Benoit Brothers Big Buck Tracking School

By Thomas K. Remington

My job as an outdoor writer has provided me the opportunity to explore many parts of North America through the world of deer hunting, specifically white tail deer. During those exploratory times, I have met with and communicated with many different kinds of hunters.
 

Deer hunting is completely different from one state to the next for the average deer hunter. I chuckle at stories I read coming out of Pennsylvania as hunters there are complaining about not enough deer to hunt. Some have stated that they only see 15 or 20 deer on an outing. I haven’t seen 15 or 20 deer during an entire season hunting in Maine. I recall one year in the mid-1980s that I hunted everyday that the season was open, save one day. I saw zero deer!

Maine hunters have learned how to change and adapt to what Mother Nature has given us and thus some of us have become a different kind of hunter than the kind most read about in hunting magazines.

There are tree stand hunters, drivers, sitters, road hunters, heater hunters, lodge lizards, camp cozies, purists (whatever that means) and every other name you can come up with to describe the vast array of hunters.

Then there are the Benoit brothers! I met Lanny and Lane for the very first time in Allagash, Maine. Mike Paquette, owner of the Allagash Sporting Camps on the Inn Road, hosted a tracking school for those interested in forking out the cash to learn from perhaps a couple of the most successful big buck hunters around.

 

Lane Benoit - photo by Milt Inman

Lanny Benoit - photo by Milt Inman

The setting was probably ideal for the event. Mike has recently renovated his camps with an addition of a dining room that seats around 20 and can double as a classroom or meeting space. The hospitality extended to me and my good friend and chief photographer, Milt Inman, was at its finest.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect and I thought long and hard during the two-day trek we made getting from Greenwood, Maine to Allagash hauling a 25-foot fifth-wheel camper. I had heard stories, talked with those who had met the Benoits, read some stories and seen some videos.

It became crystal clear within the first few minutes of their arrival, that Lanny and Lane wanted to talk hunting. There was no glitter and no arrival in chauffeured limousines. No, they have their methods and made it clear that they were there to share and if you wanted to know about something, ask.
 

Eager hunters listen intently as Lanny Benoit, far left, explains some tactics he employs tracking big bucks. At center, in green camo t-shirt, brother Lane waits his turn to share. - Milt Inman photo

Lanny appeared to be the leader, at least between he and Lane but Lane is far from shy and jumps in with his excited stories and recollections.

If you really want to shoot big bucks consistently, probably the Benoits are the ones you need to go see. You can attend one of their classes, like I did, read a book or watch some videos but I have to warn you, you may not like what you see and hear.

More times than not, we can become victims of a marketing program. What I mean is that we hear glitzy marketing techniques aimed at getting hunters to buy a product – video, book, gadgets and gimmicks. You won’t get a hard sell from these boys. They want to talk tracking big bucks and if you’re interested you better listen closely.

Tracking bucks the Benoit way is hard work, time consuming and requires certain skills before heading out. I am willing to bet right now that the vast majority of deer hunters don’t hunt the way Lanny and Lane do and probably don’t have much interest in doing it either.

So, what is their way? First, you need energy and ambition. This can’t be bought at Cabela’s nor is it something you can learn. I think you either have a drive inside that makes you want to find big deer or you don’t. It’s a challenge that has to be conquered. For some, beating the big buck at his own game on his own turf, is the ultimate in deer hunting. The anticipation coupled with the rush that comes from seeing a full, heavy rack and a big-bodied deer, is what keeps big buck hunters searching, searching for a bigger deer.
 

Bob McMaster, volunteer safety instructor for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, teaches a class on safety and GPS operation. Bob says the woods in northern Maine is big and recommends all hunters learn to use and carry a GPS.- photo by Milt Inman

Second, you have to know how to shoot. One thing the boys expounded on was having the ability to shoot. It is one thing to track down a trophy buck but if you can’t hit the broad side of a barn in a split second you’ve covered a lot of territory for naught.

Yes, each individual possesses natural abilities and some can shoot more accurately than others. Lanny and Lane both say you have to shoot, shoot, shoot. Shoot any kind of gun they say. The more you shoot the more comfortable you become with a weapon and in time the gun will become an extension of you.

Lanny made no bones about the fact that he believes a bullet has to reach its target in the fastest possible time. He said a .270, .280 or .30-06 were rifles he would recommend for deer hunting his way. He referred to other popular deer guns as “lob guns” – meaning they lobbed a bullet from the muzzle at too slow a speed.

Let’s face it. We have all caught a glimpse here and a flash there, sometimes without even firing our guns. This is how it is in tracking your big buck. Lanny and Lane both say that the vast majority of the time, the opportunity that you are going to have to shoot the big buck is going to be a quick parting shot. It is seldom that a buck will ever fully reveal himself but occasionally they do make mistakes.

Third, you have to learn to recognize the right track. This takes practice. Over time, following tracks and catching up with your game, you learn what indicators within a track mean. A simple track can tell an educated hunter many things – size, gender, weight, age. What the deer is doing is most important as well. For example, deer don’t just stop walking and lay down. Often they hook a hard left or a hard right just before calling it a day.
 

Accommodations at the Allagash Sporting Camps can include a kitchen in the cabins. This depicts a newly renovated kitchen as part of a major overhaul the camps underwent recently by owner Mike Paquette. - photo by Milt Inman

Lane says that when there’s snow on the ground, he gets in his vehicle and drives back roads where he suspects there is a big buck around and drives until he cuts a track. After analyzing it, he makes a decision based on his knowledge of what the track, along with other parameters, tells him. Then it’s off!

Having the willpower and stamina to track a big buck is one thing but if you don’t understand what big bucks do you’ll lose. You have to learn to recognize the subtle things that are taking place with the deer track. This will alert you to what to expect. Then you can prepare and increase your odds for success.

I have shot a few 200 plus pound bucks in my day but few, if any, the Benoit way. When I was younger, I loved to track. I made my share of mistakes and sometimes I had success. More often than not I went home scratching my head.

In the area where I grew up, there was a family of boys who loved to hunt – the Bennetts. Actually, the Benoits remind me a lot of the Bennett boys, probably because of their passion for buck hunting. One of the Bennett boys would often have his gear packed the day before opening of deer season. After school, he put on his pack and headed for the high country. He would spend the night in the woods and be where he wanted to be when daylight arrived. Many times he wouldn’t return home until he had bagged his big buck and the proof was in his success rate.

Tracking big bucks the Benoit way is not for everyone. Then again not everyone has an inner drive that makes him or her want to hunt the trophy deer, consistently. If this is something you want to learn about, then you need to hook-up. Get their information and study it. There aren’t too many people who have this knowledge and fewer willing to share it. If you attend one of their schools, I guarantee they’ll answer your questions.
 

After an outstanding meal served in the main lodge, participants of the tracking school gather around the campfire and share war stories. - photo by Milt Inman.

The majority of those in attendance at the first annual Tracking School, were younger than me. I’d guess the average age to be 30. Hunters came from parts of Maine and New Hampshire. There was one who flew in from Maryland.

For the most part I’d say these guys had a drive, otherwise they wouldn’t have been there. Some had stories to tell but often were laced with disappointing endings. One young man kept asking how to finish off the hunt. His frustrations were clearly visible at not being able to complete the task. He claimed that he could track and catch up with big bucks, only to see the big white flag waving goodbye.

The Benoits offered no secret formula that they sell in a bottle to guarantee a big buck. What they did promote was hard work, determination, using your head and learning from mistakes and persistence.

These young “bucks” had some shooting talent. It was obvious that most of them have shot quite a bit. We visited the local gravel pit just down the road from the camps. Lanny and Lane brought clay targets, shotguns, rifles, a target launcher and plenty of rounds of ammo.

Everyone had a chance to shoot. All eyes were on Lanny when he stepped up with his shotgun to challenge the flying targets. Much to everyone’s surprise, he never lifted the gun to his shoulder. From the hip he rattled off a shot exploding the disk instantly. He did this several times.

Lanny says that he determined one day that he wanted to be a good shot so he began practicing until he became a champion shooter. It is this kind of determination that runs through his blood that makes him successful. Not many of us are blessed with the self-determination and will power these guys possess.
 

An unidentified marksman watches as a fellow classmate takes aim at a rolling target in the gravel pit. This was just one of many inventive skill testers used. - photo by Milt Inman

As the target practice lingered on, the creativity of shots got more complicated. Soon shooters were taking shots at flying clay targets with rifles. The highlight of the day came when Steve from Madawaska, Maine took out a target with a .243 rifle. It was quite impressive to witness. The mistake he made was attempting another shot with the same gun – he missed.

There were other skills tested in the gravel pit but an event that probably got a few heads to be scratched happened in the woods right behind camp. Some real Yankee ingenuity went into the development of a rig that would work as a simulator of a deer running through the woods.

Two devices were actually used. One was a relatively simple zip line. A cardboard cutout of a deer pulled down a trail in the woods. Hunters, one by one, were corralled in a designated area relatively thick with undergrowth and trees.

It wasn’t a completely realistic approach because the hunters knew it was going to happen, they just wasn’t sure when. When the zip line took off, each hunter had only about 2 or perhaps 3 seconds to take a shot.
 

Top photo is of a deer target mounted onto the arm of a custom designed cart. When cart moves the arm goes up and down simulating a jumping and running deer. The bottom photo is a deer target attached to a zip line. - photos by Tom Remington

The interesting gadget was the running deer simulator. The enclosed photo may help you understand it better than I can explain. The goal is to make the cardboard cutout of a deer appear to be running or bounding through the brush. As this contraption is pulled along, an imitation deer mounted on an arm bounces up and down. Obviously making for a much more difficult target to hit.

The school was more than just telling deer stories and shooting guns. On the first day, Bob McMasters from southern New Hampshire entertained and educated the troops on GPS use and safety. Bob is a volunteer instructor with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. He teaches one or two safety classes a year to would-be trappers.

Bob is a character and has an endless library of stories to tell – all 100% truth I would imagine.

All in all I would call the first annual big buck Tracking School a success. The host was extremely hospitable and the facilities more than adequate. The kitchen staff prepared some of the finest food with a selection of desserts that were out of this world.

Allagash Sporting Camps is a great place to go no matter what events you have planned for northern Maine.

I am happy that I had a chance to meet, talk with and learn from Lanny and Lane Benoit. I look forward to a time when our paths will cross again.

My gratitude is also extended to Mike Paquette and all the staff at the Allagash Sporting Camps. I know our paths will meet again soon.