does it mean to be “the Hunter?”

By Bailey Dunks General Manager, Los Cazadores

Los Cazadores is currently considered the world’s largest deer contest, showcasing well over 100 categories and divisions that span the current hunting interests around the Lone Star State. Founded in Cotulla, Texas in 1986 by Darwin Avant, the Los Cazadores Big Buck Contest is known to hone in some of the best White-tailed deer the Golden Triangle has to offer. As the contest has grown in fame, it has attracted the likes of celebrities such as George Strait, an avid hunter in South Texas, along with many more die-hard deer hunters who wanted the title of winning the “Los Cazadores” Big Buck Contest.

Thousands of deer are entered each year and the contest has quickly become a deep-rooted family tradition in South Texas. Still thriving in the culture today, Los Cazadores has expanded far beyond just South Texas. Many current contest participants have religiously been entering deer since the contests inception which has led to including the incoming generations of family and friends keeping the fun and tradition of the deer contest alive.

Los Cazadores takes pride and care in preserving the traditions of the hunter and the hunting industry. So, what does it mean to be “The Hunter?” This is a broad question as almost everyone could answer this differently. For a lot of us, hunting is something we had the pleasure of growing up with. Maybe your dad or grandfather instilled an interest of all things outdoors in you at a very young age and that has led to some of your favorite memories. Maybe you didn’t grow up in a hunting family and discovered it on your own and it has certainly led to some of the best times in your life. Either way, the hunter’s passion for the outdoors is unwavering, to say the least.

A healthy mix between primal and pleasure is usually the concoction needed to produce an avid outdoorsman. Why is it so painfully hard to wake up before the crack of dawn for any general activity such as work or obligations, but so blissfully exciting to wake up before the sun knowing that you’re going to get to watch the sunrise and wake up with nature? Do you ever wonder why coffee smells and tastes so much better when drinking it in a deer blind? Or why those branches 250 yards away just might have you convinced it’s the biggest buck you’ve seen all season? Every rustle of the bush or sound of what might be something coming in, gets your blood pumping in a way that you could never explain to someone who has never experienced that feeling.

“The hunter” is someone who embodies what it means to have true “primal passion.” I often wonder if our ancestors felt the same way when hunting. Did our great, great, great grandpar- ents experience what is widely known as “buck fever?” Was the feeling different then, knowing that getting a deer on the ground meant your family could eat versus today, where most hunting is considered a passion hobby, or way of life? I have to believe the moment you pull that trigger or release that arrow, the feeling that takes over your body and mind is the same instinctively primal feeling that took over someone 1,000 years ago, but now it’s evolved for modern-day reasons.

For Los Cazadores participants, harvesting a deer probably goes something like this;

PHASE ONE: “Buck Fever” takes over you as you line up the crosshairs to where you want to hit. You exhale, pull the trigger, and the deer goes down. More buck fever, make sure deer is actually down, the deer is, in fact, actually down. Approach with caution, relish in the excitement, take initial photos and send to your buddies. Then load up, gut your deer, pose and take more photos.

PHASE TWO: Take deer to Los Cazadores for scanning and scoring and submitting to the contest. Then you decide on the specifics of your meat processing order and taxidermy pose.

PHASE THREE: Your deer gets on the leaderboard for the contest. You win a famous Los Cazadores jacket and prizes. You come to celebrate your award-winning harvest at the Annual Awards Banquet with friends and family, you sign up for the upcoming seasons’ contest, and repeat. This has been a tradition for over 35 years and will continue for many more to come. This is what it means to be

For more information on the deer contest, visit loscazadores.com

This article is dedicated to the loving memory of my Grandfather, Jimmy Dunks, devoted customer of Los Cazadores and inspiration for “The Hunter.”

NORTH ZONE

That portion of the state north of a line beginning at the International Bridge south of Fort Hancock; thence north along FM 1088 to State Highway 20; thence west along State Highway 20 to State Highway 148; thence north along State Highway 148 to Interstate Highway 10 at Fort Hancock; thence east along Interstate Highway 10 to Interstate Highway 20; thence northeast along Interstate Highway 20 to Interstate Highway 30 at Fort Worth; thence northeast along Interstate Highway 30 to the TexasArkansas state line.

CENTRAL ZONE

That portion of the state between the North Zone and the South Zone.

SOUTH ZONE

That portion of the state south of a line beginning at the International Toll Bridge in Del Rio; thence northeast along U.S. Highway 277 Spur to U.S. Highway 90 in Del Rio; thence east along U.S. Highway 90 to State Loop 1604; thence following Loop 1604 south and east, then north, to Interstate Highway 10; thence east along Interstate Highway 10 to the Texas-Louisiana Line.

2023-2024 DOVE SEASON DATES & REGULATIONS

North Zone

September 1 – November 12, 2023

December 15, 2023 – December 31, 2023

Central Zone

September 1 – October 29, 2023

December 15, 2023 – January 14, 2024

South Zone

September 14 – October 29, 2023

December 15, 2023 – January 21, 2024

Important Numbers

TDHA Banded Bird, If harvested call 210-764-1189

Federal Banded Bird, If harvested: Report at reportband.gov

Public Hunting: tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/public

Operation Game Thief: Witness a Violation, call 800-792-4263

Special White-Winged Dove Days

September 1, 2, 3 and 8, 9, 10, 2023 (SWWDD shooting hours noon to sunset)

Shooting Hours: Unless otherwise noted, one-half hour before sunrise to sunset

Daily Bag Composition*

15 mourning, white-winged and white-tipped (white-fronted) doves in aggregate, to include not more than 2 white-tipped (white-fronted doves. *No more than two Mourning doves and two white-tipped doves during Special White-Winged Dove Days

Possession Limit: Three times the daily bag limit

Migratory game Bird Stamp & HIP Certification required.

Texas Dove Hunters Association 210-764-1189