Texas Hunting Leases

Quality deer management does not just occur by chance.  Good hunters know that preparation, scouting and patience are just the first ingredients before proper selection.  Recently, a LeaseHunter.com member took this buck out of his deer population in and was kind enough to tell the story which we have included here (with some liberties taken to condense it for our readers).

Recently, a hunter on my lease spotted this buck while doe hunting and told me about it.  The age of the deer and the picture of the jaw bone is kind of interesting.  The hunter watched the deer for about twenty minutes at twenty or so yards and, to occupy his time, figured a field score (gross) of 156.  I have not measured it completely yet but I am pretty sure the dry net score will be above the 125 minimum for Pope and Young.

After I heard about this buck, I went out to the same tripod and the buck showed up.  He arrived too late for a bow shot and he stopped about 75 yards short of the feeder and laid down.  I had to sit in the tripod until full dark and sneak away.  The next morning, I was in the tripod thirty minutes before light and he showed up ten minutes later.  Eventually, I could make out the big kicker on the left G2 and then had to wait a little longer so that I could see him in my sights and took the shot.  When I hit him, he trotted off about twenty yards, turned and looked at the arrow stuck in the ground for a few seconds and collapsed.

When I was gutting him, I noticed that he did not have a lot of body fat for the amount of age in his posture and he seemed to have a lot of guts.  He only weighed 112 lbs. dressed.  When I pulled his jaw, the fourth tooth was worn almost to the gum line.  Both jaws had equal wear and he looked to be around for a long time.

I took my aging tool that I use for deer up to 8 1/2 years old which I think this deer is.  It has a dual color scheme so that the dentin and the enamel are easy to distinguish on the actual deer’s jaw bone.  I also use a jaw spreader and removal tool as well as charts put out by the Quality Deer Management Association which are very good. 

The inside spread was 21 4/8, one main beam was 22 4/8, the other was 22 5/8.  I have not sat down and measured him completely yet - just what I needed for the harvest log.

Thanks for the story and congrats on a nice buck!

For more information on aging deer, see this guide from TP&W.

Growing up in Texas does not mean that you frequent every part of the state on a regular basis, or even in your lifetime.  I, for one, have not really seen much of West Texas – except from the window of a commercial jet.  But even from that vantage point 30,000 feet in the air, it is amazing to see all of the pad sites with well-heads and pump-jacks dotting the landscape below.

I have not researched it, but I am sure there was some opposition to the incursion of the oil and gas industry’s equipment upon the ranch lands there.  Questions almost surely arose about the effects on the cattle industry and the degradation of the vast vistas the area is known for.  All of that must have quickly subsided when the first checks came in the mail box.  And, I am sure it will again when the next century of energy production covers this land in the form of wind turbines.

According to the American Wind Energy Association, Texas is is ranked #1 in the the USA by existing capacity and #2 for potential capacity.  This should come as no surprise since Texas has large land areas and coast lines which are perfect for the construction of wind farms.

But, like most fledgling industries, there will be growing pains and conflict.  A recently planned wind farm in the hill country was met with strong opposition.  An article online in the San Antonio Express-News reported that many residents were shocked that an energy company obtained leases to build here with very little oversight from governmental agencies.  The group later found out that there is little or no state or federal oversight governing wind farms.  And many observe that you don’t even need wind to make them profitable due to the tax breaks and write-offs earned just by building them.

Hunters are not immune either.  There is concern that the income from wind farms will provide more incentives to land owners than the dollars earned from hunting leases.  This, in turn, will limit access.  Some wind energy contracts signed by land owners limit the use of hunting with rifles and hunters are beginning to loose their leases.  Although no one is successfully arguing that these 100 meter monstrosities will harm wild game populations, hunters have reason to be concerned.  In the meantime, the US Fish & Wildlife Service has also issued a press release naming 22 individuals to serve on an advisory committee who will advise on measures to avoid or minimize the impacts to wildlife and their habitats from land-based wind energy facilities.

On the other hand, industry officials say that they are not anti-hunting and that most leases have full hunting privileges.  And, for land owners who have low incomes from their land operations, this is a way to increase income and hopefully retain larger ranches within the family by not having to sell. 

As the energy capital of the world, Texas will need to be a leader in taking the world’s demand for energy in a different direction.  Open ranges and the wind that blows over them are two things we have plenty of and are arguably endless resources as compared to fossil fuels.  Hopefully, the two learning to live together will fight off the biggest threat to hunting in general - population growth and urban encroachment.

If you are not hunter and have some sort of image of “Bambi” when you think of a deer, think again when you see these pictures.  To establish dominance, a buck will fight to the death.  This deer may have won an exceptional battle but the outcome was most likely a horrible death for the loser and another soon to be horrible death for the winner.  Painful deaths are the norm for deer when their populations are not properly managed.  Too many bucks, not enough does, not enough food, not enough room; All of these contribute to the pressures brought on by a “let them be” mentality.  What a waste it would have been if not for a hunter who at least took this deer out of his misery and put food on the table.

Do you know the story behind these pictures or have some thoughts on the subject?  If so, let everyone know about them by posting a comment here in the blog.