# Sambar Deer Hunt, St. Vincents Island



## secondseason (Aug 1, 2008)

Did anyone put in for it?

Satchmo and I put in for it.  The drawing is August 6.


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## hevishot (Aug 1, 2008)

those are some COOL critters...hope you get drawn!


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## secondseason (Aug 1, 2008)

They are cool!!!  Thank you!!  I've got my fingers crossed.

I called yesterday they said that the amount of entries they determined we had a 30% chance of getting drawn.


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## hevishot (Aug 1, 2008)

wow! Thats a way higher chance than I would have thought...good luck! Take a bunch of pics too....


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## Nicodemus (Aug 1, 2008)

Good luck to ya`ll Delila! Hope ya`ll get drawn.


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## Fish_Bone (Aug 2, 2008)

I'm in.  Those odds are better than I thought!  Good luck to those who put in!

Roger


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## one_shot (Aug 2, 2008)

secondseason said:


> Did anyone put in for it?
> 
> Satchmo and I put in for it.  The drawing is August 6.



I would like to go someday, I am going to Indian Pass on the 8th. surf fishing Those are big deer!
https://floridawildlifemagazine.com/pdfs/may06sambardeer.pdf


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## bam_bam (Aug 2, 2008)

How much does it cost for license and such


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## QTurn (Aug 2, 2008)

There's also a nice population of red wolves on that island.  Our fishing guide hog hunts over there.  Hunting is supposed to be really good.  
Good Luck with the draw!!


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## GT-40 GUY (Aug 5, 2008)

qqq


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## secondseason (Aug 6, 2008)

The draw was done this morning.  They won't post the results until after August 20th,


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## Pickle (Aug 6, 2008)

I've put in for nearly 10 years on these dang hunts and have yet to get drawn.  I have seen quite a few of the dang things while hog and deer hunting.  I've got a few sheds that I have picked up though.


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## secondseason (Aug 6, 2008)

Pickle said:


> I've put in for nearly 10 years on these dang hunts and have yet to get drawn.  I have seen quite a few of the dang things while hog and deer hunting.  I've got a few sheds that I have picked up though.



Maybe this is your year!!  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!


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## ClydeWigg3 (Aug 6, 2008)

I have some friends that went.  They didn't kill anything, but ate off the scraps of meat the "lucky" hunters were throwing away.   Said they'd throw away 2 pound pieces of meat and still had too much to eat. 

Also, the bugs were so bad they had to move the tents to the beach to sleep as there was no breeze in the middle of the island.  Bad part about the Sambar hunt is sometimes it's cool and most times it's not.  November isn't the coolest month in FL.  I would like to try it one day - maybe the closest I'll ever get to an elk like deer.  Good luck!!!


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## Fish_Bone (Aug 9, 2008)

Got my letter today....I got drawn for the first time!  Only took 4 years...

Anyone else?


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## secondseason (Aug 9, 2008)

Fish_Bone said:


> Got my letter today....I got drawn for the first time!  Only took 4 years...
> 
> Anyone else?



Congratulations!!!  I so hope we got in!!

Did it come in the mail or was it email?


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## mshipman (Aug 9, 2008)

I've never heard of this hunt where do you sigh up for next year?  They are interesting animals. I do have some coming to mount that were killed in Austrailia.


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## secondseason (Aug 9, 2008)

I went to the mailbox......We got drawn for the hunt too!!!  I just can't believe it!!!  We are so excited!!!!  

Just when I thought this day couldn't get any better!!!


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## Fish_Bone (Aug 9, 2008)

Awesome!  Congrats!


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## cpowel10 (Aug 9, 2008)

Congrats!

Are yall hunting with guns or bows?  I'd take a gun to those big beasts!


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## secondseason (Aug 9, 2008)

cpowel10 said:


> Congrats!
> 
> Are yall hunting with guns or bows?  I'd take a gun to those big beasts!




Thank you!!

We are bow only so it looks like the SS in the new X Force Super Shorts will now stand for Sambar Slayers hopefully!!!  

Man I still can't get over it!!


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## Fish_Bone (Aug 12, 2008)

Muzzleloader for me.  I thought about using the bow but did not want to change my set up for a 2 day hunt.


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## RSmith (Aug 13, 2008)

I went in years ago, late 80's or early 90's. The year before the red wolf breeding pair was brought in. The camp was right at the beach that year, saw white tails and hogs galore we saw no sambar and only two sambar hinds were taken for the whole hunt. Like any other hunting scouting is the key to success. If they still do an orentation meeting they give a lot of interesting history and information.
 This was my first primative type hunt and I am sure i have forgotten most of the lesson's learned. 
 Take several boat anchors or have DNR use their wench's to beach your boat.
 That time of year in Florida the weather can go from low 80's to freezing in one night.
 Take a good bike with wide tires if you can, the soil is sandy and at low tide the beach is the best route to ride for some area's.
 We froze precooked meals for supper and heated em on a cooker to save time.
 I don't know what may have changed since I was there but it was a good hunt it just never worked out for me to go back. When you hit a sambar rub line you will be impressed or at least I was. It was not an easy hunt but a memorable one and I did not even see a sambar. I have not thought about this hunt in years, now I wish I was going back too.
 have fun and take pictures


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## Jake Allen (Aug 13, 2008)

Congratulations, I am proud for ya.
I hope it is a great experience.
Maybe you can get set up and post daily updates.
(Like JT in Ill last year).


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## satchmo (Aug 13, 2008)

*St Vincents*

I hunted the island when I was 14 and shot a hog and a deer the first day. I saw sambar almost every day ,but there was no sambar quota hunt at the time. Now I am extra fired up. I pulled these pics from another forum. This is a sambar from St. Vincents island.


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## Fish_Bone (Aug 16, 2008)

I'm gonna need a bigger cooler!


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## RBaldree (Aug 18, 2008)

*Been there, done that, would go again in an instant!*

I was drawn for the black powder hunt two years ago, and had a blast!  There is a single campsite down at the bottom of the island that you will be using, and it is ALL primitive camping!!!

We had record-setting low temps on Friday, and the 24 inch pine tree I was 50 feet up in before dawn was proving to have moves that would make a belly dancer blush...

I saw a number of sambar (though I was one of very few that did so).  Scouting, mapping, and planning are EVERYTHING on this hunt.  My doe peeked out about 9:30 am, and I didn't think she was so big until I realized that either end was on the opposite side of a 5 foot high palmetto bush.  She dropped right there, never went a step.  When I walked up to her afterwards, she looked like a cow!

Plan on carrying coolers FULL of ice (hearken back to the old adage, "if you are going fishing for Moby Dick, bring some tartar sauce").  My doe weighed in at 375 or so FIELD DRESSED, so you will need to store a lot of meat if you succeed.

Start working on a stepper or exercise bike RIGHT NOW, because you have to be in pretty good shape to get out to where you need to be for this hunt.  My tree lounge with wheels saved the day, though a cart with good wide wheels (to handle the deep beach sand) can handle the job.

Good Luck!  We ran out of drinking water on the last day, and ended up melting ice (it got so cold that the ice didn't melt in the coolers), so take at least 5 gallons drinking water per person!  The water on the island is brackish and NOT drinkable in any fashion.


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## secondseason (Aug 18, 2008)

RBaldree said:


> I was drawn for the black powder hunt two years ago, and had a blast!  There is a single campsite down at the bottom of the island that you will be using, and it is ALL primitive camping!!!
> 
> We had record-setting low temps on Friday, and the 24 inch pine tree I was 50 feet up in before dawn was proving to have moves that would make a belly dancer blush...
> 
> ...




Man that is awesome!!  Thank you for the info.


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## SlipperyHill Mo (Aug 18, 2008)

Went several years ago.

Bring your thermocell.

Bring your tennis shoes, lots of walking.

Bring your bug spray.

Camp on the beach.

Hunt the swamps, lakes on the middle of the island.

Good luck.


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## ClydeWigg3 (Aug 20, 2008)

secondseason said:


> I went to the mailbox......We got drawn for the hunt too!!!  I just can't believe it!!!  We are so excited!!!!
> 
> Just when I thought this day couldn't get any better!!!



Congrats!!!  May you have sharp straight flying arrows!


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## Fish_Bone (Nov 29, 2008)

Unbelievable!  Looks like I may not be going.  I had 2 buddies back out and 1 is a maybe.  Can't believe I finally made the draw and everyone is wussing out.

Secondseason....You still going?


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## shdw633 (Nov 29, 2008)

Fish_Bone said:


> Unbelievable!  Looks like I may not be going.  I had 2 buddies back out and 1 is a maybe.  Can't believe I finally made the draw and everyone is wussing out.
> 
> Secondseason....You still going?



Can the tags be transferred?  I wouldn't mind going, I wasn't fortunate enough to get drawn.


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## Fish_Bone (Nov 29, 2008)

Unfortunately, no.  The bad thing is I have a lot of friends that would like to go but the permit says "Non Transferable".


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## Mistrfish (Nov 30, 2008)

When i was living in Australia I had a couple of guys that worked for me that loved to hunt them. I went one time and that was enough for me, the mountains they hunt them in over there are thick and steep.  I couldn't carry a gun as I didn't have a gun licence or I may have went more but its no fun going when you cant shoot.


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