Hello all, I just joined this group. I need some help. I hunt on 365 acres in southwest Texas, lots of brush and cactus. I have 3 large oat fields. Over the last three years I have noticed that I do not see many mature does. We have plenty of young does with fawns. We have lots of two and three year old bucks also. We never shoot anything under eight points and really try to limit our takes to four years and up. My concern is what has happened to all of our older does. We do not have a game fence and are surrounded on all sides by large ranches. We tend to see a lot of the same bucks each year, but I believe they are mainly just passing through our place.

Thanks

Its just really too hard to say - but big, old does can hide like the biggest of bucks - they are not always that visible - it depends if food is scarce.

Since you are surrounded by big ranches (like the Briscoe/Cochina in your area probobly) i would say dispersal is always heaviest from refuge (Less hunted) areas. Social pressures would be pushing your less mature deer out of the big ranch (less hunted area) to your place. Not to say I am right but thats my guess.

May I ask why your shooting only 8 points and up? Seems like a bass ackwards stradegy. I would shoot anything 9 points and less over 4.5 years old. Let your 10 pointers and up be your breeders. Let your big deer walk - shoot the trash.

South West Texas is known for big deer. Not numbers of deer. With a wet summer and early fall foilage growth is at record levels. Deer are not having to travel as far to eat or drink. Wait till we get a freeze and see what happens. Also as the winter progresses the palatabilty and nutritional values of many plants will decline.

I have 2 word for you since you are surrounded by big ranches TAILGATE FEED!
It really works. Teilgate feed 200-300 pounds every time you go.

Good luck!!








The perculiar virtue of wildlife ethics is the hunter has no gallery to applaud of disprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience.

Adolph Leopold

yes, Texas you are right. That was the point of shooting nothing under eight points and rack wider than the ears. It was sort of a way to communicate to some of our other hunters that we only want to shoot the older bucks that have had a chance to grow and breed. We have started filming and taking pics of the bucks that we want to harvest to help identify them to our younger hunters. This weekend I let two great looking eight point bucks walk. They are probably only 3 yr olds but have nice potential. I did shoot two very large doe this past week and saw many more. We had a mild cool front come through and that seemed to do the trick. I have seen some signs of large bobcats on the place so I am concerned about that limiting the deer traffic through our place as well.

Thanks for the replies, and info.

Jasper