South Texas Hunter's Thread 2023

[SaltwaterSlick]

Our ranch has large stocked dirt tanks as well as a very elaborate well/trough system that provides plenty of water for drinking... We feed cottonseed and protein as well as corn, but that doesn't make things normal when it is this dry... Our fawn crop was in single digits last year where normally we are in the high 30's to middle 40's on fawns... 2, 3 years in a row with single digits is going to take a serious hit for a whole age class of deer a few years down the road...


Lord, please send the rain!

[Snapperhead94]

See any quail?

Not very many. Saw very few during deer season, and it's only gotten worse.

[PassnItOn]

On the board in McMullen...

Most are still carrying though. Praying for rain this spring, fawn crop non-existent last year.

[kyle1974]

First one on camera a couple
Days ago. They’re skinny!

[brokeno]

Now

[Daniel32]

Heading out to my place in Zapata County this weekend to top off feeders and put out more cotton seed.

Talking to the family that owns the lease it looks like we're like most of S. Texas and need more rain. Hopefully this spring produces some good rains.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Antlers starting to drop. Nothing in my pens yet that I can see. Headed out Ash Wednesday for a work trip. Sure would be nice to have had a rain by then. No green up so far tho.

[flyinstroke]

Headed down to Benavides to top off feeders and double check batteries as well this weekend. Hopefully get to install a couple water stations while I am there.

[TexasTK]

They don't call this area of Tx the Wild Horse Desert for nothing. Years of drought interrupted by periods of rain. Carbon copy of last yr so far.
Hopefully I won't find many sheds in next few weeks. When you find them this early it is not a good sign, at least in my area. Typically I don't start looking in earnest until 2nd week of April.
Please Lord send us some rain!

[kyle1974]

They don't call this area of Tx the Wild Horse Desert for nothing. Years of drought interrupted by periods of rain. Carbon copy of last yr so far.
Hopefully I won't find many sheds in next few weeks. When you find them this early it is not a good sign, at least in my area. Typically I don't start looking in earnest until 2nd week of April.
Please Lord send us some rain!

you are right about early sheds. Usually those deer are in poor shape and do not do well the next year, if they survive at all.

[Headhunter]

Just got back from South and it rained everyday I was there. Had a rain break on Friday that gave us enough time to fill protein feeders. After Friday, it rained non stop, heavy rain to drizzle. Tried to turkey hunt but once again it was just too wet to get into the pasture. Was the greenest we have seen it that early in about 2-3 years. This should helps us heading into the summer.

[PassnItOn]

Headed down this weekend, first time since the big rain - hoping the pond is holding something, it was bone dry

[Black Ice]

Antlers starting to drop. Nothing in my pens yet that I can see. Headed out Ash Wednesday for a work trip. Sure would be nice to have had a rain by then. No green up so far tho.

Got back from the ranch two weeks ago and found more sheds than I ever have.

My cousin and her boyfriend had full range all over the place and I think they picked up a lot of them.

He passed a couple years ago and I never really thought to ask if he was picking them up but I think I have my answer. Wish he was still picking them.




Spent a few days filling up a small water hole that went dry hauling totes while I was there. Buddy gave me a 3 inch pump and I bought new hoses for and it fills up a 275 gallon tote in a couple minutes.

We have 4 sig watering holes that naturally hold water during rainy season, 2 ponds fed by two wells and multiple tanks fed by wells.

Opened up a gate to a pen and put a camera on it to see if Nilgai would come into a pen to drink. Cattle pens are pretty grown up with mesquite trees so it would be hard to jump into or out off. Also hard to go under due to the amount of trees.

Haven’t had a single deer on cam but several Nilgai. Makes that bow blind set up in the corner made out of old privacy fence 15 yards away that much better[emoji23].


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[SaltwaterSlick]

Found 1 shed on that Ash Wednesday trip! It was on my camera laying at the base of a cottonseed feeder... With the recent rains, shed hunting is pretty much done. Our place is covered in Bufflegrass and that stuff grows FAST! It's almost knee deep already.

[PassnItOn]

Pond was full from last rain when we got there, and it was raining sideways when we left Sunday. Mosquitos were horrible but small price to pay for everything being green again.