Three Monster Bucks from Florida for 2011!

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Monster Bucks Are coming out of the wood work!

Apparently, this year is shaping up to be the year for big Bucks. I can't remember ever hearing about so many once in a life time big bucks being killed in one year around here.

One of my best huntin' buddies Steve Bailey called me Sunday about to pee his pants. His message was Short and to the point......."Stephens,,,,, I just killed  a M O N S T E R   B U C K  in front of the dogs, call me back as soon as you get this!" He had just killed his largest Florida Buck ever a big 10pt that they think will gross between 120 and 125". You don't see many main frame 10's in Florida let alone a buck that will break 120". The buck had a 17" outside spread. He was Killed near Orange Springs, Florida.

All I have is a poor camera phone image to post for now but I'll add some better pic.'s as soon as I can get my hands on them.

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                                      Here's the up dated photo's.....Is that a beauty or what!
                                                        The taxidermist reported 122" net!
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The story goes like this....

It was past mid day and warm. The dogs were running a couple of does and everybody charged South to head them and Steve was left kind of behind on the deal. The dogs broke down but in a short time jumped again and headed back North. Steve pulled up to a spot where he had a vantage of 150-200yds down a fifth row. It was not long before he caught a little movement about 100yds down the row. He scoped it but all he could see was the tops of the buck's horns. He sighted down to where he thought the body would be and fire a round from his new (1965 model) 270 Weatherby mag.. The Buck moved slightly but Steve still could only see his horns. He took another shot guesstimating where the body was and the buck fell in his tracks.....shot through the middle of both front shoulders!


The Hancock Buck!

This Buck was killed on the second morning of Muzzleload season near Orange Springs, Florida. Steve and I were already back at camp and we had just had one hell of a hunt. Steve had shot a great little forked horn buck....just the kind of buck you would envision someone dressed in Buckskins shooting with his smoke pole. I had shot an outstanding 8pt with a 17 3/4" spread that was just a grunt shy of 100". Actually, he is probably the third best buck I have taken in Florida.

The buck on the right that I took is not quite in the class of these

 three bucks but a 100" buck is still real hard to come by in Florida!

Then this thing rolls into camp in the back of a pickup........I could hardly believe my eyes! And I thought my 8 was big. Granted this buck is not wide but he's got everything else you could ask for!

He has a total of 13pts. and Mega Mass, forked brows, stickers, long tines, you name it! I have not even tried to put together an estimated score on him yet.

The old guy that killed him was hunting a cut over swamp that had grown back jungle thick. It was 10:30 in the morning when he spotted this deer approaching at about 75yds. The deer stopped to look around and he fired, missing the huge buck. The deer apparently did not know what happened and froze. He was able to get reloaded and the second shot dropped him where he stood. Supposedly the buck was well known from trail camera pictures but relocated to some out of the way place by the time muzzleload would open and would not be seen on camera again until after hunting season was over. You can see from his face he is a very old buck and he is reported to have actually regressed substantially from last year.


Another Big 13pt.

I do not know the name of the hunter that took this next buck, only that it was killed in Flagler County, during bow season. A friend of Mine, Rick Edwards took the pictures and recounted the story to me.

The story is as follows......

The guy was sitting in his stand when he spots some deer chasing and they are headed his was. No less than three bucks come screaming by, hot on the trail of a single doe. However, they charged by so fast he could not stop them for a shot. They are barely out of sight when he spots another buck coming behind on the race.

The buck comes up to within bow range and stops but he is facing head on and will not turn. The guy held his bow at full draw until he could not stand it any more and decided to take a frontal shot. That's usually a big mistake but it worked out for him, this time. The arrow actually caught the buck on the side of the nose and laid it open before going in between the paddle and the rib cage. Apparently, one of the ribs deflected the broadhead enough to send it into the cavity and snuffed him out. I know, incredible but true.


Shrouder Buck!
I don't have a picture of this buck yet but he was also killed near Orange Springs. I only saw him in passing on the back of the pickup but he's wide and has real good tine length. I heard he is 18" wide and will score around 120". I don't have any other details other than he was killed during muzzleload season but as soon as I have some more info I will get it posted.

Another friend of mine took an exceptional buck here in Flagler also, that is in the 100" neighborhood. I need to score him and I will get a post on him as well.


Good Hunting!

Larry Stephens
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Florida Black Bear Pictures 2011

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We have been plagued the last few years with the expanding bear population. I have had as man as 3 bears feeding in front of this trail camera at one time. The interesting thing is that they are not to shy about showing up in the daylight.

Most of the time the deer sightings start dropping off when the bears start using your feeding site regularily.
Not to mention the cost of feeding a bear. If you notice, in the pictures they usually lay down and lounge while they are picking up corn.

The trail camera is not a upper end camera but the pictures were not to bad since most were taken in the daylight. I believe this is a 2.1 mp Bushnell camera. You can get a little info on this camera and some of the other better cameras I have been using in this post 7 Bucks in 4 Days.

Hopefully, the FWC will open some kind of limited bear season in the near future. From what I have seen recently, there are more bears now than I have ever seen. I am hearing the same from many of my other hunting friends.

Hope you enjoy the pic.'s

Larry

Florida Bow Hunting Report #9- 2011 The Last Hunt!

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Florida Bow Hunting Report #9- 2011
The Last Day!
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2011

For the last morning of bow season I decided to put my money on the Kill Zone stand again. There has just been to many bucks using here and I want to put my hands on one of them.

I was in the stand early and eagerly awaiting daylight. However, no deer made an appearance and it was pretty slow going this morning.

Then came the last hunt of the last day of the 2011 Florida Bow season. Do I really need to tell you where I hunted? Yes, I went back to the Kill Zone. I know what everybody’s thinking…..I’m over huntin’ that spot. Well, some stands can take more pressure than others and this is one of them. Besides that, this particular spot is just a natural area that bucks like to pass thru. I get a lot of bucks I’ve never seen before on the trail cam here. I think it is partially due to the lay of the land but also due to the way 4-5 different edges conditions all come together right at the stand. There is a fire break, planted pine plantation, old cut over bay, mature volunteer timber stand and a mowed area all converging at one spot. I have killed at least a couple bucks here every year.

I climbed to my hide up in the little pine about 6:00 PM for my last opportunity to take a buck here with my bow.

Time ticked by slowly and it was getting pretty late. I was really getting worried that a buck was not going to show. Actually, I think I had already surcomed to the reality that I was not going to take a buck this year. To tell you the truth I was just thankful that I had at least finally taken a deer at this point.

The sticker 7 Buck Makes A Fatal Mistake!

I was standing there with bow in hand listening for any sound of an approaching deer. There was maybe 15 minutes left in the 2011 season when I heard a noise that got my attention back in the palmetto flat behind me. I went ahead and eased into position just in case. Then I heard it again……That’s a deer!

The next thing I saw was a deer step from the palmettos and I could see it was a racked buck. He moved slow and cautious down the mow. When he came into the shooting lane I bleated at him softly but he didn’t hear it. I bleated a little louder and it got his attention, stopping with his head behind some bay saplings. I put the pin at the back edge of the shoulder and launched. The shot was 39yds and the shaft caught him just a few inches behind the near shoulder, passed thru the center of the heart and out the opposite shoulder. He charged off into the chest high palmettos like he was on fire. There was a constant clattering, crashing sound of bushes until he reached the back of the old chop where the timber started. There was a slight pause then a final crash and thrashing. I have seen this play out many times in the past and it has always meant a dead deer.

I could hardly believe I had just killed the 7pt with the sticker off the bottom tip of his beam. He was the first racked buck to show up on the trail camera there and I had actually seen him once but he did not get close enough for a shot. As much as he was showing up on the camera I was confident I would eventually get a shot at him.

In 2 days I had completely turned around a season that was looking like a total wash. Funny how things work out. Just goes to show you need to stick with it right to the last minute.

This deer was shot with a Muzzy 4 blade, 100 gr. Broadhead and left as good a blood trail as you will ever see. Have a look at some of the pictures I took of the trail.

There's my broadhead and 4" of shaft near the center of the picture!

Now that's a heart shot!

Here are some trail camera pictures of him.

Looks I finally got things going my way.

Larry S.