Texas Hunting Times

Dove Hunting: North and Central Texas

The dove hunting season has been open for over a month now and most dove hunters have already packed it in, but that does not mean there are not doves out there to shoot. In the North Zone Dove, dove hunting reports indicated than an abundance of playa lakes have mourning doves scattered around watering sources in the High Plains. As is to be expected, corn, milo and sunflowers continue to produce near Amarillo and Dumas.

Abilene and Lubbock dove hunters have seen the same results around sunflowers and milo. Treelines and soybeans have held the bulk of the doves in the Panhandle over to the Red River. Many hunters reported the recent front pushed some new birds to the area, but few hunters are still in the fields. But there is still time to get some dove hunting in. The season runs through October 24 and the birds are there.

Hunters and guides in Texas’ Central Zone reported that the dry weather allowed doves to resume their flight pattern. Whitewings continue to find corn, milo, and other fields offering good dove habitat from San Antonio down throughout South Texas. The cool weather has brought new doves into the area.

New birds were also reproted last week around Katy, Brookshire, Columbus, and El Campo (which is in the South Zone). These areas saw an influx of mourning doves. Central Texas reports indicate that fields have been good for near-limits around goatweed and croton. Many doves have been moving back and forth between the Central and South zone because of pressure from hunters. The dove hunting season runs through October 24, so get out there!.

Texas Non-Typical Buck Record

It looks like the 2010 white-tailed deer hunting season is off with a bang this year! On the very first day a lucky South Texas hunter bagged the buck of a lifetime, only it seems his ranch keeps producing monster buck after monster buck. Mark Barrett, owner of the Las Raices Ranch in Encinal, Texas, shot a buck that will be the highest scoring non-typical buck ever harvested in the state of Texas.

The buck’s antlers green-scored 311 4/8 inches using the Boone and Crockett scoring method. The record non-typical Texas buck had been seen by ranch personnel as well as the ranch owner’s son, Marko Barrett, who had shot the buck that previously held the distinction of Texas’ highest scoring non-typical buck.

The 4,100 acre Las Raices Ranch deer population consists entirely of native South Texas white-tailed deer. This “Golden Triangle” region of South Texas is known for producing big bucks, but it looks like the area is really staking it’s claim in Texas deer hunting history. And it seems Mark Barrett’s ranch is the shining star.

Spike Bucks: To Shoot or Not to Shoot?

White-tailed deer hunting in Texas is a big deal, so it should come as no surprise that hunters get real passionate about their hunting down in the Lone Star State. One of the longest, on-going debates continues to be the shooting and/or culling of spike bucks. Spikes are bucks that have only a single, unbranched antler on each side of their head.

Research has found that most spikes are 1.5 year old bucks. So, should spike bucks be shot? It depends. Research has found conflicting results and many experts suggest that even the research may have to be thrown out the window when talking about specific properties. Many agree that yearling (1.5 year old deer) spikes should not be shot.

And this is easy to justify because in dry years a a good number of yearling bucks are spikes. Nutrition does play a role, but those same deer may “rebound” the following year into 8 point bucks. If a land manager wants more mature bucks or has a low buck to doe ratio, then shooting any buck may be a bad idea.

Trying to kill every spike in some years may remove a whole age class or cohort of deer off a property. It may be better to cull bucks in later years when you can see another set of antlers and gather additional “data.”

On the other hand, I’ve looked at the research conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The data shows that some spikes can be good bucks, but as a rule of thumb spike-antlered yearlings are inferior to yearling bucks with branched antlers. TPWD did not conclude that every spike should be shot, but merely that they should be harvested if removing inferior antler traits from a deer herd was desired.

Regardless of how you feel about the spike debate, I think you should weigh both options before jumping off into some kind of shoot-first ask questions later kind of deer management program. I can see situations where shooting spikes would be the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do depending on the long-term management goals of the property owner.

Muse WMA Hosts Open House

The Muse Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is the newest management area in Texas — established in 2006 — and it opened its doors this past weekend. A total of 45 Brown County residents turned out this past Saturday for an open house that included barbecue at the Muse WMA. The WMA is located about 15 miles northeast of Brownwood.

This former private ranch was donated to TPWD in 2006 to be used as a wildlife research and demonstration area, as well as provide public hunting opportunities in north-central Texas. According to TPWD District Leader Kevin Mote, the agency is using the area to manage wildlife habitat for native and migratory species while providing some excellent public hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities.

The WMA also is being used for research and to demonstrate habitat management practices for area landowners and other interested groups.

Since TPWD acquired the WMA, the department has hired a full-time wildlife biologist to manage the area, constructed necessary maintenance facilities, established a workable road system, and begun to develop baseline data on wildlife populations and habitat.

The Muse WMA is not open to the public on a walk-in basis, but 3 public hunts for white-tailed deer are held annually, including one for youth only. The hunts are selected through TPWD’s drawing system. The statewide hunting draw booklets come out in August each year.

Kerr WMA Gets New Conference Center

Many deer hunters and birders are familiar with the Kerr Wildlife Management Area located about 35 miles west of Kerrville, Texas. As enjoyable as this place is to be, it seems the property has become even more welcoming thanks to a new, $1.8 million conference center. The building is to be dedicated on August 27 at the management area. This structure will provide Texas Parks and Wildlife Department with a great venue for presenting habitat management and ecological programs to thousands of landowners, students and researchers.

Since its opening in March of this year, the new 2,300 square foot conference center has hosted more than 400 people at 13 meetings and seminars at the Kerr WMA. The Lee and Ramona Bass family donated $1 million as seed money for the project. Additional funding for the center, which includes more than 8,000 square feet under roof and a large parking lot, came from other private donations and in-kind services from the Texas Department of Transportation. According to the manager, Donnie Frels:

“The main purpose of the new facility is to facilitate sharing of information, planning and programs for research projects, deer habitat management programs, demonstrations and public use at Kerr Wildlife Management Area. In the future, we hope to add a native wildscapes area, rainwater harvesting, local cultural resources displays, a prescribed burning demonstration area and new hunter check station.”

Since the mid-1970s, more than 2,000 tours and seminars have been presented to nearly 55,000 people. In addition, the Kerr WMA hosts 40 to 60 tours and seminars each year for landowners, wildlife professionals, sportsmen groups, universities and others on wildlife and range management practices.

Texas 2010 Duck Season Dates

Although white-tailed deer hunting gets the front seat when it comes to Texas hunting, you know there are some other birds in town that many hunters love to chase, too. Yep, I’m talking about waterfowl including ducks and geese. With hunting season just around the corner, the 2010 Texas Duck Hunting Season Dates have been set! Here they are by unit!

High Plains Mallard Management Unit

All species other than “dusky ducks”: Oct. 23-24, 2010 and Oct. 29, 2010 – Jan. 23, 2011; “Dusky ducks”: Nov. 1, 2010 – Jan. 23, 2011; Youth-only Season: Oct. 16-17, 2010

North Zone

All species other than “dusky ducks”: Oct. 30 – Nov. 28, 2010 and Dec. 11, 2010 — Jan. 23, 2011; “Dusky ducks”: Nov. 4 – 28, 2010 and Dec. 11, 2010 – Jan. 23, 2011; Youth-only Season: Oct. 23-24, 2010

South Zone

All species other than “dusky ducks”: Oct. 30 – Nov. 28, 2010 and Dec. 11, 2010 — Jan. 23, 2011; “Dusky ducks”: Nov. 4, 2010 – Nov. 28 — Dec. 11, 2010 – Jan. 23, 2011; Youth-only Season: Oct. 23-24, 2010

The daily bag limit for ducks is six, to include no more than five mallards of which only 2 may be hens; three wood ducks; two scaup; two redheads; two pintails; one canvasback; and one “dusky” duck. Dusky ducks include: mottled ducks, Mexican-like duck, black duck and their hybrids. For all other species not listed, the bag limit is six. The daily bag limit for coots is 15. The daily bag limit for mergansers is five, which may include no more than two hooded mergansers.

Lesser Prairie Chicken Management

For landowners interested in Lesser Prairie Chicken, their is a new bird in town! The website lesserprairiechicken.org is new to and makes its debuts this month. The idea behind the site is to help Texas landowners interesting in this a rare native bird whose fate is becoming increasingly linked to the future of land use, agriculture and industry in the Texas Panhandle and Rolling Plains.

The lesser prairie chicken has been a candidate species considered for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act since 1998. Like all rare animals, the chicken’s existence depends on the rare wildlife habitat that they require—native prairie. Biologists say efforts to protect and restore grassland habitat for the lesser prairie chicken will benefit many other wildlife species that use these same areas and also provide recreational and ecological benefits for people. Grassland restoration will also enhance water quantity and quality.

The new prairie chicken website was created by the Dorothy Marcille Wood Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to inform and educate ranchers, farmers and other landowners with all the information they need in one place. That includes information on the Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA), and habitat management incentives, programs, and cost share assistance from various state, federal and private sources, including a search tool to help determine which programs best fit their operation.

Texas Study Addresses Pronghorn Decline

The pronghorn is one of Texas’ great big game animals that was once found across the state, except for the piney woods of East Texas. And although most hunters refer to this species as antelope, pronghorn is the proper name. Although pronghorn numbers were once a big part of Texas hunting, they have declined because of habitat loss over the past 150 years and now it seems that decline has kicked in high gear.

In an effort to investigate an alarming and unexplained decline of pronghorn in far West Texas, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has awarded a 3 year $111,210 grant to the Borderlands Research Institute for Natural Resource Management at Sul Ross State University. The goal of the pronghorn project is to identify possible causes for the declining pronghorn herds and to evaluate two competing hypothesis regarding pronghorn survival and productivity.

Wildlife populations, especially those found in deserts, tend to increase and decrease in relation to habitat conditions. Nowhere is that more evident that in the desert Southwest and the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. Pronghorn numbers across this region have been dwindling since the drought of the 1990s. As expected, once the drought broke, pronghorn and other wildlife populations began to respond with increased reproduction and survival.

However, during the past three years when rainfall provided adequate habitat (food, cover, and water), pronghorn populations have plummeted, and pronghorn hunting in Texas has suffered along beside them. In 2010, pronghorn population estimates in the Trans-Pecos are the lowest since the 1970s with an estimated 4,713 pronghorn across the region. That does node bode well for Texas pronghorn, so let’s hope this study give biologist more information on managing these prairie-loving animals.

Quail Hunting Texas’ Hot Spots in 2010

Quail and the weather go hand-in-hand. During the winter of 2009, a 2 year dry spell in the major quail hunting areas of the Texas finally came to and end. Environmental conditions, nesting and brood rearing habitat greatly improved, setting the stage for a marked increase in quail production. Sound pretty good, huh?

Not so fast. Unfortunately, after two years of unfavorable weather, the number of quail available to breed has become quite low. In general, however, quail rebound fastest from the remaining pockets of survivors from last season. So depending on where you hunt, quail populations could range from fair to good. Here is how the historically good quail hunting portions of Texas look.

South Texas Plains

This region experienced a wet winter, spring and summer, which helped quail do their thing. South Texas also had very few days 100 degrees or greater. Cool-wet summers are ideal for quail reproduction but similar to the Rolling Plains, quail carryover was a limiting factor. Quail surveys conducted by TPWD indicate an increase in population compared to last year, but still below average across the region.

The best opportunities will be on well managed sites that held over birds from last year. The average number of bobwhites observed per route was 8.6 compared to 5.2 in 2009. This is off the average and is predictive of a below average hunting season.

Rolling Plains of Texas

This blessed portion of Texas received timely winter, spring and summer rainfall resulting in excellent breeding conditions for bobwhite quail. The summer rains extended the window of opportunity for nesting. If a hen failed in her first attempt, there was ample time for a second nesting.

The limiting factor this year was not the rain, but rather the number of birds available to breed. Field reports indicate that quail have made a strong comeback in areas that held birds last year. Other areas have improved as well but to a lesser extent.

Before you head out to your part of Texas to do some hunting, it’s a good idea to scout ahead to be sure the areas you plan to hunt are holding some quail. The average number of bobwhites observed per route was 8.0 compared to 6.6 last year. This is well below long-term average of 21.5, but some improvement is better than none.

Quail Hunting Looks Fair in West Texas

Nothing is as important as the weather when it comes to quail hunting. Good, wet springs mean good quail production and hunting the falling fall. This year should be one of those years out in west Texas and the Trans-Pecos, at least for bobwhite. This region received timely rainfall while other areas of the State either missed the rains completely or received it at times less beneficial to scaled quail.

As a result, quail reproduction varied across the region, which is par for the course. Field reports indicate that quail can be found in areas with good range condition and providing good quail habitat. Reports from the western edge of the Edwards Plateau (the Stockton Plateau) indicate an improvement over last year but still populations that are below average.

The average number of scaled quail observed per survey route was 7.2 birds compared to 16.9 quail last year. This is below the long-term average of 17.5 quail. Scaled quail suffered through the dry period prior to this better-than-average year, but they have yet to fully rebound.