Northwoods Sporting Journal > Articles > Featured Articles > Benoit the Legacy

Benoit the Legacy

BY Lee Schanz

Larry Benoit was born in the mountains of Vermont in 1924. I’m sure growing up in the Depression made a lasting impression on him the rest of his life. Most people in Maine lived on deer meat and biscuits in those lean years, and I’m sure the citizens of Vermont did likewise. A background like that would tend to make you a good hunter, but with Larry it became more than that. He developed such a reputation that a book was published about his exploits in 1975.

“How to Bag the Biggest Buck of Your Life” was read by a 13 year old kid from New Vineyard, who promptly went north and killed a big buck of his own in 1979. This kid would bump into Larry on the road about 15 years later, while heading to Kokadjo to tag another big buck. This particular buck weighed 245 lbs. and is still the heaviest buck I have taken. Yeah, that kid was me. I don’t remember if I was in Kokadjo or Enchanted (I met him there as well), but Larry invited me to his house. Eventually, I made it to Duxbury and again several times after that. On one trip, I took my son, Stephen, and Larry’s wife made him cookies while Larry and I told each other about the big bucks we killed the year before. That was about 25 years ago, and I’m glad Stephen got to see a living room “wallpapered” with deer racks.

I bumped into Matt Vining (one of Maine’s best buck hunters) a while ago, and I remembered how Matt’s dad had told me about the Benoits parking their buses in his pit up on the Spencer Road back in the 90’s. A few days after seeing Matt, I texted Lanny (Benoit) wishing him a happy birthday. I hardly finished the text, and Lanny called me. We talked about all our adventures around Granny’s Cap Mountain and other places we’d killed big bucks. I’d no more than hung up the phone when Hal (Blood) called me and we “hunted” some more. When you’re a 13 year old kid, dare to dream. Dream Big!

Up to date:

When I started my business 25 years ago, I had no idea how far it would take me. My guide service has to support two families now that my son is part of it. We also have a couple other guides and a houndsman to help out. I’ve been blessed to meet many interesting people along the way and call them friends. A lot of these outdoorsmen were met at shows that I attended to build the business or at speaking engagements where I spread the word about “Big Woods Bucks”. I miss seeing Larry, but am grateful that I still see Lanny a couple times a year. We also talk on the phone occasionally and tell each other old deer stories. When you get older, you realize that the memories made are the most important part of hunting. Getting stuck and breaking down are not enjoyable at the time, but they add to the story later on. Walking back to your truck in the dark is part of your buck tracking day. It’s 4:30 in the morning as I am writing this. My son, Stephen, will be here at 5:00, and we will head to the woods on an adventure. I’m glad he was able to go to Larry’s house with me and meet a legendary deer hunter.

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