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The 2018 Hunting Thread

Bert Orange

By Bert Orange
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Pescado_Rojo
Pescado_Rojo

Little Rojo broke his arm last week, and we thought his season was done. He took it upon himself to learn to shoot lefty, practiced for two days, then went out and hammered this guy. 

Errestaurants
Errestaurants

Had a hunch last night so I went out this morning. shot it with a 1952 Model 70 featherweight in .270. 

jofus
jofus

My brother just shot this guy

BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15320

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

Agreed.  He's actually an 11.  There's a little kicker on his left G2.  I'm far from an expert, but I aged him at 3-1/2.  Even on the game cams, I haven't seen anything better than that and I haven't noticed any older deer either.  The biggest axis I saw was actually dead on the side of the road about 100 yds past our gate this spring.  There's a few passing through there, but haven't seen any trophies on that front either.  We have a fair amount of pigs, and they've been fun for the kids to shoot this fall.

We just bought the place in January.  Low fence west of Junction.  So, I'm not banking on any B&C quality deer, but it will be awesome to try to manage them in the coming years to see what we can get.  I'd be ecstatic with a decent 5-1/2 YO 10 pointer every couple of years for my son or daughter to shoot.  We fed protein April - August and will do so a bit earlier in the coming years.  Also hoping to get a food plot down next year or the year after.  It's just fun to get out there.  Good deer would be icing on the cake.  

Nice Axis.  Personally, I think they taste better than almost any other game meat (Elk is debatable), but they can and will run whitetail off.  Axis are possibly the worst competition a deer can have. They prefer the things that deer prefer and will out compete deer every time. After consuming the good forbs and browse, they can switch to grass - unlike whitetail deer.  So unless you have high fences, you might think about thinning those delicious little speckled fellows out some.  Take the pressure off the younger WT (who are not as hardy as Axis either).  

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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1555

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

Nice Axis.  Personally, I think they taste better than almost any other game meat (Elk is debatable), but they can and will run whitetail off.  Axis are possibly the worst competition a deer can have. They prefer the things that deer prefer and will out compete deer every time. After consuming the good forbs and browse, they can switch to grass - unlike whitetail deer.  So unless you have high fences, you might think about thinning those delicious little speckled fellows out some.  Take the pressure off the younger WT (who are not as hardy as Axis either).  

Absolutely.  Definitely in the playbook.  I have yet to see one with a rifle in hand, but I plan to whack the first decent axis buck or mature doe that I see.  I've heard they love alfalfa, so I'm taking a few bales out there next week to put near one of our stands. 

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Jkwellborn

Jkwellborn 6743

Posted
Posted
Just got to the damn range, set the creedmoor and 270 up and a truckload of what looks like high school kids shows up. I’m lining up the crosshairs with an open chamber when I see movement out of the corner of my eye. Without announcing the range was cold and making damn sure everyone acknowledged it accordingly, one of the little peckerheads is heading downrange to hang a target. I stepped away from my rifle, annoyed but determined to not get mad. He then returns to the end of the table and starts firing rounds off without announcing we are going hot. Needless to say I didn’t bite my tongue the second time.

Every time I hear stories like this, I’m damn glad I’ve got a place to shoot without other idiots around.
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Reagan1k

Reagan1k 3024

Posted
Posted
On 11/20/2018 at 6:17 PM, IB0n3dPatt1May0 said:

Geese make it to El Campo yet?

I flew into Hobby on Monday AM and drove to Pt. Arthur and back.  

Saw several thousand geese rafted up west of Winnie on both sides of the highway.....  If they're in Winnie they gotta be in El Campo in good numbers by now.

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15320

Posted
Posted
On 11/21/2018 at 3:34 PM, Spaulding Smails said:

Absolutely.  Definitely in the playbook.  I have yet to see one with a rifle in hand, but I plan to whack the first decent axis buck or mature doe that I see.  I've heard they love alfalfa, so I'm taking a few bales out there next week to put near one of our stands. 

Heard that also.  And man are they good eating!  Amazing.  I'd rather have a freezer full of that over any other.  And the hides are great.  Worth saving!

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Both Tacos

Both Tacos 1806

Posted
Posted

Got invited to a local place for my son to whack some does today. He got one early on but all the others we saw this morning were fawns. Saw some yearling bucks that got within 20 yards. He thought that was pretty cool.
This was the first deer he quartered out by himself (with some guidance). 0303b15503dc44e194b16937e57bf62f.jpg74e83a9cdd3a75fc1e29eb3a7015c97d.jpgcc90fd4d433f088920d61c2fa8783c17.jpg69772c9e16cfe2f8d3d0f4b5080d2a35.jpg07f8500fe05c4d91378f75db48b844f7.jpgc7ec105a5c654d0a7414c8de48e1c88c.jpg92ab21a59a16b7853df1bb670adef102.jpg

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105337

Posted
Posted

In NW hills, the rut is on in full. Went for a walk this evening, and two different times we ran across solid, mature bucks (both 8 pts, but definitely shooters both) chasing a doe. I mean, chasing her right by us. And man, you could smell the musk. Those were some horny SOBs. And they paid us zero attention. Their eyes were on the prize.

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15320

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, williemackgarza said:

Thats our ranch cowboy. He wears crocs when hes casually hunting with me.. emoji23.png
74 year old man and still works 7 days a week, been on the ranch 31 years. All horseback.
Tough as nails. I take him with me when Im out hunting. Knows more about deer than anyone Ive ever met.

I watch him close he works just like a piston in an engine
He only stops to take a drink and smoke a cigarette
When the day is ended, I look outside my window
There on the horizon, Mariano's silhouette

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davidg

davidg 4038

Posted
Posted
Thats our ranch cowboy. He wears crocs when hes casually hunting with me..
74 year old man and still works 7 days a week, been on the ranch 31 years. All horseback.
Tough as nails. I take him with me when Im out hunting. Knows more about deer than anyone Ive ever met.


Also looks like he's a varsity letterman, so he has that going for him too
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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8828

Posted
Posted
On 11/3/2018 at 12:43 PM, Brisketexan said:

Y’all ever hear anyone brag about all the talent in Paint Rock? No? Well, there’s a reason for that....

53defbd695ff38d6f04fbb3197f8250f.jpg
c87a0f2eae90b7d3039b5a46b560923c.jpg

Pretty fair BBQ, though. And bought some raffle tickets for a 25/06 to support the FFA.

Don't know how long you've been hunting or in and around Paint Rock, but its seems like it has kind of died down.  Where do you stay when you folks are hunting out there?

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105337

Posted
Posted
Don't know how long you've been hunting or in and around Paint Rock, but its seems like it has kind of died down.  Where do you stay when you folks are hunting out there?

We hunt a friend’s ranch, between Brady and Paint Rock. I may go back out to help them take some does next weekend, haven’t decided yet.
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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8828

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


It’s a real garden spot.

Rough country, but good hunting and we have a good time.

I remember when I first did business out there in '99, there wasn't much game management going on as everyone had goat farms that ate all the undergrowth.

My cousin commented that if they ever got rid of the goats, that they could have a hunters paradise out there, and sure enough that's what happened.

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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8828

Posted
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27 minutes ago, thestud said:

I don’t recall the exact years but probably somewhere around 2006-2012ish for 3-4 straight years the biggest B&C scored deer for the entire state were killed in the Brownwood/Brady corridor.

It's amazing how quickly things improved up there.   I was in the motel business back then and we opened on opening day of '99.  I couldn't believe some of the deer I saw strapped to cars and pickups.  They were more alone the line of large dogs than the deer I was used to seeing.  As property owners started practicing game management and selective breeding the quality went up astronomically in a very short period of time.

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Reagan1k

Reagan1k 3024

Posted
Posted (edited)
27 minutes ago, pepper brooks said:

Anyone got a good recommendation on a shot gun (probably 20 gauge) for a soon to be 11 year old?  Need something he can shoot now, but also something he won't outgrow in a year.  

Lot of choices out there - Any of the major brands have youth versions......Rem 870 or 11-87, Win XSP, Mossberg Bantam....list goes on and on.

I've had good luck with the 11-87 20ga youth/compact version as it also shoots 3" loads which can help if he's doing any duck hunting with it.

You can bump up in price from there (those are all $400 or less) if you want it to be something nicer.

A compact shotgun is something that never completely losses its utility however, even as kids grow.  No no one ever regrets having a light compact shotgun laying around or in the safe.

Edited by Reagan1k
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Coyote

Coyote 269

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Posted

Unfortunately he’s not mine. BIL got him 30 miles North of the Johnson Ranch. Stalked him for several miles and popped him coming over that hill. 16 point, scored him at 216.5. I’m not sure what he weighed. BIL is 6’ 2” for reference. Big deer for sure.

 

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15320

Posted
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18 hours ago, thestud said:

Growing up just south of Abilene we had friends in the Coleman/Talpa area and hunted there regularly. I use “we” loosely because I wasn’t big enough to carry a Red Rider, but this was ‘90-‘91 and I don’t recollect dad ever taking anything with horns and it wasn’t for lack of desire, they just flat out weren’t there.

Our place is in Talpa.  Took a beautiful 8 this year and last a big 10 and a decent 11.  Tons of hogs in the northern part of the county now with all the acorns.  Now that Rob and Laurie move in and opened Rancho Loma and Rancho Pizzeria, you really good dining options in town.  

Rancho Loma

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