I had an epic day yesterday for our ML opener here in Florida. I had been watching several good bucks all week and was just praying they would do the same thing one more morning. Couldn’t get out and hunt them during week due an inconvenience called work. These are good bucks for this area of Florida.
I have a stand in this area but it’s one of those spots that when I go there something feels off, so I grabbed the turkey chair and decided to sit back about 100 yards and not “intrude” into the area. I know the area well so I picked a little dry hill in the swamp surrounded by water. I love hunting around the water for couple reasons, it masks ground scent, it helps hear the animals walking and the visual ripples from the disturbance can be seen for a long ways. Daylight comes and couple pigs move through which was kinda down heartening because pigs and deer rarely mingle together but I continued to sit as the camera had shown the movement getting later and later in the morning as the week progressed.
Right on cue at 8:54 one of the better bucks starts walking right down the trail headed to the dry ground with the oaks falling and when he got to around 60 yard, poof white smoke filled the air. The way the light was coming in through the trees and it hanging heavy in the air it was a total white out for a solid minute( I love that smell). Running and splashing lasted only a couple seconds then silence creepy silence in the swamp. After I reloaded, I took up the trail. There’s a trick to tracking in water and looking for the churn bubbles and slick on the water are the major things that help find game in stagnant swamp waters. Anyway he didn’t go 35 yards max piled up. The 250gr Barnes Expander made a mess.
Still riding the high from the morning I decided to try and get lucky again and headed back to the same small hill in the swamp and see if I could catch another one of them slipping through. The evening wasn’t looking good as the other members on this lease had gotten wind of the bucks in that area and they surrendered me that evening. We have a rule of 300 yards minimum and they were pushing the edges hard but I had faith and told my wife the big guy is going to take of it.
Just as light starts to fade I see ripples coming and then antlers floating above the ripples. He walks the exact path the morning buck walks and in almost the exact same spot poof white smoke fills the air for a second time. This time the air has some movement and takes the smoke with it as I see the tail end of him going around the next dry ground and then silence. I hurriedly walked to the area of dry ground and find the freshly wet leaves from where the deer came up out of the water and blood. Thank god I did hit him. Blood wasn’t heavy but consistent. Trail lasted 40 yards and I see an antler sticking up.
I am now tagged out on the lease and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to take these 2 bucks. Good luck to everyone out there. Thanks for reliving it with me.
I have a stand in this area but it’s one of those spots that when I go there something feels off, so I grabbed the turkey chair and decided to sit back about 100 yards and not “intrude” into the area. I know the area well so I picked a little dry hill in the swamp surrounded by water. I love hunting around the water for couple reasons, it masks ground scent, it helps hear the animals walking and the visual ripples from the disturbance can be seen for a long ways. Daylight comes and couple pigs move through which was kinda down heartening because pigs and deer rarely mingle together but I continued to sit as the camera had shown the movement getting later and later in the morning as the week progressed.
Right on cue at 8:54 one of the better bucks starts walking right down the trail headed to the dry ground with the oaks falling and when he got to around 60 yard, poof white smoke filled the air. The way the light was coming in through the trees and it hanging heavy in the air it was a total white out for a solid minute( I love that smell). Running and splashing lasted only a couple seconds then silence creepy silence in the swamp. After I reloaded, I took up the trail. There’s a trick to tracking in water and looking for the churn bubbles and slick on the water are the major things that help find game in stagnant swamp waters. Anyway he didn’t go 35 yards max piled up. The 250gr Barnes Expander made a mess.
Still riding the high from the morning I decided to try and get lucky again and headed back to the same small hill in the swamp and see if I could catch another one of them slipping through. The evening wasn’t looking good as the other members on this lease had gotten wind of the bucks in that area and they surrendered me that evening. We have a rule of 300 yards minimum and they were pushing the edges hard but I had faith and told my wife the big guy is going to take of it.
Just as light starts to fade I see ripples coming and then antlers floating above the ripples. He walks the exact path the morning buck walks and in almost the exact same spot poof white smoke fills the air for a second time. This time the air has some movement and takes the smoke with it as I see the tail end of him going around the next dry ground and then silence. I hurriedly walked to the area of dry ground and find the freshly wet leaves from where the deer came up out of the water and blood. Thank god I did hit him. Blood wasn’t heavy but consistent. Trail lasted 40 yards and I see an antler sticking up.
I am now tagged out on the lease and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to take these 2 bucks. Good luck to everyone out there. Thanks for reliving it with me.
