I've a question for you west Texas hunters. I hunt about 7 miles north east of Robert Lee, and it seems like we have no scavengers out there. We shot two deer and returned a week later and the guts and skin appeared left alone. Like wise, I've killed multiple coons and nothing ate them. I had a doe fawn get hung on the fence, she looked like she was mummified, It didn't appear to have been touched, not even by the buzzards. Anyone else notice this out west?

thats strange.....

You want see many buzzards in West Texas. I hunted for a few years in Pecos County and none there. To much wind. Looking a some leases now out that way, one is in Brewster County. If there are no bobcats, coyotes, panthers ect then there usually ain't no critters to gobble up that stuff.

Buzzards migrate. Particularily the red headed ones. Some of the black headed ones are still around, but you won't find them everywhere.

Why you have no coyotes, foxes, or even opposums eating off the gut piles is beyond me.

Buzzards migrate. Particularily the red headed ones. Some of the black headed ones are still around, but you won't find them everywhere.

Why you have no coyotes, foxes, or even opposums eating off the gut piles is beyond me.

Nice site deerfeeder.

The red headed ones are turkey vultures, the black-headed ones are black vultures. Mostly Turkey vultures west of the pecos.

We used to hunt in Luckenbach and it was the same way. We'd be out there a week at a time and gut piles would never get touched. The owners said they had never even heard a coyote out there.
It was weird.

in the 4 years that I (the bank) have owned the place, I've heard a coyote 4 times and a very small pack once. I know that in Tom Green county when we were looking to buy a place, they had signs out keep your do on a leash, due to poison. Thats probably the reason, it's just crazy. Stuff mummifies before it's eaten

in the 4 years that I (the bank) have owned the place, I've heard a coyote 4 times and a very small pack once. I know that in Tom Green county when we were looking to buy a place, they had signs out keep your do on a leash, due to poison. Thats probably the reason, it's just crazy. Stuff mummifies before it's eaten

nothing but caracaras and buzzards eat at our gut piles.


i've seen some instances where deer have died and not been reduced to bones by coyotes...and were in south texas...have lots of predators.

that is strange though that nothing is eating on them...maybe the hunting is good and they don't have to survive on dead crap

being very familiar with that area thats not all that strange, the buzzards are gone, there are very few pigs there, fox and coons have plenty to eat elswhere, that leaves skunks and possums and believe me there are still plenty of them!

Our gut piles in western Mills are almost always cleaned up overnight. We have one area where we bring our deer to field dress them so the varmints come by and check for free meals pretty regular. In addition to the normal predators we also have a lot of badgers.

i used to hunt a lease just out side of sterling city and the folks there worked hard to keep cyotes, bob cats and anything else that might wanna eat a sheep cleaned out. rancher always said if we saw a yote to shoot it and he buy us a box of bullets but i never saw one down there... in three years not one yote on the at place for me... I donno but that may have somthing to do with your gut piles notgetting cleaned up

We have buzzards out the kazoo here in West Texas and I am further west than you are talking about. Buzzards migrate out of here in the winter and go to Mexico to drink Tecate' beer with a slice of lime and kick back at the pool. They leave out sooner some years than others and show back up when the weather dictates that it will be warm.

Poison might be the thing. Lots of sheep and goats over that way that you are talking about and good trapping, poison , and lots of calling will decrease the numbers of varmints that will scavenge on remains. But, with the drop in the price of goats and sheep, varmints are on the rebound. Hides are worth nothing, so you may end up with more varmints than you want.

i hunted that are for a long time and didnt see one coyote...i think a lot of it has to do with the fact that its sheep country...snares are everywhere and other methods are used to defend the sheep...up where i hunt there are no sheep or goats and we are loaded with yotes..as for the rest of the critters i dont know...

I sure miss hunting in west Texas!