Texas Hunting Leases

Fortunately, I know some people with a White-tail Doe “problem”.  Having the Does is not the problem.  Having too many of them on a ranch where you are trying to improve your deer herd’s health is.  So, since my Texas hunting license affords me the privilege of harvesting up to five White-tailed deer during a season, I was happy to lend them my services for a day. 

On this particular hunt, we had planed for a morning and afternoon session with rifles over feeders in order to choose older and larger does to harvest.  Its not every day that you get a chance to shoot two deer, and because I was able to do so this day, it sets up this story’s comparison to make a point.  Shot selection matters, and here is why.

My first hunt had me sitting in a tower blind about 100 yards from a feeder at first light.  As planned, we were there before the feeder went off, and once it did, the usual smorgasbord of animals were on hand to partake in the offering.  This morning, the area was crowded with bucks, a few does and some weanlings.  We watched the scene play out for about thirty minutes before I raised my rifle up and sighted in one of the healthy does.  But, as luck would have it, she could not keep still for long as a young buck was trailing her and making her nervous.  After a while, she had had enough and began to ease off back into the brush.

At this point, I had her scoped while she was walking away and opted to make a noise to get her to stop just long enough for a broad-side shot in which I took.  I knew that I had only a few seconds so I took the highest probability shot I could and that was to the vitals of the upper-chest area.  After shooting, we saw her run off in a wounded manner and knew that she was hit.  We waited for about 20 minutes in the blind before we climbed out and went to look for her. 

Good hunters know that a wounded deer can run for a long ways after being shot.  Depending on the severity, hurrying after a slightly wounded one might only cause the animal to run further away from the point of impact.   The average whitetail deer carries about eight pounds of blood in its system.  And, a full grown deer must lose at least 35 percent of its blood before it will fall.  So, we patiently walked up to the point of impact and searched for a blood trail.

Following a blood trail involves several basic rules.  First, find the point of impact and take note of the amount of blood in the area.  A large amount of blood indicates that a good shot was made and if the blood is pink, then a lung shot was likely.  Start off in the direction the deer ran and look for blood and the splattering it makes when it hits the ground.  The drops from a running animal will generally point in the direction the animal is running and show forward momentum in their pattern.  When following a blood trail, make sure when you lose sight of it, to go back to the last sign and look a full 360 degrees before moving forward.  A deer will not just run in a straight line, but might get disoriented and bound off completely in another direction.

Following these steps, we found the doe about forty yards into the brush and examined the wound.  The shot had penetrated the deer in the vitals and had a good exit wound on the other side.  Despite this, she still was able to run a good ways.  Because we were in a fairly open location, we were able to find her quickly.  But, this is not always the case for many hunters.

The second hunt of the day was pretty much the same scenario as the morning’s but this time, the doe cooperated and stood long enough for arguably the best way to dispatch a game animal with a rifle.  Raising my scope to my field of view, I carefully aimed for the small patch of white on the deer’s neck, just about the where it blended in to the rest of its darker color.  Exhaling slowly, I gently squeezed the trigger and dropped her right in her tracks.  Obviously, no waiting and blood trail necessary.  And, most importantly, a more humane kill on the animal.

Most deer hunters have their own opinions about shot placement.  But, the most experienced ones I know shoot for the neck.  Some may argue the lower probability of this shot, but if you spend enough time at the range – and you should – you gain the confidence in your weapon to make that shot repeatedly.  This brings up another good lesson and an idea for another story – range time before every hunt and during the off-season. 

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.

Marko Barrett of San Antonio made Muy Grande Deer Contest history with this record breaking Webb County buck entered in the All-Around Men’s Division.  The deer scored about 273 gross B&C points with 34 points and a 25 1/2-inch spread. The buck was still in velvet when it was harvested off his 4,000 acre, high-fenced ranch under a Managed Lands Deer Permit.  The deer was harvested via rifle from a brush blind at about 120 yards.

On his website, Barrett describes the deer as a 7 year old that he had been watching for years.  This year, the ranch received “56 inches of rain and counting” which pushed this deer well over his historical best score.  Barrett thinks that he will score somewhere in the 270′s when “he is stripped of velvet and dry”. 

Barrett describes the ranch’s management program as an “all native deer” operation with no breeding.  They feed protein year-round and “use multiple feeders so the dominant buck won’t keep the others from the feed.”

Barrett says things have been crazy since he shot the buck with all of the emails and phone calls.  However, that is what “buck fever” is all about.