Hey Frank, how are ya? I live in the Southern region of East Texas and I also hunt here. I live on 13 acres that is surrounded by hundreds of acres of thick pines. For the past 3 years I have dedicated all of my hunting time to my 13 acres. I have yet to take one deer. This has been my choice of course because I could of taken a few nice 115" to 125" class young eight points but I let them live another day. My father also lives in another house on the same 13 acres and he has seen a true monster stalking the back woodline on our property. He does not hunt this acreage but he wishes he had a gun at that moment. He said this deer could easily match up with a mature South Texas buck both antlers and body weight. I have talked to many of people in the area and alot of them have seen some big ones. My uncle who lives down the way has seen a monster this past deer season. He is not hunter but he watches the deer on a daily basis. He has seen many of bucks run through his property over the years but this one out did them all. These deer have plenty of cover to hide in. I mean a bunch! You could walk by a deer within 10 yards of you and you wouldn't of even known that it was there. The big bucks are here but you have to up the anty on your hunting skills to get a shot at one. No doubt about it.
I have also hunted the Hill Country exclusively. I've hunted in Kerr, Gillespie and far-out Edwards County to name a few. The Hill Country has the highest population of whitetails in all of Texas. Too many deer and not enough forage which is why the deer are smaller both body weight and rack size. I hunted on a meat lease outside of Fredricksburg years ago and I would have 15 to 20 deer around the feeder at one time.lol It ain't like that back home. The most I have had at the feeder on my areage is 10 and that was a lucky day no doubt. The average is about 4 to 5 and that is not all the time. If you are going to get on a lease in the Hill Country, make sure it is a decent one. One thing about the Hill Country that I truly love is how beautiful it is. I love hunting out there because of the quietness and the scenic hills and gullies. Let me know how it turns out.