South Texas Management Deer

[HighwayHunter]

I had two hunters pass on a mid 140s nine point this morning. Wasn’t even going to be part of their trophy hunt just a bonus management since were behind the 8 ball on those. They didn’t even hunt this evening, stayed at camp and drank beer so I caught bass instead. By the looks of it they won’t be hunting in the morning either.

I’d be glad to bring you a 30 pack, shoot a nine point and clean it myself![emoji23]


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[txheartshot]

142” 8 year old management buck


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[txheartshot]

I’d be glad to bring you a 30 pack, shoot a nine point and clean it myself![emoji23]


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Me, too! [emoji23]


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[Sika]

This old guy should be upper 40s to 150.




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[S-3 Ranch]

What do y’all do when you have an older 10pt with 8” 2’s and 3’s and 4” 4’s, decent mass and beams and several considerably bigger bucks coming to the same feed. That 10, even at 160” is a mgmt buck….

Yep I am happy letting inches walk away, @8.5 and no indecision about maximum + short G2, not a cull , not a trophy, but mucho contento

[tmurray]

My best “management buck” ever. Still my favorite deer on the wall.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy_w7PcFf3s%22%5DMurray+Bow+Hunt+12-06-2012+-+YouTube%5B%2Furl

[tmurray]

He was just shy of 150, 148 5/8 if I recall correctly. I know that one brow was over 9”

[SaltwaterSlick]

My best “management buck” ever. Still my favorite deer on the wall.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy_w7P...uTube%5B%2Furl

Your video is "private"... cannot view it...

[breeds13]

I guess it depends as to what your definition of a trophy lease is. Not sure I would call a 140-150 type deer a management buck. My idea of a management buck is in the 30s.

Not saying I disagree with you, just telling you what I've been reading on here recently. Most of my past years hunting has been done around the Hill Country where a 140-150 is an extremely nice trophy deer on free range low fence ranches.

But in South Texas where everyone is chasing 160+ for their trophies on big low fence ranches then I can see how a sub-160s could be considered a management, especially if they're supplemental feeding. Every place is different.

[88 Bound]

142"

[SaltwaterSlick]

Some great Skimmer pics in this thread!

[breeds13]

Some great Skimmer pics in this thread!

That was the idea. Hard to beat a big ol' bruiser. I especially like the giant 8s that people consider cull/management just because they aren't 9 points or better.

[jshouse]

In

[Greenheadless]

I was lucky to have kilt one that the rancher called a ‘management deer’.

Grossed 157”, main frame 8 with all kinds of junk.

To me it was a trophy.

This was a HIGHLY managed ranch by very well known folks in the S Texas deer world, and we were asked to kill what they viewed as “culls”. I will say the average bucks we were killing were in the 120-140” range.

[hoythunter]

The ranch I moved off of in Webb county last year we killed “management” deer up to 160” in the years I hunted there. 15,000 acres low fence natural South Texas deer, no genetics introduced.

Typically we saved these deer for special guests & family while the paid hunters killed the true culls and trophies. My guests killed management deer up to the 140’s every year - these were generally older deer that no paid hunters on the ranch would want to burn a trophy tag on but we’re plenty old and weren’t necessarily helping the ranch. All were great deer and were trophies in the eyes of the hunters that shot these deer, most were the biggest our guests have killed in their life or even had ever seen in person. I think I enjoyed the “guiding” these hunts more than if I’d killed those deer myself. The best was putting my 9 year old son on a 146” buck a couple years back - a hunt he and I will have burned in our memories for the rest of our lives. A close second was a 135” 8 I guided a close friend on 2 years ago that he’s still talking about. He’s retired and never seen a deer that size in his life nor will he likely kill a bigger one before he dies.

By no means were these deer “trash” or “culls”, they just weren’t trophies we were expecting to hunt for that ranch. Our trophy caliber deer that were killed on this ranch while I was there were up to 200”. They’ve shot 3 this year in the 170’s so far and rut is right around the corner.

I moved to a different smaller ranch this year in Webb county and we have a bit stricter rules, but very similar ideals. It’s all about where you’re hunting and the management program of the ranch you hunt that’s going to determine what a management deer is. Higher potential on trophies is going to equal higher scoring “management” type deer you’re going to take from the ranch.