!!!

It was that moment I realized I had found a good area. I had found a neat buck shed and then this STUD shed.
It rough scored 67".... not bad for a state that "doesn't have big deer".

After exploring this place smart and hard I found some doe bedding areas, some areas I felt held bucks, and everything in-between.

So now that I had an idea of the area, I decided to deploy some cameras and hunt smart.
I specifically left certain areas off limits because I didn't want to push anything out and wanted to keep them for when the rut pops off.
I still haven't pegged the rut time down here, but i've been told it can happen anywhere from the third week of January until early Feb.

If anyone else is like me.. staying out of areas is like waiting for christmas to happen.... I get so excited and can't wait to check cameras.
However I know how important it is to stay out and be smart about stuff like this... so I did.

Well, after my daughter was born on Jan 9th and everything calmed down, I decided to prepare for the "rut spots".
Florida has weird seasons and the next open season was Jan 21-29th and then Feb 3-14th.

I stayed out of my areas and checked them one last time before the season was coming and when the conditions were right.
Well just like I hoped the bucks started showing up. One in particular really caught my interest.




Game on! This is what I've come for and this is what I had a feeling this area held...
The old Primos guys used to always use the term "Swamp Donkey" and for the first time ever, I could say I was looking at one.

I waited and waited and waited until the 21st and it finally came...
It was the 20th and I looked at the weather before bed...... It was going to be a nasty thunder, lightning and rain storm starting at 0200 and lasting until about 1400.
I set an alarm for 0345 just in case the weather changed, but it didn't... so I decided to wait and hunt when the storm broke...
It happened a little earlier than planned, but I was ready. I loaded my truck, kissed my wife and bolted to my spot.



(I decided that it would only be right to use these two sheds as rattlers in this area...imagine how cool that would be to bring in a huge buck with local antlers)

Well in my typical fashion I decided to have some silliness happen. I got to my parking spot, grabbed my gear and ran.
About a half mile into my hike I looked down at my bow and my release wasn't there... AHHHHHH.
I always have it tied to my limb, but for some reason it wasn't there....
SO I turned around to grab my spare release in my truck. About a quarter of a mile back to my truck I found my release on the ground. :D
I picked a special route to my spot that would minimize scent and allow me to check two cameras.
I stopped at my first one and found plenty of does. SWEET!
I stopped at my second one that is located next to my tree that I planned to hunt and guess who was there TEN MINUTES BEFORE I SHOWED UP! GRRRR






ARGHHHHH!!!!
No worries though, it was completely bittersweet.
Sure I missed seeing a mature buck, but had I not dropped my release or checked the first camera, I could have spooked the CRAP out of that buck and possibly have pushed him out.
The good part about this is it certified all the scouting, staying out of areas, and hunting smart.
This is a mighty fine buck and I would be happy shooting him in any state!


SO here we are... Jan 22nd and I am stuck inside because of tornado warnings and lightning. The rut is near and I am losing my mind....
That's why I decided to write this. It kills a little time and amps me up even more to present you all with an end to this story.


Until then....... I'll try to keep you guys posted.
Regardless I've been having a ball searching new areas and testing my skills in a whole new area.
 

FLAK

WKR
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Good luck on that one!!! Very nice.
The Panhandle really isnt Florida, being from Alabama, we always called it LA (Lower Alabama).
And yes, there are some nice deer there.
Awesome sheds.
 
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Lostinthewoods
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Good luck on that one!!! Very nice.
The Panhandle really isnt Florida, being from Alabama, we always called it LA (Lower Alabama).
And yes, there are some nice deer there.
Awesome sheds.

It's funny you mention it being called LA.
When I first arrived everyone continued to say "WELCOME TO ALABAMA..." I just thought they were crazy :D

You are right though, there are definitely some nice deer.
I still can't get over the season limits...
Archery season: Two deer a day... a buck and a doe or two does.
Rifle season: Two bucks a day.... CRAZY!
 

TheCougar

WKR
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Good luck man. I spent a lot of fruitless time in a deer stand on the Eglin ranges. I'm glad you found a nice deer down there. It's good to know they exist and I have no one to blame but myself for not seeing any!
 
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Lostinthewoods
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Looks to me that buck your hunting may be the sheds you have.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

Josh, I was thinking the same thing.
The left side is very mature, massy, and holds similar characteristics to my large shed.
Then the ride side layout looks similar to the gnarly one I found. The end of the shed's MB from last year looks like it took damage in velvet. So now we are just seeing what it should look like with no MB damage.

I am REALLY hoping to put this guy down because I'd love to investigate why his right side is weaker than the left. Maybe it's genetics, but I am thinking that there could be sign an injury somewhere.

Good luck man. I spent a lot of fruitless time in a deer stand on the Eglin ranges. I'm glad you found a nice deer down there. It's good to know they exist and I have no one to blame but myself for not seeing any!

Thank you!
I'll be honest, this is some of the most unusual type of hunting I've seen. The seasons alone, along with the daily limits blow my mind....
As you know....
Oct 23- Nov 23 is archery only and really the only time you can kill does. 2 deer a day... buck and a doe or two does.
Then we have the scattered seasons that basically cover Dec-Feb which are gun and muzzleloader. 2 bucks a day. CRAZY!

It's nice to see there are still some mature bucks out there.

Beautiful deer, good luck with him! I'd be afraid to post up so as not to wreck my luck. Pretty ballsy and I hope you get him!

Thank you!
The thing that is nice about this is I've already claimed a certain level of victory on this.
I've hunted whitetail in the North Maine woods, urban Massachusetts, deserty/interesting terrain in Oklahoma, and draws in Kentucky.
So this was a whole new type of hunting to me. I am just so pleased that the scout time and being smart in the areas, has started to pay off.

Hopefully here in the next few weeks the next pay out will be a hero picture with that beautiful buck.

Watching this thread. Good luck!

Thank you!
 
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Lostinthewoods
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I went out tonight to check some cameras near the area with my big buck and adjust some others. (approx 1/4-1/3 mile from big buck area)
The winds just weren't right for my best spot.
More bucks are starting to show up, but it's not a huge number in this spot.
A couple forks and this guy are pretty regular throughout the the area.



Im not going to lie, my freezer already has an elk and three deer in it, so these guys would get the pass.
It also means they have the potential of growing another year :D

This weekend we had pretty severe rain so I enjoy getting in after big storms because I call them "track resets."
Just as I hoped new tracks showed up in my areas and some trails were beaten down pretty well.

I wanted to hunt the full evening, but I am still entertaining my dad, step mom and sister.
They came down to see my new baby so I guess it's fair I spend some time with them. ;)

The winds are perfect tomorrow for my best spot, so I'm gonna head out after work and see what happens!!!!

To show you how silly I am about getting to my stand and to give you an idea of how far I get in....
I usually park, walk about a mile and a half, find a little creek, don rubber boots, walk another 1/4 and enter my spot scent free. ;) (video below)


Random pics from the spot tomorrow.



 
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Lostinthewoods
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I guess this picture is relevant because Ive now mentioned my new baby twice in this story and this really puts the shed in perspective....

 

MTHunter20

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Good luck brother! That's a nice buck for sure. It's always cool to have your hard work scouting pay off by seeing one like that. Hope you can get him on the ground soon.
 
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Lostinthewoods
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Good luck brother! That's a nice buck for sure. It's always cool to have your hard work scouting pay off by seeing one like that. Hope you can get him on the ground soon.

Thank you and I couldn't agree move.
Sometimes the little victories can mean almost as much as the big ones.

This entire experience has been a ball so far....
Finding those two sheds had me all jacked up. WIN
Telling my buddies that I would find some mature deer and then get some nice bucks on camera made this 20x better. WIN WIN.

So now Im going to see if we can get the Hat-Trick of wins and put one down!
 

NoWiser

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Congrats on the little one! My daughter came in November and pretty much put the kabosh on my hunting plans for the fall. It was well worth it! Good luck with the deer, too!
 
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Lostinthewoods
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Congrats on the little one! My daughter came in November and pretty much put the kabosh on my hunting plans for the fall. It was well worth it! Good luck with the deer, too!

Congrats to you on your daughter as well!
You're right, it was well worth is and it won't be an issue next year.



Some more pictures from the area I am near. Im still being a little call shy because I don't know what phase we are at in this area.
Im going to gauge it a little bit more before I start letting some grunts and rattling out.
Im also trying to get a solid read for the local population.... depending on my buck to doe ratio I may just hunt here silently or lean more to some bleats instead of grunts/rattling.














It's kind of funny because some coworkers caught wind of me chasing a big buck and started asking all kinds of questions.......
My response was very similar to this meme



 
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Lostinthewoods
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My family has finally left! After 30 days of family and guest... ITS OVER.
So that means it's game time!!!!

I'll be in my stand all day tomorrow and it'll be a perfect conditions to bring that buck down.
Also...I finally got a cool toy to go along with my tactacam.....

I'm so excited to set this bad boy up.
 

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Lostinthewoods
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View attachment 46074Today has been a beautiful day so far. Much cooler in the mornings which I like.
This morning I had squirrels giving me excitement heart attacks every 15 minutes.

I've got my new camera all set up and it seems fairly easy to control and is definitely going to take some experience time to master it.

Around 1100 I decided I wanted to go check some cameras, so I put the wind in my nose and navigated around. I found many does are still around and smaller bucks are in the area. I actually had this guy following me around! (see buck picture of him a few days ago) Maybe he thought I was a doe.

As far as buck age and maturity around here my cameras are showing mainly that big bruiser as the mac daddy, followed by much smaller bucks. I'm still a little call shy because of that and may either: continue being quiet and ambush, use a doe bleat, or grunt a bit.


I also found more turkey sign while I was walking around, so that gets me real excited!
Basically deer ends mid Feb, I go to Kentucky to scout and shed hunt, then come back to Florida spring gobbler early March! WOOT WOOT!
There may also be a February Barbary sheep hunt in NM, but that's TBD.

HOPEFULLY I have some cool updates for you later!
 

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robby denning

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5b4385d7f81c30b4b82c082185c47d8c.jpg

Enjoying your thread. Interesting to think you're experiencing all that. 16 degrees and 40" of snow here.


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