Category: Texas Deer Hunting

Question: “I have always heard the whitetail deer hunting in Mills County can be good. I’ve hunted near this part of Central Texas before when we had a lease just south of San Saba. Currently one of my friends and my brother and I are looking at 320 acre deer lease just southeast of Goldthwaite. Do you have any experience with the deer hunting in this area? We have heard that there are lots of deer, but that they are not very big? What do you got?”

Deer Hunting: That part of Texas can be really good for whitetail deer and often some incidental exotics, as well, though they are few and far between. As you stated, the deer population can be high in certain locations in that part of Central Texas. The deer hunting in Mills County will be best along the major creeks and the Colorado River. Same for the turkey hunting. There will be more deer in the drainage areas, but the quality of animals will depend upon overall management in those areas.

A fellow I went to college with is from Mills County and he used to hunt several ranches in the area. He ended up shooting some really nice bucks, all of which were mature deer. The place he lived on had a high deer density when he was young, but then they developed a deer management plan with the local biologist and the body and antler size increased. Like any place, the real deal is to allow the bucks to mature. If you can get some age on them then you will see and shoot some nice bucks.

A guy I know that has a ranch in northern Coryell County, just south of Mills County, has had great success in managing his place. He has even more control with a high fence, but the deer are all native. That ranch produces 150+ inch deer every year and they get a buck that is 170+ every third year or so. Those numbers will rival most places in Texas. Of course, he has had that piece of real estate under a management program for about 10 years.

Can the deer hunting in Mills County be good? Absolutely, especially if you are located along the river or a major creek. How things play out on your 320 acre deer lease will depend a lot on what the landowner and neighbors are doing though. If the area is overgrazed then the deer quality will suffer. There may be a lot of them, but antler growth will be less than optimal. The buck quality will also depend on what the neighboring lands are shooting or not shooting. Buck quality will take some management, if you and your neighbors are on the same page.

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Question: “Moved to central Texas just a few months ago from the mid-west and looking to do some deer hunting. Been conspiring with one of my co-workers to find a place to go hunter and it looks like a deer lease is going to be our best option in Texas. We spoke with a group that needs some additional hunters on their lease. How has the whitetail deer hunting been in Schleicher County in recent years? He also said there were exotics, specifically axis and aoudad, on the property as well. Does this sound right?”

Deer Hunting: Most of Texas is home to good deer hunting, but it always depends on the property in question as well as the hunters expectations. What will satisfy some folks with disappoint others. The deer hunting in Schleicher County can be fair to very good. I have seen some good deer in that part of Texas, both from the road and hunter-harvested. Continue reading Deer Hunting in Schleicher County Texas

Question: “I’m deer hunting in Coleman County, about 10 miles north of the county line. So far, deer movement has been slow. We have not seen any signs of rutting or chasing by bucks going on to date. We are seeing a few scrapes and rubs, of course, and it looks like bucks are checking scrapes some on our piece of real estate. I didn’t get to hunt the past weekend, I was in Coke County with a friend on his property. Has anyone seen or reported any rutting activity while deer hunting in Coleman County this year?”

Response: My cousin hunts in central Coleman County and yes, he has been seeing some rutting activity with bucks chasing does. He says bucks are checking out the estrus he’s using regularly. In their area, they have a lot of acorns on the ground, so they hunted away from the feeders on their ranch. This past weekend they sat in areas where they could see some country and looked for cruising deer. Continue reading Rut Report – Coleman County Deer Hunting

There is no doubt that white-tailed deer hunting in the state of Texas is both socially and economically important. The state has taken measures to protect deer found in Texas over the years by limiting movement of animals within the state, potentially slowing or preventing the spread of harmful diseases. Now, the Texas Animal Health Commission (Commission) is currently accepting public comments on a rule proposed at its June 5 meeting to amend Chapter 40, entitled “Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)”.

The proposed rule will affect certain cervid species and delineates movement restriction zones and other necessary disease management practices related to the control of CWD in far west Texas. CWD has been discovered in mule deer in the Hueco Mountains of southern New Mexico, very near the Texas state line. The potential risk of animals moving back and forth between Texas and New Mexico has raised significant concern among wildlife and animal health officials that the disease is also present in deer living in the Texas portion of the same mountain range. Currently CWD is not known to exist anywhere in Texas, but has been found in 16 other states in free ranging and/or captive cervid herds. Continue reading Texas Deer Hunting Impacted by CWD Regulations?

There are many states in the US that allow the legal use of suppressors for hunting whitetail deer and other game species. Now the state of Texas is making suppressors for deer hunting legal in the state. An important misconception among many people is that suppressors and silencers are not exactly the same thing. If one were to shoot full-powder  loads through them, then they are quite loud. But even with a “hot” bullet, suppressors are still quiet enough on the ears to not need hearing protection, at least in most cases.

Source: “There is an incredible amount of misinformation on what suppressors do and how they may be acquired. Suppressors are not “silencers,” as depicted in typical Hollywood action films. While suppressors do not eliminate the sound of a firearm, they do reduce the muzzle report in a manner similar to the way that a muffler reduces exhaust noise from a vehicle.”

In my opinion, suppressors have several benefits for hunters that use them with sub-sonic (less than 1,129 fps) ammo specifically for deer hunting. Many properties have deer densities that are in line with the habitat of the area, but there are also many places where deer overpopulation is a real issue. In cases where deer numbers must be drastically reduced, it would seem that suppressors for deer hunting would make a whole lot of sense.

Yes, there is hassle in applying and registering for suppressors for hunting, but the benefits received could be well worth it. Many may contend that suppressors are the enemy of legal deer hunters, suggesting that poachers will use them. They may, but they may be already using them for deer hunting before they were legal. To wrap up, it looks like suppressors for deer hunting in Texas will be completely legal here shortly. This gives hunters another option when it comes to whitetail hunting. I expect suppressors sales will go up!

Austin American Statesman: “Here’s one thing I feel about silencers on hunting rifles: I don’t think there will be a rush on gunsmiths as people hurry to get their rifles cut up and altered. There are recoil reducers and some suppressors on the market already, and plenty of people use them. But the details of getting a silencer are going to be a little too much for most people. I think.

First, you’ll have to have a federal firearms license, which costs $200. Then you’ll need the rifle — which most of the time will be a military style, semi-auto selling for up to $1,500 — and the silencer/suppressor, which is going to be about $400. That’s more than $2,000 just to start. Then, to make the gun really quiet, you’ll need hand-loaded, sub-sonic ammunition that costs more than $50 a box in .308 or .223.”

Question: “I’ve lived in the northern part of South Texas for my entire life but may be getting a job a bit further north. I enjoy whitetail deer hunting and am thinking about buying some amount of land near in my new area, Limestone County. I just want to find out more before buying some real estate. Can you tell me if deer hunting in Limestone County is good, decent, or what? Thank you.”

Response: One of my college buddies hunted in Limestone there for about five years. Currently, it is a two buck county, one buck greater than 13 inch inside spread and one buck with at least one unbranched antler can be shot each year. Limestone County has a lot of deer hunting pressure. It will not have the quality of deer that you may be used to, but maybe it could. It all depends on the location. There is a lot of hunting pressure, so the early part of deer season is the best. Continue reading Deer Hunting in Limestone County Texas

Question: “My hunting group has the opportunity to get on a deer hunting property that is located in both Motley and Hall County. We have been through the area, but are not familiar with the whitetail or mule deer numbers in the Motley County area. Can you tell me how this part of Texas is for deer hunting, both whitetail and mulies? We know the lease has both whitetail and mule deer, but what is the ratio? More whitetail or mule deer? Thanks for all help.”

Response: My college roommate was from that area. He live and hunted near Hall County growing up. He was located southwest of Estelline and north of Turkey. In that area, he said the deer hunting improved immensely during his youth, with very good numbers of mule deer on their ranch, although not so many whitetail deer. It is difficult to get good numbers of both of these animals in one area since they prefer different habitat types. Continue reading Deer Hunting in Motley County, Hall County

The deer hunting season down in Texas is in full swing and bucks are chasing does hard right now. The cool front the state received earlier this week has caused the hunting to pick up big time. It had been tough with lots of natural foods, but the deer hunting in Central and East Texas is looking good. It’s definitely time to climb a tree or jump in a stand because the bucks are on the move. Here is a good hunting story from an East Texas deer lease”

“Around 5:30 yesterday evening as I was just about to give up on my hunt I noticed a neck and antlers eating the corn I had spread around Friday night. I immediately know there is a buck much bigger than the ones I’m used to seeing in my stand. My first instinct is to SHOOT! Then my senses come back to me, I put up my binoculars just as he turns his head towards me. Continue reading Deer Hunting Lease in East Texas – WORTH IT!

I have spent many a deer season hunting white-tailed deer in the Hill Country of Texas. Llano, Mason and Gillespie County are all great places to hunt deer. Because of the once very high deer numbers, they were all great counties to see deer, but true-to-life trophies were few a far between. Deer hunting in Gillespie County, however, is getting better. Times have changed and many land owners have adopted various versions of a deer management program. Some are a little out there, but everyone has good intentions.

We had a deer lease in Mason County for about eight or nine years running. Initially, the deer population was high on that piece of property and the bucks were dinky. But over the years, because of selective harvest and an effective wildlife management association, the deer numbers were lowered, the weights increased and the antlers did too. It just goes to show what bucks can do when they get the right nutrition. Here is a case in point: Continue reading Deer Hunting in Gillespie County, Texas

Question: “My friend and I are looking at jumping on a deer lease of about 3,500 acres that is located in Navarro County. It is in the area of FM 55 and FM 744. Do you know what is the whitetail hunting is like in this area? I have recently heard that there are a lot of feral hogs, but other than that I have never heard much about the hunting in Navarro County. It’s been dry across the state, so I imagine that it’s drought like over there too. Any info on deer hunting in Navarro County will be appreciated. Thanks!”

Response: I have a good friend that hunted that area for about eight years, and the deer hunting was solid. His deer lease was about 1,000 acres with a big creek running through the ranch. There are some very nice deer in the parts of Navarro County that have brushy and wooded habitat, but it’s not an area where you will see deer every time you go out. That said, the deer density can range from low to high, but in general the bucks will be bigger in the areas where there are less deer. Continue reading Whitetail Deer Hunting in Navarro County