What makes the deer bigger in south TX?

[buckwild17]

Look at any animal that live in areas that natrually produce good, quality forage, for a longer growing season. Some years SoTX never gets a freeze. Cattle, deer, horse, goat, sheep etc...... they look, grow, & produce at a better rate as long as the numbers are in check. You can't beat mother nature, BUT you can supplement the heck out of it and expand the benefits !!!!

[tvc184]

I shot a 3 1/2 yo 210 lb 140" buck in north texas it is not just south. Let a deer live to maturity and he will be bigger

That fact they can get old enough to actually express the genetics on top of their head

X2

Killing them when they are older than 2.5 years old goes a long way to making the results look more dramatic. In a lot (or most) places in east Texas, a 2.5 year old deer is the old man of the range. Its hard to show trophy potential when they are still nursing.

[refugioco]

A 2 year old deer in Freer is a lot bigger than a 2 year old north of Uvalde. So I do not know that it is age. I have to believe it is the quality of the native protein South. A funny thing is that our lease is now split between Frio and Medina county and the Frio county deer are bigger and there is a different environmnet there. IMHO

[Big T]

We have a family ranch in east texas cass co, and about 10 years ago I encountered a Mac Daddy of a buck and he was redish like a cow, and we have seen off spring form him but I havent seen any in a while.

[Mojo]

It's da enchiladas...

[kornsqueezer]

Three legs on the tripod: Age, Genetics, Nutrution

It's all of them

I agree.

[boh347]

I think hunter density is the number 1 factor. In East Texas its not uncommon to have a hunter per 100 acres, while in South Texas I would imagine that number would be closer to a hunter per 500+ acres.

In my opinion, The increased hunter density allows fewer deer to reach maturity in East Texas compared to South Texas. If people would just let them grow up in East Texas they could and would produce deer comparable to South Texas. One other thing is genetics. It seems to me that most East Texas deer tend to be mainframe 8pts at maturity while South Texas bucks have a tendency to have 10+ points at maturity.

X2

[dozer]

I agree with the tripod theory, BUT I would say more than half of that is the amount of protein in natural forage. Most ranches down south try to only kill 6+ year old trophy bucks. With all the rain this year south Texas looked like a jungle!

[Ford Hunter]

Been told since i was a kid, The rich red soil has minerals plus all the rain they get... I have seen lot's of video from across the border ,they are huge deer and Been told they are free roaming from ranch to ranch and eventually migrate up to Southern counties..

[Russ81]

Red Dirt

Then East Texas ought too have them behind every tree......

We let them get old
We make sure feed/native forage is good
And we have enough acres too find a quality buck b/c they will roam on you.

Most deer in Georiga and Alabama ancestors came from south Texas. Two of the above (age/acres) are there for those too, but popping them as a yearling ain't going to make big bucks.

[Txhuntergurl82]

Well we have a leash in south texas and received 42 inches of rain and still have alot of green stuff down there! Lots of protein

[Txhuntergurl82]

My bad lease! I have 1 of those phones that writes what it wants sometimes! Lol

[bentman]

different strains of deer

[KR-oldmexico]

I shot a 3 1/2 yo 210 lb 140" buck in north texas it is not just south. Let a deer live to maturity and he will be bigger

What?????? So a 3 1/2 year old deer is mature???

I'm sorry but this statement is exactly why most deer never reach their full potential. A 140" 3.5 year old will make a monster of a 5.5, 6.5 or even 7.5 yr old deer, probobly 160", 170" or possibly bigger who knows. I think its real simple as a few have said on here. First, in S. TX you have natural forage that is loaded with protein. Second, you have genetics that are second to none in this country. Third, you have big ranches and a very sparse human population. Fourth, most people that either own or lease ranches in S. Texas have made a large investment, they are serious about management and have the desire and ability to let their deer reach true maturity. In many places a 5.5 yr old deer is considered mature and most are even 6.5 to 7.5 yrs old before considered for trophy harvest. The only deer taken at a younger age than that are true culls or management deer. They all say that their are 3 keys to bigger bucks - age, genetics and nutrition, but I think the biggest key of those three is obviously age!! Age, age, age will make even average bucks of the norm be above average in their own category! Sorry for the long read, just my opinion. God bless and good luck hunting!!

[RLB]

Tamales



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