MC I'm afraid you aren't going to find many 130" bucks for only $2k, the market just commands a higher price. I suppose you "could" possibly find somewhere in central TX that MIGHT have some culls on their place that are in that range. I doubt seriously any place in southern TX would let a 130"er go for only $2k. My suggestion would be to spend $2k on a lease in LA that has produced bucks of that size, a 130"er isn't that hard to grow and almost any place will grow bucks that size if they are given 3-4 years to do so!

If you just want to get out of state and DIY on a limited budget then perhaps you should look at hunting in the various state and national forests in Arkansas and possibly even the various Mark Twain Forests in southern MO. There certainly are trophy caliber bucks in those places but it will take some pre-season work and some scouting around.

Personally I think that in the long run you would be MUCH happier if you just waited another year or two and socked back a couple thousand more dollars and then went after a quality buck somewhere in TX. But remember now, simply paying for the hunt fee itself is NOT enough. Alot of guys think a $4,000.00 hunt is gonna cost them $4k and that is it. That's NOT it. Typically that only includes the hunt itself, it may or may not include license fees and certainly doesn't include travel, tips (which ARE recommended), taxidermy costs and that little extra bit of equipment you'll probably buy for the hunt. Typically such costs can be from %50 too as much as another %100 of the cost itself.

One example I give is of my father-in-law and his hunting club that went too Colorado annually during the early-mid 90s. They drove out, stayed in cheap hotels and ate "on the cheap" and I am sure they had great memories and the comraderie of the hunt but in about a 5 year span they only had a couple of average muley bucks, a few cow elk and one scrub bull to show for it. Add up all the trips he took and he could've gone on one quality hunt in NM or some quality area and had a much better odds of a true trophy. After I killed a huge bull in the Gila and got it back from the taxidermist in AZ, he took one look at it and told me he wished he would've saved his money and gone on a hunt like that instead of all that time, money and bootleather he had spent in CO with nothing much to show for it.

Please don't get me wrong, I am NOT trying to discourage you from doing it on your own. If that is the only thing you really want to do then get some maps and have a blast. But alot of guys think they can just chunk their rifles in the truck, drive 2 days too another state and come home with something like you see on TV. It happens on occasion but statistically you are "pissin up a rope" in all reality!

Good luck whichever way you go,
RA