Back from First Point

[stickman]

Sweet recap! Thanks for the pics.

[cashcropper]

I know that guy with the record really well.Huntinest guy Ive ever known.

[predatoraddct]

Thats a great write up, thanks for sharing. Those pics bring back good memories of my first trip to South Texas at First Point.

[Legdog]

outstanding coverage Heath!

[Ben]

Enjoyed the write up and pictures, Heath. I wish the deer would have cooperated, but I'm sure getting to spend several days in the south Texas brush made the trip worth while.

[GARY]

Nicely played Heath!

[huntinfool]

Wow...makes my report seem almost....not worthy.


But here goes.


I have no pics to share...my camera is broken and I just didn't have time to mess with it much.

My father and I arrived, filled out our paperwork and got our bunks and then went out and started scouting our pasture, number 7.

We've hunted it before so we kinda knew where we wanted to go, but Mike had marked some places we had not ever really scouted. We set out and my dad decided to scout one road while I was to scout an intersection where I could cover two roads. Soon after the feed truck went by the deer filtered out of the brush onto the road to eat the golden kernels. Soon I had does from one end of the road to the other and then out poped a buck. He turned away from me and chased a doe about 100 yards down the road and dove back in the brush and i never saw him again. I only got a few seconds look, but I guessed him to be 2.5 and possibly an 8. Then about a half hour later I had a real nice 3.5 8 maybe mid to high 130's step out, but he to turned away and chased a doe down the road for about 500-600 yards and turned the corner. Does were in and out of the brush and this went on for the rest of the evening. My father walked over to where I was and while we were standing there the 3.5 steps out 30 yards down the road. We get a pretty good look of one side and then he bounds across the road to never be seen again on this hunt.

Several more days of does and small bucks and I finally decide to move. We had set up a ladder stand in a tree along a creek to "observe", but it would be perfect for a north wind so I thought I would give it a try. I put some corn out in the brush and climbed up. Soon I heard the tell tale sign of corn cracking and I can just make out the dark forms of deer in the brush in the pre dawn darkness. I use my bino's and realize on of the deer is a buck and from the slight glimpses of him I can get in the darkness he might be a goon one. He looks to ahve long main beams and real wide. So there I sit waiting on the dawn. Suddenly one of the does looks up at me for a moment and starts to feed again. Then she looks again and starts to walk off. Then her fawn urinates on the ground and the buck charges over to "sniff" her doings. She runs off following the doe, and the buck turns the other way and trots off. I'm still frozen and not moving and can't figure out what happened. Then I hear him grunting and he comes walking back, about 35 yards from the tree, but it is still too dark for me to really see him, so I have to let him walk...maybe tonight. Finally it is light enough to see and I start glassing around. I look towards the feeder that is over 100 yards away (a ranch rule) and I see what appears to be a high 140 to low 150 8. Looking through the bino's I swear that this buck looks like a mule deer in the body. Big and very gray. He feeds at the feeder and then walks up the raod and I loose him in the brush. I go back to camp, get some food, go back out and move and brush a new stand, go back to camp, get a shower and get ready for the evening hunt. I get back to the area spread the corn and climb into my newly moved and brushed stand and the wind hits me in the back. I bail out of the stand as I don't want to chance a bad wind. I scramble to my other stand and don't even see a deer.

I go back to my newly moved stand in the morning and the wind is adequate so I spread the corn and pray. I have a few does come in and feed and a few look right at me and seem like they see me, and eventually they walk off. Maybe two minutes later a buck walks in. He is very big bodied and with his head in the brush he looks 3.5. But when he lifts his head you would swear that he was 1.5. I looked him over several time and tried to figure out how old he was. His body screamed 3.5, but he had the smallest 8pt rack I've ever seen. I let him walk (mostly for fear of being ridiculed back at camp) but I was sure he was of age. I don't see anything else and I head back to camp.

My final days I set up a stand near where I spotted the big buck. The deer never know I'm in the brush and they feed very calmly, but mr. big never shows.

We did get fed a great meal on new years evening. We had bacon wrapped quail, bacon wrapped fillet, cheesy jalapeno's on the grill, very tasty.

Mike and Nancy were great hosts again and I can't wait to head back on Saturday for five more days.

It did seem that the bucks were starting to get back on the feed route, and weren't chasing the does as hard as they had when we first got there. However this year more and more shooter bucks were seen, but didn't stop and feed as they usually did.

Good luck to all those who still have hunts and hopefully I will have a better report next time.

[hoythunter02]

Good luck next weekend and nice recap!

[ronny]

I just got back also and what Heath and Huntfool said is spot on. Had a great time hunting with you guys and hope we can hit a camp together again.
There is a Big 8 in pasture 12.
Heath my brother says the beer is on him next time.

[huntinfool]

There's a big 8 in 12........come on Ronny. You saw him, took a shot at him, what more details man. (your probably still real tired, so we'll wait a bit)

[BIG D]

Thanks for the updates.

[Killem all]

Headed back in the morning. Can't wait.

[ronny]

The middle road in 12 about 150yds south of the feeder. He is a high 130 type buck, could not get a shot at him. I think he is staying in that area, I just needed a few more days. Also Barry saw lots of deer on the old road in the middle of 12, looks like a highway in there.

[Killem all]

ronny PM sent