2021-22 east texas season

[HighwayHunter]

Dang we have some land just out of Livingston on the north west part of town and wouldn’t get excited about any of those deer pictured. Only 500 acres low fenced but typically get quite a few decent deer in cam. We are along the long king creek and shoot most of our good bucks within a couple hundred yards of the creek.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The real golden triangle is from Onalaska to Trinity then Groveton. Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gumbo Man]

Genetics is a big part and age

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

Genetics genetics genetics. It’s hard to change it but it can slowly be done. The man that ran our place for years before me ( Deceased now) was determined to change the genetics by letting anything with more than 8 points die of old age. And it worked. That 8 point genetic is the ET curse but can be over come. My deer numbers are good and we have plenty natural forage to sustain our numbers but I still believe in supplemental feeding through the year. That’s how to increase your deer numbers. Plus are y’all killing too many does? Some clubs might have 1000 acres and 10 members and members and guests are shooting does and spikes. That’s a lot of deer. I eat a lot of pork but very little venison. I like my deer numbers and like seeing plenty when I sit. I’m hunting 800 acres of a 1800 acre trac. There is only me and one other primary. There might be 2 does shot on that 800 acres this year. So many, and I’m not condemning, that have the attitude that for their money they have to fill tags to justify the expense. I do get that. But for me it’s an investment towards having the opertunity at shooting a true monarch as we’ve seen on here lately close to home and not have to travel down south and pay 15 grand to shoot the same quality. Again genetics genetics genetics.

[Anvilheadtexas]

Genetics genetics genetics. It’s hard to change it but it can slowly be done. The man that ran our place for years before me ( Deceased now) was determined to change the genetics by letting anything with more than 8 points die of old age. And it worked. That 8 point genetic is the ET curse but can be over come. My deer numbers are good and we have plenty natural forage to sustain our numbers but I still believe in supplemental feeding through the year. That’s how to increase your deer numbers. Plus are y’all killing too many does? Some clubs might have 1000 acres and 10 members and members and guests are shooting does and spikes. That’s a lot of deer. I eat a lot of pork but very little venison. I like my deer numbers and like seeing plenty when I sit. I’m hunting 800 acres of a 1800 acre trac. There is only me and one other primary. There might be 2 does shot on that 800 acres this year. So many, and I’m not condemning, that have the attitude that for their money they have to fill tags to justify the expense. I do get that. But for me it’s an investment towards having the opertunity at shooting a true monarch as we’ve seen on here lately close to home and not have to travel down south and pay 15 grand to shoot the same quality. Again genetics genetics genetics.

It’s interesting to see that after more than a decade of full on war against does, some people are starting to get it. Maybe killing off the most important 1/2 of equation isn’t the best practice after all??? The challenge is, as long as each person receives 2 doe tags per year, the slaughter will continue. The real interesting thing is there will be people like Gumbo who self regulate and continue to have deer and others who just like to legally shoot deer and will continue to do so.

[GarGuy]

Gumbo man, you make a good point on the does. We kill very few and is we do kill one, its away from the feed stations. I thinks its important for those does to be really comfortable at my stands and raise those button bucks to love the place.

[Uncle_Milty]

Genetics genetics genetics. It’s hard to change it but it can slowly be done. The man that ran our place for years before me ( Deceased now) was determined to change the genetics by letting anything with more than 8 points die of old age. And it worked. That 8 point genetic is the ET curse but can be over come. My deer numbers are good and we have plenty natural forage to sustain our numbers but I still believe in supplemental feeding through the year. That’s how to increase your deer numbers. Plus are y’all killing too many does? Some clubs might have 1000 acres and 10 members and members and guests are shooting does and spikes. That’s a lot of deer. I eat a lot of pork but very little venison. I like my deer numbers and like seeing plenty when I sit. I’m hunting 800 acres of a 1800 acre trac. There is only me and one other primary. There might be 2 does shot on that 800 acres this year. So many, and I’m not condemning, that have the attitude that for their money they have to fill tags to justify the expense. I do get that. But for me it’s an investment towards having the opertunity at shooting a true monarch as we’ve seen on here lately close to home and not have to travel down south and pay 15 grand to shoot the same quality. Again genetics genetics genetics.

Well said!

[Gumbo Man]

Gumbo man, you make a good point on the does. We kill very few and is we do kill one, its away from the feed stations. I thinks its important for those does to be really comfortable at my stands and raise those button bucks to love the place.

And another point that has always been a huge debate. Shooting 1 1/2 year olds spikes or 3 points. Just my .02 cents is that every deer needs at least 2 years before determining potential. Some fawns get a hard start and simply don’t get enough nutrition and results are visible the following year with their first set of horns. But in some cases you could be shooting your future trophy before he even had a chance for 40 lbs of deboned meat and one spent tag. And does, if your going to shoot one shoot an old one that nature will soon claim anyway and let the young ones reproduce. I do like venison and if I do shoot one at all it’ll be that old Grey one that always shows up and stares and blows and stomps the whole time she’s there. Back straps and sausage bound.

[NewBallCoach]

And another point that has always been a huge debate. Shooting 1 1/2 year olds spikes or 3 points. Just my .02 cents is that every deer needs at least 2 years before determining potential. Some fawns get a hard start and simply don’t get enough nutrition and results are visible the following year with their first set of horns. But in some cases you could be shooting your future trophy before he even had a chance for 40 lbs of deboned meat and one spent tag. And does, if your going to shoot one shoot an old one that nature will soon claim anyway and let the young ones reproduce. I do like venison and if I do shoot one at all it’ll be that old Grey one that always shows up and stares and blows and stomps the whole time she’s there. Back straps and sausage bound.

This is what I do. Last year at the new place I hunt I had 6 different bucks (only 2 legal, and both young), and had 15 doe. I shot the oldest doe there was, but we eat a lot of venison, in my house the only beef we have bought in the last 3 years has been ribeyes about 5 times a year. I left all bucks and this year a few more are legl but still look young to me and there are still more doe, probably have 8 buck (2 spikes) and still about 15 doe. But after a full year of protein and a good spring/summer food plot they are all looking healthy. I will probably one again take a doe, there are a couple old gals out there. This is on just 30 acres, don't know the neighbors, so I am really at their mercy as far as the bucks go, I can only go off what I see on camera as far as the buck to doe ratio, and as I stated we eat a lot of venison, and last I checked the doe taste just as good.

[Anvilheadtexas]

This is what I do. Last year at the new place I hunt I had 6 different bucks (only 2 legal, and both young), and had 15 doe. I shot the oldest doe there was, but we eat a lot of venison, in my house the only beef we have bought in the last 3 years has been ribeyes about 5 times a year. I left all bucks and this year a few more are legl but still look young to me and there are still more doe, probably have 8 buck (2 spikes) and still about 15 doe. But after a full year of protein and a good spring/summer food plot they are all looking healthy. I will probably one again take a doe, there are a couple old gals out there. This is on just 30 acres, don't know the neighbors, so I am really at their mercy as far as the bucks go, I can only go off what I see on camera as far as the buck to doe ratio, and as I stated we eat a lot of venison, and last I checked the doe taste just as good.

They are at your mercy too. Seems like a lot of deer. However, with only 30 acres those deer more than likely are shared my multiple properties. Maybe your neighbors like venison more than you?

Funny, I have a great neighbor that likes to take one doe a year off of his 12 acres. Seems cool enough, right? If I harvested does on that same per acre ratio… we would shoot 21 does. I have owned the bigger piece of my tract for 15 seasons and we have not killed that many total. The small acre doe harvest will ultimately whittle yiur deer population to nothing.

[Anvilheadtexas]

All this deer talk… fellas, it’s Halloween weekend and despite all my rambling on about does, we get to climb into trees this weekend and sling arrows at bucks who, for the next two weeks, will be running around amuck like we did in college. This is what we wait for all year long!!!

[NewBallCoach]

As you said on small acreage I share them all. And I still like putting food on the table for my family so I guess I worry more about that than other things. Sorry us poor guys on small acreage are killing the kings deer

[Pineywoods]

I think this weekend will be epic! The weather will be great, the bucks ought to be on the prowl, and the moon positions (if you follow that) will be good. This is always one of my favorite weekends to hunt. I think Friday and Saturday morning will be great on our place.. at least I hope so.

[Anvilheadtexas]

As you said on small acreage I share them all. And I still like putting food on the table for my family so I guess I worry more about that than other things. Sorry us poor guys on small acreage are killing the kings deer

Answer honestly… does your personal economic situation rely upon 50 lbs of venison. If so… I have some projects for you on my place…would you be interested in working?

[Anvilheadtexas]

I think this weekend will be epic! The weather will be great, the bucks ought to be on the prowl, and the moon positions (if you follow that) will be good. This is always one of my favorite weekends to hunt. I think Friday and Saturday morning will be great on our place.. at least I hope so.

No doubt. Next week will be great too. Time to get in the woods.

[JhuntsAlot]

I think this weekend will be epic! The weather will be great, the bucks ought to be on the prowl, and the moon positions (if you follow that) will be good. This is always one of my favorite weekends to hunt. I think Friday and Saturday morning will be great on our place.. at least I hope so.

I am hoping this is the case (and I do).

I will be using vacation days for all of next week and hoping the weather allows me to be in a ladder stand. Next week looks to be the "peak" for moon phase daylight activity in our area.

I did get a young buck on camera this morning, but nothing else. First one in a while.




J

[ElfEyes]

As you said on small acreage I share them all. And I still like putting food on the table for my family so I guess I worry more about that than other things. Sorry us poor guys on small acreage are killing the kings deer

I'm not sure that's how he meant it. I just looked up a deer density map of the piney woods. The overall average on the website I looked at was 52.6 acres per deer. You're doing nothing wrong at all but understand you're killing more deer than your property produces. Nothing illegal or immoral about it. Your neighbors might not kill any deer so you may never see the effects but overall if everyone did that the numbers would dwindle