Navarro County

Hi,

We just leased a little over 400 acres in Navarro county East of Rice, Texas. I was wondering if anyone had any information regarding this "general" area for deer. We do not have any major creeks or a river, however, there are 2 or 3 seasonal creek beds that cut through the property. We have several ponds which helps but have never deer hunted this area before.

Just thought I might ask if anyone has experience with this area.

Thanks

Not sure if there are many deer in navarro county, but I'll bet u got some hogs runnin around there for sure.

Depending on where exactly your located you could be in a HONEY HOLE! Lots of friends hunt that area Around Chatfield and they always do prety good. Txhunter24 is right about the hogs they will be there but so will the deer i would think. also watch for those sorry poachers in that area there are alot of em!!

Thanks. The hog sign is there, and we have seen a couple around the ponds. I don't doubt the poacher situation at all, and appreciate being reminded. We are fortunate enough to hunt some during the week and almost exclusively bow hunt, so we will be on the look out.

I dont know a whole lot about the area, but i run thru there alot on 45. Looks like some GOOD terrain, but not sure about deer population

Lungbuster, I just looked at Chatfield and our land is almost exactly 3.5 miles NW of Chatfield. Do you know where your buddies place is from Chatfield ? Our woods are not in the "thick" of things we are hunting a long finger of creeks that play out on our property.

Closer to the river the better, however that is an area of if u have deer you have good deer and a few of em, or very little to no deer. But you will have lots of hogs.Are you on any major creek? Chambers or richland? Usually good hunting there too.. This place wouldnt happen to have a LARGE pond would it? I hunted a place once that did and it was decent hunting

I live close to there, very few deer if any, lots of hogs. Most of that area is blackland praire farmland, so not alot of cover. Good dove hunting around there though. I hope you did not lease it to deer hunt exclusively because that county just went to the antler restriction (buck has to be 13" wide or a spike, basically no young bucks), and you can't take does during rifle season either, its going to be next to impossible to get a legal deer out that way, at least this year. Also it is true what has been said about poachers/road hunters in that area, they are bad.

They hunt about 10 miles north east of the what I think is a fina gas station...I'V seen some of there game camera pics!!!!WOW

I just noticed you explained you are only a few miles from chatfield, thats quite a different area than blooming grove, I hear that area is good, and yes the closer to the river you are the better. I was thinking you were talking farther west in the county, not much out that way in the form of deer habitat.

I have hunted Navarro county for eight years. The first six just outside Blooming Grove and the last two on my friends property beside the corp property on Navarro Mills lake. There are some nice deer in the area. You will not see deer evey time you go out and you have to spend more time in the stand but what you see will be good deer. I know some guys that were raised in the area and they say in the early 80's the State brought deer in from deep south Texas and some from west Texas. I usually see the better bucks after the middle of December.

You are right about them bringing deer in the 80's, there were none here. I believe they tried to stock the area with whitetail in 1985, they never really took and they did it again to a lesser degree in 2000. The deer density is still very low, but for whatever reason the feral hog population has exploded since the mid 1990's, they have even been doing the helicopter shoots. I'm not sure if it has to do with the soil type, forage available, or the abundance of coyotes, but for some reason the whitetail has never done very well in this county, at least parts not close to the trinity river. I would really like a wildlife biologist to explain it, but I'm not even sure they know why a a deer population has never stabalized here, like they have at granger, they habitats are similiar.

Yea Boss Bowman you would think there would be lot more deer than there is becuase there is alot of corn and bean fields with creek bottoms and wooded lots for hideing but for some reason they never took in that area, even in the river bottom where i hunt it is tuff to see deer.

This is just my two cents worth, but based on all the yotes we have seen, and heard in the past two weeks in that area, i am sure predation is playing a role on the fawns. We plan on knocking them down on sight.