2021-2022 hunting thread

[fattyflattie 4640]

37 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

I grew up with the family that owns this place and they have definitely gotten more expensive over the years.  They are still crazy busy and growing though, so it seems like they are charging what the market will bear.  I coughed when I got my bill for turning two does into nothing but sausage last year.  But I've had their sausage for so long that it's really the only thing I like at this point.  Especially the sweet chipotle. 

I've still got a couple of their old button up work shirts from old meat cutters that stopped working there, I think I've got a Juan and a Jose.  It's become my brisket cooking uniform.

All of their smoked sausage is great and price is about normal, maybe a tad high. Nothing crazy.  Their dried sausage is something like $8/link iirc.  It’s stupid high.  I pay $2/link in High Hill and it’s just as tasty, if not a bit better.  Belleville’s new 3 cheese is delicious af. That and chipotle are my go to’s for smoked.  

[Izhmash 581]

Cool pic from one of our game cams. Looks like a red-tailed hawk...told pops to update his quality settings on the camera.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Izhmash

[CHIEF 5228]

9 minutes ago, Izhmash said:

To heck with the big one - shoot a female. They are fucking delicious! It's been 30 years since I've killed one, but I remember loving the meat (female).

 

CHIEF

[BabaYaga 15625]

29 minutes ago, Izhmash said:

To heck with the big one - shoot a female. They are fucking delicious! It's been 30 years since I've killed one, but I remember loving the meat (female).

[Izhmash 581]

1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

I dunno - maybe the processor accidentally gave us someone's Axis instead?

[BHMCruiser 1828]

1 hour ago, Izhmash said:

I dunno - maybe the processor accidentally gave us someone's Axis instead?

If he's smart he would have given you pork or venison. Then you'd keep bringing him more to process they would taste shitty and he could be like "I don't know what happened. Must have been too XYZ. Bring me another one that's younger/older/fatter/thinner/whiter/darker/whatever." He could probably get ten or more out of you that way. 

[crimsonlonghorn 2313]

Headed out to Scurry County tomorrow. There are reports that the birds finally showed up after that front that blew through this week. Fingers crossed. 

[DalTxHornFan 3130]

10 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

Seriously, find you some locals.  They will take all you can give them.  And they appreciate it.

We do have some local LEO's that we are friendly with.  We'll be doing a couple of youth hunt weekends with them and they also have some needy/hungry locals that could use the meat.  We'll get it done.

[Reagan1k 3042]

6 hours ago, BHMCruiser said:

If he's smart he would have given you pork or venison. Then you'd keep bringing him more to process they would taste shitty and he could be like "I don't know what happened. Must have been too XYZ. Bring me another one that's younger/older/fatter/thinner/whiter/darker/whatever." He could probably get ten or more out of you that way. 

One of our guys used to shoot a couple every year and grind them to use as dog food.

I always felt sorry for those poor dogs.

[Sam Lin 3597]

14 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

I do that with my sneakers and socks.  Also kills the smell

You put sneakers and socks on your nuts?

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4999]

Not sure what's going on with the sneakers, but do you not sock up your sack when the weather isn't just right?

[BabaYaga 15625]

9 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

You put sneakers and socks on your nuts?

[BabaYaga 15625]

47 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Not sure what's going on with the sneakers, but do you not sock up your sack when the weather isn't just right?

[davidg 4057]

You put sneakers and socks on your nuts?

He was an early band member of the RHCP.

[deadshank 24654]

Fairly easy limit this afternoon between LaPryor and Crystal City.  Shot over a field of black oil sunflower, monarch sunflower and croton.  The first timer with me got 12.  

[crimsonlonghorn 2313]

We finally get into some birds in Scurry County this weekend. Large black clouds of 12-15 moving out of a mowed cornfield over our heads to a pond about a half mile behind us. Plenty of shooting and they were easy to find in the dirt when they fell.

We didn't get a lot of meat in the bag because my boys were the two primary shooters and my brother and I were mostly tending to them instead of shooting ourselves. 13 total birds for the whole group of us but it wasn't for lack of opportunities to shoot. 

This was the first time my boys had done a lot of shooting at doves and they made the typical mistake of shooting too early and too far, but they each got a few and had a good time and then got to learn how to clean them when we got back to the barn. It was a good day. 

[deadshank 24654]

The weekend prior to this just past, we shot WWs on a day hunt west of Devine.  We actually paid to sit in a guy’s perfectly manicured Bermuda backyard between his house and barn.  The WWs were plentiful.  
 

When shot, they would fall into the cut grass and some even landed on his back porch.  The property owner realized we weren’t a bunch of clown Aholes and then sat with us and drank our beer and BSed with us.  
 

After the first few birds plopped to earth, he walked over and let his dogs out and they started to retrieve our birds for us.  it was quite an entertaining shoot.  

Sweet old Ash was my new friend. 

[ROFL BOX 6655]

@deadshank, what was the going rate per shoot?  Was that $ for an early, a late or both?

[deadshank 24654]

9 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

@deadshank, what was the going rate per shoot?  Was that $ for an early, a late or both?

$125-$150 depending on which outfitter is used.  
 

You can hunt morning of afternoon.   I don’t go for morning dove hunts. 
 

Some outfitters will let you come back in the afternoon to fill a daily bag limit if you don’t get it all in the morning.  Decent ones will make sure you keep your bag limit at 15 fie the day.  No shenanigans.  

[USCATX 1087]

I picked up another spot on my lease in the Austin area and will be in need of a new tower blind for rifle hunting.  Is there a go-to place to buy these?  My current spot came with a tower and I’m trying to get up and running well before season. 

[deadshank 24654]

1 minute ago, USCATX said:

I picked up another spot on my lease in the Austin area and will be in need of a new tower blind for rifle hunting.  Is there a go-to place to buy these?  My current spot came with a tower and I’m trying to get up and running well before season. 

Texas Wildlife Supply makes nice tower blinds in multiple size and height configurations.  We have 8 on our place along with a few homemade "proprietary" models.  TWS also makes some on trailers that you can move around. 

@CHIEF makes (or made) trailer blinds that elevate.  

 

[686 3461]

I usually build my own, but you might check these guys out:

http:// https://texasdroptineoutdoors.com/

[USCATX 1087]

4 hours ago, deadshank said:

Texas Wildlife Supply makes nice tower blinds in multiple size and height configurations.  We have 8 on our place along with a few homemade "proprietary" models.  TWS also makes some on trailers that you can move around. 

@CHIEF makes (or made) trailer blinds that elevate.  

 

I’ll check those out, thx.  

[USCATX 1087]

3 hours ago, 686 said:

I usually build my own, but you might check these guys out:

http:// https://texasdroptineoutdoors.com/

I weld, but ain’t nobody got no time for that right now. 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

I don't skimp on feeders or blinds.  Ever.  Buy once, cry once.  Feeders are more important than blinds.  I used to have a guy in Beaumont I bought 2,000 lb galvanized feeders from.  Man they were bullet proof with the all seasons control unit and The Timer.  It was wide enough that the coons could not get at it. Had heavy pipe legs with a foot.  I would drill a hole in the foot and drive in a steel rod.  Sumbitch could not be screwed with by pigs.  The feeders were like $900 all in.  Was a young guy.  Guess he quit making them.  But they are the best feeders I have ever owned.

 

[Anastasis 23718]

Thoughts on aging this guy? 3.5 years?

 

[686 3461]

3.5 would be my first guess as well

[Both Tacos 1827]

Could be 4.5 but that would be at the most.

[Izhmash 581]

Gorgeous buck @Anastasis 

[DalTxHornFan 3130]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

Thoughts on aging this guy? 3.5 years?

 

Amazing to see Texas this lush this time of year.  There is no reason not to take cull bucks early this season.  This is as good as it gets.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4999]

Bit of a sway back, but still looks pretty young. I'd guess you are right.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4999]

4 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Amazing to see Texas this lush this time of year.  There is no reason not to take cull bucks early this season.  This is as good as it gets.

There are plenty of reasons not to take cull bucks. Chiefly because it is an ineffective management strategy. 

[DalTxHornFan 3130]

1 minute ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

There are plenty of reasons not to take cull bucks. Chiefly because it is an ineffective management strategy. 

Cool. Do tell.

[fattyflattie 4640]

4 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

There are plenty of reasons not to take cull bucks. Chiefly because it is an ineffective management strategy. 

Isitthough.Thor.gif

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4999]

It's been posted plenty of times, and it is late and I'm about to go to bed, so maybe I can look up some sources tomorrow. The biggest issue with the idea of culling is that you can't account for the mother's DNA. Add to that the fact that it has been proven through scientific studies that lots of young deer get laid and make babies. Mature bucks aren't the only ones getting sexy time with the girls. If you have a high fenced property and spend multiple decades culling deer you might see results, but for the average low fence hunter the name of the game is nutrition nutrition nutrition combined with letting them get old enough to see what their true potential is. Just like people some deer blossom later in life, while some blossom earlier. There is a significant chance that that cull you shoot could have been one to put in the books.

Regardless, enjoy your time in the woods (or brush) and do whatever makes you happy as long as you are ethical. The experience is the true reward, not the measure of a deer's antlers.

[hornmpa96 2668]

Culling is based on the situation. Culling a buck will definitely not change the genetic makeup of the herd, but it takes a mouth off of the range and supplemental feed (if you’re feeding).

Everything I’ve read and been told is that by 3/4 is that you can tell a Buck’s potential. Before that, there is a lot of variability depending on when he was born, was the doe a good mom, etc.

[crimsonlonghorn 2313]

Man those pics are beautiful. 

[Reagan1k 3042]

@Anastasis   What part of Texas?  That's a huge deal for me as far as aging a buck.

Regardless of horn size and structure, the body structure of a typical mature deer in one region of TX can vary from that in another.

I like what TexasBuckRegistry has done in putting out some photo charts showing age range by region.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

8 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

It's been posted plenty of times, and it is late and I'm about to go to bed, so maybe I can look up some sources tomorrow. The biggest issue with the idea of culling is that you can't account for the mother's DNA. Add to that the fact that it has been proven through scientific studies that lots of young deer get laid and make babies. Mature bucks aren't the only ones getting sexy time with the girls. If you have a high fenced property and spend multiple decades culling deer you might see results, but for the average low fence hunter the name of the game is nutrition nutrition nutrition combined with letting them get old enough to see what their true potential is. Just like people some deer blossom later in life, while some blossom earlier. There is a significant chance that that cull you shoot could have been one to put in the books.

Regardless, enjoy your time in the woods (or brush) and do whatever makes you happy as long as you are ethical. The experience is the true reward, not the measure of a deer's antlers.

I agree with most of what you are saying.  We do cull on our high fenced place.  But it is to get the population numbers right so the amount of groceries on the ground -- whether natural or supplemental -- is enough to maintain a healthy population.  I would rather take out some bucks that are inferior to others in the same age class.

We spend a lot on protein and food plots.  If we wanted to spend another several hundred thousand a year on protein on top of what we spend now, there would be zero reason to cull.

If you have the right population for what groceries are available for the deer, culling is a waste of time.  The best thing to do would be to feed a lot and let the deer get really old.  Like what that Holden outfit does on their ranch.  One caveat -- deer max out at different ages in South Texas.  Where we are -- Frio County -- there is that red sand everywhere.  It gets on everything the deer eat.  So their teeth get worn down a lot earlier than they would in Dimmitt or Webb County where it is that black dirt.  I think Holden and them feed so much and have the right soil type, they don't harvest deer until 8 or 9 years.  So some of those basket rack crappy deer that are 2.5 turn out to be very nice trophies.  Our deer are on the decline by 8.  And it is very noticeable.  We should be taking deer at 6 and 7.

 

[Anastasis 23718]

6 minutes ago, Reagan1k said:

@Anastasis   What part of Texas?  That's a huge deal for me as far as aging a buck.

Regardless of horn size and structure, the body structure of a typical mature deer in one region of TX can vary from that in another.

I like what TexasBuckRegistry has done in putting out some photo charts showing age range by region.

Low fence in Medina county.

 

Took this one off the same piece of land a couple years ago...pretty similar horn structure. I was pretty happy with this guy off that property. 

[crimsonlonghorn 2313]

And that picture if even prettier. Dang. Jealous now. 

[BabaYaga 15625]

3 hours ago, hornmpa96 said:

Culling is based on the situation. Culling a buck will definitely not change the genetic makeup of the herd, but it takes a mouth off of the range and supplemental feed (if you’re feeding).

Everything I’ve read and been told is that by 3/4 is that you can tell a Buck’s potential. Before that, there is a lot of variability depending on when he was born, was the doe a good mom, etc.

Yep.  On a low fence place, culling is highly debatable.  On a high fenced property where you are tightly managing genetics, the point is valid.  

[BabaYaga 15625]

12 hours ago, Anastasis said:

Thoughts on aging this guy? 3.5 years?

 

I'd say on the north end of 3.5 - closer to 4 to 4.5.  Love that basket and chocolate tint to the rack.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

I would say 4.5.  But if he's not 4.5 he's 3.5.  No way is he older than 4.5.  I lean 4.5 over 3.5 but it's close.

[fattyflattie 4640]

1 hour ago, Johnny Sack said:

I would say 4.5.  But if he's not 4.5 he's 3.5.  No way is he older than 4.5.  I lean 4.5 over 3.5 but it's close.

That's where I'm at.  He'll be looking right after this years rut and probably looking older than he is.  Pretty buck though. 

[DalTxHornFan 3130]

NM

Edited September 30, 2021 by DalTxHornFan

[686 3461]

In your first year, since it hasn’t been hunted for the last 3, I would focus on getting an idea of the age structure and target harvest on older / mature / ~5-6yo+ bucks regardless of antlers, and spread the doe harvest out among the age classes if you can at all. We had a trait of no brow tines that was common, but after we started managing the forage better and some supplemental feeding, that problem went away.

Was any supplemental feeding/plotting done the last 3 yrs?

If you are going to start a feed program, you need to continue it through winter and keep something available when pasture conditions aren’t great, or you can lose the older bucks. My dad bought a place that hadn’t been hunted, had a bunch of old big 8 pointers. We started feeding, and my dad liked watching those old bucks and didn’t want any of them shot. We didn’t keep the feeding program up after January and we didn’t see a single one of those old bucks the next year. They had gotten accustomed to corn and protein feed, and then we stopped feeding when pasture conditions weren’t good, the deer crashed; laid down and died somewhere. It is known to potentially happen with cattle in the similar circumstances.

[CHIEF 5228]

4 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

That's where I'm at.  He'll be looking right after this years rut and probably looking older than he is.  Pretty buck though. 

Same. Nose, and swayed back say 4.5, small front brisket says he could be 3.5.

CHIEF

[686 3461]

You guys are talking me into 4.5 with the nose, swayback, and little starter belly

[686 3461]

NM

You had a good question and interesting scenario man, no need to delete. Same type questions come up for a lot of folks on a new place.