Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Let's See some Really Big Deer

EHG,

Nice deer.

Rooster, no need to make apologies for that deer, very nice.

Couple more from a South Texas ranch where I used to hunt. Low fence.

Apologies for the photo quality, these were taken quickly.



Big 8 a few weeks before season. Never saw him again.

Rooster, don't down play that buck. Nice one.

Not sure how the horns would look up close, but this fellow had a fairly huge BMI. Saw him this one time before the season and then he disappeared. Big Deer for around here.





Really fine thread. Keep it going "foreva."

Bob, I didn't see anything in this thread against showing bow kills.

When I was a little younger I did some bowhunting and I baited this one. My treestand was set up on a ridge thick with White and Red oak trees and I watched this buck feed on acorns right up to within range of my stand.

roundoak: Bows count! We aren't rifle snobs..... That's a dandy buck!

battue: SHOOT!

jeffbird: Wow! Not used to Texas buck body sizes since I have seen so few but those look BIG to me.

rooster:....in the back yard.....the back yard???

That's a great buck...in the yard or anywhere else.

Guy at the gun club....15 minutes from here,showed me a pic of a big 10 taken near the 100 yard line during the rut last November. Amazing how those big deer can live under our noses.

that negates the need to carry a rangefinder, I reckon.

hunts: range finders are superfluous luxuries around here...

The tough part is you don't see them coming....or going...for long.

They hang out on the 600 yard range frequently but mostly the does and young bucks. We (almost) NEVER see the mature bucks during any season other than the rut in the open areas.

They stay hid pretty well.

Bob, those are in the western half of South Texas, lovingly known as "The Golden Triangle," which is the area from roughly Pearsall to Laredo over to the Rio Grande. For a mature low fence buck, live weights are 225 - 250 on average. Closer to Laredo, they can be even heavier. Of course, rain/drought makes a huge difference year to year in body and antler size.

Believe me I would have, but I was hunting Grouse.

Think I saw him again this year in the same area and I had a rifle. Horns were bigger, but the lights were going out and he was somewhere around 200.

Jeff that's bigger than I thought they get. Good sized bucks then. Is it that south texas bucks are bigger than,say, the Hill Country?

Much larger in South Texas, especially the western half. They are different subspecies than the Hill Country deer. Also, the ranches tend to be much larger making it easier to control the hunters and keep their fingers off the trigger so the deer can reach 6 1/2 or 7 1/2 years old where they tend to peak on body weight and antler size. Also, most of the South Texas ranches are aggressive on keeping the numbers down by hard culling of does so there is adequate food and water. It is some rough and harsh country, but beautiful in its own way.

The population densities of WT deer in the Hill Country are generally among the highest anywhere, thus causing too much competition for food. In the Hill Country, most properties are much smaller making implementation of management plans much more challenging. There are some areas where landowners are forming very large management cooperatives of 20 - 30,000 acres and really upping the quality of deer by dramatically reducing the densities, thus freeing up food and water, and letting the bucks reach maturity. Personally, I've never heard of a Hill Country buck going much above the 180's weight wise on well managed properties. In poorly managed areas, 150 - 160 pound range is more common.

Typical South Texas habitat from that area - tree stands are not going to work here. Trying to walk through the brush is a special experience too.



Found another of a young deer while looking for that photo.

jeff: Excellent. Interesting, too. Thanks.

I have seen racks from bucks taken up in the Panhandle while in Amarillo,and they looked pretty big up there as well.

Yes. My dad grew up in the Panhandle and I spent time there when I was young in '60's and early '70's. Back then, there were almost no deer in the Panhandle, as most were killed for subsistence during the Great Depression and/or died from the Dust Bowl conditions. The ones that have repopulated the area have wandered in from Kansas, which are a big subspecies. Also, similar to the Midwest, there is lots of agricultural production so they dine at the salad bar. There are some very nice mule deer in the area now as well.

You're welcome.

South Texas deer which shows body size with me for comparison. Note the cold weather clothing. This was in November if I remember correctly.

Did shoot this time.

....and a big thank-you goes out to ShortActionSmoker and family for giving me the opportunity to do so.

Well said jeffbird. Very accurate descriptions of the areas. Nice bucks too.

VERY nice! That whitetail is something else though... The mass on it is amazing! Where was he killed?

Battue nice buck! Congrats!