My grandk8ds got drawn. Tell me what you know. Camping? Maybe choice areas? Tia
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Lucky grandkids!
which hunt date?
Lodging-
you can camp on site if you so choose. My kid drew last fear. We stayed in an Airbnb in junction. Kid drew the latest hunt date and I didn’t want to roll the dice with cold/wet weather. Mid week Airbnb was cheap, worth the heater and shower.
Blinds-
there are numbered blinds. The kids each drew a number, 1-10, out of a coffee can. Kid with Home gets first choice, and so on. hope for a good draw…
the park host keeps track of the harvest data for that years previous hunt periods. It helps with deciding where to choose. Most axis are killed in the blinds along the river, but not all..
some blinds have good views. Others are limited to a single 5m wide shooting lane. When I went, all kids saw game. Not everyone killed and several saw zero axis. All depends on luck of the draw…
staff-
the park host (Charlie) runs a tight ship, he is a good guy and will do what he can to make sure the kids have a good time and are successful. if it’s cold, he has coffee and hot cocoa for the kiddos. Cody, the park superintendent, is also good people…he begs you to shoot everything you’re allowed, too many mouths and not enough resources…
extra tidbits-
last year, they had a pig kill contest. Some serious prize money… incentive to stack the pigs up. I think it was like a $1k gift card. One hunter killed six, and he was on the leaderboard after my kids hunt. You don’t have to bring the pigs in, a time stamped photo of pig and kid was accepted.
bait/corn- better be in bag and labeled with its ppb aflatoxin…they check every bag…
I brought chaffaye/alfalfa. Didn’t get touched. Corn was the ticket.
good luck to the grandkids. Hands down the best hunt I’ve had with my kid. She’s hoping she can draw again before she ages out….
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Hunt dates 1/2 thru 1/4Comment
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Couple more question. Do I need to reserve a campsite, are there chairs (2) in the blinds. Any facilities to hang game on site?Comment
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Camping onsite is plentiful no need to reserve in advance park is closed for hunts). We hunted some late dates last year (mid jan I think?) and saw very little game, from what was statistically the second best blind “down by the river”. Charlie gave the year to date kill numbers before we picked. Another blind nearby got a fair bit of action but mostly it seems like animals were avoiding the place by that time of year. Yea there are chairs in the blinds but bring a booster of some kind for your shorter youths. Didn’t live up to the reputation, but a cool place and a fun time!Comment
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I asked Mummes(HEB corn) about that since they don't have it listed on the bag. They said(I have the email somewhere) that law is ...if it is under 20 PBB it does NOT need to be listed on the bagOriginally posted by Yak blue View Post
It seems to be a popular bag of corn. Don't know what staff would do if the bag does not have the PPB listed on it.
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Well, who sells labeled corn?Comment
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I think Lindners in comfort and the bag says less than 50 PBB. If I remember right SLR requires 20 PBB or less.Comment
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There are 5-10 places that sell corn in Junction and they will send you to one of those stores if the pbb isnt listed. They were strict on this when I hunted there a few years back.Originally posted by Huntindad View PostComment
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They have a skinning station with running water and a walk in cooler. There are also 2 processing places in Junction that do a great job if you want to get your game processed. I always use Kimble Co Processing. We have 106 acres 20 minutes from the park and hunted the park twice in the last ten years. I'd recommend going out there before the hunt and you can get an idea of the blind locations if you are able. The blinds are up year round. Most axis get shot down by the river, but they get pushed out with hunting pressure and move up to the old Walter Buck units. Get somewhere where you can see a long ways, get some feed out and be ready to shoot. We shot several of our axis cruising through that didn't stop to eat corn. Fun hunt and the staff is great!Originally posted by Walker View PostComment
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My kids also drew the youth deer hunt for 1/2-1/4. A couple of questions I have is what size bucks should we expect or hold out for? And has anyone been since the construction has started and is it affecting the hunt at all?Comment
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I just called the park. Really nice people and they want you to enjoy yourselves. Corn does has to be labeled 20ppm at the most. I picked up corn at producers that was labeled safe for wildlife, not good enough. As far as buck expectations, since the is the last of multiple hunts and the rut is in november I wouldn't hold out for anything. Shoot the first legal animal you see.Comment
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We are coming from Colorado where is the best place to grab the correctly labeled corn are there places in Junction that have it?Comment
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According to the park, yes there are places in junction that sell it.Originally posted by ORIONTHEHUNTER View PostComment
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Yes, there is. I would call "West Bear Creek" feed store in Junction and ask if theirs is label that way. I think that is where we got it last time. There are 5-10 places in town that sell corn if they dont have it. Are you planning to camp in the park or stay in town? The park is less than 10 minutes from "downtown" Junction.Originally posted by ORIONTHEHUNTER View Post
As far as buck size, they aren't known for harvesting monster whitetail and this hunt is popular because of the axis deer there. I wouldnt quite say shoot "the first" legal animal as there are a lot of deer there, but I wouldn't have too high of expectations for shooting a large WT buck. You should have no problem filling your freezer with the amount of doe there.Comment
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