I just heard that Larry Benoit passed away in the last day or so. For those of you familar with northeastern deer hunting, you know how good he and his family are at killing big deer. It appears to me that Larry had a loving wife and family, achieved success that most of us only dream about, lived his life the way he wanted to, and was able to hunt with his sons until late in years. While his passing is sad, he had a darned good run and his life is well worth celebrating.

I recently bought a nice Remington 760 to still hunt for deer. I couldn't help thinking of the Benoits when I sighted it in.

hate to hear of his passing

yeah they had great hunting videos

RIP Larry. I know you will find some rutting bucks up there....

I loved seeing the hunting articles on he and his family years ago. I think I first saw them in Petersen's Hunting if I remember right. Awesome family and good people.

I need to get mine yet. RIP Larry. I think it was Bryce Towsley who wrote a book about the Benoits.

Big Bucks the Benoit Way - Pretty sure that's the title of the book you're thinking of.

You are deeply missed old friend. I am thankful for the many hours we spent at your kitchen table while you kept us immersed in your life stories. So sorry to see you go. It was an honor and a privilege to get to know you and call you friend. Tom

I read about the Benoits when I was an up and coming kid and deer hunter. Always wished I could hunt their country like they did it. Never got to.

It sounded good.

Rip

That's it. Thanks. I just ordered it. Now I need a 760 in 308.

Shooting at running deer in the heavy stuff with your pump action was the name of the game, no?

I am also sorry to see him go .Happy Hunting Larry RIP

JDK he was a legend and an icon.Certainly among the best deer hunters in North America given the very difficult nature of the country he hunted.

He was a household name in New England deer hunting circles...and elsewhere as well.

No, knowing what kind of deer, where he is at, when you are getting close and eyes should be scanning the woods. All by studying the track was the name of the game for those guys.

Very sad to hear. I have the book he wrote with Pete Miller, The Beginnings by him and their videos. Met him at his house about 10 yrs ago while working in VT, very nice guy who took time out of his day to talk deer and hunting.

RIP Larry

RIP Larry Benoit.

The man lived a long life and did his best to help others get into the sport as far as I can tell. Reading a story about him in Outdoor Life or some such mag led me down the road to my first Rem pump rifle in 30-06.

I have a bunch of movies, and several books, including his book "How to Bag the Biggest Buck of Your Life"

RIP to a REAL deer hunter.

RIP Larry. Anyone who picks up a 760 and tries to hunt the way he did is following in his footsteps.

Condolences to his wife, family, friends, and acquaintances.

RIP Larry.
I hunted Vermont for 25 years and his style of hunting had a positive impact on me.
I could have sworn I've seen his initials carved in a tree deep in National Forest ground one year.

Rest in peace Larry. May God bless you and your family.

Sad news...he was a legend to those of us in the Northeast. He inspired a lot of guys in the ADK's to try and hunt in a similar style...not too many can successfully year after year. I never met Larry, but have attended a couple of banquets with the boys...all impressive hunters. RIP

My condolences to Lanny Benoit, Larry's son and Landon Benoit, Lanny's son. I am sure there will be a big hollow spot for a lot of hunting seasons to come.

No; not entirely.Only sometimes.

Those willing to come here and try to hunt his style in his country....will encounter the fact that in two weeks of hunting that country in which he was consistently successful on big mature bucks dressing over 200 pounds,most will not even see a buck....never mind get a shot.

No...scratch that....they won't see ANY deer except by the greatest of good luck.

There are solid reasons that the Real Tree Team films no TV shows up here. The only people who do(can)are the Benoits.

In all the hub-bub about rifles, bullets, clothing, etc, I think the two biggest factors in the Benoits sucess is that they aren't afraid of the woods and they work HARD at what they do.
I don't know how many, but it's been quite a few people that have told me "I tried tracking a buck once and never caught up with him..." Well, no shot, Sherlock, every Benoit tracks a lot of bucks they never see. They go back the next day and the next day and the next day until things click.

+1

I would love to see an episode or two of today's popular TV "hunting stars" trying their hand in the big woods. "Dude, where are the food plots?"

Scott it's the truth...


Up in New Brunswick one year,a chap from one of the southern bean field states went out on stand on Day 1,and came back to camp at 8:30AM and went back to bed....he said he hadn't seen anything.... He left after 3 days.


Royce being a native of the Northeast,you know what it's like back here .... It's very tough deer hunting.


Muskeg Man I would say that hitting moving game with a rifle is an acquired skill set, just like any other skills with a rifle.The Benoits are very good at it when they have to do it.

I'd love to see it...but won't. For one, there are no food plots. Two, the deer won't be there for more than a second or two, and 3 the benoits camera dudes are bad ass camera dudes. They have to be on point every second.

and boy do they practice at it. They bust out a shooting session in the middle of hunting just to keep tuned up!

I've tried their style a bit here in MN as we have enough land to do it but I'm not nearly good enough to get it done consistantly. We haven't had enough snow here to do it right, for a few years.

About half way through Bryce's book on the Benoits. Makes me want to vacate CT and move north. RIP Larry.

I'm sad to hear of his passing and my prayers go out to the family. Larry made a knife for me back in 2008 that sits in my office and our conversations on the phone were always entertaining and informative.
For the earlier post regarding the books, B. Towsley wrote two, "Big Bucks the Benoit Way" and "Benoit Bucks" he may have also wrote a third but, I'm unsure of that. Larry Benoit wrote a book years ago that certainly deserves mention and I feel should be on every deer hunters reading list, "How To Bag The Biggest Buck Of Your Life". Original copies may be difficult to locate however it was reprinted. I do recall Larry mentioning to me his displeasure about the reprinted copies but not the exact specifics because we had the conversation a long time ago and my memory is a bit fuzzy about it but, if I remember correctly, it had something to do with copywriting.

BD

BD,

I own all the books including an original version of "How to bag the biggest buck of your life". I think ( but I don't really now) that Larry was originally against the "commercialization" of how he and his sons hunt.

All I can say is I am glad he wrote books and that they made videos. Many great books have come since from Hal Blood for example.

I start watching the Benoit videos around this time of year as my "primer" for deer season here in the Northeast.

A loss for hunters everywhere, R.I.P. Larry.

Some don't really know what "the big woods" are. They think they do.

I don't think you'll find Team Realtree deer hunting in the U.P. either.........

2much nope that belt of north woods country running through the mid west and working back east here is much the same for us as it is for the UP as well I imagine. Have never been to the UP.

Rest in peace Larry. You will be missed by many.

He was as good of a knife maker as he was a hunter. I've always regretted not buying one when I met him and his boys a few years back.

Tzone, I'll be heading up your way with the 760 if we can get some snow. I haven't done any tracking sense I left the Adirondacks. I think this will be a good year to hit a track.

Or northern MN, or northern WI, or northern....

RIP Larry.
I need to get me a Benoit style rifle for hunting here in Alabama.

I grew up in Larry's 'neck of the woods' during the 60s, and I still find it incredible that he shot that many big whitetail bucks in the harsh New England hillside. The lack of feed and forage just limits the number of deer that can survive, and the hunting pressure further limits the number that grow to old age!

Here's a link to a story in the largest VT newspaper about Mr. Benoit with pictures of some of his bucks: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/...r-Larry-Benoit-dies-at-89?nclick_check=1

RIP, Mr. Whitetail Hunter

The story about the Buck he shot and then spent the night with him in sub zero temps with no fire while the snow piled up high is the stuff of legend.

Fought his way out the next morning and on going back to find the Buck all sign was covered over with deep snow and the Buck was never found.

I first read about Larry Benoit over 40 years ago. It was a Sports Afield article as I recall. Then Outdoor Life began printing features about him from time to time. Always very good reading for me.

My Remington 760 has taken many animals including antelope and mule deer. Its a keeper!

Farewell to Larry!

Sherwood

Looking at those bucks on the wall in the article is a reminder that many people will hunt the Northeast big woods and be fortunate to take a couple like those in their lifetime.That one man could kill so many of them,hunting on foot, and tracking them is nothing short of astonishing.

There is no doubt in my mind that he was the "best" big buck hunter in America.

I guess I have been "out of the loop". RIP Mr. Benoit........I doubt you have any idea how many young hunters you influenced.

I enjoy hunting in Ohio, etc. but those deer don't have the same status in my "earned" file that the "lesser " NH deer that Ive dogged to the end do.

George

NH MA and VT are for real hunters that pac in and track and track and go deep not road side hunter . If you what big deer you have to work for them not siting in deer camp cold ,nasty weather and big woods
That's was the BENOIT WAY separate the men from the boys

My dad and I used to pass by their house daily to and from work. They had some very large deer hanging on the front porch in the fall. Always very large bodies.

Larry Benoit was an incredible hunter. I read his book a few years ago and was very impressed with his knowledge, ability, and determination. I would have really enjoyed meeting the man.

RIP Larry. You were my hero from a very young age.

Sad to hear -Rest in Peace Larry.

I was thinking about Larry and his sons the other day while scrolling through the Sportsmans Channel and wondering why I don't see good hunting shows like the Benoits did.

Mike

RIP to a true hunter. He will be missed.

If you read "How to Bag the Biggest Buck of your life" and did not want to immediately run down to the LGS and buy a 270 Remington Pump rifle then there is no hope for you.

I bought the first edition in the early 70's signed by Larry. I wore that book out reading it over and over and over again.

RIP Greatest Deer Hunter ever

Love ready his books.. Sad to hear he has left us.

October 16, 2013
Larry Benoit, �Babe Ruth for Hunters,� Is Dead at 89
By WILLIAM YARDLEY

Larry Benoit, who tracked whitetail deer through the snowy woods of northern New England and southern Canada for more than seven decades, shooting at least 200 of the biggest and most prized specimens, known as trophy bucks, while becoming one of the nation�s most revered deer hunters, died on Oct. 8 at his home in Duxbury, Vt. He was 89.

His death was confirmed by his son Shane.

Today, trophy buck hunting has elements of competitive sport, some of them high-tech. Some hunters use video cameras to learn the traveling and behavior patterns of deer, and, after a kill, many have antlers officially measured; �trophy racks,� they are called.

Mr. Benoit, who grew up poor near the Canadian border, learned to hunt because his family needed food. Even after achieving fame, he measured success by a buck�s weight; the heavier the buck, the more meat. His most notable skill was in recognizing (without a camera) the tracks big bucks left in the snow and following them as long as necessary.

�He was kind of like Babe Ruth for hunters,� said Ron Boucher, a hunter and rack measurer who knew Mr. Benoit for more than 30 years and wrote about him for North American Whitetail magazine. �He was probably known by more hunters than any other person for his time.�

In September 1970, Sports Afield magazine published a cover article with the headline �Larry Benoit � Is He the Best Deer Hunter in America?� Five years later, Mr. Benoit, a carpenter in the off-season, published �How to Bag the Biggest Buck of Your Life,� a book, written with Peter Miller, that many people consider a standard text for deer hunters. In it, he promoted comprehensive preparation, not instant gratification:

Find deer using the ancient art of tracking hoof prints, not sitting in the relative comfort of a tree stand. Are you really a hunter, or just a shooter? Do not fire at the first big buck you see. Wait for the one you truly want.

�To outwit the whitetail, you must know how to locate him, how to track him and how to down him,� he wrote. �It takes stamina, woods lore, deer lore and experience to win this fight.�

Ease up on those summer beers. Drink skim milk. (He favored �canned baby food for desserts and vegetables,� though he knew that neither was for everyone.) Tend to your calluses, wear wool socks, take the stairs instead of the elevator, do isometrics �on the can� if that is the only time you have. Build up your thighs and your lung capacity with long hikes. Do not smoke. (A little Red Man chewing tobacco should not hurt.) Practice walking silently in the woods.

Remember, whether he is a swamp deer or a ridge runner, that buck is bigger, faster and more familiar with his territory than you are.

�Mister,� he wrote, �if you aren�t in shape to dog a mountain buck and follow him for 15 miles, then walk out of the woods and be ready to do it the next day, and maybe the day after, and maybe for a week, then just be an armchair buck hunter. Don�t go out in the woods and kill yourself.�

The magazine articles and the book were not his idea. His reputation grew as hunters and eventually outdoors writers noticed, year after year, that his house, on a hill in Duxbury, always had big bucks hanging outside. How did one family have so much success?

Shane Benoit, who is an accomplished hunter himself, as are his brothers, said the secret to his father�s success was in the tracking skills that had been passed down through generations. His lineage was French Canadian and Iroquois.

�My grandfather did it, my great-grandfather did it, my great-great-grandfather did it, and so on down the line,� he said.

Lanyard Everett Benoit was born on Sept. 24, 1924, in East Berkshire, Vt., to Leo Benoit and the former Irene Lawrence. His father was a blacksmith and made the hunting knives his son used growing up. (That was another skill Mr. Benoit inherited: he also made and sold custom hunting knives.)

When Mr. Benoit was 15, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, which built roads, mountain lodges and other structures in Vermont and provided food and shelter during the difficult years after the Depression.

He traveled frequently to speak to hunting groups, taking endless questions. Sometimes conflicts in hunting culture became apparent. Some hunters, for example, were accustomed to tracking bucks on private land, where the animals� wild food had been supplemented with grain so that they and their antlers would grow bigger. The Benoits hunted on public land, and they were not much for measuring antlers.

�The only grain we feed them is either a 130- or a 150-grain bullet,� Shane Benoit said.

In addition to him, Mr. Benoit is survived by three other sons, Lanny, Lansing and Lane; four daughters, Aloma Abner, Serene Savarese, Aleta Corriveau and Zana Evans; 23 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; and 2 great-great-grandchildren.

A daughter, Lona Burns, died last year. His wife of 66 years, the former Iris Sweet, died in 2008. She was known to start cooking deer meat while her husband and sons were still carving up the carcass.

^^^ That's a great story.

Finished Townsley's book on the Benoits' tonight at work. Now to amazon to find the original book. I'm guessing there will be no finding a Larry Benoit custom knife at a reasonable price anymore.

Larry and his sons always inspired our camp to hunt hard and stick to it to make it happen.He will be missed.

His son Lansing or Lance is seen in early photos along with Uncle Windy but he is never mentioned in later years.The obituary says he survives.Wonder why no mention of Lance?

Farewell to a great hunter! I had the privilege of meeting him once, and he was quite a character. As far as his son Lance, the story is that he and Larry had a falling out years ago over some youthful indiscretions. I'm sure they are like all families, with their own faults and strengths. One thing for sure is they are one hell of a huntin' family!

Thanks Bogtrotter! They are true hunters in every sense.