Texas Hunting Times

Texas Bighorn Sheep Restoration

Desert bighorn sheep once roamed all of the “sky islands” found in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, but most were eliminated over 50 years ago by unregulated bighorn sheep hunting and disease introduction. Enter re-stocking efforts, increased regulations and conservation-minded landowners and bighorn sheep numbers have been going up and up over the past few decades; the bighorn sheep population has reached record highs! Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is responsible for making this happen. And although the bighorn program has been a success, it’s far from over.

In the largest desert bighorn sheep relocation operation in Texas history, a total of 95 desert bighorn sheep have been trapped this month in the mountains north of Van Horn and released about 190 miles away on Big Bend Ranch State Park. Of those captured, 76 were ewes and were 19 rams. The sheep were captured by helicopter on several private ranches and one of the state’s Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) located in the Beach, Sierra Diablo and Baylor mountain ranges of Culberson County. The animals were transported by trailer to the 300,000-acre state park in Presidio County.

The bighorn sheep restoration operation began December 12 at the civic center in Van Horn with a briefing for the 60 TPWD personnel and volunteers with the Texas Bighorn Society and Sul Ross University and continued through December 17. The sheep were released about 20 miles west of Lajitas, near Panther Canyon.

Last year, 46 bighorns (12 rams and 34 ewes) were captured by helicopter at Elephant Mountain WMA and moved to Big Bend Ranch State Park on December 21 and 22. Of those sheep, the first to be introduced to the state park, more than 30 are known to be alive today. “If most sheep survive, we may now have close to a sustainable population on the state park,” said Alpine-based Billy Tarrant, TPWD Wildlife Division district leader.

The restoration of bighorn sheep in Texas has been a conservation success story. “Back in the 1800s, we believe the Trans-Pecos supported around 3,000 bighorn sheep,” says Froylan Hernandez, TPWD’s bighorn sheep program leader. “But by the 1960s, unregulated bighorn sheep hunting and disease introduced through domestic sheep had made the bighorn extinct in Texas.” The last indigenous bighorn was sighted in the Sierra Diablo Mountains in October 1958, he said.

“Today, thanks to bighorn sheep restocking efforts that began more than 50 years ago, we estimate the Texas bighorn herd has increased to half its historic size and half its historic range.” TPWD’s goal is to get the Texas herd back to approximately 3,000, with colonies in most of the 16 mountain ranges with unoccupied critical habitat that sheep once inhabited. Bighorns can now be found in eight of those ranges, Hernandez said.

According to Hernandez, the removal of surplus sheep from the Baylor, Beach and Sierra Diablo Mountains will benefit the remaining herd in those three ranges, estimated at 800 animals, by reducing browsing pressure. In addition to supplementing the existing bighorn population in Big Bend Ranch State Park, the development of a robust herd in other areas also will allow future restocking efforts.

During the just-completed operation, TPWD used a private helicopter service to capture the sheep. When the pilot spotted a desirable sheep, a crew member used a gun that fired weighted nets to entangle the animal. Two “muggers” then jumped out of the low-hovering helicopter to blindfold and hobble the sheep, which was then placed a sling.

Once that was done, the helicopter took the sheep to a staging area where ground crews carried the animal to a check-in station where veterinarians took biological samples and wildlife biologists fitted some of the sheep with radio tracking collars. Then they were carefully loaded into trailers for the trip to Big Bend Ranch.

“Bighorn sheep are a flagship species,” Hernandez said. “Managing them well benefits all other species which share their habitat.” Texas only offers very limited bighorn sheep hunting, but thanks to funds collected from the sale of hunting licenses, it looks like Texas will have many more sheep on public hunting lands and private lands in the future.

Texas Public Hunting Lands Waiting on You

Often times, the only thing more difficult than finding the game your are chasing is finding a place to go hunting. Fortunately for those in the Lone Star State, the Wildlife Division of TPWD offers Texas Public Hunting Lands for sportsmen all over the state. This is great news for hunters who do not have access to privately-owned land. Public hunting lands provide good hunting opportunities and are low cost, providing access to nearly a million acres of land for hunting for those possessing the Annual Public Hunting permit (APH Permit).

The Annual Public Hunting Permit is a steal at only $48. The permit is valid from September 1 through August 31 of the following year. The hunting permit allows an access to designated public hunting lands in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s public hunting lands program. Hunting is allowed during legal hunting seasons for squirrel, rabbits and hares, white-tailed deer, feral hogs, spring eastern turkey, predators, furbearers, and fishing. All this without having to pay daily permit fees.

The North and South Zone Duck Season re-opened December 10 and while TPWD wildlife management areas have strong hunter numbers taking advantage of duck hunting over the weekend hunt dates, the weekday hunt dates leave plenty of available waterfowl hunting areas and quality hunting for those hunters who might have hunting time during the week. In my opinion, this is the most enjoy time to be out in the marshes.

According to Amos Cooper, duck hunting is quite good on public hunting lands and reservoirs where fresher water conditions and waterfowl food resources can still be found. “Puddle ducks prefer shallow water, and we have an abundance (record numbers of several species) of ducks on the continent this year,” Cooper said. “Specifically, check out the duck hunts on the Big Hill Unit of the JD Murphree WMA where the hunter daily duck bag was close to 4 birds per man per day during the first waterfowl season split.” Compartments two, three and five are always crowd favorites with plenty of birds.

Waterfowl hunting is not the only game available. There is still plenty of feral hog hunting to be found. According to survey results compiled by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service 74 percent of Texas’ 254 counties contain feral hog populations and there is a good chance TPWD offers feral hog hunting opportunities in those counties on public hunting lands.

“Right now is as good a time as any to hit the woods hard for ol’ pig sooie,” said Bill Adams, Pineywoods Ecosystem Project Leader. “In East Texas there are several WMAs that offer year-round hog hunting, but staff recommend keying in on those areas associated with rivers such as Alabama Creek, Alazan Bayou, Angelina Neches/Dam B, North Toledo Bend, and Blue Elbow Swamp Wildlife Management Areas, for the best hog hunting action.“

Along with the appropriate Texas hunting licenses and stamps, permit holders may take youth under age 17 hunting free of charge on these Texas public hunting lands. Youth hunting on departmental public hunting lands must be accompanied by a supervising adult 18 years of age or older who possesses the required APH Permit, a valid hunting license and any required stamps and permits.

TPWD’s new online map feature allows for “virtual scouting” of Texas public hunting lands. By clicking on the locator points, you can follow links to detailed aerial maps with highlighted boundaries and links to information pages from the APH information map booklet. A downloadable Google Earth file is also available that contains all the public hunting areas boundary information along with links to the corresponding APH permit map booklet pages.

Deer Hunting at Granger WMA: Big Buck Down!

Texas is well known for white-tailed deer hunting, but the east-central part of the state is really a hidden gem. Much of the glitz a glam belongs to South Texas, though the Texas Panhandle has really started to shine in recent years. One of the best places for big bucks, hidden within a one hour drive from Austin, is the Granger Wildlife Management Area (WMA). This place is managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and this public hunting land is home to some giant white-tailed bucks.

This year, the Granger WMA had four, five day hunts. One of my good friends was lucky enough to get drawn for the second hunt, but came up empty handed despite seeing many legal bucks (bucks with an inside spread of 13 inches or greater or bucks with at least one unbranched antlers). He did see two true-to-life monsters, but they never got within bow range. And for those not in the know, deer hunters do not go to the Granger WMA looking for legal bucks, they go out looking for big, Kansas-style deer. Check out this big buck shot at the Granger WMA earlier this week:

“Earlier this year, in August, I received a letter in the mail informing me that my dad, my buddy and me had drawn the Granger WMA Crossbow hunt the week of 12-16 of December. I didn’t know a whole lot about whitetail deer hunting on this place, so I started during a little research. I kept hearing over and over that Granger is home to some very high quality bucks. I also went to TBH as an avenue for more info. I was lucky enough to meet a good guy that gave me a wealth of information and really got me prepared for this deer hunt.

So, I had drawn the crossbow-only hunt and I didnt even own a crossbow, let alone shoot one. I knew I was gonna miss my carbon element. I picked up an Excalibur Axiom and started practicing. We arrived here on Sunday, a day early, to scout the place the out. We did a little scouting and figured out which hunting compartments looked real good and prayed to the good Lord that we would be lucky enough to draw one of these.

Monday morning we had the hunt orientation then received the word on which units we would be hunting. We got one of the ones we were wanting, so our spirits were high and were just ready to get out there and hang some stands.

We started scouting and hanging stands at noon and this took us until 4 in the afternoon. Back home in where I deer hunt in Oklahoma, I probably would of called it a day and not hunted that night, thinking I would be getting in to the stand too late. We had been walking all over the compartment, but something inside of me told me I needed to go get in the stand for the last hour of daylight.

I climbed up in a stand we had set in a grove of cottonwood trees in the middle of a field that had a tonic sign. It looked like deer congregated in this area, then headed to the field to feed through the night. I was sitting there at 4:30, not expecting to really see anything during this deer hunting sit, but was surprised—to say the least—when 10 does started working their way down through the trees, right to my stand.

Then, another group showed and I am thinking at this point, man, we picked the right tree! Right at dark I see another deer coming from the field on a trot. I threw my binos up to see the widest buck I have ever laid my eyes on! He is 80 yards and has multiple trails he could choose—and he ended walking to the base of my tree! I was in utter disbelief when I lifted my crossbow up and aimed at this deer, only 10 yards away!

The big buck was slightly quartering to, so I put my scope on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. I heard a thwack and watched as he ran 100 yards and bedded down on the edge of the timber. I thought I had made a good hit, but we decided to let him lay until 11:00.

We got back out there later and followed the trail exactly to where I saw this buck bed down to find his was dead right in his bed. It was an awesome feeling shooting this deer out of a stand I had just hung two hours earlier, with no bait or food plot. The best part is that it was only our first night and we still have a lot of deer hunting on the Granger WMA until Friday for my buddy to fill his buck tag!”

Coyotes Attack Whitetail Buck – Deer Hunting in Oklahoma

Increased interest in white-tailed deer hunting over the decades has pushed the hypothetical gas pedal to the floor with regards to deer management. One component of most deer management plans is predator control, and coyotes get most of the attention in this category. But coyotes are smart, not easy to control. One Oklahoma deer hunter was shocked to find what his game camera found when he placed it out at his deer lease—two coyotes that kill a nice buck! If ever there was justification for reducing coyote populations, these photos would be it.

The photo shows a nice buck that is attacked and ultimately killed by two, possibly more, coyotes (more photos of coyotes kill buck). It’s a nice buck, but there must have been something up with the deer. I find it hard to believe that a buck like that could ever be taken down by two coyotes if it was completely healthy. In fact, I don’t think two coyotes would even consider attacking that deer if it was totally healthy. Most predators, coyotes included, kill the weak, sick, and very young or old. I bet this unlucky whitetail buck had to fit one of those categories.

That being said, I have read research studies on coyotes. In all cases, there local numbers are controlled by food availability more than anything else. Coyotes control is more about making you feel good as a deer hunter, deer manager, than actually reducing their impact. As long as there is ample food, primarily rabbits and mice, coyote numbers will grow. The animals will breed earlier, more often, and have bigger litters when there is plenty of food.

When the rodent numbers drop, coyote numbers follow suite. Killing coyotes only leaves more food for the ones left behind, thus resulting in more offspring. It’s just like whitetail deer management. Shooting more makes the rest more prolific because of decreased competition. It may be hard to stomach these two coyotes killing a big buck, but my guess is that this deer was not in the best condition. It’s just too bad it was so close to deer hunting season, any hunter would have been proud to fill their hunting license tag with him.

Deer Hunting Advice, Improve Habitat and Harvest

Question: “I have yet to see a whitetail buck on my game camera in a month, and have not seen a doe in a while on our deer hunting lease. I brought my friend out to my land the other day, and I apparently did not do a good job of showing him the property boundaries. Anyway, he end going off of the property. The interesting thing was that he said there were 14 deer feeding in an area just 150 yards from our fence line, both bucks and does.

I called the neighbor to find out what’s going on over there. He said they had planted some winter food plots for the deer. The guy said he planted about $3,500.00 worth of clover. This plot is just a stones throw from our place, and it really is holding the deer over there. Can you give me some deer hunting advice on how I can compete with his plot? Continue reading Deer Hunting Advice, Improve Habitat and Harvest

Tips for Deer Hunting Small Acreages

Question: “I have a 80 acre deer hunting lease in Zephyr, Texas. This town is located in Brown County. The place we hunt has two creek bottoms going through it and we have about 65 acres of brushy habitat. Even the grassland areas are still pretty tall since the property is not grazed. We want to improve the deer hunting on the lease, so we are looking for ideas. Based on our game camera photos, we have a good number of does and some big bucks in the area, but how would I go about getting them on my place and staying around there? Thanks.”

Response: First off, an 80 acre ranch would make up only a small part of a mature buck’s home range. In fact, the good news is that it could possibly overlap of several bucks. But in short, deer will be moving onto and off of your deer lease quite regularly. This will make management efforts difficult if you are trying to go that route, but there are some things you can do to ensure that you see more deer.

If you want deer to come to you, the property you hunt must have something they want, and even better, something greater than what the neighbor has to offer them. Whether it’s protein pellets, food plots, corn, water, or bales of alfalfa hay. These deer attractants, or baits, can really help. If you have a couple of good water sources, that would be a start too. But it will take more than just good food to keep deer visiting your parcel of Texas paradise. Continue reading Tips for Deer Hunting Small Acreages

Coyotes Kill Big Whitetail Buck

Most white-tailed deer hunters are always ready to place blame on the poor coyote. After all, the coyote is the one animals that kills all of the deer and keeps whitetail populations low, right? Well, no, not always. Though these photos show coyotes killing a buck, that is not really the take home message here. The fact is white-tailed deer do fairly well in predator-rich environments, but they must have good habitat.

Many deer hunters will opportunistically shoot a coyote during a hunt, and it’s often a a great bonus and an effort towards predator control for deer management. But coyotes are numerous, and I don’t think shooting coyotes has ever really lowered a coy dog population in an area unless used in combination with trapping, so don’t think for a minute that you’re saving the whitetail herd by killing a few coyotes. They are survivors. But so are whitetail deer. Continue reading Coyotes Kill Big Whitetail Buck

Deer Hunting: Shooting Does Early is the Best Plan

Question: “What are some of the deer attractants that you like for deer hunting? I’m confused if I should buy some special thing or just use corn. Other hunters on our deer lease said that I should not shoot does until December because the more does we have on our land during the rut, the more bucks that will show up. They say that if we start shooting does in November the other does will be pressured off the land onto other places. Then the bucks will follow them. Is this true?”

Response: I disagree with waiting to shoot does that late in the year. In fact, it’s best to shoot them as early as possible so that the remaining food sources can be saved for deer that you are not going to shoot. If you need to decrease the deer population, don’t let them eat for two additional months. That is valuable winter food they are using. For example, six does eating for two months is 12 months of food usage… the same amount a single deer would eat in a year! Continue reading Deer Hunting: Shooting Does Early is the Best Plan

Habitat Management for Better Deer Hunting

Question: “We have a small farm 60 acre in Pennsylvania that we use for deer hunting. We are interested in managing the place to attract and hold whitetail and to make it better for whitetail hunting. I know the place is small, but is there anything we can do to provide more for the deer and keep them hanging around? About 45 acres are wooded and the rest are fields.”

Response: There are things that any hunter can do to develop better deer hunting, even those restrained to small acreage deer management. You are not the only one in this situation because most land owners do not have thousands upon thousands of acres. Most land holdings are less than 100 acres. With only 60 acres there is very little you can do to hold deer on your place for very long. However, you can provide foods for them to eat and attract them. Continue reading Habitat Management for Better Deer Hunting

Deer Hunting Lease in East Texas – WORTH IT!

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!