Sambar deer in Florida
07-03-2013, 04:11 AM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Middleburg
Posts: 36
Sambar deer in Florida
I originally posted this in hogs and exotics but I am not getting any input so it was recommended to try here. I am sure I am not the only one on here to actually get drawn for this hunt and I am looking for all the advice I can get. With three days to hunt and a 3% success rate I want to be as prepared for success as possible.
Hay ya’ll,
After five years of applying my wife and I got selected for the Sambar Deer hunt on St. Vincent’s Island. We did the white tail hunt there a couple of years ago and had a great time so we know about the snakes, bugs, camping, unpredictable weather and will definitely be taking a bicycle this time.
Does any have any useful tips or information on hunting these beasts? I would love to hear from someone who has done it before. I know it’s a low probability hunt and would like to be as prepared as possible. I am thinking about taking my boat out for a pre-hunt scouting trip a couple of weeks in advance.
If anyone is reading this from out west, I would like to talk about Black Powder loads for elk and shot placement on an animal like this. I usually take shoulder shots on deer and hogs, it stops them in their tracks but I have never hunted anything this heavily boned, so I don’t know how wise that would be with a muzzle loader on this critter.
Thanks in advance,
Jack
Hay ya’ll,
After five years of applying my wife and I got selected for the Sambar Deer hunt on St. Vincent’s Island. We did the white tail hunt there a couple of years ago and had a great time so we know about the snakes, bugs, camping, unpredictable weather and will definitely be taking a bicycle this time.
Does any have any useful tips or information on hunting these beasts? I would love to hear from someone who has done it before. I know it’s a low probability hunt and would like to be as prepared as possible. I am thinking about taking my boat out for a pre-hunt scouting trip a couple of weeks in advance.
If anyone is reading this from out west, I would like to talk about Black Powder loads for elk and shot placement on an animal like this. I usually take shoulder shots on deer and hogs, it stops them in their tracks but I have never hunted anything this heavily boned, so I don’t know how wise that would be with a muzzle loader on this critter.
Thanks in advance,
Jack
10-27-2013, 06:21 AM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
I put in for this hunt when I lived in P/Cola. Never drew it but I knew some guys that did. Their advice was to expect to get wet if you want a chance at a sambar. They are basically a swamp deer from India and Southwest Asia. So find the swamps and marshes and go into them. Like most swamps, there will be areas of dry ground and that's where to find them. The people I knew that hunted the place also said to bring mountain bikes with big fat tires to get around on to save walking. A canoe might not be a bad idea either.
As to blackpowder loads, I grew up hunting elk in Colorado. I used a .54 Renegade for elk during muzzleloader season and my favorite load was a 425 grain pre-lubed Buffalo Bullet over 110 grs of FFG. That big slow chunk of lead would plow through just about anything and it would expand to over an inch in diameter on the way through. If I was hunting sambar in the swamps I'd be trying to break at least one shoulder. I'd hate to chase a wounded one through the swamp if I could avoid it.
As to blackpowder loads, I grew up hunting elk in Colorado. I used a .54 Renegade for elk during muzzleloader season and my favorite load was a 425 grain pre-lubed Buffalo Bullet over 110 grs of FFG. That big slow chunk of lead would plow through just about anything and it would expand to over an inch in diameter on the way through. If I was hunting sambar in the swamps I'd be trying to break at least one shoulder. I'd hate to chase a wounded one through the swamp if I could avoid it.
Last edited by flags; 11-14-2013 at 01:24 AM.
