Florida deer hunting can be very challenging and the prospects of harvesting a large trophy buck are generally slight. I usually don’t deer hunt in warm weather but I had been scouting a big buck for over two months on the south tract of Watermelon Pond Plantation between Archer and Bronson, Florida. The many food plots combined with year round supplemental feeding and low hunting pressure make the chances of getting a trophy buck a lot better on these grounds. When not in rut, large bucks are generally smart, wary and very reclusive so it never hurts to level the playing field.
By the signs I had seen, which included a scrape, several large rubs and many big tracks, I knew this to be a buck with a rather large spread and considerable body weight. It had been very cold Friday with misting rain making it feel even colder. Saturday dawned foggy and cloudy and it rained quite a bit during the morning hours, although it was very warm. I had taken my boys, ages eight and eleven, to the dove shoot here Saturday afternoon and they managed to kill one between them. They were very excited and had hunting on their minds the rest of the weekend. I spent Sunday afternoon with them shooting gray squirrels in a large oak hammock north of the cabin. I will always remember how excited they were with the prospect of hunting after spending the morning in church and Sunday school. They are increasingly becoming better shots and are learning the importance of being still and quiet. I truly treasure the times we spend hunting together.
I did not have to be at work until 1:00 Monday, Dec. 14, so I decided I would have a try at the big guy. I wasn’t overly optimistic due to the weather conditions. It was foggy and warm when I drove to the area and parked under a large Live Oak tree. Dew was starting to drip off the long beards of the Spanish moss and the ground was still wet. I was pleased by this fact, knowing walking would much more quiet than usual.
I always walk when I deer hunt. I find this to be more successful than sitting in a stand. I am not the type of hunter who enjoys hunting from a stand. Perhaps I am a bit too hyper active and, I have to admit, I do not like to sit still. I do not dress in any particular hunting outfit and this morning I was wearing a camo shirt and jeans. I scraped up a large pile of pine needle, crushed them and rubbed them on my body to help cover my scent. I sat beneath a large Long Leaf pine for about 30 minutes and, to my surprise, saw nothing. From my scouting trips, I knew game regularly used this area so I waited another ten minutes. A large group of Osceola turkeys then came casually walking and feeding along the trail in front of me. I had heard them come down off their roost earlier. I marveled at he size of the lead Gobbler whose beard was nearly dragging the ground. I knew he would offer me a completely different type of hunting experience this spring and took a mental note of the direction from which they came. I felt very smug realizing I had already booked a weekend for spring Osceola Gobbler season.
I decide to walk. I carefully picked my way down the sandy trail being as quiet as possible, stopping every fifty yards or so, watching then waiting. I proceeded in this fashion for about 45 minutes, then turned to the west to make my way back to my truck. I was thinking this was not to be the day I would bag the big buck which I had been looking for so long.
Rounding the corner where the young planted pines begin, I caught something white out of the corner of my eye; nothing flashy, just a slight movement. I immediately stopped. I turned my head slowly to the left. There he was. What a magnificent animal; big broad shoulders, a beautiful head sporting a very thick and well shaped rack. Although it was obscured by the briars in which he was crouched, it appeared to be of 6 or 8 points.
He was very well camouflaged; his light, brownish gray coat blending in well with the broom sedge and maiden cane.
Even though we have only had one frost, all the grasses were turning brown. I always marvel at the ability to camouflage which Mother Nature has bestowed upon her creatures. He was looking directly at me. This is when nerves and adrenalin usually kick in and cause many a missed shot at a trophy such as this one. I oh, so slowly removed the Savage 270 from my shoulder. Detecting the movement, he immediately exploded from the safety of the large briar patch in which he was concealed. I followed him through my scope as he bulled his way through the briars, thick grass and limbs of the small pines. I knew I had only a small window of opportunity. This was happening at a rapid rate of speed but I tried to aim as carefully as I could under the circumstances. I knew shooting conditions could have been better but I figured I had a good chance, so I took my shot. I was lucky in the order. The first shot hit him squarely in the front shoulder causing him to stumble. As he was falling, the second shot found its mark in the right side of the chest cavity.
When he dropped, I knew this was a hunting experience of a life time. The anticipated mount, I knew, would bring back every detail of the morning in my mind’s eye every time I would look at it in the future.
I would like to thank Kate Boulos and Mark Brannan of Watermelon Pond Plantation for giving me the opportunity to harvest this buck of a lifetime. I have hunted many years for a buck like this one. I can’t describe how happy I was when I realized I had finally succeeded.
With a spread of 15 inches and 6 inch G2's, I was positive that this 8 point would truly be worthy of gracing the empty spot on the wall over the fire place mantle. I could clearly envision how it was going to look hanging there filling the void, not only on the wall, but also in my deer hunting success.
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