Texas Hunting Times

Venison & Corn Casserole

This venison and corn casserole makes for a quick, delicious meal. This dish can be made “high octane” with regular sour cream or lightened with the fat free version. This casserole goes great with a fresh, crisp side salad or some sauteed veggies.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground venison
1 can creamed corn
1 can corn
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 box corn muffin mix
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F, then browning the ground venison. Next, mix together the remaining ingredients except for the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven to sprinkle shredded cheese over top. Put the corn and venison casserole back in oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until a clean tooth pick comes out from the center of the dish. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Turkey Hunting in East Texas

The Eastern spring turkey hunting season in East Texas includes 28 counties that have an open season. The hunting season runs April 15 through May 14 this year. According to Jason Hardin, Turkey Program coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the Eastern turkey population remains stable, but is not expanding to the degree that biologists have hoped.

“Easterns across most of Texas have not shown much growth outside of a few areas stocked in 2007-2008,” he said. “Those stocked sites were part of a research project examining a new stocking strategy known as super stocking.”

This turkey stocking method calls for flooding the best available East Texas habitat with at least 80 turkeys (60 females and 20 males). The old stocking method only placed 15-20 birds per site, which were more susceptible to other issues because of low initial numbers. Following the positive results of this “super stocking” research, TPWD is now looking for large, high quality sites to be evaluated as potential future releases sites. These sites can be single ownership or a cooperative on private or public lands.

East Texas hunters are reminded that all Eastern turkeys must be taken to a check station within 24 hours after harvest. To find the turkey check station nearest you, contact a TPWD field office or call (800) 792-1112 for more information. The turkey hunting in Texas can be good, but East Texas is a little more difficult. With warmer than normal temperatures, the turkey hunting should be as good as it can get early in the season.

Which Doe to Shoot: Fawn, Yearling or Mature?

We’ve all been there, typically later in the deer hunting season: “Which doe to shoot?” Although doe harvest makes up a large percentage of the deer removed from the landscape in each year in Texas, little research had been conducted in past years to help address this question many hunters and deer managers have pondered. A recent study out of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute may offer some solutions when wondering which doe to shoot. Interesting stuff.

Source: “What does this information mean relative to choosing a doe to harvest? One implication is that young deer appear to be poor mothers. Harvesting mature does heavily will shift the age structure to young does and could greatly reduce fawn production. This does not sound like a problem if your goal is to reduce the number of deer in your herd. However, young deer are not only likely to produce fewer fawns, the fawns they produce may not be the large, robust fawns capable of growing up to be big, productive adult deer.

These findings suggest harvesting at least some young does, including doe fawns, could be a viable harvest strategy, especially because it will reduce the number of mature does in the herd in future years. You may still need to harvest mature does to reduce the number of deer on your property. Aaron and Randy’s findings suggest you have mature does that know how to raise fawns and others that are less successful.

To select for the does that are able to raise fawns, take a lesson from the old rancher tailoring a cow herd to his ranch. Just as the rancher will sell a cow who fails to raise a calf, consider harvesting does that do not have fawns with them. This approach is not perfect and when many does must be harvested, you may not be able to be so choosy. However, given the choice between a mature doe that clearly knows how to raise a fawn and another doe without a fawn at heel, findings from this high-tech maternity study suggest you should put the cross-hairs on the doe without a fawn.”

Ask anyone involved in deer management over the last few decades and these exact findings have been the rule of thumb. It’s been somewhat common knowledge that older does do a better job of producing fawns than younger does. The great thing about this study is that it gives more creedence to what was once thought to be only deer hunting theory. So which doe should you shoot? It’s recommended that landowners and interested in deer management shoot does throughout all age classes. Or as I heard a biologist say once, “Shoot the one closest and standing stillist.”

Managed Lands Deer Permits for Deer Management

Many Texas landowners and hunters are familiar with the Managed Lands Deer Permit (MLDP) program, but many more are not. Many have misconceptions or are simply misinformed. So what is it? The MLDP program is a habitat-based program designed for landowners interested in white-tailed deer management and it is one of the many voluntary programs offered by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD). The program can also help landowners with mule deer management, but it’s typically associated with whitetail deer, mostly because of their greater distribution across the state.

The MLDP program allows landowners involved in a formal management program to have the state’s most flexible seasons and increased harvest opportunities. The program is incentive based and habitat focused. In other words, the program’s enhanced deer bag limits and extended seasons are made available to landowners as incentives for maintaining their ranches’ wildlife habitats in good and improving condition. The Managed Lands Deer Permit program has three levels (Levels 1, 2 and 3), with more deer harvest and season flexibility offered to landowners as the progress through the program.

Participation in Levels 2 and 3 of MLDP requires the implementation of a minimum of 2 and 4 recommended habitat management practices, respectively. Maintaining a ranch’s population density of native and exotic deer at a level no higher than the capacity of the native habitat is high on the list of recommended management practices. MLDP’s longer seasons and enhanced bag limits provide landowners with much more flexibility in achieving the recommended harvest rates to maintain the proper density of white-tailed deer.

TPWD typically recommend that hunters use the early portion of the season to remove excess deer, especially does. It is much better to remove them early in the season, rather than waiting until the latter stages of the season in January and February, to reduce pressure on the winter habitat as early as possible and making those food resources available to the deer that will be retained in the population.

The early season is also a good time to remove management and cull bucks (bucks with undesirable antler characteristics) from a deer herd. That’s good not only from a habitat perspective, but also from a genetic perspective since they are removed from the population before the rut begins. This leaves bucks with the more desirable antler characteristics to do the breeding.

The long MLDP seasons and enhanced bag limits allow landowners interested in deer management to meet their harvest goals on an annual basis and improve their deer herd. That’s because the deer hunting seasons under Level 2 and 3 start during the first weekend of archery season and run through the end of February of the following year. This offers participating landowners about 5 months of deer hunting, although the idea is to get most of the harvest done as soon as possible for a deer food standpoint.

Ranches that choose to participate in the MLDP program must commit to deer habitat management and other deer management practices. These practices may include brush management, grazing management, prescribed burning, supplemental feeding, supplemental water, range reseeding, food plots and deer surveys. If improving the habitat on your ranch for deer is not one of your goals, then this program will not work for you. The MLDP program is more than just a deer hunting program, although participating landowners at Level 2 and 3 do not have to follow the county hunting regulations, such as bag limit and antler restrictions.

Over the years, I’ve been around several ranches that have participated in the program. One of the big benefits is not only the long hunting seasons, but the fact that each ranch receives Managed Lands Deer (MLD) Permits. These deer permits are issued for both bucks and does the number issued is based on the estimated deer population using the deer survey data collected by the landowner. The number of permits a ranch gets is the exact number of deer that they can shoot. From what I have seen, most ranches get more than enough permits to achieve their management goals. I’ve been invited on several late season hunts to use “extra” MLD permits, meaning hunters have already taken as many as they could use.

The MLDP program is great for any landowner interested in improving both the habitat and deer found on their property. MLD permits allow for deer harvest flexibility and provide for active management on a ranch. If I owned a ranch there is no doubt that I would participate. Maybe one day. The landowners I have talked with all have said the TPWD biologist are great to work with and that they work to help them achieve their deer management goals. If you have a ranch in Texas and are interested in improving your land and helping the deer and other animals that live there, you can find your local biologist right here.

Public Hunting Opportunities in Texas

Public hunting lands are an excellent way to find a place to hunt in Texas; or if you already have a place, they can provide a new and unique hunting opportunity. In the Lone Star State, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) offers two separate types of hunts: Annual Public Hunting Permit hunts (APH hunts) and special permit hunts. Both are very different as far as access and what you are allowed to harvest.

APH permits allow you to access public land when APH hunts occur. APH permits are available anywhere licenses are sold and cost $48. When you purchase an APH, a booklet is mailed to you with maps of all the current public lands, what species you are allowed to hunt on each property, and when you can access those lands. This information is also available on the TPWD website. Public lands in this system offer a wide variety of game to pursue including: waterfowl, dove, quail, pheasants, rabbits, and hogs.

Most of the public lands in Texas that you can access utilizing an APH have unmanned check stations. You are required to fill out general information at onsite registration (OSR) booths set up at the entrances of the hunting area. APH permits are good for the license year (September 1 through August 31).

Many Texas residents who hunt are probably looking for new places to hunt deer and other big game. These are typically not allowed on APH hunts, but instead through special permits. Special permit hunts are made available through a lottery system. Usually around mid to late July, a booklet (Applications for Drawings on Public Hunting Lands) comes out that has all of the special permit hunts that will be available for the upcoming hunting season. There are 24 different categories (such as Archery Deer, Gun Deer, Youth Deer, Alligator etc.), for which you can apply.

All of the information you need is in the book, such as hunt dates, what you can harvest on that hunt, how many permits will be issued, number of applicants the previous year and the success rate. There are application forms in the back of the book that need to be filled out. There is one form for each category, so you must apply for each one separately, and you may only apply for each category once. You can have up to 4 people total on a card depending on the hunt. Incomplete applications will not be accepted, so pay close attention when completing these forms. Also, do not try to enter yourself and your hunting buddies on one card, and then have them enter for the same category on their card. The computer will catch the duplication and throw both application cards out.

The cost is just $3.00 per adult applicant per category to enter the drawing. Big Time Texas Hunts entries are $10 per applicant. If you are lucky enough to be drawn, you will need to pay $80 – $130 per adult, depending on the length of the hunt. Youth hunters (under 17) are exempt from any fees. Applications and fees must be received at TPWD Headquarters by the posted deadline which will vary by hunt category.

This article on public hunting in Texas was written by Daniel Walker,Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist, Chaparral Wildlife Management Area. Article originally appeared in TPWD publication “The Cedar Post”, Volume 2, Issue 2, 2012.

Every year that you put in for the drawing and are not selected, you start to accumulate preference points for each category. So let’s say that you applied for the Gun Deer Either Sex (GDE) hunt for the first time last year and were not drawn, and then applied for the GDE this year. You now have one preference point which means your name is put into the drawing 1 extra time. If you are not selected for the next 5 years, you will have your name put in 5 extra times for that category and so on.

Some public hunt categories at certain locations are very popular and are difficult to get drawn for. For instance, at the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area we regularly have 3,000+ applicants competing for about 40 of our deer hunting permits. Most of the selected hunters end up with 15, 20, or even 25+ preference points before they are drawn on a whitetail deer hunt.

Once you are selected for that category, your preference points are reset and you have to start over accumulating them. Some categories and hunting areas are more popular than others, so if you are looking for the best chance of getting drawn then look at the previous year’s number of applicants and the number of permits offered so that you can gauge your chances.

Whitetail Deer Hunting in Mills County, Texas

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.

Whitetail Deer Hunting, Deer Lease in Mills County Texas

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.

Best Protein Feeder for Supplemental Feeding of Deer

Question: “We want to improve the deer hunting at our lease. We are thinking about adding supplemental protein to our deer lease. We are looking at the tube feeders to dispense pellets, but also like the idea of an open trough type feeders. What is the best protein feeder for deer out there? Do you think a tube style or trough style will work best? Also, what are the pros and cons of each feeder type? Will the addition of feed help deer hunting or just up our feed cost?”

Deer Hunting: When it comes to deer feeders there are a million of them on the market. But you are aware of this and that is likely why you have asked your question. To answer your last question first, the answer would be, yes! Supplemental feed can make a big difference from a deer management standpoint and that can lead to healthier, bigger deer, both bucks and does. Food is typically the limiting factor when it comes to body and antler growth in whitetail deer. Continue reading Best Protein Feeder for Supplemental Feeding of Deer

Mule Deer Hunting in West Texas Trans-Pecos

When the words “hunting” and “Texas” are mentioned together most hunters will automatically think of white-tailed deer hunting, but the mule deer hunting in Texas can be noteworthy, as well. In fact, both the Trans-Pecos and the Texas Panhandle have been producing some picture-worthy mule deer bucks in recent years. Deer management, including both habitat improvement and select harvest, have payed off big for thoughtful landowners and mule deer hunters. The trend is likely to continue, but like many saw this season, hunting will always be hunting.

Mule Deer Hunting: Texas 2012

The mule deer hunting season out in far West Texas was a slow one in 2012. The Trans-Pecos just has just had a tough run of it lately. From what I’ve seen, mule deer activity, and subsequently, hunting, for mule deer in this region of Texas was the slowest in many years. Many hunters observed low buck numbers, but there were at least a couple of reasons why many mulie hunters did not see as many deer as in years past.

Habitat Great, Mule Deer Hunting… Slow!

The grass is sometimes greener on the other side. Too green, in fact, according to many West Texas guides that had a more-difficult time putting customers on deer. The mule deer hunting season for gun hunters is only two weeks long, meaning the weather must cooperate during this window to encourage mule deer movement, generally making them more vulnerable for hunters. But habitat conditions in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas were great this season. Good rainfall high quality food, and plenty of it, was available.

Mule Deer Hunting Cools Down as Temps Rise

Rainfall allowed mule deer foods to flourish, but the heat kept them growing. Mild to hot temperatures limited hunter movement in many cases and the better-than-average leaf cover kept the deer that did move plenty hidden. One hunter said, “There are just too many places for deer to hide, and too much for them to eat. Why would they move?” Mule deer hunting during the cooler mornings were more successful than evening hunts. The deer that were spotted were in great shape, fat and happy. A wet year does that for Texas’ wildlife.

Moon Phase During Mule Deer Season

Ask any deer hunter about a full moon and more often that not you’ll get a sentence full of colorful language right back at you. A full moon means deer activity after dark is much higher than normal thanks to increased visibility. It just so happened that there was a big, bright, full moon during the mule deer hunting season this year. The abundance of food, the warm temperatures and the moon had put everything in favor of the mule deer. And that, my friends, is why they call it hunting. Each year of deer hunting is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.

Deer Hunting in Schleicher County Texas

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

Habitat Management Grants for Wildlife – NRCS EQIP Funding

One of the challenges faced by landowners is ability to maintain good or improve plant communities for both livestock and wildlife. Wildlife and habitat management have become increasingly important in recent years because of the recreational value of providing healthy, abundant wildlife populations. Hunting in Texas is more popular than ever, but the costs of wildlife habitat management faced by landowners are more expensive than ever. The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) management grants can help.

“Applications for funding opportunities with the USDA’s NRCS Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) are currently being accepted at all NRCS offices across Texas. NRCS in Texas has received its initial allocation of EQIP funding for 2013 and will begin ranking and obligating EQIP contracts after February 15. All agriculture producers interested in submitting an EQIP contract application for 2013 should do so before this ranking deadline.

EQIP is a voluntary, continuous sign-up program that allows landowners or operators to apply for financial and technical assistance for the application of specific conservation practices; but the deadline for the first 2013 funding is February 15, 2013. Contracts are offered for wildlife management periodically depending on budgetary allocations. Applications made after the deadline will be considered in the next funding cycle. Higher priority will be given to those applications that address national, state and local priorities and provide higher cost efficiency.

NRCS encourages any person interested in participating in their programs to contact their local field office, usually located at the county seat. EQIP offers technical and financial help to install or implement structural, vegetative, and habitat management practices that can benefit the soil, water, air, plants, livestock, and wildlife. Each county in the state is funded yearly to assist producers financially with these land management practices.

Last year, NRCS in Texas funded over 4,000 EQIP contracts with $76 million to accomplish conservation practices such as irrigation efficiency, minimum tillage, brush management and more on 2.1 million acres across the entire state. In addition to helping our environment, Farm Bill conservation program funds support rural communities. In Texas, it is estimated that each dollar of NRCS and private matching expenditures on NRCS conservation programs generates an additional $2.54 in sales of goods and services.

For more information, including eligibility requirements, call the USDA Service Center office serving the county where your land is located. Service center locations and program information can be found on the Texas NRCS web site.”

Habitat management leads to better plant communities and increased hunting opportunities, but it can also be expensive to implement. The EQIP program is a good way to cost-share and get on-the-ground work accomplished on your property.