Has anyone ever hunted the Guadalupe River State Park (outside Boerne)? Just found out I was drawn.

It's been a few years, but I have. Brother killed 2 does, I blew my chance messing with the video camera right at daylight (dang nite lite came on) and heard something run off at the same time. Lot's of deer there, but they are very small. The only exotics seen and killed was a blackbuck doe.

Yes, a couple times, 4 & 6 years ago. The park is closer to Bulverde @ the Hwy 46 & Hwy 281 junction ...umm 6-7 miles west or so of 281 than it is to either New Braunfels or Boerne, and about 45 minutes north of the 410 Loop @ Hwy 281 in San Antonio. Lots of population growth in the area with a Super Size HEB and number of fast food outlets and other services at the Hwy intersection. Good mexican food place just south on the east side of 281 too, and couple other good eating places nearby on 46 East & 281 North.

GRSP is one of the crown jewels of the SP System and a really really neat place to take a family.

There was a big time improvement in the way the Hunt was managed from my initial hunt in '03, but Park staff was never the issue, but blind placement and lack of blind maintanence once the camper area feeding stations were finally shut down after the '03 Hunt that held deer and provide refuge during the Hunt hours. Back then the deer cleaning station area if you could call it that - at the horse watering tie out parking area - was not well organized ...but remember this is a super high traffic State Park until the day before the Hunt starts and Staff's 1st priority is the monsterous day use foot traffic from hikers, dog walkers & moms with strollers & toddlers who don't really want to see or think about a Hunters needs. So Staff has a real quandry to satisfy.

"IF" things are the same as my last Hunt in '05, you'll see mostly medium/smallish Hill country sized deer...and mebbe a few of the exotics that infest the place. The place has been over run with hogs for years but the really eco sensitive areas being routinely detroyed by the rampant hog population was never allowed to be hunted I'm told because of the difficulty in managing hunter access and Austin's decision to not place permanent blinds where the public is regularly reminded of need for the Hunting use of the SP for critter control. You will be told prolly by the Biologist at the Hunters Meeting to knock down each & every non native game critter you see regardless of sex & age because they are out of control ... and you need to follow those instructions to the letter.

I hunted south or east of the water treatment plant area mostly, 1st Hunt was a 3 day GDE & 2nd Hunt was a 5 day GDA , but would if at all possible liked to have gotten closer to the north & west side of the hunt area at the edge of the over flow tent camping area closer to the River where critters come over the fence from the adjacent ranch as well.

The newest box blinds are as good as any I've seen anywhere in the SP/WMA System but the tripods were a bit of a problem on both trips. Shots will be mostly 50-100+ yards except for a few places.

Great camping facilities, clean public bath buildings, roads are well maintained with easy access for RV's, trailers or tents.

I like the area & the SP enough that I have looked in the surrounding area for a house to buy, a little bit, if we can ever sell this lake house so's we can move south to be closer to family. You'll like the folks running the place.
Ron

has anyone ever hunted turkeys there?

We never saw any evidence of turkeys on either trip...but other than that dunno. I know there is no turkey's allowed to be taken according to the 2 Biologists that gave the Hunters Meeting talk during the GDE & GDA Hunts in '03 & '05.
Ron

Appreciate the information.

WileyCoyote, do you recall if a walk-in cooler is available?

FO
Not as I recall, we either broke our critters down into quarters & stored in big 90/120+ qt Marine grade Igloo chests from my center console striper chaser, or on the last trip it was pretty cold and my pard wrapped his hog's spread eagled carcass in 2 layers of bug bag after skinning, and left it hung overnite 8-10 ft off the ground to keep the 'coons off of it, and covered with a tightly wrapped & duct taped tarp in daytime from the heavily shaded trees behind the camp site, with December daytime temp's in low/mid 40's. He tranported the critter trussed up same way on the floor of the Class C motorhome, and meat was mucho good on arrival in Carrollton 2 days later.

I've never seen a walkin cooler on any of the Lottery Hunts sites I've been on. In '99 Walter Buck WMA's HQ area had a screened in building where critters can be hung overnite and an outside concrete skinning pad with an overhead rack to work off of & water hose for cleanup...and is the only one I've ever seen.
Ron