Starting from Scratch

[randy watts]

Need Help.
I set up 3 corn feeders and 4 food plots on our family ranch near Franklin Tx, been feeding for 6 months now.My bro-n-law had it leased to gun hunters for the last 20 years.I'm seeing 2 mature does 3 yearlings and a couple of bucks is all, No Mature Bucks. We have our share of hogs too.My plan is to shoot hogs only for a couple of years and then take mature deer only .
Am I on the right track?
Also , the 3 horses on the place seem to cleen up the corn on one feeder so my plan is to fence in with elec fence about 1/2 acre that will include the feeder and the food plot . I've been Bow hunting for 30 years but I've never started on a hunting property that was this bad off.
Thanks for your help in advance guys.
Oh, i'ts 400 hundred acres, woods and coastal.

[chadreed88]

I don't think I would put an electric fence up. I would put a barb wire or any other wire fence but just no electricity. I haven't heard of anyone doing that or not doing it but it seems like if the deer hit it then that shock isn't going to bring them back inside it. It will have the same effect on the deer as livestock. Just put you a couple strands of barbwire up and you'll be fine. Everything else sounds good. Just my opinion.

[txbowkill]

dont shoot anything but the hogs for a couple years is right. Put up a barbwire fence instead
keep ur feeders going and the food plots is a good idea. Maybe you could try protein next year when there growing antlers

[axisbuck]

May be the gun hunting pressure didnt do any good. But the food plots and feeders should bring in the deer sooner or later. Letting the younger deer walk..may be a take a doe or two for meat and killing a bunch of hogs is surely the way to go. Let me know if you need help with anything im down the road from you

[TX_Kevin]

There used to be lots of deer out that way. Yeah, not shooting any deer for a couple of years ought to get them back in the there. I also agree on the barbed wire thing - except go with horse wire on the top and bottom courses and barbed wire in the middle. Should keep the horses out and make it real easy for the deer.

You might also consider hog panels around the feeders. The deer can still get in, but the hogs can't. You might cut a couple of slots in the top rail so the smaller deer can clear it.

[k-town]

Delt With Similar ,took About 3 Years Year Around Feeding To Re Coop My Bucks But Expect You Could Begin To Take Some Does After A Year Or So...

[cgwig]

With horses you definitely don't want barbed wire. that's assuming they are as dumb as the horses I used to have. They cut up pretty easy and vet bills are really high. What about just pinning off the feeders? Snakelover had some good looking feeder pins in his videos.

[bowhuntertex]

We use electric fences in Huntsville and it doesn't deter the deer at all........

[Bowtech32]

I think we all agree to shoot the hogs, sounds like a good plan to me.

[maglite]

My advice is to GET THE HELL AWAY FROM FRANKLIN!! Thats the Butt hole of TEXAS!!! If you cant do that then kill the hogs and feed protein and give the deer some age and time to recover!

[randy watts]

Thanks for all the advice, I was going with the elec fence because the deer in this area are use to it and a single strand doesnt seem to slow them down,but it will keep the horses and cattle away.
I'll keep every one posted on our progress.

[Bobcat]

400 acres.
Initial plan sounds like a good starting place.

Two things that will also need to be considered.

Your 400 acres will not contain a deer's entire habitat, so your neighbors will always impact your success regardless of how conservative your management and land ethic are. One neighbor can drastically affect the herd using your land very easily, even if he is just filling his tags, let along someone else too. Therefore, research co-ops (Noble Foundation or TP&W). If your huting stinks due to ovehunting it is very likely that your neighbors' hunting stinks too. (Maybe this is their doing maybe not?) If everyone can follow a similar plan you will be much more likely to be successful.

Two, research the feasibility of fencing off brushy areas (especially creeks and bottoms) from the bermuda pastures. Essentially creating protected wildlife corridors and pastures capable of allowing rotational grazing practices if cattle ever become part of the plan for this place. Be sure to include intermediate areas on the brushy side of the fence to provide a transitional browse and a buffer for the potential of overspray when treating the pastures. Some of the most useful habitat for your local herd will be the transitional areas more so than the thick timber and much more so than the bermuda. Speak to your Ag-Extension office about assitance to improve the place. Finally, provide water in the interior of the place.

Are the horses your's or is someone leasing to graze them.

[pickles]

I would use hog panels to pen the feeders. That should keep the pigs away from the feeders and maybe even off the property for the most part. Remember that might be another reason for maybe not seeing mature deer is due to having a large amount of hogs. They compete for the same food sources.

[1FREAK]

sounds good, keep it going

[randy watts]

Thanks Bobcat, the horses are my mother-n-laws. We have a creek that runs thru the place between 2 coastal pastures that deer use to move from the neighbors to ours. Most of the inner fences are removed. And we have 20 cows with calves. Water is not a problem, I dug 5 ponds on the place 20 years ago so we have a total of 7 .