Man I'm really itching....

[Bobcatfan4life]

for some west Texas whitetail hunting!!! ;D

2 1/2 weeks until my yearly week long hunting trip to west Texas!

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[txstar]

I hear you bobcat...I've been to the Ranch in So. Texas three times and have seen the typical early season pattern...but, I think this weekend may get them running after does...I've seen really big 3 and 4 year olds and am ready to glass some 6 year olds and let the .300 mag fly.

[tvc184]

............................I've seen really big 3 and 4 year olds and am ready to glass some 6 year olds and let the .300 mag fly.

Having hunted in east Texas all of my life and I can confirm that deer don't live to be 5 or 6 years old.  ;D

[westend1]

A few might if they pass this new 13" rule.

[tvc184]

A few might if they pass this new 13" rule.

Nah... that will extend their life expectancy to 3 years or 4 at the outside. It will tend to get a majority of them past their first year of life however which would be an accomplishment.

[Bucof2010]

A few might if they pass this new 13" rule.

Nah... that will extend their life expectancy to 3 years or 4 at the outside. It will tend to get a majority of them past their first year of life however which would be an accomplishment.

It will for a while but a deer with any resemblance of decent genetics can get that spread at a year I believe.

[BucketSitR]

I am a strong believer in this new rule. I have seen the results on several leases that started this on there own up to 10+ years ago. I could go on and on but i won't at this time..

Would you like to see my latest LPD.. I will post it here first in a day or two... By the way I am staying EAST!

[tvc184]

East of what?

[mustang]

A few might if they pass this new 13" rule.

NAh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We'll just get better at getting them past the gate!

[mustang]

No seriously I'll obey the new rule but I  wish the state would consider that no everyone is trophy hunters. I'm a meat hunter with kids and do not care one iota about whether or not I kill a trophy mount.  My kids kill every year and that means a lot to me.  I hunt in east Texas and will not break the law but I won't like it and it will mean that a lot of garbage deer will go from one year to the next unchecked.

[BucketSitR]

I hear what you are saying. I am a firm believer in taking a kid. You can always harvest does and a spike for meat. When you let your buck herd get a little more age on them the opportunities for kids becomes greater and is very enjoyable. For some it is a hard pill to swallow, but in the end the rewards are good.

And i am not talking about only 150 class trophies, but some real nice deer for anybody.

Try to find someone that has been under this rule for a few years and see what they are starting to see.

BucketSitR

[tvc184]

A 13" buck is not a trophy deer, it is a quality deer. If anyone wants meat then they need to take does and spikes which will be legal. I haven't killed a buck in five years and yet I have killed and eaten a lot of venison.

If we let the deer grow beyond their first year then we will still have as many targets but they will have some size on them. If a person wants the meat as I do, it is better a 3.5 or older deer than a 1.5 year old baby.

[westend1]

The pervasive "kill anything that moves" attitude of so many people really astounds me.  It seems that some people(alot of people) don't enjoy their time in the woods unless they kill something.  I have a kid and he likes to shoot stuff as much as anyone, but he now takes pride in passing on small deer.  If you just need meat, it's probably a lot cheaper to just buy some and get off the lease.

[643]

The pervasive "kill anything that moves" attitude of so many people really astounds me.  It seems that some people(alot of people) don't enjoy their time in the woods unless they kill something.  I have a kid and he likes to shoot stuff as much as anyone, but he now takes pride in passing on small deer.   If you just need meat, it's probably a lot cheaper to just buy some and get off the lease.

I hunt to kill. but I don't have to kill to enjoy the hunt...WW

[tvc184]

I hunt to kill otherwise I wouldn't bring a gun or bow. I don't hunt to eat however and passing young deer should be the law. No, on second thought, it shouldn't be the law. People should have enough sense to let a deer grow beyond its first year of life before it becomes a target so people can hear their gun go boom. If someone needs meat that bad, shoot rabbits or squirrels. A few of them are almost as big as some of the deer that I have seen killed and you don't need tags.

[Bobcatfan4life]

9 more days and I'm heading west.... ;D

[BearBryant]

Going in 10 days myself. 

Cannot wait. 

[BearBryant]

The pervasive "kill anything that moves" attitude of so many people really astounds me.  It seems that some people(alot of people) don't enjoy their time in the woods unless they kill something.  I have a kid and he likes to shoot stuff as much as anyone, but he now takes pride in passing on small deer.   If you just need meat, it's probably a lot cheaper to just buy some and get off the lease.

I bet you're on  a trophy type lease as well. My two boys pass on deer  but I'm not going to deny them if they see a 4 point on opening day.  To some a trophy may just be that 4 point.  As long as people are hunting legally, don't knock them.  Its the illegal guys that we should take issue with, not the legal hunters. 

[westend1]

I'm not on a trophy lease.  I share 1200 acres in the hill country which is low fenced and has hunters on all sides.  We, as a group, have decided to shoot nothing less than 4 1/2 years and have tried to learn how to age deer on the hoof.  In 6 years, we have started seeing more and better bucks.  It's not a trophy lease, but we are doing our best to make it one and our efforts have paid off, to some degree.

The minimum spread is not the ideal answer, but it's better than what we have now in east Texas.  Maybe once the herds get a little age on them, then we can start working on culling inferior deer.

ps--If your kids shoot 4 point bucks and you think spikes are culls, exactly what do they pass on, 3 pointers?

[Bobcatfan4life]

I'm not on a trophy lease.  I share 1200 acres in the hill country which is low fenced and has hunters on all sides.  We, as a group, have decided to shoot nothing less than 4 1/2 years and have tried to learn how to age deer on the hoof.  In 6 years, we have started seeing more and better bucks.  It's not a trophy lease, but we are doing our best to make it one and our efforts have paid off, to some degree.

Ditto. I'm on 5500 acres just northwest of Ozona and we try to manage our herd for bigger deer and have started seeing the fruits of our labor over the last 2 years. I'm more anxious for this trip than any before after seeing some absolute monsters last year that I couldn't get a shot at....

[Bobcatfan4life]

My dad took this guy last year

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[westend1]

My dad took this guy last year

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That's a nice hill country buck!

[Bobcatfan4life]

I saw a buck 2 years ago with twice the rack size of the one above (well maybe not twice the size but he was definately bigger)  ;D We have a stand that sits on a point where two draws meet and he was across the draw walking away from me, probably a good 500 yards at least and I saw him with my naked eye and saw nothing but antler. I'm hoping he's still roaming that area.... 8)

[westend1]

If he was twice that big, in Ozona, I'm expecting some severe ground shrinkage.    ;D

[Bobcatfan4life]

All I know is he's a hoss and I hope he's still there. Dang, now I'm really ready to get out there!