Somerville 10/11

[Hoggwild]

Not sure where you hunt, but Somerville is covered with pigs.

+1 on that. How many people should i expect to be out at Somerville WMA opening weekend? Are we going to be bombed by the 100's? LOL Never hunted the WMA before, now were on a count down by days Im getting alittle worried!

[BURTONboy]

To be honest with you, i'm from Brenham and lived in Burton before moving to Houston, and i've never done anything except duck hunt and fish Somerville. I don't know many if any folks that deer hunt out there, but i'd expect there are a few that make a trip to hunt there. I know Somerville holds some solid deer and tons of pigs with plenty of oppurtunity to kill something. I would say for the first weekend plan on walking in pretty far and then checking out the crowd on the way out. If it isn't bad, then you know you don't need to walk in that far anymore. Only reason I say walk far first morning, is so nobody bumps your deer.

[El Paisano]

Don't get your blood pressure up. Just have plan b, c, and d ready.
You play public land just like playing the wind. When it changes, you change.
You have just about as much control over the actions of others on public land as you do the direction of the wind, so figure out how to use it to your advantage, or you will have a cussing bad hunt.

[Hoggwild]

Weve done the scouting and have the areas picked out. Hanging the lock-ons Saturday matter of fact. Should I just be the the "early bird" get to the stand wayyyy before anyone else is entering the woods and just say shine a light if someone is trying to set up close to myself?

[05 gray ghost]

This will be my first rodeo for Texas public land hunting. I never realized there any that you could hunt on. I took trips up to Colorado from '82 to '91 and a few years around '96, '97 when you could get your license over the counter. We hunted public land up there and it someone came by I would stand up so they could see my safety orange. Thing were different up there, we were rifle hunting and it was 100,000+ acres.

The only bad thing I had happen to me was I shot a small racked 3X3 free hand and had to track him. It was my first time following a blood trail and it took me about 30 - 45 min. of tracking. I followed the blood out of the brush and into a clearing and there was 2 guys standing at my deer. I walked up there to make sure it was the same deer. Long story short it was and they tried to say that the spike I shot ran across the road at the bottom of the clearing. Well I knew my was a small 3x3 so I went back up to where I short mine and the blood trail took me to the same place, by then they where already driving off.

The real kicker was that they where from Texas too.

[kornsqueezer]

GG I have one certain tree I hunted at Sommerville. You go to sign area on CR125. Put your paper work in mail box. pull back out like you are headed to Dimebox , cross the creek and park in the little lot. There is a little creek tributary to cross walking the trail back toward Nails Creek. When you get to clearing head straight South approximately3/4 of a mile skirting the woods on your right. Walk all the way back to where the woods make a bend. You will find one stick pin in a tree about 50-75 yards from the fence line. There are 5 trail intersections in front of the tree. Also 3 trees right close together. I already have a bow hanger in the smallest tree. You are welcome to that spot if you can get there first. In 5 years I killed a nice 6 point, next year a doe, following year another doe. I also shot, two years ago, and didn't recover a 12 point with approximately 20 inch spread. Last year I shot a 6 inch spike. Oh by the way there is a hog wallow just off to the left of the tree if you are facing the fence. I haven't told anyone of these deer kills except Mike (WIKI)knows about the 6 point and the first doe. I am not going to say it is easy hunting , but 25 feet up the tree makes it a little easier. It got to crowed for me at the WMA. I looked and I don't have one of the maps or I would pinpoint it a little closer for you.
Tommy

[Hoggwild]

Anyone going to be out this weekend doing last minute scouting?

[El Paisano]

Kornsqueezer...now everybody knows...

[05 gray ghost]

Thanks Kornsqueezer, If I don't go to Dallas area for hogs this weekend I will go out there and see if I can find it. My son said thanks too.

[kornsqueezer]

Kornsqueezer...now everybody knows...

I just figured that if I wasn't going out there anytime soon y'all could go fo it. Oh yeah there is a nice 10 with 16" spread(two years ago) still out there. Had an arrow come apart when I released it and the following weekend I got busted on the draw.Just sorry I don't still have a map .

[airpro]

Me and my brother are heading out there to scout on sunday and maybe monday

[justintyme8303]

Thank you Kornsqueezer for your GREAT gift to all of us on this thread. I hoped to get a chance to hunt there this year but couldnt ever get there to scout. Now that you have passed out some good intel and even offered up your own stand I feel I have a good chance of seeing something if I am able to finailly make it to Sommerville this yr.

Thanks again,
Chris

[Limbwalker]

I've been away the whole month of Sept. (didn't get to do the dove hunt/deer scouting trips that I did last year up there), but I'll be back at Somerville this fall. I enjoy it. It's real tough hunting and pretty crowded, but I had a good season last fall. Shot a nice doe and lost a spike that I thought I had hit better than I guess I did. Tracked him for 3/4 mile before the blood finally ran out. Saw enough action that I'm going to keep trying, but you have to scout a LOT to figure things out. Those deer are VERY, VERY smart. And they're jumpy too, so your bow had better be quiet...

Good luck to all who are up for the challenge.

And yes, a good hang-on with strap on tree steps is the best way to go there, unless you've pre-scouted a climbable tree (and in some areas, there are quite a few of those).

John.

[Hoggwild]

seen a doe grazing at 8am yesterday and a brute of a 8 point at 10:15 both were at the wma...thats all we seen considering the loud noise we were making hanging up the stands...but were ready!

[Limbwalker]

Uh, "hanging up the stands..." ???

You do realize that you're not allowed to leave stands out there, right?

Or were you on some adjacent private lands?