The biggest deer ever taken in Walton County was reportedly killed in 1958, although that hunt's exact day, month and location are no longer known. That big typical 10-point rack measured 16 4/8 inches wide and scored 146 4/8 Boone and Crockett Club points. As far as certified kills go, the biggest from Walton County found on the Florida Buck Registry is Delbert Spence's 16-point non-typical from Feb. 9, 2004. That buck scored 145 3/8 B&C points.

If you look at the list of Walton County bucks on the Florida Buck Registry, it has several dozen impressive entries. Another thing you'll notice is that quite a few of those deer were killed from mid-January to the end of the season in February.

That's also the time of the rut, when big bucks are chasing does and are most vulnerable. From Walton County west to Escambia County, the rut is at its zenith from mid-January through mid-February, which is the latest it falls anywhere in Florida.

Looking at the Walton County bucks on the FBR, two names jump out at you -- Glen Cumbie and Delbert Spence, both of Defuniak Springs.

Cumbie killed the second-largest Walton County buck ever on Jan. 3, 2002, when he downed a monstrous typical 11-point that scored 138 5/8. He has two other bucks on the registry: a 10-point he killed on Jan. 25, 1995 that scores 129; and a 12-pointer scoring 123 4/8 that he downed on Jan. 8, 1993.

He also has a spectacular 8-point rack that has yet to be scored, but he figures it'll score close to 130 B&C. All of Cumbie's big deer were killed after Christmas and close to the rut.

Cumbie's hunting area is similar to other leases in the region. He and some buddies control a tract in the northern part of the county. The gently rolling area is covered mostly with pines and hardwoods. Cumbie's club maintains its own food plots.

He's also a member of that generation of deer hunters who still love to hunt with dogs, but he has accepted that times are changing.

Another hunter who typifies hunting success for big whitetails is Delbert Spence. The 79-year old retired horse farrier has a spectacular seven trophies listed on the Buck Registry; his last was the 16-point non-typical mentioned earlier. He killed that buck while heading out on a hog hunt with a friend, when he spied the deer standing in a field.