Opening morning deer rifle in Texas

[Brute 23]

Aside from the hunting aspect, when you site, there is no shortage of entertainment. There are 30+ deer, hogs, javalinas, bobcats, coyotes, Nilgia, illegals, etc. I've watched a mother bobcat training kittens to hunt quail. Mature bucks fighting over does. It's pretty entertaining you like watching wildlife.

To give you an idea of the deer population, they give out a does tag per 50ac on some of our stuff and some is 5 deer per hunter, no more than 3 bucks. They encourage and promote lowering the deer population.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Two different worlds. You can't walk around like that here.

The thicket doesn't play that way. You walk you won't see anything.

 

[Brute 23]

The thicket doesn't play that way. You walk you won't see anything.

Exactly, if you are a good hunter you adapt to what ever is necessary. Same with fishing or what ever else.

I went to Florida and loaded up on 17-19" trout in like 15min at the same spot. It was like pulling perch out of a pond. Bounced some old green lures with jigs down a slope to a cut. It's not like that in the Texas bays.

Same with the rifle and shotgun or bow debates. People who can shoot... can shoot whatever... people that can hunt... can hunt whatever... people that can fish... can fish whatever... and do with whatever is handy.

 

[Brute 23]

My mom decided she wanted to shoot a deer last year. We had a good buck during the rut but she ended up missing. It tough to take a deer in pursuit. We ended up rushing it and it didn't pan out.

This year, her knee surgery is during that Thanksgiving week. We are going south Friday to try again. I have been getting stuff ready making sure we have a blind she can get in, good chairs, taking a heater because its suppose to be cold and wet, etc. Im pulling out all the stops. LOL She is nervous about the surgery. My dad, my son, my mom and me are all going so she is looking forward to it.

My buddy asked me... what are you going to let her shoot (we do manage the deer to some extent)? I told him the biggest SOB that walks out. LOL What my mom wants... my mom gets. She deserves it.

 

[greybeard]

What my mom wants... my mom gets. She deserves it.

 

[SDM]

Here the deer season last 10 days. The limit is one buck. It is a draw for a tag. There is presently 825 tags available. There was 2,539 people who put this unit as their first choice. So the odds are 1 in 3 that you will draw a tag. There is also a program for "landowner preference" tags (LOP) which allows you to only hunt on your own property. They are based on the number of acres you own. I should technically get 3 tags a year (I am still limited to get one deer myself). There is competition for those too. The last 2 years I only got one LOP tag.

We get six weeks of firearm starting next week I guess. Right now is the middle of two weeks of muzzleloader, and bow started last month sometime. I just hunt my place so I don't have to have a license so it's been a while since I bought one. I think you get 6 or 8 "tags". In my county at least you can kill as many as you want to buy tags for and there should be two weeks of either sex at the end with a couple doe days before that. I do have to follow the bag limit rules, but I'm not familiar with them because they're more than enough for me. After that first 6 or 8, I may would have to buy "tags". I'm not sure. A while back they went to online check-in. I expect more are killed than are checked. The taxidermists and processors require them to have been checked though. Other parts of the state are different- shorter season, kill does before you can kill bucks, maybe even minimum size bucks.

 

[4hfarms]

So I saw the doe and the twins last night up by the barn as I was putting up the chickens. On the way back to the house, I heard the neighbor take a couple shots in complete darkness, during archery season. Rifle doesnt start until Saturday! Same guy that shot my turkeys last year. Raised them all summer and released them on my wifes birthday. Saw the turkeys enter the woods and heard the shot and saw a few fly away. 9 turkeys gone! 45 min after release.
No law enforcement here! EVER!

 

[Dave]

They encourage and promote lowering the deer population.

We have cougars and coyotes and now wolves to do that. We had a lot more deer then they outlawed hunting cougars with dogs. Fur prices on coyotes went through the floor so nobody is trapping them. Then the wolves........ well that is a political mess.

I generally find 4 to 6 cougar killed deer within 400 yards of the house every winter. South and west of here it is miles and miles to the next anything. There is most certainly hundreds if not thousands of predator killed deer every year between here and the next ranch.

 

[Brute 23]

We have cougars and coyotes and now wolves to do that. We had a lot more deer then they outlawed hunting cougars with dogs. Fur prices on coyotes went through the floor so nobody is trapping them. Then the wolves........ well that is a political mess.

I generally find 4 to 6 cougar killed deer within 400 yards of the house every winter. South and west of here it is miles and miles to the next anything. There is most certainly hundreds if not thousands of predator killed deer every year between here and the next ranch.

The place we hunt in wtx had like 5 mountain lions killed on in last year. There is a den full of bones on the place.

 

[tex452]

Two different worlds. You can't walk around like that here.

That's right.
If we walk around, all the deer will be in the neighbors.
I don't shoot much anymore, I do like to go out n watch.
Maybe a hog or coyote will come by.

 

[tex452]

We have cougars and coyotes and now wolves to do that. We had a lot more deer then they outlawed hunting cougars with dogs. Fur prices on coyotes went through the floor so nobody is trapping them. Then the wolves........ well that is a political mess.

I generally find 4 to 6 cougar killed deer within 400 yards of the house every winter. South and west of here it is miles and miles to the next anything. There is most certainly hundreds if not thousands of predator killed deer every year between here and the next ranch.

Wow.
I thought we had it bad.

 

[Dave]

Wow.
I thought we had it bad.

My place is over 1,200 acres. The last 5 years there has been 9 bucks shot on my property. In that same time there has been double that number of cat killed deer within 400 yards of the house. I am certain if you went into the chest deep sage brush that number would go way up. Trouble is you would darn near have to step on them to find them. As it is a good percentage of the ones I find the dogs find them for me.

 

[Brute 23]

Delete

 

[tex452]

Our problem is fawn survival, coyotes, bobcats and hogs keep our survival rate very low.
I saw 4 doe Saturday morning "the first doe I've seen this year " and only one had a yearling with it.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Our problem is fawn survival, coyotes, bobcats and hogs keep our survival rate very low.
I saw 4 doe Saturday morning "the first doe I've seen this year " and only one had a yearling with it.

Lepto from the hogs is denting the fire out of them.
Coyotes are harder on the fawn crop than anything else.
A pair of coyotes raising a liter take 19-20 fawns a season.
The best defense against hogs is aggressive trapping and fencing off the deer feeders or go to protein feeders with the nozzle 42" off the ground.
Stop supplementing the sows to raise bigger and healthier liters. The bobcat is least problem of the three.

 

[Dave]

The place we hunt in wtx had like 5 mountain lions killed on in last year. There is a den full of bones on the place.

The den full of bones is Hollywood. I have found fresh cat killed deer complete with tracks. Put the sneak on it morning and night trying to catch the cat. Never see the cat. But more deer is ate every day. In 3 or 4 days there isn't much left but bones. They eat them pretty close to where they kill them. Maybe drag them to better cover but that is it. They have a huge range so dragging them back to a den....... how many miles is that.

 

[Brute 23]

The den full of bones is Hollywood. I have found fresh cat killed deer complete with tracks. Put the sneak on it morning and night trying to catch the cat. Never see the cat. But more deer is ate every day. In 3 or 4 days there isn't much left but bones. They eat them pretty close to where they kill them. Maybe drag them to better cover but that is it. They have a huge range so dragging them back to a den....... how many miles is that.

WTF? We walk to it all the time. Are you dense? It's near a spring fed water hole.

 

[Dave]

WTF? We walk to it all the time. Are you dense? It's near a spring fed water hole.

No I am not dense. I am fairly knowledgeable about cougar behavior. I live amongst them 24/7. When was the last time you had one kill a deer within 100 yards of your house? How often do you find their tracks in your driveway? Two years ago there was 4 of them killed within about a half mile of my house. Not a story I heard. I saw the dead cougars. I actually saw 3 of them while they were still alive. Each of the last 2 years there have been 8 killed in the extended neighborhood. Live with them in your backyard and you will learn more about them.

 

[Brute 23]

No I am not dense. I am fairly knowledgeable about cougar behavior. I live amongst them 24/7. When was the last time you had one kill a deer within 100 yards of your house? How often do you find their tracks in your driveway? Two years ago there was 4 of them killed within about a half mile of my house. Not a story I heard. I saw the dead cougars. I actually saw 3 of them while they were still alive. Each of the last 2 years there have been 8 killed in the extended neighborhood. Live with them in your backyard and you will learn more about them.

You are waste of time. There must be an oxygen shortage in that bubble.

 

[FlyingLSimmentals]

Kentucky been having a great warm deer season. Rut has been in real well. Here's mine.