Hunting ‘23/‘24: Bag ‘em and Tag ‘em

[RMac5 1551]

Here is the best buck I have seen in several years. I first saw him in bow season, actually thought I was going to kill him in the first ten minutes of my first hunt of the year. Lucky for him there was a doe that was watching me like a hawk. He hung around for a few minutes and hasn’t been seen since. Neighbors to the north rifle hunt and I hope he stays on our place. 

Edited November 30, 2023 by RMac5

[CycleTex87 2966]

On 11/24/2023 at 7:45 AM, deadshank said:

Good morning, meatheads. 

Love these dawn/dusk pics. I’m a fool for taking these type of pictures, trying to get one to look as good as the actual scene and can’t really do it. 

[WithoutAClue 15341]

[CHIEF 5077]

8 hours ago, Izhmash said:

Just realized these are made in Austin. Do they sell factory seconds, by chance? I could care less about paint jobs. Also - I'm curious about maintenance. Is the system easily accessible (or do you have to take apart the whole plate system on the bottom to do any work? How is yours working out for you now? Did you end up with a 500? Thanks in advance! We primarily use All Seasons, but considering the Monarch for a new deployment.

They are not made in Austin. They are made between Alvarado and Midlothian, about 30 minutes from me. This is always our secondary unfenced feeder: https://deerfeeder.com/collections/feeders/products/the-barrel-stubby . $200 and you supply the barrel. You will need to attach it to "t" posts or drill through the skids and attach anchors. Cows, hogs, and Auodad will turn it over. But it is a deal for the money.

CHIEF

[fattyflattie 4639]

10 hours ago, Lazarus Bocanegra said:

Got down to Whitsett the weekend before Thanksgiving.  I was able to bring one of my best friends who is currently fighting stage 4 colon cancer and his treatment schedule finally aligned.  I've spent a ton of time at his family's place in East Texas but he hasn't been to our ranch since we got it in 2021.  If the theme of the weekend was to do as much South Texas stuff as possible in the event he never gets back, we 100% checked that box.  He's not too mobile in the mornings, so I sat Saturday AM by myself, saw a big 8 point and some smaller 8s.  There is a freakshow (8pt) I've seen on cameras that is on my target list this year, but I have a ton of meat in the freezer and I told Mrs. Laz I likely won't soot a deer this year.  Well, freakshow showed up and I let him walk.  Hard to describe him - his left antler is a typical 4 point, but his right is like two long points kind of twisted together.  I don't really care about trophies, but I'm a sucker for weirdos.  To be determined.  

Saturday to the feed store, then we took a detour to Choke Canyon SP where we took a short hike along the shoreline, jumped a 6' gator, and then--owing to a misguided shortcut attempt--wound up low crawling through pig tunnels in the brush with me using bare hands to open the way so he wouldn't snag his chemo port.  Lunch at Max's, yardwork, then an evening sit.  Not too much in the way of deer coming to the feeders.  It's pretty green and I watched a small buck browsing on granjeno for a good bit of time that morning.  Towards sunset, a group of Javelina showed up and we watched them for a while until sunset.  

Sunday morning, I went back out and the deer were similarly sparse and unremarkable.   In the almost three years we've owned the place, I've only seen pigs in daylight once.  I was on foot and rushed the shot, and they escaped unharmed.  I'd put a 0800 hard stop in order to clean up and break camp before noon.  Well, lo and behold, about 0750 a sounder of 6 pigs shows up at one of the feeders.  I lined up on a good eating black pig and took the shot.  Didn't see it drop, but a brown one went down kicking.  When the dust settled, I approached and found that the black one dropped like a rock DRT, and the 168gr .308 brained the brown one too.  I processed one, left the other for the coyotes.  Cooked up the backstrap and Mrs. Laz, despite her initial misgivings, cleaned her plate.  

/CSB

 

Hell yeah. That’s what it’s about. 

[Izhmash 562]

18 hours ago, CHIEF said:

They are not made in Austin. They are made between Alvarado and Midlothian, about 30 minutes from me. This is always our secondary unfenced feeder: https://deerfeeder.com/collections/feeders/products/the-barrel-stubby . $200 and you supply the barrel. You will need to attach it to "t" posts or drill through the skids and attach anchors. Cows, hogs, and Auodad will turn it over. But it is a deal for the money.

CHIEF

Figured out my mistake. I was looking at The Judge, not the Monarch. Sorry to send you down a rabbit hole and thanks for the feedback!

[CHIEF 5077]

1 hour ago, Izhmash said:

Figured out my mistake. I was looking at The Judge, not the Monarch. Sorry to send you down a rabbit hole and thanks for the feedback!

No problem at all. They are a good feeder to supplement your primary feeder during season. 300 lbs. will last the whole season and run out in January.

CHIEF

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2732]

Just realized these are made in Austin. Do they sell factory seconds, by chance? I could care less about paint jobs. Also - I'm curious about maintenance. Is the system easily accessible (or do you have to take apart the whole plate system on the bottom to do any work? How is yours working out for you now? Did you end up with a 500? Thanks in advance! We primarily use All Seasons, but considering the Monarch for a new deployment.

Pretty sure they are made in Alvarado but dealers throughout the state.
It’s too new for me to comment on repairs but hopefully I won’t have an issue for a long time.

[hornmpa96 2618]

Great day at the ranch. Watched the Horns bookend Big 12 titles and got to watch this guy on my afternoon sit.

 

[BabaYaga 15288]

Fun weekend with the boy.  No wife or daughter, so we shared a few beers, had fun, got to spend time in the stand together.  Saw a bunch of does and a big-bodied six, but no shooters.  Did see lots of quail and a crap ton of doves.  

[Matagorda 118]

On 12/4/2023 at 8:08 AM, BabaYaga said:

Fun weekend with the boy.  No wife or daughter, so we shared a few beers, had fun, got to spend time in the stand together.  Saw a bunch of does and a big-bodied six, but no shooters.  Did see lots of quail and a crap ton of doves.  

What region of Texas?  Im looking for a quail lease for next season.

[BabaYaga 15288]

1 minute ago, Matagorda said:

What region of Texas?  Im looking for a quail lease for next season.

It's already leased, sorry.  Outside Coleman.  On the border of Coleman/Runnels county.  With two teenagers and wife & I working FT, I needed a group to manage things.  They've been on for a few years now.  It's year round:  deer, turkey, ducks, dove, & quail

[Herbie Hancock 7344]

Dad had a place in the late 80's thru mid 90's between Talpa and Coleman just south of Hoard's creek. That was the last time I remember seeing or hearing of any quail south of Lubbock. Then two years ago my buddy that lives just past the sale barn in Coleman was sending me pics of all the quail he and his son had busted up. Glad to hear you're seeing them as well hopefully they continue their comeback

[fattyflattie 4639]

13 hours ago, Matagorda said:

What region of Texas?  Im looking for a quail lease for next season.

Plenty in South Texas, too.  The place next to us is predominately quail hunters, who’s kids shoot a nice buck or two each season. But they are really there for the quail; awesome buggy’s, dogs, and all.  

[RMac5 1551]

That’s awesome that the quail are holding their own or better. I wanted to put quail feeders out just to help them but read where that may actually be detrimental to them. 

[BabaYaga 15288]

23 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Dad had a place in the late 80's thru mid 90's between Talpa and Coleman just south of Hoard's creek. That was the last time I remember seeing or hearing of any quail south of Lubbock. Then two years ago my buddy that lives just past the sale barn in Coleman was sending me pics of all the quail he and his son had busted up. Glad to hear you're seeing them as well hopefully they continue their comeback

If you get the chance, take a trip to Coleman.  You won't recognize it anymore.  It's become so gentrified, it's great.  Downtown is booming.  Pizza places.  A steak house.  Bars.  Even a wine bar with dueling pianos.  There are also two vineyards near the town.  

If you want a high-end place to stay - check this out:

Rancholoma B&B

[BabaYaga 15288]

10 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Plenty in South Texas, too.  The place next to us is predominately quail hunters, who’s kids shoot a nice buck or two each season. But they are really there for the quail; awesome buggy’s, dogs, and all.  

Before we leased to hunters, we had a dedicated group of quail hunters.  These guys were intense.  They leased our place, and all the surrounding places.  Custom shotguns.  Professionally trained dogs bred from the top breeders.  Platinum diesel Fords with built in aluminum dog crates attached to the truck bed.  Electronic collars with GPS trackers.  They'd blow through our place (650+ acres) in less than half a day.  

I asked about the dogs and kids (was looking into getting one) and they kind of laughed - these aren't "family" dogs.  They are work dogs.  They stay in the kennels and do nothing but train and field work.  Like I said, intense group with deep pockets.  

[Herbie Hancock 7344]

If you get the chance, take a trip to Coleman.  You won't recognize it anymore.  It's become so gentrified, it's great.  Downtown is booming.  Pizza places.  A steak house.  Bars.  Even a wine bar with dueling pianos.  There are also two vineyards near the town.  
If you want a high-end place to stay - check this out:
Rancholoma B&B

Mom and dad live between Lawn and Oplin, and I find my way to Coleman for work a couple times every few months. Cattle Drive and Don Luis are my haunts when I'm in town. Owl Drug was full of weird city folk last time I went in. Very strange.

[BabaYaga 15288]

1 minute ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Mom and dad live between Lawn and Oplin, and I find my way to Coleman for work a couple times every few months. Cattle Drive and Don Luis are my haunts when I'm in town. Owl Drug was full of weird city folk last time I went in. Very strange.

Nice!  Watched the Texas game at the Cattle Drive.  I bet there were 30+ people wearing orange.  Whole place would erupt every time Texas scored

Back in the day my g-mother would take me to Owl for a burger and a shake when she drive into town to get her meds.  Neat old place, but it's got this gift boutique vibe now, for sure.  

Edited December 6, 2023 by BabaYaga

[fattyflattie 4639]

49 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Before we leased to hunters, we had a dedicated group of quail hunters.  These guys were intense.  They leased our place, and all the surrounding places.  Custom shotguns.  Professionally trained dogs bred from the top breeders.  Platinum diesel Fords with built in aluminum dog crates attached to the truck bed.  Electronic collars with GPS trackers.  They'd blow through our place (650+ acres) in less than half a day.  

I asked about the dogs and kids (was looking into getting one) and they kind of laughed - these aren't "family" dogs.  They are work dogs.  They stay in the kennels and do nothing but train and field work.  Like I said, intense group with deep pockets.  

Ha. Familiar story.  The guys next to us aren’t that, though they do have some decent buggy’s and are “well to do”.  But our ranch manager works with another group that leases up 100k acres and they are that. They don’t drive down, but you know they are there because there’s 3x the normal amount of jets when you pass by the airport.  One of them tossed him a really nice dog once because she wasn’t performing and “he had 20k in her and that was enough”.  Our mgr said that dog hunts like nothing he’s had before.   Big boy sport.  

[RMac5 1551]

2 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

If you get the chance, take a trip to Coleman.  You won't recognize it anymore.  It's become so gentrified, it's great.  Downtown is booming.  Pizza places.  A steak house.  Bars.  Even a wine bar with dueling pianos.  There are also two vineyards near the town.  

If you want a high-end place to stay - check this out:

Rancholoma B&B

Anxious to see how the bbq place does once they get open. Wish the pizza place would open more days, I’m typically thru Coleman M-W. It’s the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.

[BabaYaga 15288]

55 minutes ago, RMac5 said:

Anxious to see how the bbq place does once they get open. Wish the pizza place would open more days, I’m typically thru Coleman M-W. It’s the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.

Have you tried the steak house next door (Black Cur)?  It's as good as any you will visit.  

[deadshank 24652]

My hand load cartridges started to break down and bulge so I got my mitts on some new Nosler brass for the next batch of .270 bullets with Nosler Accubond 130 grain warheads.  

Nice and purty but quite accurate, consistent and deadly.  

 

[RMac5 1551]

41 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Have you tried the steak house next door (Black Cur)?  It's as good as any you will visit.  

No not yet. Want to but hardly ever in that area during their business hours. I love everything about Rancho this and Rancho that!

[Spaulding Smails 1552]

4 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Ha. Familiar story.  The guys next to us aren’t that, though they do have some decent buggy’s and are “well to do”.  But our ranch manager works with another group that leases up 100k acres and they are that. They don’t drive down, but you know they are there because there’s 3x the normal amount of jets when you pass by the airport.  One of them tossed him a really nice dog once because she wasn’t performing and “he had 20k in her and that was enough”.  Our mgr said that dog hunts like nothing he’s had before.   Big boy sport.  

I'll pile on the quail hunting stories.  Good family friend growing up in Corpus raised GSPs.  So, my dad and I had a chance to quail hunt some pretty cool ranches in South Texas once a year or so.  As a teen, I down at a place outside of Falfurrias with him.  This ranch leased one section to deer hunters, but most was to quail hunters.  I asked the rancher why not lease more to deer hunters.  He said, "Son... my deer hunters show up in nice trucks.  My quail hunters show up in private jets and helicopters."

CSB:  One of those pointers he raised was with Cheney when he shot that other dude on the Armstrong Ranch a few decades ago.  

[fattyflattie 4639]

7 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

I'll pile on the quail hunting stories.  Good family friend growing up in Corpus raised GSPs.  So, my dad and I had a chance to quail hunt some pretty cool ranches in South Texas once a year or so.  As a teen, I down at a place outside of Falfurrias with him.  This ranch leased one section to deer hunters, but most was to quail hunters.  I asked the rancher why not lease more to deer hunters.  He said, "Son... my deer hunters show up in nice trucks.  My quail hunters show up in private jets and helicopters."

CSB:  One of those pointers he raised was with Cheney when he shot that other dude on the Armstrong Ranch a few decades ago.  

That’s where we are. We’ve had good to great quail over the last decade. This year has me a bit nervous. Saw some early, not much lately.  

[BabaYaga 15288]

I will say I get it - hunting over expertly trained dogs is something hard to explain.  They're a cheat code.  If those are your dogs, and you put in the time and training and field time, it's got to be something hard to explain.  

[Gladeite 375]

I have been fortunate enough in life to have 2 expert bird dogs that were great family pets.  Both were hunting machines.  My English Setter had great range, great nose and impeccable manners.  She was so good, a professional quail guide would come by the house and pick her up every chance he could and use her to guide the wealthy clients who flew in/hunted Albany and surrounding areas when quail were good.  No telling how many coveys she pointed in her lifetime.   At home, stayed at the children's feet all day and slept with them in the bed.  She would swim with them, kill any pesky snakes in their vicinity and play endless games of fetch with a tennis ball.  She lasted 10 years and died of cancer.  When she was diagnosed as terminal, I hired a professional photographer and we went to Sterling City and hunted for a day.  Great on points, retrieves and those photos are all thru the house.  My Brittany was a pup from national trial champions.   Also far ranging, excellent nose and very good retriever.  Loved my now teenage children and wanted to go wherever they went.  They would take him to Sonic, Whataburger, riding around town at night.  He and I hunted our asses off for 13 years.  He started slowing down and by year 15 passed away from cancer.  I have put my shotgun up and choose to relish the many years in the field.  I have no interest in another dog.  I feel blessed to have 25 consecutive years of getting after it.  It is hard to explain.

[fattyflattie 4639]

10 hours ago, Gladeite said:

I have been fortunate enough in life to have 2 expert bird dogs that were great family pets.  Both were hunting machines.  My English Setter had great range, great nose and impeccable manners.  She was so good, a professional quail guide would come by the house and pick her up every chance he could and use her to guide the wealthy clients who flew in/hunted Albany and surrounding areas when quail were good.  No telling how many coveys she pointed in her lifetime.   At home, stayed at the children's feet all day and slept with them in the bed.  She would swim with them, kill any pesky snakes in their vicinity and play endless games of fetch with a tennis ball.  She lasted 10 years and died of cancer.  When she was diagnosed as terminal, I hired a professional photographer and we went to Sterling City and hunted for a day.  Great on points, retrieves and those photos are all thru the house.  My Brittany was a pup from national trial champions.   Also far ranging, excellent nose and very good retriever.  Loved my now teenage children and wanted to go wherever they went.  They would take him to Sonic, Whataburger, riding around town at night.  He and I hunted our asses off for 13 years.  He started slowing down and by year 15 passed away from cancer.  I have put my shotgun up and choose to relish the many years in the field.  I have no interest in another dog.  I feel blessed to have 25 consecutive years of getting after it.  It is hard to explain.

That is awesome. 

[BabaYaga 15288]

#Natureismetal

Hunters had an "oops" moment with a youth hunter.  It happens.  Son rushed a shot and the deer didn't immediately drop.  Dad texted me and he was apoplectic.  Kids first deer.  They tracked and tracked.  Called my cousin and brought in tracking dogs with GPS collars and contacted our neighbors for permission to cross their fences.  Dogs found the deer that next evening.  One day.  Coyotes out there are nothing if not efficient.  So wild.  

 

[BabaYaga 15288]

On the bright side, buddy is a guide at a place in Waco called C5 Whitetails.  This guy scored 181 over the weekend.  Keeps wanting me to help out.  Make a grand videoing the hunt, taking pictures, dressing the deer, and cooking and drinking.  I need to find the time.

[CHIEF 5077]

1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

On the bright side, buddy is a guide at a place in Waco called C5 Whitetails.  This guy scored 181 over the weekend.  Keeps wanting me to help out.  Make a grand videoing the hunt, taking pictures, dressing the deer, and cooking and drinking.  I need to find the time.

I used to set up at the Texas Trophy Hunters Expo with those guys. I can't remember their names, but one of them would bring his daughter. She was about 14-15 years old. She couldn't have been more than about 4'3" and 70 pounds. This was in 2020-2021.

CHIEF

[deadshank 24652]

2 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

#Natureismetal

Hunters had an "oops" moment with a youth hunter.  It happens.  Son rushed a shot and the deer didn't immediately drop.  Dad texted me and he was apoplectic.  Kids first deer.  They tracked and tracked.  Called my cousin and brought in tracking dogs with GPS collars and contacted our neighbors for permission to cross their fences.  Dogs found the deer that next evening.  One day.  Coyotes out there are nothing if not efficient.  So wild.  

 

The dad didn't have to skin it, saved money on processing testosterone laden rut meat and got a head start on a Euro mount.

[CHIEF 5077]

2 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

#Natureismetal

Hunters had an "oops" moment with a youth hunter.  It happens.  Son rushed a shot and the deer didn't immediately drop.  Dad texted me and he was apoplectic.  Kids first deer.  They tracked and tracked.  Called my cousin and brought in tracking dogs with GPS collars and contacted our neighbors for permission to cross their fences.  Dogs found the deer that next evening.  One day.  Coyotes out there are nothing if not efficient.  So wild.  

 

Hogs will do that too. Between hogs and coyotes nothing but the spine, skull, and rack will be left after one night.

CHIEF

[JCHIL 414]

Salt and Pepper  

[Cajun 11705]

On 11/30/2023 at 2:21 PM, CycleTex87 said:

Love these dawn/dusk pics. I’m a fool for taking these type of pictures, trying to get one to look as good as the actual scene and can’t really do it. 

 

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

I need to stop torturing myself. I spent a week hunting elk in October, but didn’t see a single one. Now, I get a series of pics and videos that show a herd of 200+ on our land. The clip below has 88, but it starts 4 seconds after a still shot that shows at least a dozen that had already passed by. About 21 seconds after this video is a second video showing the last 15 elk in this herd. There was a still shot during that 21 second gap that indicates the herd was unbroken. If there are 5 elk per second passing through (less than the almost 6 per second in this clip) for 45 total seconds, my UT math comes up with 225 elk.

Then there’s this November photo of ~105 grazing, again after the season ended. 😑

Edited December 14, 2023 by ImissWallyPryor

[MalibuSheriff 1090]

More of a camping trip than deer hunt.  A long time friend got access to a ranch in San Bois Mountains in SE Oklahoma.  We only got to hunt one day as we both were overbooked this time of year, we zero time to scout.  Lots of sign but wild timber country (14 miles back off the pavement, through four locked gates) and some serious elevation changes without four wheeler.  No deer this trip but good scenery.

 

Planned on a little striper action on way home below Eufaula Lake on the Canadian but no generation happening.

[solamente73 1132]

Went down to Port O’Connor last weekend for a cast and blast on re-opening weekend.  This was our 11th year in a row making that trip.  Decent numbers of ducks were flying on Saturday, and the reds were biting.  We had duck diablos and redfish on the half shell for dinner Saturday night.  Then that norther came through, shutting everything down and clearing the bays with 30 knot winds on a loooowwwww tide.  Still a damn good time.

 

I bet this weekend will see shit tons of birds down there.

[deadshank 24652]

Forgot about this cull from a few years ago.  

[RMac5 1551]

Found this dude while looking for a doe I shot earlier in the week. Not sure what killed him, found the entire skeleton.  

[RMac5 1551]

@deadshank what causes that in the cull you posted?  Would his next antlers look similar the next year?

[deadshank 24652]

46 minutes ago, RMac5 said:

@deadshank what causes that in the cull you posted?  Would his next antlers look similar the next year?

Lots of factors.  Really odd ones like in the picture is probably not due to an injury to a or both hind legs or injury to the antlers during developmental velvet stage.  Probably not bad nutrition either.  
 

I would bet the buck with the odd antlers had a testicle or both that didn’t drop into the scrotum where they / it stays cooler than its own internal body temp like it should thus causing hormone imbalance leading to the odd and small antlers.

If his testicles stay up in his body cavity because of a genetic or other permanent issue then he probably would have his next set of antlers turn up abnormal again  

I could be wrong.   

Edited December 15, 2023 by deadshank

[deadshank 24652]

Cryptorchidism is the term.  It’s the opposite of “let your nuts hang.”

[RMac5 1551]

Thanks for the explanation, was curious about testosterone vs injury. Seems like I’ve read about antlers being stung by wasp or whatever and turn out funky on that side.

[deadshank 24652]

2 minutes ago, RMac5 said:

Thanks for the explanation, was curious about testosterone vs injury. Seems like I’ve read about antlers being stung by wasp or whatever and turn out funky on that side.

If the back left leg gets injured then the right antler can grow abnormally.  Seems to always be the opposite.  
 

Dunno why.  Mongo is a simple man. 

[Lat22 4010]

17 hours ago, deadshank said:

Cryptorchidism

Not a pretty name, is it?

[Spaulding Smails 1552]

Speaking of culls, I forgot about this until a few months ago when I went back to Corpus.  Shot 20+ years ago by one of my best buds from our old lease in Live Oak County.  Sunbleached and needs a new cape now.  We saw him a few times and called him "Mr. Horndangles".  When he turned his head, the antler would literally sway back and forth.  Just held together by skin.  Evidently, the skull fractured or the antler came loose.  No clue.  You could wriggle it around under the skin when we loaded him in the truck.  Taxidermist did a pretty good job of keeping it intact.  Probably my favorite unique deer ever.  

[Matagorda 118]

Had a fun warm up session before woodcock season.  Both dogs did great.  

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4975]

Not too many folks hunting woodcocks these days. In fact, there aren't too many people who know what a woodcock is. And if you tell them it's basically like a snipe with Asian stripes on it's head they just look at you funny.