Bought a small 50 ac place back on Aug 2023 that is surrounded by larger acerage (200 -1600 ac). Have water well on property and also tank that hold water most of the time. Feeders up since Sept 2023. Saw a few doe and bucks during the rut on the cameras. Property is about 85% wooded with some pecan trees on the open area. Seeing hogs on feeder all the time and a few turkeys fly in. Verry disappointed that I am not seeing many deer, bad area?? hogs keeping them out? many deer died last few years? Been hunting all my life and cannot figure out what the problem is=maybe low deer herd in area?? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

MDJD

Without a clear understanding of how your neighbors hunt it’s really hard to pin down what the hunting potential is…. when you own a small tract the deer for the most part aren’t living there, they are eating and passing through. Your success at killing good bucks is going to depend how your neighbors hunt….

Also you want to build a large pen of at least 10 panels to keep the hogs from dominating the feeder which improves your deer visit numbers….

Large pen around your feeder will help!

Get rid of the hogs and see what happens.

Many thanks for y'alls quick reply. Just discussed and disappointed not seeing many deer since buying the place. I plan on fencing around the feeders as soon as it gets warmer. Thinking about removing feeders from Feb to around 1st of April. Have always seen hogs run the deer off for a bit but figured the deer would not actually leave the area. Have good 6 strand barb fencing but know they are still getting through in a few spots that I need to plug up. Getting up to 10 hogs during one visits at each feeder-need to get the grandkids to help thin them out, Again many thanks for y'alls quick feedback.

Back to Pitchfork. Very low hunting pressure, Not many shots heard all season. Somewhat retired and spent a lot of time up at place during the season.

Barbed wire is not very effective keeping hogs out. Switch to hog panels and make the pen big enough to not let corn throw outside of it. Also if you have hardwood and acorns you will have to find the best acorn trees and hunt there instead of feeder.

Hi Marc.
Barbwire is around the 50 ac-good fencing. Sorry for the misinfo. Yep-planning on hog panels for around the feeders-thanks for you quick reply.

I've never felt there were a lot of deer in that area in general. You say 'wooded', what do you have for cover? Any cedar or shinnery? Are these places around you running livestock or are they open as well? If you have oaks, Marc's suggestion is solid-your deer aren't hitting the feeder due to hogs and lot of food options elsewhere. If you have any agriculture, a small (2-5 acre) foodplot that is fenced for hogs could help attract deer.

I hunt family land in that general vicinity, just across the Hamilton county line. What you’re seeing is consistent with others in the area. The influx of ranchette subdivisions paired with a few years of drought, unseasonably cold, and the hogs has put a hurting on the deer herd in a big way. I can remember counting 40+ deer on our 10 acre oat field in 2003 - 2004. The drought in 2011 changed things and it’s continued to get worse, most recently with the drastic increase in hunting pressure in the area. Depending on where you are in Gustine, the dairy traffic could also play a factor. There some high traffic agricultural ventures around there.

The good news is - your land value will only go up from here! The proximity to the metroplex is making the area attractive.

Aggie, that 4 year drought hammered the deer hard. I’m in Montague County and figure I have less than 50% of the deer that I used to have. Last years drought kept me from planting wheat.

Until last year we had a place between Comanche and Gustine and it took some time to get the deer population going. We were on about 200 acres 7 miles east of Comanche and in the first year we'd only see about 6-7 does consistently. After several years of running feeders year round, planting a 3 acre food plot, and running protein we increased our resident deer population to somewhere around 35. Much will depend on your neighbors as there are a lot of smaller parcels in the area but don't get discouraged by what you see early on.

Stop off in Hamilton and go by MICOBE FEED on Hwy 36 on the east side of town and pickup some STAMPEDE. It is a corn/soybean mix that will draw in the deer. The roasted soybeans put out an aroma that is better than any deer attractant on the market. I have been using STAMPEDE for almost 20 years and find it produces some "loyal" deer herds. I used to hunt Comanche for 12 years until our lease sold, moved down half way between Priddy and Goldthwaite - both places I have used STAMPEDE exclusively!

Then of course, go eat at the City Cafe....best food in the county!

On a property that size I'd be very conscious of human presence/activity and perceived hunting pressure. Also don't hunt stands with bad wind.

And, as mentioned before, hog panels around feeders. An oat patch wouldn't hurt, either.

This was a bad year. Keep feeding them and deter the hogs where the deer eat

Good luck getting rid of the hogs!

I have had a lease in Gustine since 1993. The hunting pressure is bad. The poachers are bad. The road hunters are bad. The deer are gone after opening weekend of rifle. We do good in bow season.

Lot of hunting pressure in Comanche County. Smaller acreages and everyone hunts or has cousins that hunt or nephews or grandkids. We see most of our good bucks in Sept/Oct and they all disappear once rifle opens. Lot of road hunters and poachers too. Can get lucky in the first 2 weeks of Nov, but gets pretty tough. A 130" deer in Comanche is about the best you can hope for.