St. Vincent NWR Sambar Hunt

Modern Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Modern Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

fixin2

Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
I was lucky enough to get drawn for the Sambar Deer hunt on St. Vincent Island by Apalachicola, Fl. this year. The hunt is next week and I was wondering if anyone else on the forum was lucky enough to get drawn for this hunt. The island is supposed to be full of snakes and bugs and it's primitive camping on the beach only. Snakeboot city. No running water or electricity. I'm in the process of putting my gear together for the trip right now. I'm taking my CVA Wolf for the hunt and maybe my bow also. Taking a bike and my Ol' Man treestand. Plenty of pigs to hunt there as well. Should be an adventure for an old man with a bad back.

Just realized this was my 1st. post. Dangitman.
 
How exciting. Although I would not be too crazy about the snakes to be real honest with you. Snakes don't scare me actually, but I have a theory.. I leave them alone, and they leave me alone.

That hunt sounds really exciting. Take lots of pictures, good luck, and I will be waiting for your hunting report.
 
Yes will be waiting for your report and your photos, check your bed roll before you get in at night.
 
Since I don't own a boat anymore I have to charter a boat over to the island. There's no dock so I will have to walk all my gear through the surf and across the beach, then find a campsite. That's coolers of ice, a bike, camping gear, treestand, rifle, clothes, ect. The snakes, well I hunt in Florida & Georgia so I'm somewhat used to them. Rattlers usually will just move out of your way if they see you in time. Moccasins on the other hand can be very aggressive. I have a really good pair of 18" LaCrosse snake boots so that helps and I also have some hip length snake chaps if I have to go deep into the brush. Stands of palmetto are incredibly thick though and tough to walk in. Should be an adventure though.
 
Ok... Well I had a great hunt on St. Vincents. I did not however kill a Sambar as I had hoped to do. The weather was unseasonably hot for December with temps into the 80's. It was my 1st time on the island so I was somewhat flying blind. I arrived late on Wednesday afternoon and was unable to hang my stand prior to the hunt, just barely made the hunter orientation meeting. I was able to find a tree for my climber late in the morning on the 1st day of the hunt but didn't see anything at all. I did see a group of about a dozen whitetails stampede behind the beach dunes and that was amazing, a beautiful sight. All I could do was watch them though as they were not eligible to be harvested. This area was about a two mile bike ride from the camp. I did see a couple of Sambars weighed in and they are a very cool looking creature for sure. The biggest one that I saw before I left field dressed out to 380# if I am not mistaken. There were a total of 6 Sambars and one pig harvested before I left on Saturday.

Next hunt if I am successful in the lottery I will go armed with a bit more knowledge and a different strategy. I think some of it is just blind luck and some planning. The second morning of my hunt there were several hunters around my area that I could almost throw a rock at if I wanted to. That kind of bummed me out. The pic's below are of a Sambar being weighed-in and a rub on the trunk of the biggest magnolia tree I've ever seen. The gashes in the tree are about four feet off the ground and the tree is probably 3 1/2-4 feet in diameter. Definitely a fun hunt and one I would recommend to anyone up for the challenge. Hopefully next hunt I will not have to hire a captain to ferry me over. Taking my bike was the best thing I did, and the roads were ok to travel on. The fishing was also good and there are oysters to be had if you don't mind walking.

IMG_20131205_132641.jpg


IMG_20131205_145833.jpg


IMG_20131205_115542.jpg
 
:yeah:

CONGRATS and thanks for the story and the pics. I had no idea what this deer looked like. It has a very unusual rack. 8)

Ray......... :wink:
 
I might also add that I have an entry level muzzleloader, a CVA Wolf. It was covered in rust by the third day on the island. I always keep a thin film of oil on my rifles and this one still rusted big time. Not too stoked. I think it's time to move up a couple of notches with a higher quality rifle, probably a Thompson or a Knight.
 
Very good pictures and an exciting story. Thanks for the hunt results. I had never seen that particular deer. But will do some reading on it.
 
That is one neat looking critter. Sort of reminds me of a small version of a Red Deer Stag.
 
That is a nice animal. I recall hearing about that unique hunt and have thought about it for some time. Something about hunting on an island fascinates me for some reason.
 
Great stuff mate, sambar are one of the main deer we hunt here in Australia and are a great animal to chase. Can get to some very impressive sizes too.


I prefer meat in its original packaging

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have an odd question and I hope it isn't offensive. What are the opinions of other hunters who obtain that Island hunt about people from out of state? I know in some places there is a little bit of animosity when local hunters see a out of stater or outsider hunting "their" place. I have been intrigued by this hunt as well as some stories I have read about hunting the coastal islands of Georgia for whitetail and feral hog but I wonder if me as a hunter from Connecticut would be welcomed or shunned. Again please don't be upset about this post but I have seen similar things even in my neck of the woods. Thanks
 
I got my first draw for the SVNWR Sambar hunt this year. It was my third year as part of a group and fourth time submitting altogether. Looking to see if there are any others who might be in the Jax, FL area who has experieince with this hunt. Iknow it will be a tough hunt but I cannot to get to it!
 
Big bore- I'm not talking about the place in particular you are but that really peeves me off. I hate that so many hunters are so selfish they don't like the idea of anyone else hunting "their" state. In Australia people don't like even their friends (for the most part) hunting their areas. I think we have enough people against us without us fighting amongst each other.
Hunting should be something everyone can enjoy regardless of where you were born or where you call home. I spose for me, I badly want to hunt te states for many animals over my lifetime. I've already been told by a couple of people that they don't want me there and I shouldn't be allowed to hunt their state. Which is frustrating, always happy to help out others short of giving people the exact locations of where I hunt (excluding close friends and family).
We have two draws in Australia one for red deer in qld and one for hog deer in my state and anyone from any state in Australia can apply and regardless of whether you're resident or non and you get he same odds. Our govt looks at it like this, we aren't Victorians and queenslanders or Tasmanians, we're Australians and were equal no matter where we live. About the only decent thing they can agree on!


I prefer meat in its original packaging

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hello JP:

I agree with you on what you said. It is an unfortunate fact of life that some hunters are less than friendly.
 
bigbore442001 said:
I have an odd question and I hope it isn't offensive. What are the opinions of other hunters who obtain that Island hunt about people from out of state? I know in some places there is a little bit of animosity when local hunters see a out of stater or outsider hunting "their" place. I have been intrigued by this hunt as well as some stories I have read about hunting the coastal islands of Georgia for whitetail and feral hog but I wonder if me as a hunter from Connecticut would be welcomed or shunned. Again please don't be upset about this post but I have seen similar things even in my neck of the woods. Thanks

Well honestly, most of the people that I met on the hunt were pretty cool. A lot of respect for each other to just rough it on a hunt of this nature. It wouldn't bother me though. I believe only about 50% to 70% of those drawn actually show up anyway. I think you'd be welcome and you'd make some great friends over the hunt. Go for it.

It's always good to have a token Yankee to make fun of their dialect and accent. :wink: We can introduce you to the good things like shrimp and grits, or fried mullet and cheese grits. I'm sure you'd have a great time and make sure to bring snake boots, a mountain bike, climbing stand, Therma Cell, DEET and fishing tackle also. Let us know if you get picked in the draw. Good Luck! :yeah:
 

Latest posts

Back
Top