any of yall who hunt in south texas seen any good deer yet? i have only seen one whitetail buck that was worth talkin about. he would be in the 150's . it has been so warm on the weekends that hunting is miserable. i did see a very good axis buck though. Holler back and tell me about yalls deer

I didn't pull the trigger but have seen a few decent deer. Here is one that has a lot of points and is a decent buck.



Here is a picture of a wide one. I saw both of them over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Man those are some really nice deer, I know i oculdn't have let the one with all the stickers walk, they are the coolest horns ive ever seen.

matt

Nice...first one with the kickers....I probably would have shot, hard to tell age from that photo, but maybe what 4 1/2 and another year would be great...The second...I would pass him, not enought length for me.

My buddy invited me down this weekend to his ranch in S. Texas, said the bigger ones I starting to show, but I am going the third weekend in Dec...typically start of rut anyway......I am pheasant hunting this weekend....or I would go. They did shoot a 7 pt cull and a 138 10 that was a management buck at 5 1/2........

If not all ready, I think rut is about to be in full swing by the weekend... I had small bucks all over the place chasing does everywhere... I only saw one real nice 8-10pt that didnt give me enuff time to get a shot last weekend. I am in south east tx, karnes county... been trying to find hunting reports for south texas too...

What magazine did these pics come out of? Cause I know you did not pass a shot on either of them!

I agree. Have to call BS on this one guys.

Kinda looks like a set up.

Way too early for the rut in deep South Texas. Just back from hunting where Brooks, Hidalgo, and Jim Hogg counties come together.

I had a bachelor group of bucks come out of a thicket about 90 yards away walking nose to tail. This was the eleventh buck out and it turned and walked straight to me. I shot it with a Beartooth 280-grain WFNGC at 35-yards out of my 444T.



So... two desert whitetails down and this week is desert mule deer with the 444.


RD's 2005 Marlin kills...
...the only rifle I hunt with!

Congrats on a nice buck, Ranch Dog.

That is one big monster. Congrats.

I'm doubting that these 2 pics are from this year. Take a look at the brush. I hunt near Uvalde and everything is still very lush and green. Nothing like these pics.

You guys crack me up. The pictures were taken last week on my ranch near Fowlerton Tx. I shot a buck that made Boone & Crockett last year so am in no hurry to shoot a buck this year. If you want to become a trophy hunter you have to pass up some pretty good deer. I may shoot the multi-tined deer after the rut as he appears to be 7.5 years old. I want him to spread his genes first.

M16, those are some very impressive deer. I would go with you on the kicker buck. He is something else and should probably score plenty high. Looks very mature and you definately want that seed spreading. It is very hard for most of us to think about passing those deer but as you said after a B&C last year you can be very selective and that is how you grow monster. Keep it up as it is obviously working.

16: Are your horns down this year compared to last?

SmallGauge, Yes the horns are down this year. We didn't get much rain during the critical months of April, May and June. Although I do supplemental feeding of protein and cottonseed mother nature still is a big factor. Maverick and Zavala counties are doing very well this year but the rest of South Texas has been spotty. A lot of those areas suffering had poor fawn crops five and six years ago so mature age class bucks are harder to come by. I just got back from the ranch and bucks are really chasing the does. I would expect deep South Texas and the western part to kick off with the cold weather predicted for the end of this week. Good luck to everybody.

That's a great buck Ranch Dog!! Congrats!

My buddy hunts his family ranch down in Dimmit County and their year is very slow so far. He only took a spike all of Thanksgiving b/c that is all he saw. They are on MLP and their 8,000 acre portion needs 120 deer off of it and he said they have only taken 8 so far and not seen anything big. Now they really will not shoot a big deer at all and only take culls and does. They lease out 4,000 acres and that guy gets 60 MLP. This was the first year that during their helicopter survey they did not see a single book deer. They normally will see 6 to 9 book but not this year. Food plots never came up like last year but that is normal down there.

Great looking deer Michael, congratulations and Good Luck on your Muley hunt.

That must be some ranch your buddy has. Six to Nine book deer a year? Is that Texas book or Boone & Crockett book? If he is on MLDP and only saw a spike he needs a new biologist. How could you only see a spike and need to take 120 deer off the place?

It is some ranch. 12,000 acres on the Nueces. Don't know if he means 150 or 175. I have watched the heli video and there are giant deer there and they will never see them their whole life except from the helicopter. Their neighbors have taken 200+ B&C deer. They got it in mid-80's and started managing it in mid-90's. Their rut is mid-Dec so that is how you only see one spike in 90's temps with a full moon at night. He saw more than that but not under 500 yards away and only for a second. They don't feed protein and it is high fenced on 3 sides on the Nueces River. It is like that every year. But with no rain, no giant deer. Last year, tons of rain, they had some giant deer spotted. They do not shoot many deer until after Thanksgiving. And they meet their quota every year. They would lose the MLP's if they didn't and have until the end of Jan to take the deer. I have been there in the spring to fish and saw one or two deer the whole weekend. Just because you have 12,000 acres in brush country doesn't mean you see tons of deer. Last year they got worried about meeting their quota but they always make it. The deer to acre-ratio is the same in brush country as it is in North Texas typically like Montague County where I hunt.

Your friend may want to hire a guide or take someone along who knows how to hunt the brush country. I don't remember the moon phase but the high temperature the day I killed my book deer last year in October was 100. If he is on MLDP level two or three he can hunt until the end of february. I have hunted and guided on a lot of ranches in that area and have never had a problem finding deer early in the season on a well managed place. What is the name of the ranch as I am probably familiar with it? Something just doesn't add up in what he is telling you.

PM sent on the ranch info. Take it with a grain of salt. Just reporting what I heard and am not going to listen to someone question my friend who I know and trust and has been hunting the brush country on his own ranch for over 25 years like they have and worked and lived their for some years. They know how to manage deer and cattle. And it is B&C deer. Why wouldn't a 12,000 acre ranch support 6 to 9 175+ B&C deer down in the brush country when you are on the MLP propram? B&C deer are shot in many counties around the state and always have been in the golden triangle so one per 2,000 acres in a good year for rain is completely normal. You might never see them while hunting from a blind though. A local university uses their ranch for their program as a model ranch for ranch and wildlife management dept. And they are not trophy hunting until late in the season if at all and that is not their primary goal and don't need or want to have a guide to get them a 200+ B&C. They are just trying to get their deer herd in tip top shape now as they just started managing this specific ranch in the mid to late 90's. Their TPWD bioligist is the same one that is used in the county by most other ranches. Same helicopter service that flies the other ranches in the area. Very simple formula.... Let's say you see 350 deer in the fly over and you estimate you don't see 100, you take 180 or so off. That would be 120 does and 60 bucks. Now get to work. Last year they took 150 and the year before they took 150. They have always met their quota regardless if they get only 1 in Nov and 149 in Dec and Jan. They normally never hunt their part in Oct. And they do not feed corn or any bait year round. No protein either. 100% all natural.

BTW - As Bradbury was told by his friend, the big ones are starting to show up. Bradbury is hunting just down the river from the ranch I am talking about so I am sure he can substantiate some of the info you claim to think is wrong.

Our deer are not down much..still some bruisers walking around and we will probably only take a few more management bucks and possibly two that are 160 plus....does are in check...Tons of spikes this year for some reason and they are getting the axe.......new genetics are in place to be released in Feb.

Report from this weekend are deer that have not been seen at all have started showing up, no signs of rut yet, but I will give you a first hand report on the 21st....I will be there from the 15th thru the 21st..

This is the third year of protein and the benefits are visible.

The deer at my ranch near Fowlerton and a ranch I guided on this week near Artesia Wells have been rutting hard the last week or so. Here is a picture of a 160 class typical 10 pointer with 4 kickers that chased a doe within 10 yards of my stand this afternoon. His is 5.5 years old so I am going to leave him another year.





Bradbury, The reason for all the spikes this year is the large fawn crop last year. It always happens that way no matter how good the genetics or how much supplemental feed. A recent study showed that 50% of all does in the majority of South Texas have been bred by December 15.