First Buck Of The Year
10-20-2008, 01:58 PM
#11
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Lake County, Florida
Posts: 3,313
RE: First Buck Of The Year
this last weekend i took a friend from work out to the swamp i shot my 10 point in for the last muzzle loader hunt. he scored on a nice 99 4/8" eight point with a 15 inch spread. the buck weighed in at 145 pounds and was only 2.5 years old! i'll post some pictures of it this afternoon around 1700 hrs. i believe it is this buck (below) that i have on my game cam....
10-20-2008, 04:58 PM
#12
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 25,116
RE: First Buck Of The Year
Great hunts ...thanks for stirring us up.Two weeks and general gun starts..
Questions for ya Camo..since your a central Florida hunter..
a.Do you use calls on every deer hunt?
b.Whatmake of grunt call do you use?Who makes it?
c.Do you use doe urine? What brand?
d.How manytimes would you hunt a spot if you saw no deer?
e.Camo..if you didn't have a game camera..what would a spot look like before you would consider setting up a stand in it..how many rubs..dropplings etc.?
Thanks for the time Camo.These are the kind of questionsI ask the successful ones at the Green Swamp.
Questions for ya Camo..since your a central Florida hunter..
a.Do you use calls on every deer hunt?
b.Whatmake of grunt call do you use?Who makes it?
c.Do you use doe urine? What brand?
d.How manytimes would you hunt a spot if you saw no deer?
e.Camo..if you didn't have a game camera..what would a spot look like before you would consider setting up a stand in it..how many rubs..dropplings etc.?
Thanks for the time Camo.These are the kind of questionsI ask the successful ones at the Green Swamp.
10-21-2008, 03:09 PM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Lake County, Florida
Posts: 3,313
RE: First Buck Of The Year
yes i use calls on every hunt. i'm in my stand usually an hour before shooting light to make sure everything settles down in the area before sun up. as soon as shooting light comes, i start "bump'n" my grunt tube (Primos Power Buck & Doe Grunt). i hit it about every 20-30 minutes and listen good in between grunt sessions. alot of the times i actually hear deer grunt back before i ever see them or hear them walking. i will also utilize a rattle bag occaisionally if i get no reactions from the grunt tube after a couple of hours.
i have experimented with scents but never had any luck with them.
hunting pressure on a spot depends on the spot and the time alloted to hunt. for example, Rock Springs Run are only 3 day hunts, so if i don't see deer in a full day of hunt i'll move. i like to be mobile with my climber as much as possible on short hunts. fortunately i have my honey holes that i see deer everyday. i still try not to over hunt these spots to keep the deer in the area from patterning me. so far i have had deer this year under my stand and actually walking the trails i walk to get to my stand without busting me (scent control is just as important as stand placement).
game cam's are a BIG help but don't soley depend on them due to deer constantly changing their patterns. i tend to look for good whitetail habitat over heavy used trails. once you find their preferred habitat (good cover for bedding area's), you'll find rubs and scrapes. deer food sources change so much due to weather conditions and hunting pressure that i don't look highly in these area's. also pay attention to the size of the tracks you find. an average adult Florida doe is between 85-95 pounds and the average size Florida buck is between 105-120 pounds, give or take. so if you are looking at trails and find one track that is considerably larger than the others in the area, more than likely it will be of a buck.
you have to look at everything as a big picture and not get tunnel visioned with just a scrape or just a few rubs. you have to take each piece of the puzzle and assemble it one by one. it's easier to kill a buck in his living room than in transit from one place to another because of his unpredictability. look for all the clue's and once you find them, you're in his living room
i have experimented with scents but never had any luck with them.
hunting pressure on a spot depends on the spot and the time alloted to hunt. for example, Rock Springs Run are only 3 day hunts, so if i don't see deer in a full day of hunt i'll move. i like to be mobile with my climber as much as possible on short hunts. fortunately i have my honey holes that i see deer everyday. i still try not to over hunt these spots to keep the deer in the area from patterning me. so far i have had deer this year under my stand and actually walking the trails i walk to get to my stand without busting me (scent control is just as important as stand placement).
game cam's are a BIG help but don't soley depend on them due to deer constantly changing their patterns. i tend to look for good whitetail habitat over heavy used trails. once you find their preferred habitat (good cover for bedding area's), you'll find rubs and scrapes. deer food sources change so much due to weather conditions and hunting pressure that i don't look highly in these area's. also pay attention to the size of the tracks you find. an average adult Florida doe is between 85-95 pounds and the average size Florida buck is between 105-120 pounds, give or take. so if you are looking at trails and find one track that is considerably larger than the others in the area, more than likely it will be of a buck.
you have to look at everything as a big picture and not get tunnel visioned with just a scrape or just a few rubs. you have to take each piece of the puzzle and assemble it one by one. it's easier to kill a buck in his living room than in transit from one place to another because of his unpredictability. look for all the clue's and once you find them, you're in his living room
10-25-2008, 05:24 AM
#15
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Lake County, Florida
Posts: 3,313
RE: First Buck Of The Year
i went out scouting in Ocala Thursday and found some more jam up spots. i can't believe i'm saying this but i'm actually pumped up to hunt Ocala this year. the deer are scrape'n good out there already. most of the scrapes i found still had fresh urine in them.
10-26-2008, 07:13 AM
#17
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Lake County, Florida
Posts: 3,313
RE: First Buck Of The Year
i just got a Nextel beep from another friend of mine. i loaned him my muzzle loader, a climbing treestand and gave him a Lake Delancy Muzzle load permit that i was not able to use. i gave him directions to a tree i have marked back in a swamp next to the Ocklawaha River that i have never sat in. i just marked it this summer for the upcoming gun hunt. he told me he had a NICE buck chase a doe under his stand right at daylight but he was unable to get a shot due to low light. a short time after that he watched a 4 inch spike feed around for several minutes. i told him to sit tight and he should "pop" one today. it's only 0900 hrs. and the major feeding time is 1000-1200 hrs. today.
11-11-2008, 07:05 AM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Lake County, Florida
Posts: 3,313
RE: First Buck Of The Year
another 2 bucks down! Friday morning my buddy (the one pictured above) shot a huge 147 pound 9 point (scored 117 B&C inches). Saturday morning i scored on a decent 130 pound 7 point. i'll have pictures of the 9 point soon, i didn't get any pic's of my 7 point. this makes 4 bucks this year out of the same area.
