This looks to be my #1 hitlist buck for this season and the velvet has dropped. I have his core daytime area locked down pretty well, only thing left is for opening day to get here and to get up a tree!
Rack wise and body-wise the deer are smaller overall. However, structurally speaking that buck's chest and body says 3.5 for this Indiana boy...in FLA he could be 4.5 but I have no record. Either way I bet mature and the question then is up to the hunter, some guys refuse to shoot 3.5's, others 4.5's, others ignore age (which is sad in my opinion) and have scoring minimums.
To answer both questions. Yes. This buck is a big Florida deer for the area i hunt in both body and rack. I have other pictures of this buck (in some of my other threads) and im thinking he is pushing the 6.5+ mark. His body is unreal for this area, being that the temps stay between the 80-100's mark for 90% of the year, deer have no need to pack on the body weight other state's deer do in preparation for the winter. For a Florida deer to hit this body size takes time because these deer aren't stock piling fat to survive each year's winter as is the case in other states, a big bodied deer down here is in the 120+ pound range. For example, last year was my first in Florida, and i killed a 120lb doe and was told by the club president that she was the biggest doe killed in the club...ever (he's been with the club for close to 15years). When i shot her i knew she was a mature doe, good size, and would fill the freezer nicely, but when he said that i couldn't believe it, until i spoke with people who hunted different parts of the state and they agreed that she was in fact a "big" doe. I generally shoot for deer that are AT LEAST 3.5yo or better, this has taken some adjustment moving from VA down here to FL as far as picking out a FL 3.5yo compared to a VA 3.5yo. The difficult part, which anyone who hunts in a club atmosphere can empathize with, is that not everyone shares that mentality. Hunting down here is tough because of the terrain, heat, bugs (even into December you're still fighting them), the deer dont have to move to feed or bed, because nothing dies and most vegetation is green year round so bedding areas can often double as mid day feeding areas. It can get very frustrating putting in all the same work as most across the country put in......only to hope you get a chance at a "stud" 120in. deer haha. Total number of inches isnt the end all-be all for me anyways, now dont get me wrong i dream of 150+ bucks as does anyone, but since that isnt an option here, i hunt the most mature deer in my area. No matter the state, a mature buck isnt old because hes dumb, and they present a mighty fun challenge in chasing them. I gotta say i envy those in other states that have a legitimate shot at seeing 140"+ deer............and maybe more so get to enjoy the cool weather fall is SUPPOSE to bring haha.
yeah, they usually drop between the last week of July and first week of August. Below is this deer's progression through the summer from first growth (bottom) to hard horns(top)..
Man that's crazy. When does your season come in. If I had deer lose velvet that quick I would smother out waiting for sept 27th ( our season opener)
comes in next weekend...Sept 13th. and man i am practically tearing my skin off waiting for opening day. Im going to do a final card pull to get a game plan for opening day together, which i originally planned to do a day or 2 before the opener, but i may do it this weekend since its calling for non stop rain which will let me get in freshen up mineral/feed sites without leaving scent all over the place.
I'm planning on going out what squirrel season comes in and just sitting a good distance away to see what way my deer prefer to travel. Don't have the luxary to glass fields. Everything steep rough mountains. We just find a good flat midway of the mountain that has a good trail.
Nice deer. Especially around these parts. I'm with you. I'm itching to get out there. Can't wait till next Saturday. I've got a big body 8 I'm wanting to get to meet in person. Good luck on your season.
I hear ya. we have a club in the Blue Ridge Mountains (near WV) we hunt and we hunt saddles and bottoms where multiple ridges come together and have always had solid success. Pastorjim yeah it's common, this is their typical velvet shedding time frame.
Yeah I wish someone would make a hunting show for us eastern guys. I hear play the wind and this and that. Our wind is never consistent from one minute to the next. I hunt when I can where I can. And a bad boy biggie here would be useless.
Very few places anyone hunts is consistent completely through a hunt....I mean anyone who sits around a bon fire knows this first hand...prevailing winds though are what need to be paid attention too as well as how the wind will interact with the terrain you hunt and makeup of the land you hunt. The sad fact is not many Eastern guys or shows because bucks in the midwest are bigger and that is the only thing a lot of their audience cares about...many of them don't want to see a great hunter and awesome tactics they just want to see large bucks hit the dirt.
I know Wv isn't known for it's big deer but I can tell you that the 4 bow only counties carry some really big deer.
