The Florida Buck Registry confirms that big deer can pop up anywhere. Almost every county -- including unlikely candidates like Palm Beach County and even Collier County -- can boast at least one big buck.

Photo by H.D. Petrie

In the development of big deer and big antlers, the three most important factors are genetics, nutrition, and age. One reason why Florida doesn't produce many giant deer is poor nutrition. Our relatively infertile soils don't provide enough nutrients to grow such animals, so the result is small deer with less than impressive antlers. But a few areas with good soils, balanced deer numbers and landowners who practice good herd management have the potential to produce impressive bucks.

Do you want a trophy-class whitetail? Then you need to hunt someplace with a history of producing big deer. That's where the Florida Buck Registry comes into play.

Studying the FBR provides a picture of where big bucks historically have been produced.

When you start looking at the wildlife management areas, things get more difficult. Most of these state-run WMAs with the potential for producing big deer are managed under either the Special Opportunity Hunt system or the Quota Hunt system.

For those WMAs, it's too late to get permits for this year. But the statistics at least indicate which area you should be applying for next season.

Let's start by pinpointing the top public lands for producing big bucks, then move on to the top counties around the state.

PUBLIC LAND
Green Swamp WMA
Green Swamp WMA checks in as No. 1 on the list, but that's no surprise. It has been on the list a number of years in the past.

"Historically," FWCC Southwest Regional Biologist Jason Burton said, "Green Swamp does tend to have a lot of good deer coming off it. During last year's harvest, they had a couple of 12-points, a couple of 10-points and a whole slew of 8-points."

Burton said the most likely reason is the habitat that provides good nutrition for deer. "Green Swamp is a heavily used area, so it's not protected more than any other area would be," he added. "It has to come down to the habitat and nutrition." Eglin

Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base claims the No. 2 spot for 2008 on the list of top public hunting areas.

This huge tract is a bit of a quasi-WMA. Eglin is an active Air Force armament and training center that sprawls across Walton and Okaloosa counties, but more than half the base's 464,000 acres are open for hunting. The Natural Resources Division of the Environmental Management Directorate Division of Eglin AFB runs hunting on the base.

Because of Eglin's location in the Panhandle, it's possible to hunt the rut after some other areas have closed. The rut here generally occurs in late January and early February, so hunters on the base have a late shot at a big deer.

Richloam WMA
At No. 3 on the list is Richloam WMA, which shares a border with Green Swamp. According to biologist Jason Burton, that proximity is a key.

"The fact that both areas have good bucks and they're touching each other may indicate something about the genetics in the region," he suggested.