If a guy were looking for a change of scenery in 2014, what county would you recommend he look at within 3 hours west or southwest of metromess? I know there are tons of variables to this question, but generally speaking the interest would entail, regular nice trophy buck possibilities 140"+, regular and adequate numbers of deer seen on most if not every hunt, chance to harvest hogs, turkeys and varmints annually. Finally and probably most importantly, keeping the cost per gun in the $1500-$3000 range. Please enlighten me with your knowledge.

title should have "or" after hours

Shackelford, Haskell or Throckmorton. Big deer lots of turkeys, hogs and coyotes.

Those are mostly the ones that come to mind, how would you compare those Billybob relative to deer quality, numbers, $$$ and hunting pressure too? I know we seen some good ones on THF this season out of Throck and Haskell but maybe not as many from Shack that I recall. I understand Throck to me pretty rough country and Haskell having quite a bit of agriculture. Don't know much about Schack though.

The further north you go off 180 the cheaper it gets. I'm not a trophy hunter but we have taken a lot of 140 deer off our lease in the past 5 years. Our bucks have been netting 70-80 lbs of meat. Seen a lot larger on cameras. Last couple of years we have been managing...with does and spikes. I'm just south of Albany.
I have done most of my 50+ years hunting in the Hill country. Unlike the Hill country... I have been all over our Shackelford lease 3 to 4 times a year and rarely see a deer but do not have any problems tagging out.

Hardeman County...

BillyBob, if I can ask, on average what can a hunter expect to pay per gun and how's the hunting pressure in that county?

N-all, I've seen some good pictures over the years come out of there, just starting to push the 3 hour range if not exceed it is my issue.

Generally the LO in Shackelford Cty don't overload their property. Leasing to hunters plays second fiddle to oil in their minds. Hunting pressure for the most part is minimal but the deer are very skiddish and act like the pressure is high.
I can't answer what the costs are exactly because we are good friends with a long time native of Albany. I have heard of smaller leases 300 -400 acres going for $6000 and limited to 3 hunters which is $2000 per hunter.

Good to know Billy, appreciate the intel. THF keep it coming...

Southwest, you might look at Brown or Comanche. Due west hard to go wrong with Stephens west and north of City of Eastland.

Yeah, have a buddy with 1000 acre ranch in Commanche but again that is starting to push that 3 hr. mark. Other thing I know and based on what he's told me, Commanche county can be highly affected by the acorn crop in a given season since lots of hardwoods. That said, the deer down there can carry a good amount of mass. Brown has been a county of interest but don't know a whole lot about it, Brownwood area, correct?

Yes, Brownwood, Early area. True on acorns, but a lot of cross timbers region has the hardwoods until you get west of Cisco.

There are no deer in Hardeman County........Move Along!!!!!!!!

haskell haskell haskell..rule

There are no deer in Throckmorton County. Move along, nothing to see here...

I will be looking for a lease next year. So I'm following this thread

If anyone has a lead on a lease in any of these counties, please shoot me a PM.


DQ....keep me in mind if you find a place

NTX, we might possibly have a spot on our 3000 acre ranch next season. There are a few guys interested right now but who knows. We are just north of Cisco in Eastland and Stephens county

childress or turkey..archer county

I hunt out West and a good lease (140"+) with limited membership/pressure starts at $3000 and if you find one for $3000, you better jump on it. Remember, the further west you go, the less pressure that part of the country will handle. I suggest no more than a gun per section. I'm sure there are some "bargains" out there, and I know of a few, but they are "bargains" for a reason.

Thanks Tshawn, agreed. I guess hunting 35+ years in some great LF South Texas pastures has spoiled me a bit on seeing tons of higher quality animals. North Texas and South Texas are simply different animals and until you've hunted both, really hard to have the perspective.