Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Northwest Florida was a blast.

Spent the last week of hunting season in the Apalacheecola National Forest. 584,000 acres of beautiful hunting property. We took two spike bucks, one six point, one eight point and two Coyotes.

The season just got over and I can't wait until next year.

Hoot

Let's see some picts dude.

Did you call the coyotes in or were they targets of opportunity?

I had to leave a day early, so I loaned my camera to one of the guys girl friends. Havent gotten it back yet. I'll get some pics posted then. My Coyote was just dumb luck. We had gathered for lunch on a dirt road and heard what sounded like a dog yipping and running something. A small doe hit the road carring the mail and the coyote popped out 100 yards behind her.

Luckily I had my 44 slung over my shoulder. The other was just standing in the road at about 300 yards and my buddy, whos a crack shot bench shooter turn him a flip with his .300 win mag.

The bucks weren't anything special, no wall hanger. But a great week non the less.

Hoot

that's just about 30 minutes from me in tallahassee!

So does season in Florida end on January 31st like in Alabama. I read an article this weekend some guy wrote about the rut. He claims he loves to hunt the panhandle in mid February. It sounded odd to me. I'll try to find the article and post the magazine name.

Don't need wallhangers to have had a memorable and special trip.....

When I lived in NW Florida the gun season ended mid-February with a ML season to the end. In fact I did a ML hunt for deer on 1 March one year.

I believe this area may be a sleeper for nice deer, at least as far as Florida is concerned. I was driving Thur this area after hunting St. Vincent Island & stopped to admire a very nice 8pt. buck that 2 hunters had drug out of the woods & were loading. My wife wants to have a vacation home in Central Florida where relatives live. From everything I have heard this is the area I would prefer. Hogs,which I love to hunt, turkeys, & deer. Texas is a reasonable drive away.

How many hogs did they kill on the Island hunt? My buddies wife is in charge of the island with the FWS. I haven't hunted it in a couple of years. I have put in for the Sambar hunt for 10 years and cannot get drawn for nothing. St. Joe and the surrounding area is the nicest part of Fl. to me.

Here is a NW Fl deer that she shot.

That's a nice buck anywhere in my book.

No kidding! I didn't know FL could produce that sort of bone...
WOW!!!

That's a fine buck anywhere. There's some good ones in the south east corner of Alabama. I guess that equates to Northwest Florida. I know some guys who do well down around Dothan....

Well-managed properties in Florida are capable of producing far better bucks than people believe possible. I have seen many, and taken a few nice deer in mineral-rich areas of central and north Florida and the entire panhandle. In areas where the genetics are present and the nutrition is good, you just have to let them mature. Unfortunately for many hunters, these factors are uncommon on public land.

Hers was on private land near DeFuniak Springs.

I hunt Florida from the glades to Apalachee. Cent. Florida doesnt have the fertil land to produce like NW Fla. Biggest buck ive seen in cent fla. was a 175# 11 point. He was 5 1/2 years old. Managed property like some I hunt near Avon Park I took a 150 # 8 point the was 1 1/2 years old.

NW Fla is like saying south Alabama. Big Bucks run the woods.

But 80% of the deer I shoot are 110# basket racks.

I was at an outdoor show this week & picked up a brochure on a hunt in NW Florida for $800 for 4 days. This may be something I try in the future when in Florida hunting boar or gator. It appears there is a reasonable possibility of a good buck.

Nice deer. My hunting buddy put us in for the Sambar Deer hunt & we drew the first time. There were no hogs shot but one nice Sambar Stag & several others were shot. It was a nice experience but due to very low success rate & all the work to haul everything to the island I have no interest in repeating. Good hunting.

I had two of those big eared rascals (Sambar) under me for an hour on the late deer hunt one year. I could have killed them both by dropping my mz on them. Most everyone that I have ever heard that put in for the hunt, got drawn on their first try except me. Figures...