Hey Everyone...first time poster here. Love the forum...great reading.

I am on a first year lease in Garza Co. about 10 miles north of Post off of HWY 207...mesquite, canyons, rough country. I am seeing deer tracks and signs everywhere, but am getting skunked at my feeder - as is my partner. Corn is not piling up, mineral blocks are getting hit, ground is trampled - but we haven't seen a thing!

Got out today and sat in blind, nothing. Walked canyons, ridges and tree lines...nothing. Finally got on 4-wheeler and drove 748 acres of fence line and didn't even spook anything. What the heck is going on? Anyone else hunt near Post/Garza Co? Thanks!

Welcome to the Forum...I have never hunted that country but if I were you I would put a trail camera at your feeders. Deer are probably hitting the feeders at night.

How long have you had your feeders and blinds in place?
Do you have cameras at the feeders?

As stated previously hang some cameras. Probably hitting them at night. Try sitting in your stand all day and see what happens. Stay put and resist the urge of driving the lease may actually be bumping the deer before you ever get a chance to see them. Good luck

Set up some cameras ASAP and you'll have the answers to your questions.

I hunt northwest of you a bit on the Crosby/Garza County line and have seen tons of deer so far this season. I'm covered up with does/fawns and 2yr old bucks. Haven't let a arrow go yet but there is still time. Give it time they will show up.

Well, season is over and wanted to update this post and hopefully get some feedback from other hunters nearby. I didn't fill a tag. I ended up seeing only 3 bucks all year. A nice young 8, one young 6 and one young 4. Not much mass on any so far. May be good in the future. I just didn't see many deer. I saw a regular group of 5-6 does/yearlings/button buck but that's about it. Never saw any deer just driving through the ranch. Seemed very nocturnal this year. Does big bodies, but not many of them and no fawns. 5000 acres low fenced and others on lease also not seeing many deer. Lots of hogs. Lots of coyotes. 90% sure I saw mountain lion tracks, but never saw or heard one. I am wavering in renewing on this same property. Any input? Anyone else in the area have similar experience. We have plenty of water on the place. Thanks.

Late summer rains created a bounty of forbs. Are your feeders near some decent cover. It makes a BIG difference. If it's fairly open country, the deer could be using the area at night. Need to find the cedar covered draws and setup a feeder near the thickest stuff you can find. Setup your stands up on the sides of the ridges or cliffs. This year has been tough hunting just about everywhere. That area has some great deer. This is not a good year to judge a place by. I've hunted Kent cty to the east of Garza, and Dickens to the north. Large bucks for sure. Just not the numbers as a lot of other counties. You might only see a handful of bucks each year. There are some real Dandies though.

Well, I have two different set-ups. One is in a low area with a tank in the middle, a canyon to one side, a ridge immediately behind the blind and then a dry playa lake bed. Scrub mesquite and brush are around the tank. The feeder is substantially below the surrounding areas. It seems like a good spot. Set-up 2 was an experiment. I have the blind up on the top of a high ridge and the feeder pen down in a flat grassy area in the canyon. Not as much brush, but nice ridge lines and pathways in the canyon. Never saw a deer one in daylight at this set-up. If I remain on the place there is an area to the north of set-up 1 with thicker brush that may be a holding area. I may set up a 12' stand in there and see what I can see. We had fires on half the ranch last year and are going on 3 years of drought...but there are 3 tanks holding water within 1 mile of each set-up including the one right next to set-up 1. I am going to be the only hunter that feeds year round his year so maybe that will give me an edge next year. Thoughts?

The ranch in Dickens caught fire a couple of years ago. It completely changed the deers movement in those pastures. They utilize them at night. It seems to have condensed the deer in the non-burned areas though. It sounds to me like your place has potential, just find the thickest area on the land and concentrate your efforts there. There are Mulies in Garza cty also, quite a few in some areas. Good luck.

You need to set trail cameras!!!

It will help you make a better desition.

Lots of coyotes and hogs? Thats bad news. Any livestock to contend with?

There is livestock on the ranch, but not an overwhelming number. Feeders are fenced, but cows do a number on the land for sure. There definitely are too many coyotes and I will begin to thin them out soon. The hogs are present, I have killed three since December. There aren't dozens of hogs, but trail cams show groups of 12-15 at night.

This was a odd year on our lease in Nolan County. I shot two does and one other hunter shot a nice eight point. The other three hunters did not pull the trigger on anything except hogs. Even hogs were scarce this year.

Hello neighbor! I hunt off of 207 about 12 miles north of post as well... We have very similar terrain as what you've described, but I'm hunting 320 acres of a 2,000 acre place.

Here's my two cents...we've had poor fawn recruitment for the last two years at our place. This year was also a very warm year, and the deer didn't have to move a lot to find food. Also, there are many hunters around the areas that we are hunting and the deer seem to be very educated when a lot of other people (hunters) are out there. I've noticed my best opportunities come from hunting during the week and hunting cold fronts. Outside of those opportunities, daytime sightings are few and far between.

You could consider hunting some mesquite thickets if you have some on your place. Those seem to produce the most number of daytime settings.

I noticed the same thing. Cold fronts and grey cloudy days were the only times I saw deer. I am going to set-up another spot in some thicker mesquite for next year. I got on lease late and didn't have time to adequately scout everything. We see groups of deer on trail cams so I know there are a few out there. Do you feed year round? How is your coyote population?

I'd feed year round if I could afford it, but normally start my set ups a month before bow season. We have lots of coyotes and even more wild hogs, so we build feed pens to keep out the pork.