Photo by Mark Werner

A couple of decades ago, if you had asked a deer hunter about the best place to kill a trophy buck in Florida, the question probably would have drawn nothing more than a stare. The reason is, or was, that for years Florida simply did not produce that many exceptional bucks. Or at the very least, if they were here, few hunters knew about them.

Then something happened in the early 1980s that changed perceptions about Florida and put it on a par with most other Southeastern states for quality deer. For one thing, the early '80s brought about a change in thinking from simply being glad to have deer to what we now know as quality deer management. In effect, the idea that increasing your antlerless deer harvest, letting the young bucks walk and taking only exceptional bucks became the norm.

Another good thing happened during that time. In 1982, the Florida Buck Registry was created. The FBR was the brainchild of Dr. Allan Egbert, who in 1982 worked in the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Division of Wildlife. Egbert, who later became that agency's executive director, had the foresight to envision a listing of the biggest bucks killed in Florida each year. Not only would it show how the state was managing its deer, but give recognition to the hunters who were using the best deer management techniques available. He could not have been more right.

Use the FBR as our guide, let's look at which regions of the state and counties have been the top big-buck areas over the years. Along the way, we can also look at how several of the state's largest bucks were killed during the 2004-05 hunting season.

NORTHWEST REGION
No. 1
Jefferson County
Of the 16 counties in the Florida Panhandle, Jefferson County has more entries in the FBR than any other. Biologists say that is because it is mostly rural, but more importantly, it has some of the best soil in the area. Agricultural crops, such as corn, watermelons and row crops, are staples in the local economy.

"The county is part of the 'red hills soils,' which you find in Georgia and across the state line into Leon and Jefferson counties," said Arlo Kane, a wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "That's good soil and it translates into better browse and mast for deer."

All things being equal, Kane said you expect a buck that is 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 years old in Jefferson County to be a little heavier and sport bigger antlers than a buck of the same age in a coastal county, where the soil is poorer.

Typical of other rural counties, most landowners practice some form of quality deer management. These include a handful of plantations and quite a few hunting clubs or leases.

Scott Chaires of Tallahassee hunts some private property in Jefferson County. He and the other hunters who utilize the tract carefully watch what deer they shoot. Last hunting season, the day after Christmas, Chaires proved that being patient has its rewards when he downed a 13-pointer that amassed a typical Boone and Crockett (B&C) Club score of 144 6/8.