Well looks like I found a great deal on a lease southwest of abilene. I will be going up next weekend to start looking around, its 640 acres low fence with 4 other guys. It was $800 so I am going to take a shot at it. All of us are going to be new to the lease but in short it has been protien fed for 8 years and had 3 little food plots that we will have to up again. I would like to know about the deer pop and hog pop out there. I'm not really in it for the trophy aspect as much as the company and good times but I would like to know I'm going to see deer and I am really excited about getting back into bow hunting. Any info would be appreciated and thank for your time .

there are some hella good deer out there!!! post pics when you start seeing them.

Sweet we will have cameras up soon thanks.

Sounds like a great deal...Lots of deer around Buffalo gap area.

Not sure about where buffalo gap is but I know we are about 22 south west of abilene. How is the hog pop out there.

Five guys on 640 acres is going to be pretty crowded.

You will soon know where Buffalo Gap is, a small town south of Abilene. 2 decent eating places and a great one. Make reservations to go to Perini's and check out their food.

At 22 miles you should be around HWY 89 and HWY 277, in the hills, some good areas in that area. Farther south it turns flat and more cultivated acres. Farther west the same. I have seen deer in that area, but haven't hunted it since 1969 or 1970.

We had a place west of Bradshaw, didn't see hardly any deer but there was alot of hogs, needless to say that is why we are not there anymore.

Was that price per gun or for the lease? We were on a small lease right at the Taylor / Runnels county line just outside of Lawn. Over the last several years the deer population seemed to drop off and the hog population exploded.

Thanks for all the input. We are paying 800 a gun and have full access year round with water and electric. I know its going to be crowded but I would probably not hunt on weekends and I am really hoping it doesn't turn out bad. I'm really don't care about trophy s as much as I do just getting out and enjoying myself. Hopefully there are quite a few deer, from what the last owners said it was great and they would see at least three deer per hunt most of the time more.

Had a lease in Bradshaw that bordered 83. Had a few deer on the trail cams at night, very rarely in the daytime. One monster bodied 8 point, that came every night about 2am. Tons and tons of hogs, and lots of tresspassers who didnt mind having their pix took by the trailcams. In fact pretty bold and blantent about it. I had the GW on speed dial, as well as the Taylor County SO, but never caught anyone.

I hunt a little place about 10 miles south of Merkel. That's gotta be fairly close to you. We have some pretty nice deer. The hog population seems to have really gone up this spring though. We'll see how much that affects the deer. Definitely worth the money you're spending.

And yes, go to Perini's.

Check out the BBQ Barn, good food and good people. A blue collar type of place, where everyone is made to feel welcome.

Thanks for all the input, anyone else chime in if you got anything

Our place is 7 miles west of 277 on 89. Quite a few deer for us, hog population is very high!

Found out our ranch is the sears chumlea ranch. Not sure if anyone knows it but maybe someone does. Thanks again

its in the middle of no where and the food is so so for what you pay!!! The food is good, but for how expensive it is, its not that good! the times i have been there, service was pretty crappy. Thats most every time i have gone too. But if you do go, the little bitty loaf of bread is dang good!! you will eat 10 of those!

Good luck and hitting up Perini's is a must. It is great. Not sure if it is still open, but Deutschlander's used to be pretty good too.

Thanks we are going this sat to check everything out. I will post pics when I get back and let you all know about it. Thanks

This is why I don't hunt the area anymore. Use to be some good deer out that way, but about 5 or 6 years ago it started going down hill. Our place was off of Hwy 277 just past the windmills. Good luck

Down around Buffalo Gap in the callahan divide is beautiful, by far the best looking part of Taylor county.

Plenty of deer and pigs in that area..

We don't hunt many people on our place but my gosh, the nieghbors prolly have a hunter per forty acres. One of our fence lines has 10 blinds down it. If I have the time, when we have a cow die I usually try to dump along the fence. Also have a problem with people poaching the wheat fields. Had a few donkeys a couple years ago and three were shot right behind the shoulder. They must have thought they were mule deer

Wow , good news is ranch is surrounded by family on all sides with 1000 + acre ranches and they do not hunt. I asked about poaching and thieves and they said neither has happened to thier knowledge.

We were on the Taylor Runnels line west of Bradshaw. Very few deer but 1000's of hogs. it was a hog lease with some deer. had a Corp. lake south of use that brough a good crane population in.

Also had some nice pictures of someone resetting my feeders