I am not trying to get in to an AR argument here, or anything like that... but something is Obviously Working.. Whether it be the AR's, or more people using trail cameras and holding out for the "BIG ONE".. Whatever it is, I hope it continues.

This is the best hunting year as far as large bucks to come out of East Texas that I have ever seen. There have been several booners killed, and tons of 140-150 class deer. All of my friends seemed to have killed big deer this year...

In your opinion , is this the best yet?

I think the lack of acorns in this area has increased feeder activity.

I don't think it's the best, but the stars aligned for deer to produce big racks this year.

There are a lot more management minded hunters out there now than ever before. Throw that in with the antler restrictions and that is a formula for bucks to grow to their potential. It will continue to get better. Now if I can only get my neighbors to stop shooting the 120" 3.5 yr olds.

trickle rut last year, lots of rain, mild winter, mild summer, bucks that had previously been stunted by drought = antler explosion. If this winter continues and we get a hot, dry summer it'll be back to normal.

nope. Well at least not in North East TX. Where I hunt in bowie & Cass county there have been some nice deer killed.. but the deer numbers have been decreasing steadily for the past 5yrs & this year seems to of been the biggest drop. Most of the people I hunt with haven't seen much of anything this year; going several hunts without seeing a single deer... but the ones that have seen & shot deer have killed nice ones for sure.
This is the first season in probably 15 years that I have actually given up & not cared to deer hunt. I can't remember ANY time in previous seasons that I decided to NOT hunt but I've slept in or hunted different game several times this year.

Personally I'd rather have better deer numbers & than bigger deer. But that's just my opinion. Kids lose interest quickly when they don't see anything after several hunts...

Apparently not just kids....

I see the trend going forward into the future.

Yep... I did last a few weeks longer than my son though & I'll probably hunt another time or two. I really hate an empty freezer.

I know a few taxidermist, they have no shortage of business this year for sure.

E. Texas has all the ingredients to produce deer every bit as big as South Texas or anywhere else in the country for that matter all it needs is he right management - which is starting, and all the more important dealing with smaller properties.

I see it as the movement from Minnesota to Iowa - same deer, same forage, but Iowa had earned it's reputation through quality management. MN is still a 'brown it's down' state with liberal bag limits to support that mentality - and the results are obvious.

Last year for my friends and family was extremely slow. We barely saw anything all season. This season however we have seen deer like crazy. I would say I have probably averaged 4 to 5 deer a trip. Even the Sabine National Forest near my hometown of Joaquin has produced some very nice bucks this year.

I do think that Management is helping, and a big part of that management is trail cameras, and knowing "what is in there".. I will say this, the local big buck contests entries this year, in comparison to the last few years is not even comparable.. and most of the big deer killed were not shot on corn so I do not know if a lack of acorns is affecting it?..

It will..so will more stabilized cooler temps. It's not like those deer weren't around last year, the year before, etc.

So those same 5-6 yr old bucks killed this year were 5 and 6 last year, the year before, etc?

I bet the public land is benefiting from the restrictions. Used to be if you saw one with horns it got shot(I know not everyone was like that) now people cant do that.

I hunted many places as a small kid and didn't see a tail, never phased me.

they were alive, walking around and likely to have been shot if seen...... last year just sucked for deer movement bc they didn't have to.

It's the best one I've ever had!

I've hunted East Texas my entire life. There was a time back in the mid/late 80's that you could drive around on my father's place and see herds of deer - 20 to 30 deer at a time. But the bucks were pencil-racked baskets. And then the population declined and the bucks remained very small. Then, about 6 or 7 years ago, some really quality bucks started showing up. And they've gotten bigger and bigger ever year. In the past 5 years, there have been two upper 130s, one 140 class, two 150s, and now a 160. Meanwhile, you might see 5 or 6 doe in a pack. You never see more than that. What will the next 5 years produce? My mental line graph tells me bigger and better.

hmmmmm

The management in east Texas has helped a ton. On our lease I would have to say each person has around ten game cams and each and every person will talk and agree what deer to shoot or let grow before the season starts. We have had good results doing this.

There has always been parts of East Texas with really good genetics. I went to school in Rains County. Some of those river bottoms out side of Emory hold some monsters. I saw one of the biggest deer i have ever seen when i was hog hunting a place on the river bottom. If you can keep people from shooting the little guys and the nice ones away from the poachers the genetics are there for some monster bucks.

I can say for certain that the antler quality has improved since the AR's started here in Cherokee County. About 2 years after we began seeing bigger bucks on our places. I cannot attribute this all to the AR's, because there are a lot of small family owned places or smaller leases that are situated around the larger low fence MLD leases in the area. I am sure the management on the MLD properties has also contributed along with the AR's. I can't say if AR's are perfect, I just know what I see in the stand and on my cameras compared to times before AR's is like night and day.

Took a nice 11 pointer, my 2nd biggest buck to date, this season and we've had several mature bucks on camera and good numbers of does.

Clearly the ARs are working for us, and most of my family/friends that hunt East Texas are experiencing as good or better hunting themselves. Hope this trend continues for all of us!

Most of you guys feel the way I do! that the AR's , and just an overall management mind set has lead to what appears to have led to an overall increase in the size of bucks in the area. I am excited to see what the next few years will hold!

East Texas will continue to get better. I killed a 165 1/8 buck this year in Bowie county. I know of several bucks this year taken close to us that scored in the 160's. This area has always had the potential, but the antler restrictions has had a huge impact on the bucks here. One thing you will see with east Texas bucks is lots of mass.