Laguna Atascosa NWR 2022-23

[saggybows12]

What method are you more successful hunters using? Tripods, pop ups, natural brush, or are y’all spot and stalk masters on these nilgai?

[BigRed323]

Our group drew on 2nd draw!

Be out there in January to go back after that bull that haunts my dreams!

[Mr. Public]

Our group drew on 2nd draw!

Be out there in January to go back after that bull that haunts my dreams!

I smell vengeance and predict….REDEMPTION!!![emoji119][emoji2936][emoji123]


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[Mr. Public]

What method are you more successful hunters using? Tripods, pop ups, natural brush, or are y’all spot and stalk masters on these nilgai?

Tripods can work well if concealed right, but tripods can also be time consuming if needing to moved frequently. I won’t be caught in a pop up. They just stand out like a sore thumb. Natural brush is great, concealment is key.
Spot & stalk can work if going for broke, you’ll end up broke most times but pay off is rewarding if you sink the shot. Many play that game and the majority lose.

Find fresh sign, then put your nose into the wind and stay silent and still.


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[piercebronkite]

Tripods can work well if concealed right, but tripods can also be time consuming if needing to moved frequently. I won’t be caught in a pop up. They just stand out like a sore thumb. Natural brush is great, concealment is key.
Spot & stalk can work if going for broke, you’ll end up broke most times but pay off is rewarding if you sink the shot. Many play that game and the majority lose.

Find fresh sign, then put your nose into the wind and stay silent and still.


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Thats been my experience out there as well.

A few years ago I had two bulls at 43 yards broadside while I was standing/sitting in the middle of a mesquite tree for a few hours. They never saw me but I fubared my draw cycle since I lost my balance while drawing back on them. The arrow made a slight "tink" noise off the rest and those bulls ran to the next county. That one still haunts me!

[PBUCKSHOT]

What method are you more successful hunters using? Tripods, pop ups, natural brush, or are y’all spot and stalk masters on these nilgai?

I tried a pop up one year and only sat in it one time. Chiggers for the win on that hunt. I was surprised how close you can get to animals by just setting up under the right mesquite or brush line. A short tripod makes the sits way more comfortable and gives you great options where the grass is high. I wouldn’t haul no 16’ steel tripod though lol. A short 6’ aluminum tripod is money. They set up
great on game carts too.

[PBUCKSHOT]

Has anyone ever hunted unit 4?

I did last year. We used an aluminum skiff so that it could be pulled onto the bank. I was going to use my fishing boat but couldn’t imagine coming back to it being pulled away by the barge traffic or pushed up so far that o couldn’t get it off. Saw just as many animals as I’d seen in other units past years so still debating whether to go through the access troubles this year. Saw a few more people walking around instead of sitting there too than i did on other hunts.

[solocam_aggie]

What method are you more successful hunters using? Tripods, pop ups, natural brush, or are y’all spot and stalk masters on these nilgai?

I killed my buck last year by stalking. Had a good wind that morning and put my nose towards it and crept through at a snails pace. Stalked in on another buck the first morning but didn't give me a shot at 20 yards.

[acepipeman]

[quote=PBUCKSHOT;16397798]I tried a pop up one year and only sat in it one time. Chiggers for the win on that hunt. I was surprised how close you can get to animals by just setting up under the right mesquite or brush line. A short tripod makes the sits way more comfortable and gives you great options where the grass is high. I wouldn’t haul no 16’ steel tripod though lol. A short 6’ aluminum tripod is money. They set up
great on game carts too.[/quo

[ChelleOutdoors]

I'll be there 12/16-20, never been but looking forward to the challenge.

[saggybows12]

Tripods can work well if concealed right, but tripods can also be time consuming if needing to moved frequently. I won’t be caught in a pop up. They just stand out like a sore thumb. Natural brush is great, concealment is key.
Spot & stalk can work if going for broke, you’ll end up broke most times but pay off is rewarding if you sink the shot. Many play that game and the majority lose.

Find fresh sign, then put your nose into the wind and stay silent and still.


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My thoughts on the tripod are finding the right placement with great concealment will be tough so it would probably have to go up and stay up in the spot, the problem I foresee is if the wind switches that “perfect spot” is now busted. I designed a compact, portable tripod I can haul anywhere I think I’m going to take and give a try. The more I read and think about, scouting day is looking to be crucial.

[justletmein]

Question for those who've been out there before. Are the hunt areas basically just blobs of land or are there defined roads and trails leading out where people travel down and branch off from? I haven't started looking at maps and google earth yet but of course it'll only tell part of the story. I have til January but need to start thinking about a plan of attack.

[txoutdoorsman24]

Question for those who've been out there before. Are the hunt areas basically just blobs of land or are there defined roads and trails leading out where people travel down and branch off from? I haven't started looking at maps and google earth yet but of course it'll only tell part of the story. I have til January but need to start thinking about a plan of attack.

For the most part roads are pretty easy to travel on thru each unit. Once you venture of the Roads, you are moving they brush. Some of the roads are limestone topped and some are black dirt roads.

[tward1604]

I picked up 11/4-11/8 on second draw I cannot wait.

[justletmein]

For the most part roads are pretty easy to travel on thru each unit. Once you venture of the Roads, you are moving they brush. Some of the roads are limestone topped and some are black dirt roads.

Thank you, that's what I was curious about, whether people tend to get "way back" by roads and then branch off or if it was just all brush travel. Knowing that will help me studying maps and formulating a plan.