Texas Hunting Leases

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.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Provides Free Publications and Wallet Cards for Hunters.

The TP&W website is arguably the most robust of any state wildlife agency in the country.  But, with so much information, finding it can be a little difficult.  One page I like that has some good information and resources is their Hunting Publications page.  Some great ideas the page has are links for a shooting saftey wallet card and current hunting and fishing limit card. Some other publications include basic hunter education documents about game cleaning and wildlife identification guides.  During your hunting camp orientation and work days, it would be good idea to pass these out to your lease members.  You can also keep an eye out for an updated Hunting Season Wallet Card which hopefully will be out soon.

You gotta love technology.  I remember as a kid being the youngest and having to get up and change the channel by hand for my dad and brothers.  Being the human remote control on college football days was enough to give you finger cramps by dinner time.  Fast forward to today and you have the internet for watching the show of your choice without commercial interruption and the ability to playback, freeze and fast forward.  Recently, I had a chance to watch some of the online episodes of the Academy Outdoors Show on my laptop.  Academy is smart to put this content on their website for more than the obvious reasons of advertising their already popular brand.  The popularity of web-based video content has been growing tremendously.  One need not look further than YouTube as an example and Academy is ahead of the competition with this one.

The Academy Outdoors show is a first rate program hosted by BASS Fishing Circuit Pro, Chad Brauer, and features incredible photography and a variety of hunting and fishing programming.  The programs run commercial free online and last about twenty minutes each.  You can also see them regularly on the Outdoor Channel from your television.  From Spring Turkey hunting in Tennessee to catching trout and redfish in south Texas, the Academy Outdoors Show has something for everyone.  Go see for yourself!