2024 Jan/Feb_TTHA Issue

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

EDITOR'S LETTER January/February 2024 Volume 49, No. 1 www.ttha.com

February Is Good For Nilgai Official Publication of The Texas Trophy Hunters Association, Ltd.

T

he Journal begins a new year with changes in our columns— some of which have appeared for 20 years. Nuge’s Soundboard by Ted Nugent has gone to rest, as has Judy Jurek’s Texas Women in the Outdoors, and Ralph Winingham’s Campfire Tales.

Column replacements are Trophy Hunters of Tomorrow (youth hunters) and Eric Stanosheck’s Muzzleloaders in the Hunt.

I’m sure all readers will look forward to these two new columns.

Texas hunters still have a lot of opportunities left this winter, such as whitetails, quail, geese and winter doves. Then there are exotics, hogs and varmints with seasons that never end. Spring turkey season is right around the corner, so there’s no reason for a hunter to put up his or her rifle or shotgun.

The reports I get are good for whitetail season, and the hunts have gone well.

Feeders and trail cameras play a big role in deer hunting these days, and 2023 was no different. Two main things about the use of cameras are better quality bucks and higher hunting success. Hunters who know what kind of buck is in their area will hunt more often, and stay in the blind longer.

For those hunters who have put a deer or two in the freezer—pay no attention to the oddball warnings from people who probably have never tasted deer meat. Venison is the finest wild meat in Texas, and you should enjoy every tidbit of “Americas healthy red meat.” I raised four kids who can attest to the wonders of good venison.

February is one of the best months to hunt nilgai. The big antelope are active, the coat of the old male is very dark, and the meat is tender. It you have thought of putting a blue bull head on your wall, now is the time to think about a nilgai hunt, and what’s needed to put down a big 500-pound bull. Most hunts are guided, and the guide will want you to take a teeth-chattering Magnum. But what if Lucy Jane doesn’t shoot a 10-pound Magnum that will knock her cap off with every shot?

Hang on, Lucy, and we will devise you a nilgai rifle.

The blue bull of the Wild Horse Desert is tough, but a well-placed shot will bring him down—and it doesn’t have to be a Magnum. I’ve killed nilgai with a .30-06 and 165-grain bullets. But, I have also seen nilgai shot with a 130-grain bullet from a .270 that ran into the next county. The key to downing a big nilgai is a good, heavy, deep penetrating bullet placed directly into the shoulder.

Any good rifle with a 22-inch barrel shooting a 160-grain bullet, or bigger, at 2,800 fps will bring down a nilgai with a hit to destroy both lungs. Leave the .243, 6.5 Creedmoor and .257 Roberts and similar deer rifles at home. A good 7mm deep penetrating bullet, up to .30-06 and .30 caliber Magnums, will take a nilgai if the hunter can stalk a bull to 200-250 yards, or sit in a blind at a waterhole.

Close nilgai shots are good at the juncture of the neck and shoulder, but shots up to 250 yards should go through the shoulder and into the lungs, which are between the shoulders. A deer hunting shot behind the shoulder will give you a long chase that may never end. Think about this when you go after nilgai.

Don’t forget, kids—keep ’em running, swimming, and flying by being good sports and obeying the game laws.

Horace Gore 2 | January/February 2024

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TTHA protects, promotes and preserves Texas wildlife resources and hunting heritage for future generations. Founded in 1975, TTHA is a membership-based organization. Its bimonthly magazine, The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters®, is available via membership and newsstands.

TTHA hosts the Hunters Extravaganza® outdoor expositions, renowned as the largest whitetail hunting shows in the South. For membership information, please join at www.ttha.com or contact TTHA Membership Services at (877) 261-2541.

The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

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CONTENTS

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

98

92

74

FEATURES 20 | Dr. Deer’s Prescription

By Dr. James Kroll 24 |

30 | Celebrating Texas Hunting

At Its Best

By Horace Gore 45 | Wild Game for Dinner

By Judy Jurek 54 | Hog Wild

By Gary Roberson 74 |

Tips

By Will Leschper

Two For The Book

By Jason Shipman

104

84 | Coastal Waterfowl Hunting

ATV’s & UTV’s for ’24

By John Goodspeed

92 |

Hunting Southwestern Mule Deer

By Jim Heffelfinger

98 | Texas Aoudad Hunting 101

By Brandon Ray 104 | Antlers of Alaska

By Lee Leschper

111 | 90th Surprise 114 | Up on A Stump

By Horace Gore

84 4 | January/February 2024

The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

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CONTENTS

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

58

62 34

37

COLUMNS 10 |

Hunting Pioneers

14 |

Fence Posts

MEMBER STORIES 71 |

Jr. Trophy Hunter Corner

108 | The Draw

34 | Trophy Hunters of

Tomorrow

112 | Next Generation

42 |

Beyond The Hunt

122 | Kamp Kitchen

52 |

Voice of Texas Hunting

123 | Feeding Times/

62 | Muzzleloaders in the

Hunt

37 |

This Hunt Is for You, Dad

80 | It’s Only Crazy If It

Doesn’t Work

By Jared Poole

By Kyle Seipp

49 | Hunting with Pop

By Wes Dillard

88 | A Family Affair

By Carol Heughan

58 | Bowhunting Bond

By Robert Neeley

Moon Phases

124 | Hunt’s End

66 | Must Haves

66

ON THE COVER Photo By: Jason Shipman

Donnie Fischer’s buck made the Boone and Crockett record book. Read the story on page 24.

The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters, 1982 ISSN-08941602, is published bimonthly (a total of 6 issues) by The Texas Trophy Hunters Association Ltd., 700 E. Sonterra Blvd., Suite 1206, San Antonio, TX 78258, Phone (210) 523-8500. All rights reserved. Periodical postage paid in San Antonio, Texas, and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscriptions: $35 per year includes membership in TTHA. Phone (210) 523-8500. Advertising: For information on rates, deadlines, mechanical requirements, etc., call (210) 523-8500. Insertion of advertising in this publication is a service to the readers and no endorsement or guarantees by the publisher are expressed or implied. Published material reflects the views of individual authors and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the association. Contributions: should be sent via email to editor@ttha.com, or mailed to the Editor, Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters, 700 E. Sonterra Blvd., Suite 1206, San Antonio, TX 78258. They must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope or return postage, and the publisher assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to unsolicited materials. Any material accepted is subject to revision as is necessary in our sole discretion to meet the requirements of our publication. The act of mailing a manuscript and/or material shall constitute an express warranty by the contributor that the material is original and in no way an infringement upon the rights of others. Photographs can either be RAW, TIFF, or JPEG formats, and should be high resolution and at least 300 dpi. All photographs submitted for publication in “Hunt’s End” become the sole property of the Texas Trophy Hunters Association Ltd. Moving? Please send notice of address change (new and old address) 6 weeks in advance to Texas Trophy Hunters Association, P.O. Box 3000, Big Sandy, TX 757559918. POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters, Texas Trophy Hunters Association, P.O. Box 3000, Big Sandy, TX 75755-9918.

6 | January/February 2024

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WE ARE TTHA TTHA WE

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

… In With The New

T

o kick off the new year, The Journal presents our readers with two new columns: Muzzleloaders In The Hunt, and Trophy Hunters of Tomorrow. Experienced hunter and avid muzzleloader user Eric Stanosheck will share his tales and tips on everything in the muzzleloader corner of the hunting world. Trophy Hunters of Tomorrow features profiles of young hunters who we’ve selected from entries in our 2023 Hunters Extravaganza Annual Deer Competition. We hope you’ll enjoy and get inspired by these new columns.

TTHA/SCI Spreading The Word

S

afari Club International and Texas Trophy Hunters Association attended the 77th Annual Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas, hosted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, during the week of Oct. 15. SCI and TTHA representatives engaged wildlife directors and professionals from across the southeastern United States at the gathering on conservation and hunting issues. SCI and TTHA also traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify before Congress as hunting experts. You can watch a video of that testimony on TTHA.com: https://www.ttha.com/ articles/sci-appears-before-congress Pictured L-R: Bee Frederick, SCI Eastern State and Local Liaison; Lauren Conklin, TTHA Director of Media Relations; and Chris Tymeson, SCI Western State and Local Liaison.

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January/February 2024 |

7

WALDINE SCHNAUTZ

By Horace Gore

W

aldine Schnautz is a pioneer of our hunting heritage.

She has been a deer hunter and proponent of quality deer management for many years. Waldine has won honors from deer contests across South Texas with bucks from her ranch in Frio County. She won Women’s Overall at Muy Grande three times: the seasons of 2006-07, 2014-15, and 2015-16. Waldine also won “Rancher of the Year” at Muy Grande in 2007-08. She was inducted into the Muy Grande Hall of Fame in 2017.

“I was born and raised in Floresville, Texas, and went to Floresville schools,” Waldine said. “My husband and I lived in Floresville, and hunted the family ranch in Webb County for about 20 years. When we sold that ranch, we bought the highfenced ranch in Frio County near Pearsall, which is used for hunting—no cattle.

Waldine has lived on the Frio County ranch for about 10 years.

Before that, she retired from Texas Department of Public Safety, and moved around a bit before moving to the ranch. “I love it out here—it is so peaceful and quiet,” she remarked. She has one son, John, and grandchildren who are now hunting on the ranch.

“The kids are taking some bucks with gun and bow that are winning awards, and I enjoy that.”

Waldine started deer hunting in Webb County when she was 30-something years old. “I went to the deer blind with my husband, but didn’t take a gun,” she said. “I didn’t kill a buck until after John was born. The 3,900-acre Webb County ranch was low fence, but other ranches joining us were also low fence, and we had some good bucks. My first two were eight-points, and another was a 10-point. I started hunting with a.243, but changed to a .270 Winchester that I have used all through the years.”

Waldine Schnautz Photos courtesy of Waldine Schnautz

10 | January/February 2024

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“I didn’t take any big bucks until we bought the Frio County ranch. In 2006, I got a buck that won Best of Show at the TTHA Extravaganza deer contest in 2007. That buck won almost every contest in South Texas.” Waldine said that first big buck got her hooked on trophy deer, which has grown into her passion.

“We saw that buck in September and I got some video of him just before dark. I was so excited to see such a good buck, but we didn’t see him again until November. One of our hunters saw the buck and told me, and I went back the next morning and killed him.” Waldine said they have never stocked any deer on the ranch, but the genetics are good.

“When we bought the ranch we began to practice deer management. We supplement protein, feed cottonseed, and let the better bucks get some age. With good nutrition and age, we get some very good non-typical bucks in the 190 to 200 B&C range—sometimes even bigger. I think we have a good gene pool for non-typical bucks. However, I haven’t taken any big typicals, but other hunters have taken several.”

The deer hunting on the ranch is not just family—a few hunters from out-ofstate and Texas have hunted the ranch for several years. Of course, the money from commercial hunts helps pay the protein www.TTHA www.

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feed bill, but Waldine said it is not enough to cover all the feed. “The paid hunters have been with us a long time,” she said. “They get some good bucks, and if I put a buck off limits, they know the routine. We have always got along well with our hunters.”

Waldine doesn’t kill a buck every season.

“Since I’ve been deer hunting, I have probably taken about 15 bucks over the years. The kind of bucks I like to kill are not that plentiful, and I sometimes don’t see a buck that suits me.” Now that the grandkids are old enough to hunt, Waldine said that they enjoy getting a good buck.

The deer hunters take a few does, depending on the year’s fawn crop. When asked if the family eats a lot of deer meat, Waldine replied, “That’s about all we eat.”

They are no different than thousands of deer hunting families in Texas. A recent study showed that Texans consume about 15 million pounds of venison each year, and some families literally live on deer meat.

The last two summers have been hard on the fawn crop, but Waldine is optimistic about the 2023-24 season. “We’ve been seeing some good deer on the cameras and out of the blinds. I think the rains last spring helped a lot, and we are expecting a good season.”

We at TTHA are confident the Schnautz family will have a good deer hunting season, because they work at having good deer for all their hunters.

Waldine is an example of what Texas deer hunting is all about, and we congratulate her on being a pioneer of our hunting heritage.

The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

Pass

the

Waldine doesn’t kill a buck every season.

“Since I’ve been deer hunting, I have probably taken about 15 bucks over the years. The kind of bucks I like to kill are not that plentiful, and I sometimes don’t see a buck that suits me.”

Torch

Do your part to preserve our hunting heritage.

Share your passion with the next generation.

Pass the torch.

How do you pass the torch? Share your photos with us. Send them to editor@ttha. com. Make sure they’re 1-5 MB in file size.

January/February 2024 |

11

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

HUNTING NEWS

FENCE POSTS

NEWS ABOUT HUNTING, GUN RIGHTS, AND LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

In a Nov. 2 Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting, more than 50 individuals gathered to address chronic wasting disease, a matter that resonates deeply with hunters and conservationists alike. The meeting served as a platform for diverse voices, allowing each participant three minutes to express their views on the proposed rules by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Following a survey conducted by TPWD, the agency received a substantial 3,940 public comments. The feedback revealed a divided sentiment, with 3.1% expressing disagreement, 33.7% in agreement, and a significant 63.3% in strong disagreement. Seven state senators took a stance, collectively requesting a deferment of consideration and adoption of rules until January 2024.

The discussion took a turn with deer breeders assuming a pivotal role, featuring impassioned remarks from advocates such as Mrs. Riley Price. She emphasized the need for a collaborative approach, shedding light on the economic impact on breeders and the intricacies of testing procedures as major points of contention.

Several TTHA members also attended the meeting to tell commissioners about their concerns, in the time allotted. In late August, TTHA hosted a TPWD CWD seminar at the Hunters Extravaganza in San Antonio, where members asked TPWD representatives questions about the agency’s CWD policies. TTHA planned to host a follow-up meeting with TPWD in November, but scheduling conflicts pushed it to December.

The heart of the matter lies in identifying solutions that simultaneously 14 | January/February 2024

protect wildlife, support businesses, and cultivate a sustainable hunting culture.

The fate of Texas’ deer population, Texas hunters, and Texas breeders hangs in the balance, underscoring the ongoing nature of this critical conversation.

TTHA invites its members to share their thoughts on CWD, and its personal impact. The complexity of the issue is evident, and the discussion is far from its conclusion.

Please send your comments to editor@ ttha.com or write to: Texas Trophy Hunters Association–SCI 700 E. Sonterra Blvd., Suite 1206 San Antonio TX 78258 To view the full meeting please visit: https://www.youtube.com/ live/t-i15tf66Co?si=w9tdxVlGilsV8FRA —Christina Pittman, TTHA President and CEO

Legends Dove Hunt Raises $4.6 Million The Legends Dove Hunt of Abilene has raised over $4.6 million for the Hendrick Children’s Hospital. The vision of an annual dove hunt came 22 years ago from Lanny Vinson, after his son Ross had a horse-riding accident, and the Abilene hospital had no way of treating him. Ross was flown to a Dallas hospital, where he was treated and brought back to good health. After Ross’ ordeal, Lanny realized that Abilene hospitals were not equipped to deal with traumatic injuries. He brought up the idea for a dove hunt with Drs. Rob Wiley and Shannon Cooke, and they agreed such a hunt would raise money for a children’s wing of Hendrick Medical Center. With the help of numerous sponsors in the Abilene area, and a staff of dedicated assistants, Lanny

announced the first dove hunt for 2004.

Several hundred hunters, funded by their sponsors, hunted doves on various ranches near Abilene and attended local events tied to the dove hunt. The net profit from that first hunt was only $50,000, but it showed Lanny and his team that an annual dove hunt could raise considerable funds for the children’s hospital.

That was 20 dove seasons ago, and the annual hunt has helped to fund a children’s wing and bought needed equipment to create a ward for children in need of special treatment. Today, when a child in the Abilene or the “Big Country” area gets a traumatic injury, they can get proper pediatric care at Hendrick.

The 2020 hunt was cancelled because of COVID-19, but loyal followers contributed $115,000. Once the covid pandemic subsided, the dove hunt was continued, and the following two seasons brought the hunts back to normal.

Legends photo

CWD Sparks Heated Debate in TPW Commission Meeting

Participants took lots of doves during the annual Legends Dove Hunt.

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HUNTING NEWS The 2023 dove hunt, involving some 400 hunters, brought in $455,000, pushing the total money for the kids to over $4.6 million. Some folks don’t believe that hunters can accomplish such a feat—but they have, and 2024 will be the 20th anniversary of the prestigious dove hunt.

Of course, such hunts for humanity would not be possible without the help of volunteers, sponsors, local ranches, and assistance from camo companies, local businesses, and the general support of the community. Lanny says plans are already underway for the 2024 dove hunt, which should push funds for Hendrick Children’s Hospital over the $5 million mark—all from a dove hunt for the kids.

—Horace Gore

FWS Publishes Hunt-Fish Rule In late October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published its 2023-2024 “Hunt-Fish Rule,” which opens additional hunting on three National Wildlife Refuges (Everglades Headwaters in Florida, Cahaba River in Alabama, and Minnesota Valley in Minnesota). The rule also finalized the FWS’ proposal to phase out the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on eight Refuges by Sept. 1, 2026. These Refuges include three in Maryland (Blackwater, Eastern Neck, and Patuxent Research Refuge), two in Virginia (Chincoteague and Wallops Island), one in Pennsylvania (Erie), one in Massachusetts (Great Thicket), and one in Maine (Rachel Carson).

In comments on the proposed HuntFish Rule, SCI opposed the lead phaseouts. SCI supports voluntary programs and targeted restrictions, but the proposed rule offered no scientific evidence of any negative impacts from the use of lead ammunition and tackle on any of the eight refuges. And while SCI supported the limited new hunting opportunities on approximately 3,000 acres of public lands, SCI’s comment emphasized that the FWS could and should have done more. SCI’s comment asserted that “FWS seems to be prioritizing closing down the use of lead ammunition and tackle on refuges, which diminishes recreational opportunities on refuges.” www.TTHA www.

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[ THE JOURNAL ]

VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

SCI, NRA, and Sportsmen Alliance Foundation recently intervened in a case in which we will defend the FWS’ decision to not prohibit the use of lead on Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in West Virginia. SCI’s intervention in this litigation continues our advocacy efforts related to the use of traditional ammunition on federal lands, which focus on allowing hunters a choice in their preferred ammunition. Forced restrictions on lead ammo and tackle, without greater available non-lead options, is a hunting ban that cuts against SCI’s pledge of no net loss.

—courtesy SCI

Black Bears Returning to Hill Country Black bears are becoming more common in the Texas Hill Country, according to a report from the Killeen Daily Herald.

John Tomacek, an associate professor of wildlife studies at Texas A&M University and a wildlife specialist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, told the newspaper black bears aren’t being hunted anymore, which is causing the animals to dip back into areas where they once roamed free.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department suspects the ongoing drought has played a big role in the uptick of bear sightings.

Bears are moving in search of food and water. In 2022, the agency confirmed 154 black bear sightings in Texas. The state accounted for 80 the year prior and 25 in 2020; 20 of those were in the Black Gap region with Big Bend.

“Black bears were common all over Texas as late as 1920, but population expansion moved them to less-populated areas such as the big thicket and West Texas,” said Journal Editor Horace Gore.

“Bears that are seen in Texas are usually young yearling males that have been driven off by ‘Mama’ that are dodging the old males, and searching for a new home with food and water. Bears are not afraid of hunters, but will change locations if chased by dogs,” Gore added.

Americans Spent $394 Billion on Hunting, Fishing, and WildlifeAssociated Activities in 2022 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Association of Fish and Wildlife

Agencies released the results of the 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.

The survey, coordinated by the Service, shows that U.S. residents over the age of 16 took over 1.7 billion trips in 2022 to participate in outdoor activities like fishing, hunting, wildlife watching, recreational boating and target shooting.

In doing so, outdoor enthusiasts spent an estimated $394 billion on equipment, travel, licenses, and fees last year alone.

“Time spent in nature is an important part of the human experience and can provide lifelong memories, connections to others, healthy activities, and a sense of rest and healing,” said Service Director Martha Williams. “These numbers demonstrate how important our public lands and wild places are not just for the well-being of people who enjoy them, but as an economic engine that provides thousands of jobs and sustains businesses, economies and communities throughout the nation. The stewardship of our natural resources and access for fishing, hunting, and other wildlife-related activities are enhanced by the BidenHarris Administration’s work under the America the Beautiful initiative.”

The 2022 Survey, conducted by the NORC at the University of Chicago, finds that 148 million U.S. residents watched wildlife in 2022 while 40 million went fishing and 14.4 million hunted. This means that roughly 57% of Americans 16 years of age or older participated in wildlife watching, 15% fished and 6% hunted last year. These trips equaled a combined total of 14 billion days spent in the field, on the water and around the home viewing wildlife, an all-time high.

In 2022, 14.4 million people 16 years old and older enjoyed hunting within the United States. They hunted 241 million days and took 165 million trips. Hunting expenditures totaled $45.2 billion.

Big game hunting was the most popular when compared with small game, migratory bird, and other animal hunting when considering total hunters, total days of hunting, and total trips.

There were 11.5 million hunters who pursued big game, such as deer and elk,

The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

continued on page 18 January/February 2024 |

15

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

on 135 million days. There were 5.3 million hunters of small game including squirrels and rabbits. Hunters hunted small game on 38 million days. Migratory bird hunters numbered 2.8 million.

They spent 23 million days hunting birds such as waterfowl and doves. About 2.3 million hunters sought other animals, such as raccoons and feral pigs, on 20 million days.

Of the $45.2 billion spent by hunters in 2022, 27 percent, $12.3 billion, was spent on trip-related expenses. Equipment expenditures for hunting totaled $19.6 billion in 2022, 43 percent of all hunting expenses. Hunting equipment, such as rifles, telescopic sights, and ammunition, totaled $7.9 billion, or 40 percent of all equipment costs. Expenditures for auxiliary equipment, including camping equipment, binoculars, and special hunting clothing, accounted for $3.9 billion or 20 percent of all equipment expenses.

Special equipment, such as campers or all-terrain vehicles, amounted to $7.7 billion or 40 percent of all equipment expenditures. Other expenditures such as licenses and land leasing and owning accounted for 29 percent of all hunting expenditures, at $13.3 billion.

—courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

TTHA-A&M Chapter Banquet a Success The 22nd Annual TTHA-Texas A&M Chapter October banquet supporting Texas Hunt for the Cure (THFTC)

exceeded all expectations. From generous donors to selfless members, the A&M Chapter and THFTC were surrounded by endless love and support. This year, we experienced several hardships and obstacles that hindered our efforts. Through it all, the officers and members found alternatives and positivity along the way.

The event had live music, games, silent and live auctions, as well as a fantastic meal. The highlight of the night was THFTC’s presentation that highlighted two amazing hunts: Jazmin Kittle, a 16-year-old who lives in Ben Wheeler, Texas, who’s legally blind with a condition called septic optic nerve dysplasia, and Jackson Manning, a 13-year-old with myxoinglammatory fibroblastic sarcoma.

Jazmin hunted on the ICC Ranch in Kemp, Texas, and took a 150 B&C whitetail, with the help of our scope and trigger setup. She could see the crosshairs because we linked it up to the iPad. The trigger setup is linked to push buttons, so it made it very easy for her.

We thank ranch owner Ike Conway for donating the hunt.

Jackson was diagnosed in 2022 with cancer and had his left leg amputated at the knee. Despite that, he hunted with us at the Golden Oaks Lodge in Golden, Texas, and shot a very nice axis buck. We thank Adam Vincze of Platinum Ford for donating this hunt.

Jazmin and Jackson were able to share their stories with us, which makes what we do worth it. It was a great event which had many laughs, tears, and hugs.

In the last 3 years, The A&M Chapter has donated over $50,000 to THFTC due to the banquet and fundraising efforts. We look forward to a great year and another amazing banquet next year.

—Kailer Amador TTHA-A&M Chapter President; Stacy Stanberry, THFTC

Members of the TTHA-Texas A&M Chapter.

18 | January/February 2024

A&M Chapter photo

continued from page 15

HUNTING NEWS

Texans Approve Prop 14 Ballots have been tallied from election day and voters have made it clear— state parks matter to the people of Texas. Proposition 14,

which creates the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund, passed with overwhelming support from Texas voters. The fund is made from a portion of state budget surplus and creates a dedicated funding stream for acquiring and developing state parks.

“Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Texas State Parks thanks to the unwavering support from the Texans who voted to adopt Proposition 14,” said David Yoskowitz, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “This historic vote confirms the value Texans place on conserving outdoor spaces for the enjoyment of all Texans. —courtesy TPWD

Local NWTF Chapter Makes Landscape-Level Impact The National Wild Turkey FederationApril AWOL Chapter in the Nacogdoches, Texas, area recently made a $20,000 donation to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the Northeast Texas Conservation Delivery Network’s Habitat Incentive Program. This increased funding will provide critical habitat enhancements in priority areas in northeast Texas, such as where the Eastern wild turkey has been reintroduced into Texas as part of TPWD’s Super Stocking Program.

Once prevalent in East Texas, the Eastern wild turkey was reduced to an estimated 100 birds in the mid-1900s.

Since 2014, the TPWD’s Super Stocking Program, the process of releasing 70-plus birds at a time, has provided East Texas with excellent results and a bright future for the subspecies in the region. However, TPWD only releases birds on quality habitat where the translocated turkeys will have a higher chance of survival and reproduction. This includes at least 10,000 acres of contiguous land and the essential habitat features that turkeys need to flourish.

Habitat is scored and approved before translocation efforts can begin. Quality habitat is where the April AWOL’s contribution will be allocated. Through the Habitat Incentive Program, the April AWOL Chapter’s contribution will bolster habitat management practices that benefit both native and translocated wild turkeys. —courtesy NWTF

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PINEYWOODS WHITETAILS

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By Dr. James C. Kroll

finished my doctoral degree at Texas A&M University in 1972, and like most graduates at that time, I had a tough time finding a job. I finally settled on a combination teaching and coaching position at a small college, nestled in the mountains of West Virginia. I had hunted deer as a young boy in Central Texas, and the thought of pursuing whitetails among the towering hardwoods and steep “hollers” of the Mountaineer state had great allure. I spent September and October scouting out rub lines and deer trails over a landscape where public hunting was the norm.

There was a good skiff of snow the day before the opener, making my first hunt outside of Texas even more exciting. I arrived at my carefully selected location, parked my truck and slipped into the woods in total darkness. It was so quiet, you could hear the blood running through your ears. “This is what I read about in Outdoor Life,” I thought. Then, just as dawn began to emerge, I heard what had to have been the sound of dozens of rifles being loaded. At legal shooting time, it was as if a referee had blown his whistle; the woods erupted into volleys of gunfire and bullets whizzing through the trees. I dropped to the ground and crawled out of the place on my stomach. Public hunting was not exactly what I had thought it would be.

A year and a half later, I received a phone call from Dean of Forestry Dr. Larry Walker at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU). He wanted to expand their program to include wildlife science and management. Dr. James G. Teer, head of wildlife science at Texas A&M, had given him my name and number, and told him I was the man for the job. God had given me a ticket back home to Texas.

The Pineywoods of eastern Texas was not all that different from West Virgina, minus the mountains. In fact, a lot of the

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Larry Holzworth took this trophy buck in Trinity County. Bucks like this were made possible through the work of one man who re-stocked deer in East Texas many years ago.

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AJ Downs photo

The man chosen for the East Texas deer re-stock program was Charles E. Boyd.

Many folks at the time laughed at him and his efforts. But time would eventually prove him right. AJ Downs’ San Jacinto County buck is proof of Boyd’s efforts.

folks who settled this area came from places like West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky, and brought their hunting traditions with them. Unlike the Hill Country where deer were plentiful and my family had a lease, deer were scarce in the Pineywoods and hunting with dogs was not only common, but necessary.

In the South, deer hunting pressure had been intense into the 20th century, leaving only the handful of deer living in hard to hunt places. Dog hunting was the obvious solution to finding deer. In September, you would see pickups with dog boxes and a rifle hanging in the back window. Dog hunting was so important, I remember one state representative who, during each election season, would drive around with a dog box in his truck, even though he owned no dogs and did not hunt. Deer hunting leases were rare because there were vast acreages of timber company lands and three national forests. But things were about to change.

Deer densities of much of eastern Texas were very low, as little as one per 300 acres. When I arrived in Nacogdoches, if we saw a deer track, we talked about it for two weeks. There may have been lots of woods to hunt, but the hunter who killed a buck was one lucky fellow. Residents began to push Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to re-stock depleted ranges. I have the original stocking records for all of Texas, and those for eastern Texas reveal many deer were brought in from the King Ranch area and the Upper Gulf Coast. Shortly after coming to SFASU, I met one of the men responsible for restoring the deer—Charles E. Boyd, a World War II veteran who had worked for Gen. Douglas McArthur in Japan. At 5' 4", he did

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“Deer densities of much of eastern Texas were very low, as little as one per 300 acres. When I arrived in Nacogdoches, if we saw a deer track, we talked about it for two weeks. There may have been lots of woods to hunt, but the hunter who killed a buck was one lucky fellow. Residents began to push Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to re-stock depleted ranges.” not make much of an impression, until you went against him.

Charlie was given the daunting task of restoring whitetails in East Texas. He focused on the Moore Plantation near Jasper, in the heart of dog country. Folks laughed at the idea of turning out deer. They believed the deer would be dead in a week.

Charlie published a notice in the local paper, announcing not only would he release deer in the area, but he intended to defend them at all costs. He also announced he would be on the corner of two streets in Jasper on Saturday morning, and any-

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one who thought he was not serious could meet him there. No one showed up. The stocking program began to produce fruit.

Boyd’s efforts simultaneously occurred when a new magazine—The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters—published articles about big South Texas bucks. Interest in deer management would arrive in East Texas soon after. Joe Sinski’s Trinity County buck is also a product of that interest.

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Years later, at his funeral, the same outlaws who hated him in those days, filed past his coffin with tears in their eyes.

At the same time, new magazines such as The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters published articles on the giant bucks being produced by landowners in South Texas. Interest in deer management quickly came to East Texas, where men like Arthur Temple pioneered deer management in the forest. Whereas timber companies had welcomed hunters on their lands for decades, they quickly learned that deer hunting had value, and leasing came to the Pineywoods.

I created the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management & Research in 1974, with the expressed goal of satisfying the needs for restoring and managing deer in the Pineywoods. The late Tom Bourland of International Paper Co. asked us to help them develop a leasing and management program. He was the first private wildlife biologist in the area. Together we developed a landowner assistance program, modeled after the Deer Management Assistance Program in Mississippi.

By the 1980s, we became worried we might have been too successful, since areas where you once could not find a deer, were over-run with them. In spite of growing interest in management, one thing continued to plague East Texas deer management—lack of support for doe harvest. It was hard to ask folks who had supported protecting does to increase the herd, to start killing them. In those days, does could only be taken by permits distributed to landowners. Prior to opening weekend, we would travel around the region to meet with the members of hunting clubs. We would present a short seminar on deer management, then explain why doe harvest was so important to producing trophy bucks. When we left the members often would hold a ceremony and burn the permits.

Eventually, we were successful in doing away with permits, and doe harvest increased, but it was too late.

Around 1990, the East Texas deer herd crashed, mostly to EHD disease, a record late freeze and prolonged drought. The nay-sayers were quick to pin the blame on doe harvest. To appease critics, “deer-days” were implemented, based on a theory you could regulate doe harvest by manipulating the number of days you could kill them. Historically, states using doe-days are where public hunting is the tradition. With Texas having some 80% private land, it does not work as well here.

In the next decade, public opinion began to swing in support of modern deer management. By the turn of the 21st century, an assortment of management tools—the Managed Lands Deer Program and antler restrictions— became available. However, these tools had to be modified to fit the smaller property size in the region. Stocking programs

by TPWD and private landowners gave us the genetics. All we needed were management tools tailored to the unique culture and makeup of the Pineywoods. Clearly, they’re working. I think old Charlie Boyd would be proud.

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Author Photos

Donnie Fischer says this is the best buck he’s taken in his hunting career.

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onnie Fischer and his son, Steven, are farmers based in Gillett. They own and operate Fischer Farms and are cattle and hay producers. The hours are long and work is hard, but they slip away every chance they get to go hunting.

The Fischer family are deer hunters. They have taken some really good bucks, and for as long as I can remember, they have entered them in the Hunters Extravaganza Annual Deer Competition in San Antonio. It’s always good to see old friends with their bucks, and I enjoy visiting with them at the shows. 2023 was a bit different, however, because the two bucks Donnie and Steven took during the previous season were big news long before they arrived at the deer contest.

The Fischer family has hunted the same low fenced property in South Texas for the past 18 years. “We’ve worked hard to manage the place and have focused on feeding and culling,” Steven said. “We study our deer and like to let them get older so they can reach their full potential. We do our culling early, and let our trophies get some age before taking them.” Donnie and Steven have enjoyed the success of their management efforts by taking several bucks in years past in the 160s, as well as a few with drop tines.

The Fischers knew the 2022 season could be a special one for them. They had been watching a couple of bucks in the pasture, and on camera. One was a wide typical and the other was an extra-big non-typical. “Both of the bucks made huge improvements in antler growth in 2022,” Steven said. “I actually hunted the big non-typical hard the 2021 season, but he just disappeared. I thought someone else might have shot him, and I was happy to see him show up in the pasture and on the cameras.”

Both bucks were fully mature and so the hunters devised a plan. Steven would continue where he left off last season, and hunt for the nontypical, while Donnie would try for the typical.

Donnie’s buck Well before daylight on opening morning of rifle season, Steven and his wife, Michaela, dropped Donnie off at his hunting stand before making their way across the ranch to a different location. The big typical buck had been patterned as frequenting the area around Donnie’s stand. His level of anticipation was high, to say the least, as Donnie sat there in the dark cradling his .300 Winchester Magnum, waiting for sunrise.

As the sun peeked over the horizon, the feeder went off, and a few deer came out and began to nibble the corn as Donnie quietly opened the window of the blind. “I could see the outline of the big, wide buck standing back in the brush,” Donnie said. “He stood motionless for a long time just watching all of the other deer. He finally worked his way out of the brush and began feeding with the other deer.” Donnie eased the barrel of his rifle out the window and carefully readied the .300 Win. Mag. for the 100-yard shot.

“I waited a long time for the buck to get clear of the rest of the deer,” Donnie said. “I was really focused on my aim and making a good shot.” The shot rang out, interrupting the morning silence, and the big buck leaped back into the thick brush and disappeared.

Steven and Michaela heard the shot from across the ranch.

“We talked on the phone and Dad said he had shot the deer he was after,” Steven said. “We gave it about 30 minutes and met Dad at his blind.” They all walked together down the sendero,

Donnie and Steven at the 2023 Hunters Extravaganza in San Antonio. www.TTHA www.

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looking for the buck. When they got to the spot where the buck had stood and dug out dirt when hit, Donnie immediately saw blood. “I looked ahead, and the buck was piled up dead in a guajillo bush,” he said.

The trio immediately made their way to the trophy. “He was so impressive. Right away we saw that he was bigger than expected. I was looking at the best buck of my hunting career!”

Donnie said.

Steven’s buck If Donnie’s hunt seemed a bit easy, Steven’s hunt would play out entirely different. “For the next two weeks I hunted the non-typical every chance I could,” Steven said. “I really didn’t want to disturb the area he was using, so I walked a half mile to the blind every time I hunted, and even carried in all of my corn and supplies.” The big non-typical buck just would not cooperate. “We would see him on camera at night, but that was it,” Steven said.

After a couple of weeks, Steven’s hopes of bagging the great buck began to fade. “Michaela and I went to the blind one afternoon after a late start. This time, we parked a lot closer,” recalled Steven, jokingly.

Their blind overlooked a small field, and Steven and Michaela watched several deer enter the field and feed about as the afternoon passed. “A buck emerged from the brush and I immediately recognized him,” Steven said. “He wasn’t the big non-typical, but he was the buck that had been running with the big deer.” Seeing this buck gave Steven some hope of seeing the big non-typical.

Shortly afterwards, the giant non-typical buck stepped out of the brush and began to make his way across the field. “I got so excited, the whole blind seemed to be shaking,” Steven said.

The buck fed among several other deer at a distance of about 150 yards before finally offering a good shot. “I put the crosshairs right behind his shoulder and squeezed the trigger of my .300 PRC. The big buck dropped right where he was standing.”

Steven and Michaela waited a few minutes to let the buck expire, before going over to take a look at the big trophy buck.

“When I got up to him, I realized then just how big he really was. I couldn’t believe it had finally happened. I was at a loss for words. He was such a tremendous deer,” Steven said.

TTHA deer contest The Fischers knew right away they had taken special deer, but it really began to sink in after they entered a few local deer contests. Their bucks handily secured top honors everywhere they went.

Donnie and Steven brought their bucks to the Hunters Extravaganza deer contest in San Antonio in August 2023, where they entered their bucks in the contest and had them officially measured.

While both deer caught the attention of on-lookers, Donnie’s typical buck was a crowd favorite and claimed the People’s Choice Award with a net score of 1746⁄8. Not to be outdone, Steven’s buck won Best Of Show Open Range with a net nontypical score of 2236⁄8. Both bucks easily made the Boone and Crockett record book.

When standing in front of both mounted deer, it is hard to pick a favorite. They really represent the best of both typical and non-typical. The Fischers have set the bar high for themselves, but they will be out there looking for bucks to top their new personal bests. It will be hard for them to beat the 2022 season, which was one for the books—make that two for the book.

Steven couldn’t find the words to describe how he felt after taking this excellent trophy buck.

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Celebrating Texas Hunting At Its Best

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By Horace Gore

have made Texas the envy of the hunting world. For nearly five decades TTHA has been there to cheer the lucky hunters who have enjoyed the greatest deer herds in the nation, and support a $4 billion deer hunting industry.

The present status of Texas hunting didn’t develop by accident. Everything was calculated for the benefit of landowners and hunters, and the result has been fantastic. TPWD deserves a pat on the back for providing hunting, fishing and camping to the multitudes of outdoors Texans. Since 1975, TTHA has been there to push the envelope for quality deer hunting, with an occasional “Texotic” such as axis, nilgai, or the bizarre aoudad.

Texas hunters numbered far less than one million in 1963, when Gov. John Connelly signed legislation to merge the Parks Board and Game and Fish Commission into TPWD. This historic legislation opened the door for improvement in state parks, and also created an environment for research and management in both hunting and fishing. Today, hunting license sales are over one million, but deer hunting—which controls license sales—has filled deer habitats in Texas to saturation, and license sales are static.

An important reason for the 1963 legislation was to give the sagging state parks system a shot in the arm. However, the merger also promoted the status of both agencies, including wildlife, law enforcement, fisheries, and new state parks. Big changes in all divisions shot off like a rocket, but in this piece we will discuss superb research and management upgrades in the agency’s Wildlife Division.

Up until the mid 1950s, Texans hunted and fished based on General Law, set by the Texas Legislature. General Law stipulated legal game and fish, seasons, and bag Marty Berry Photo

exas Trophy Hunters Association, the “Voice of Texas Hunting,” will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. In today’s fast world, that’s just around the corner. Deer, turkey, dove, quail—even sandhill crane and alligator hunters owe a lot to the efforts of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to create seasons and bag limits that

Laura Berry can attest that Texas bucks coming from intensive age, nutrition and genetic deer management are the best, ever!

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Jason Shipman Photo

During the past 60 years of TPWD, creditable changes have been made in hunting seasons for deer, wild turkey, white-wing and mourning doves, and quail. A five-year dove research project resulted in increased bag limits and seasons.

limits, but some counties chose to have varying regulations.

The theory of Regulatory Authority was perceived to allow TPWD to set seasons and bag limits based on science, rather than county commissioners’ courts. The acceptance of regulatory authority was slow, but by 1963 about half of the state’s hunting and fishing rules and regulations were set by the Game and Fish Commission. In September 1963, TPWD took on a surge of counties coming under its regulatory responsibility, and hunting and fishing gradually took a turn toward science www.TTHA www.

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rather than general opinion.

For hunters, deer bag limits took a change when spike bucks had been legalized in 1962, after state-owned wildlife management areas had included spikes in public hunts for a number of seasons. Doe deer permits had been issued in three Hill Country counties, starting in 1957 in Mason County, and increasing to Llano and Gillespie counties in 1958.

The original doe permit stipulated “doe” deer, and soon biologists at mandatory check stations were faced with hunters

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and buck fawns with small nubbin antlers—some covered with skin—others with short, polished nubs. The first year, biologists at check stations simply knocked the nubs off and declared the deer as a “doe.” However, this problem continued and a new term was substituted for “doe.”

In 1959, the permits were issued for “antlerless” deer, and the term was defined as all deer without “polished” hardened antlers. As I recall, about 15% of antlerless deer harvests were big fawns. By the time TPWD was established in 1963, a large portion of the whitetail range was receiving antlerless deer permits, and the total deer harvest was up by about 30%.

Hunting doe deer didn’t sit well with a lot of folks in the heavily populated deer country of the Edwards Plateau.

I can recall issuing permits in Mason and Gillespie counties, when the local game warden had to be present to identify and pronounce the German names to the biologist issuing the permits, and to keep order.

Many landowners would get their allotted permits and be heard saying, “This is one bunch of does that won’t be killed,” as they put the permits in their pocket and left the courthouse.

It took a generation of ranchers to accept doe hunting, and today some 200,000 antlerless deer are taken in the 27-county Edwards Plateau.

TPWD deserves recognition for modernizing deer hunting as we know it. The wildlife division fought uphill battles for antlerless deer, spike bucks, and bag limits that suited the deer population. The total harvest has increased from 50,000 forked-antler bucks in 1952 to some 900,000 deer of either sex in 2022. Texas is the only state in the nation to average one harvested deer per hunter. We can give TPWD and private landowners credit for this incredible success status.

About 94% of Texas lands are privately owned. When TPWD recommends rules and regulations for hunting, landowners and hunters have to comply with such rules for the regulations to be effective. In essence, landowners and hunters are the victims of any poorly administered hunting regulations.

When this occurs, hunting groups and associations sometimes have to revert to political pressure to keep everything together.

During the past 60 years of TPWD, creditable changes have been made in hunting seasons for deer, wild turkey, whitewing and mourning doves, and quail. A five-year dove research project resulted in increased bag limits and seasons. The same was true for bobwhite quail, after a lengthy research program to determine seasonal food habits, annual population turnover, and the age structure of quail populations. The result was better seasons and bag limits for both doves and quail.

Texas has more Rio Grande turkey than hair on a javelina, but hunters were limited to harvesting turkey during the fall deer seasons. A spring turkey season was approved by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission in 1968, and the first spring turkey hunt in Texas was conducted in Kerr County in 1969. The short hunt saw more game wardens than hunters, 32 | January/February 2024

Since 1975, TTHA has been there to push the envelope for quality deer hunting, with an occasional “Texotic” such as axis, nilgai, or the bizarre aoudad.

but all went well with the harvest of about 150 turkey gobblers.

By 1972, several counties in Rio Grande turkey habitats enjoyed the spring season, and today over 100,000 spring turkey hunters are out in the bluebonnets chasing gobblers— and bearded hens. About half find that a big gobbler gets heavy during the trek back to the truck.

It hasn’t been all hunting with TPWD. Research into Florida bass, striped bass, and programs to support both have put Texas fishing on the map. The “Lunker Bass” program has given fisheries biologists a lot to work with in supplying geneticquality fingerlings to the bass waters of Texas.

During the years since 1975, TTHA has been there with The Journal, Hunters Extravaganzas, and member support for hunters through thick and thin—rain or shine—in hunter’s quest for the biggest buck they could find. Deer hunters won’t all admit it, but they want the biggest, toughest, hard-to-kill buck they can find. It’s human nature to want the biggest and best, and TTHA is always in the cheering section.

TTHA’s efforts haven’t all been hunting. Operation Game Thief, a credible system for catching violators of game and fish laws, needed a boost in its early days. TTHA, led by Jerry Johnston with help from baseball superstar Nolan Ryan, held support banquets and raised $350,000 to help the newly formed anti-poaching organization.

Deer breeders have helped increase whitetail genetic diversity on Texas ranches. The current take of whitetails is a witness to the improvements in buck quality through breeding and TTT permits to allow the transfer of quality deer from ranch to ranch. Texas bucks coming from intensive age, nutrition and genetic deer management are the best, ever!

TTHA celebrates hunters and deer hunting—mule or whitetail—to the fullest. Since 1975, we have accomplished just that by supporting Operation Game Thief, Trophy Hunters TV, Hunters Extravaganzas, the annual Bucks & BBQ cook-off, storied hunts in The Journal, and promoting individual deer contests across the state. We plan to continue this celebration of Texas hunting, and we hope you’ll join us and all the Texas Trophy Hunters during our Golden Anniversary in 2025.

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Each year during the month of August, deer hunters of all ages from Texas, Mexico, and out-of-state, bring their bucks to the Hunters Extravaganza Annual Deer Competition in Houston, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. Young hunters proudly enter their trophy—sometimes their first buck—hoping to win a prize. TTHA is proud to recognize some of these young hunters and their trophy bucks.

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Waller family Photos

oung Grace Waller, 10, of Poolville, Texas, is a Trophy Hunter of Tomorrow. Grace started going to the deer blind with her dad, Billy, when she was only 3, and has already taken two Shackelford County bucks with her crossbow. Grace says she is planning on many more.

Both of Grace’s whitetail bucks were entered in the Hunters Extravaganza deer contest in Dallas (2022) and Fort Worth, and both won first place in archery, female youth, open range, North Texas category. Her first-place buck entered in Dallas was a nine-point that scored 117 net B&C. “I was so excited with that first buck—but I guess everyone gets excited with their first buck,” Grace said. “My dad was as excited as I was!”

Grace’s mom, Codi, gets her bucks with a compound bow, and her dad has taken several bucks

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with both recurve and compound bows. You might say the Waller bunch are strictly bowhunters!

Grace has been shooting a crossbow for 3 years, taking both of her bucks with a Barnett Whitetail Hunter. She got her first nine-point on the same lease on the Clear Fork of the Brazos, where she shot her 10-point buck. Her last award-winning buck is the focus of this story.

The Waller family lives in a small town just north of Weatherford on Highway 920, which runs into Highway 199, known as the Fort WorthJacksboro Highway. Poolville is a good town for a young girl to grow up in, and Grace is a fifthgrade student at the local grade school. She enjoys playing volleyball and reading—about hunting, I suspect. She likes to deer hunt, but says she lets her dad do all the dirty work of field dressing and skinning. Grace prefers to hunt in the evening and has killed her bucks just at sundown.

The 10-point typical whitetail Grace entered in the 2023 deer contest in Fort Worth won her another first place in the female youth, archery, open range, North Texas category. The buck grossed 1354⁄8 gross B&C, and netted 1304⁄8. Grace took the buck with a 16-inch crossbow bolt behind the shoulder while hunting with her dad.

When asked if she planned to hunt a good buck during the current season, Grace answered with an excited “yes.” When asked about any buck prospects, Grace said, “We’ve been watching the cameras, and there is one buck that has caught my eye. But I want Mom to get a buck first—then we will try to get me one.” Grace’s mom knows how bucks disappear during the rut, and said, “It’s do or die for me, pretty soon.” This interview took place during the middle of archery season, a few days before “all hell breaks loose” with bucks in Shackelford County.

I queried Grace about her crossbow. “Does it have a scope?” I asked. “Yes, and I use a tripod when I shoot,” she said. “The crossbow is kinda heavy for me.” I asked her if she took both bucks with the same crossbow. “Yes, I started with the Barnett Whitetail Hunter, and I like it.” When asked if she hunts in the blind with her dad, Grace said, “Yes, we hunt together when I’m shooting the crossbow, and I need help when I get a buck.”

I ended the conversation by asking Grace if she liked deer meat. “We eat a lot of venison, and my favorite is deer hamburger. We make a lot of tacos with the hamburger, and I ‘deerly’ love those tacos!” Sounds like young Grace is ready to bring down another big buck with her crossbow, and make a batch of venison hamburger.

Grace added, “My suggestion to new deer hunters is patience—keeping cool is rewarding!” She ended with a good phrase that fits a lot of deer hunting occasions. “If you don’t first succeed, try, try again.” Good thinking, Grace. Keep a smile on your face, and a song in your heart. www.TTHA www.

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Author Photos

STORY

Jared experienced tragedy and triumph in pursuit of his mule deer. During the hunt, he received news of his dad’s passing.

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hen I was 5 years old, my dad took me on my very first hunting trip on a little piece of property near Nacogdoches, Texas, where my grandparents lived.

Little did he know after that very first hunting trip he was creating a young boy who would fall in love with hunting and being outdoors. Over the years, dad took me and my brothers on a few day hunts in the Hill Country and we were lucky enough to draw a few public draw hunts through TPWD. As I got a little older, we got into archery and bowhunting.

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We spent many summer afternoons practicing shooting and wearing out that old bag target. Dad passed on to me and my brothers all the hunting knowledge he had gained from his grandfather, and we shared many great times together around the lease campfires. In 2014, Dad contracted West Nile virus from a mosquito bite, which almost took his life. The illness left him with many physical ailments that kept him from ever being able to hunt again. But he still loved to talk about hunting with his sons and grandsons. I would always give him a call while

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we were at the deer lease and talk all about what we were doing. He always wanted to know every detail of the trip.

A couple summers ago, I saw an advertisement for the TPWD Big Time Texas Hunt raffle. Ticket sales were ongoing and could be purchased online or at your local sporting goods store. As I have done for the past several years, I decided to buy a couple tickets for each of the hunts that piqued my interest. When I purchased the tickets, I never really expected to win.

On Oct. 26, my 11-year-old son Tyler and I were at our deer lease when I got a phone call from an unknown Austin area number.

I decided not to answer the phone. Later that afternoon as I was sitting in my bow blind, I began checking my emails when one caught my attention. The email was from TPWD, stating they had been trying to contact me about an entry I had made for one of the Big Time Texas Hunts.

It was too late in the day to call back, so I would have to wait until the next morning to contact someone. I called Dad that night and we talked about what hunt I possibly could have won. He was so excited to hear the good news and wanted me to immediately give him an update after finding out more information.

I woke up early the next morning to go hunting, but the minutes dragged by for what seemed like hours. I grew impatient and I couldn’t wait any longer. I got out of my bow blind a little after 8 a.m. and drove back to camp to make the highly anticipated call. I called the number and waited anxiously to hear the voice on the other end Jared’s son, Tyler, with his own mule deer. of the line.

After a few rings, the hunt coordinator answered the phone and congratulated me on winning the Panhandle. On the drive up, we called and talked with Dad ultimate mule deer hunt in the Texas Panhandle. Tyler and about our trip, where we were at, where we would stop for I were very excited to hear this good news. The coordinator lunch and what time we would arrive. He loved getting to hear told us where and when the hunt would take place and that I all the details. Dad reminded me he was going to the hospital could bring a guest along to participate in the hunt. Tyler was for a procedure on Monday for his knee and that he wanted me grinning from ear to ear as he heard that part. The coordinator to call him and give him an update about our hunt on Tuesday gathered some contact information and said the guide from after his procedure. I assured him I would be in touch. the WMA where the hunt would take place would be in touch We arrived at the WMA that evening where we met Kelton, with more details. After hanging up the phone, Tyler and I Blayne, and Randy, our guides for the hunt. We spent the eveexchanged some high fives and shared in the excitement of the ning visiting, eating a delicious meal, and discussing the hunt news we had just heard. plan for the next several days. Tyler and I would hunt together A week later, Kelton, the guide from the WMA, contacted with the guide for the first day and see if we could get on a me with a few more details and what to expect on the hunt. I couple big mature bucks. If we found that locating some mature explained to him that my son would be my guest and that we bucks would be difficult, Tyler and I would split up with the would be ready when the time comes. The next month or so other guides so we could cover more ground and increase our was filled with a lot of dreaming and talking about the upcomchances. ing hunt. We began checking all our supplies and gear to make Day 1 of our hunt started off with us scoping and looking sure we had everything we needed. for any signs of deer over the vast shin oak and sage covered The time had finally arrived. We both woke up and were sand dunes. We would drive and glass, then drive some more, ready to hit the road and make the long drive to the Texas always looking for the elusive grey ghosts of the dune covered 38 | January/February 2024

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landscape. Later in the morning, we got a call from Kelton saying he had spotted a really wide buck that we should try to go after. He thought the buck might be over 30 inches wide!

We made our way over to him and decided Tyler and Blayne would attempt to get within shooting distance of where the buck bedded down with some does. They got within a couple hundred yards, but the buck caught their scent and quickly left the area without presenting a shot. So, we figured it would be best to leave the area and try again the next day.

Day 2 of our hunt started off with an unexpected phone call.

Mom was on the phone, so I knew instantly that something was very wrong. She told me Dad had just passed away. I couldn’t believe it. He had a routine surgery and there were no expected complications. Sometime during the early morning hours, he coded, and despite all the help from the medical professionals, they were unable to revive him.

My heart was broken. I asked Mom what she wanted or needed me to do and she said, “Finish your hunt because there is nothing for you to do at the moment.” I broke the news to Tyler and we just cried and held each other close for quite some time. I knew Dad would want us to keep hunting, making memories, and enjoy our time. It wasn’t easy. but we would do it for him.

We decided to split up to try and increase our odds of getting our bucks and it wasn’t long before we were right back on their trail. Tyler and Kelton were chasing a long tined buck they had spotted way out in the dunes, while Blayne and I went after the wide buck on another section of the WMA. After quite a bit of searching and spotting we finally located the buck bedded down with two does in a small sand dune bowl. We got into position and crept up a small dune to get a shot at the buck.

We ranged him at 267 yards. I took careful aim and fired my .257 Weatherby Mag. The first shot was a direct hit and the buck jumped up and took a few steps. I fired another round that just missed over the top of his back, but the third round dropped him in his tracks.

After a few minutes we walked over to see the buck. I was completely at a loss for words to see this magnificent buck up close. He measured at 30½ inches wide. I was overcome with emotion as I began wishing that I could have called and told Dad all about our hunt that morning. We snapped some field photos and loaded the buck in the truck.

Shortly after we got the deer loaded, we got a phone call from Kelton saying the buck they had been chasing wasn’t cooperating and they couldn’t get within shooting distance. They were going to try one more time to make a stalk on him and see if they could get within range. I told him to go for it and don’t give up.

About 30 minutes later I got a call from Kelton’s phone but Tyler spoke, proclaiming he got his buck. Tyler explained how they were able to get within shooting range and at 170 yards he made a good shot. I told him we would meet back at camp where we could take some photos of us together. There were lots of high fives and hugs as we met back at camp together.

This will be a hunt Tyler and I will cherish and remember for a long time. Thank you, Dad, for instilling in me the love of nature and being in the outdoors. Your laughter and big personality will be missed around the campfires in the years to come. This hunt was for you, Dad! Editor’s note: Jared’s mule deer won Best Mule Deer at last year’s Hunters Extravaganza in Houston.

The father/son hunting duo decided to continue their hunt to honor Jared’s departed father by making new hunting memories. www.TTHA www.

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Conservation Aids Coastal Fishing

By Will Leschper

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ur Texas speckled trout fishery is in uncharted waters.

In all reality, the entire inshore saltwater fishery here in the Lone Star state faces uncertainty amid unprecedented angling activity only on the uptick – and other environmental factors that will continue to play a part. Lingering widespread flounder kills due to high temps or some other environmental factor in late summer in the Matagorda system were extremely troubling, first and foremost.

Back to trout – the No. 1 target species along the entire Gulf

Author Photos

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Coast – in September the regulations reverted to the statewide daily bag and slot that was in place before the historic February 2021 freeze that slammed our sensitive shallow waters. Coastwide you’re able to again keep five specks in a 15- to 25-inch slot and one fish over 25 as part of your five-fish daily bag.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission – in one of the best moves it probably has ever made, undoubtedly due to sound scientific data – adopted proposals after Winter Storm Uri reducing the slot and daily bag from Matagorda Bay down

Speckled trout remain the top game fish along the Texas coast, though many fishing enthusiasts would rather catch flounder, redfish or black drum for the dinner table.

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to the Mexican border. Those regs included a 17- to 23inch slot with no keeping of oversize trout and changed the daily bag to three. It included the Upper and Lower Laguna, as well as Corpus Christi Bay, Aransas Bay and San Antonio Bay, in addition to Matagorda. The regulations also were in effect 500 yards off the beach into the Gulf in those areas.

Here in Texas and other Gulf states, fisheries officials and biologists rely heavily on gillnet surveys to estimate trout populations across multiple bay systems. It’s basically a snapshot of a snapshot of a snapshot about what’s occurring across what could be 100,000 acresplus of diverse saltwater habitat (roughly the surface area of Aransas Bay alone).

The numbers from the surveys after Uri documented sharp downward trends in almost every bay system (data directly from TPWD): • The Lower Laguna Madre was down about 31% • The Upper Laguna was down about 27% • Aransas Bay was down about 10% • San Antonio Bay was down about 34% • Matagorda Bay was down about 44% • Galveston Bay was down about 1% • Sabine Lake was down about 14% The only bay system that was up at that time was Corpus Christi Bay at about 9% above the 10-year gillnet average. That bay is a deeper system than other bodies of water on the Texas coast and biologists think that aided in more fish moving into those waters during the freeze, causing the rise in that specific figure.

I personally saw untold numbers of big game fish that floated up in Corpus Christi Bay, regardless of the thermocline, in the weeks after Uri. Of note, Corpus Christi Bay also was put in the new regs due to a concern over increased fishing pressure – meaning folks might target the bay more if it wasn’t included, officials noted. TPWD also cited movement of fish between adjoining bay systems and “genetic connectivity that should help restore populations across all of them.”

TPWD examined multiple slot limit and bag limit combinations before deciding to propose what ultimately was adopted by our state wildlife and fisheries commission tasked with protecting our current and future recreational opportunities: The three-fish bag limit would result in a 6% increase in what biologists call “biomass,” a fancy word for how many more trout will be estimated in the population as a result of the new regs.

The new 17- to 23-inch slot limit (with no over fish) would result in a 21% increase in trout biomass in the affected areas. Overall, that would be 27% more trout overall, TPWD estimated at the time.

Winter Storm Uri killed many game fish and non-game fish, as evidenced by large declines in surveys in the year after the event. www.TTHA www.

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This diminutive trout was caught and released three months after Winter Storm Uri in 2021, providing hope that many more this size and larger made it through unscathed.

TPWD did acknowledge larger fish produce more eggs. However, they also noted the majority of the spawning biomass is in the 12- to 17-inch range. That would mean the largest number of reproductively mature fish is in that length size. The new regulations would have “eased pressure on that ‘cohort’ of fish,” again stated at the time.

In direct correlation to the 2021 spring gillnet surveys as referenced previously, here are the 2023 figures from TPWD, in relation to the 10-year mean averages: • The Lower Laguna Madre was still down about 14% • San Antonio Bay was still down about 34% • Matagorda Bay was still down about 32% • Sabine Lake was still down about 7% • Galveston Bay was at the long-term average • The Upper Laguna Madre was up about 104% • Aransas Bay was up about 42% • Corpus Christi Bay was up about 55% Based on the data directly from state fisheries experts, our overall speckled trout fishery still hasn’t recovered from the freeze, and if there’s one small silver lining, TPWD coastal fisheries staff decided to gather input on the trout management options through public scoping meetings. If there’s one much larger silver lining, hopefully many anglers (and perhaps most guides making money off a natural resource owned by all of us) had to alter their practices in regard to ensuring that a successful trip on any of our bay systems isn’t defined as filling every legal bag limit on a boat. Every trout guide I know worth their salt continues to practice catch-and-release for every gator they catch, and in fact, many don’t keep a single trout on their trips, which come at top dollar.

With more folks moving to Texas and more boat traffic than ever on the coast, every conservation initiative that shows any kind of merit in keeping and recruiting fish of all species should remain at the forefront of fisheries discussions.

Here’s hoping practical dialogue continues involving sound science.

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WILD GAME

By Judy Jurek

Author Photos

FOR

DINNER www.TTHA www.

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T

here is no such thing as gamey taste. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

If someone says something tastes gamey or wild, it all depends on how it’s killed (shot placement) or caught, how quickly dressed and cooled (gutted, skinned, scaled), and how long it’s been in the freezer. Taste also depends on the cook. Preparation of game or fish to serve as dining fare is a completely different subject.

Each wild game species has its own unique flavor and texture, as do various types of fish. Whether you like it or not is your choice. If something smells funny before or during cooking, or has a truly bizarre taste, it’s likely due to improper care from the beginning: poor handling, packaging, or improper freezing.

We’re conditioned on how chicken, beef, pork, and other things taste. The word venison covers a vast array of wild game, with each one having a slightly

different flavor, color, and texture. Dove tastes entirely different from quail, whitetail from elk, bass from catfish, and shark from tuna. Also, the way game or fish gets cooked also determines its flavor.

Let’s take a step back. It was a bountiful day in the field, brush or on the water. Practice, patience and skill paid off, but the killing or catching part is over.

The hard part starts with cleaning what the thrill of the day produced. Hopefully, you planned ahead for success, and kept your quarry edible to its final destination.

Did you prepare in advance what, where, and how to care for it? Will it furnish one dinner or more? Did you bring a cooler? Ice? Will you use temporary cold storage or deliver to a professional processor? Knowing these answers beforehand saves time, effort, and headaches.

Cleaning wild game is an individual preference. The only advice to give for that chore is to clean your game promptly.

Be mindful of ambient temperature, as some fish and game spoils quickly. Take photos, but gut, skin, quarter, filet, or whatever straightaway. Celebrate later.

Cool game quickly, get fish on ice, or put game and fish in a cold locker. If on an extended big game hunt, skin the game quickly and put it in a buck bag or anything that will let the hanging meat cool away from flies. I personally take my kills and catches from outdoors to the dinner table. However, I understand many hunters and anglers simply don’t want to mess with their bounty—thus, the guide, friend, or commercial processor handles it for them.

Five major components will ensure your outdoor rewards taste as good from the freezer as the day you tagged or bagged it: • A clean fast kill • Promptly skinning, gutting, cleaning with care to keep hair, dirt, feathers, and scales off edible parts

Check out wild-game processors beforehand for start-to-finish cleanliness. Some processors hang game too close together or have skinned and unskinned animals hanging in the same area.

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• •

Speedy cooling or refrigeration Appropriate packaging fitting your needs • Dating/labeling packages and containers for the freezer Sounds easy enough—but is it? I’ve already stated there’s no such thing as gamey or wild taste except when the previous points are disregarded. Nothing lasts forever, even when frozen. From years of experience, the importance of dating and labeling is vital. Label and date everything. While meat may still be good, fat may turn rancid. Pork fat in particular gets old long before the meat itself, especially true in sausage. Try to eat pork within six months of freezing.

Preparing wild game for the freezer may depend on how much expense or freezer space you have available. Vacuum sealers are the best thing since sliced bread. Somewhat a novelty when first marketed, today they’re the way to preserve your bounty. Wild game processors usually seal all cuts prior to delivery.

Many vacuum sealer brands are on the market, so check online reviews and complaints before buying. Some operate easier than others, and a broken seal equates to freezer burn and deterioration of your wild game. Properly cleaning your sealer after each use is important to ensure sealing and longevity. A huge variety of bag sizes and containers allow for sealing up almost anything.

They seal up not just edibles, but items left at camp like bags of sugar, flour, cornmeal to protect against the atmosphere, insects, and mice. Sealing matches, batteries, jerky, or even a spare cell phone may get you out of a bind while camping or on the water.

Small game such as squirrel, rabbit, dove, quail, and rattlesnake freeze well in water, as do fish and shrimp. Various plastic freezer containers serve this purpose perfectly.

Prefer not freezing food in plastic?

Waxed milk and juice containers or ice cream cartons in various sizes work well.

When they’re empty, wash, air dry, and store until ready to use with fish or wild game. Pack with content, fill with water, staple or tape the top securely, then label and freeze.

I still use freezer paper for large items like whole shoulders or hindquarters.

First cover tightly with Saran Wrap to help guard against freezer burn. It makes a difference, especially on irregular cuts and packages that somehow appear in www.TTHA www.

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the freezer a year or two later.

Remember, labeling and dating packages and containers is of the utmost importance. Describe the contents, and how many it may feed. Cooks like to know quantity and size, so portions and ingredients needed may be determined in advance.

There’s nothing more frustrating than having a recipe in mind and thawing a package only to discover it’s either not enough, more than you need, or not at all what you thought it was. It can be a shocker, especially if you’re pressed for time.

This often happens when a commercial processor cuts and wraps your wild game. Be specific when instructing how you want your game packaged, and the number of people each package may feed. Most commercial operations barely designate what’s inside and don’t date your items. You need to do so when transferring into your freezer.

Personally, I would never send my highly valued venison backstrap to a processor. I care of it myself. Call me a wild game freak, but I know I’m getting every single inch of my fabulously delicious, delicate, and delectable backstrap.

In my freezer, items are labeled whole, cut up, thick, thin, tenderized, or deboned/fileted. I may designate something be fried, barbequed, for soup or stew, or even a particular recipe such as étouffée.

Abbreviations help: Backstrap (BS); hamburger meat (HB); pan sausage (PS).

I also want to know there’s four medium catfish filets, eight whole doves with giblets, one side redfish on the half shell, 12 jumbo or 45 small shrimp, two venison inner tenderloins with deer heart, or two large, tenderized axis steaks for two.

How long can it be frozen before it’s too old to cook? It depends on how it’s packaged, so thaw, look at it closely, and smell it. Freezer burned edges can be cut off, and the rest may still be quite tasty.

However, if it smells bad, especially if you’ve already started cooking it, feed it to Fido or Kitty.

Remember, it’s the fat that becomes rancid, and venison has little fat. Sausage that’s not sealed can go bad staying in the freezer too long. Dating is crucial, so you’ll know how old it is. I date bacon

This feral hog was quite fat from hunters’ corn. It made for tasty sausage, chops, and pork roasts.

bought on sale if freezing for making venison roll-ups or wrapping dove and quail later in the year.

When digging in your freezer, look for packages with damaged wax paper or vacuum seal. It happens, so use those as soon as possible. Re-arrange your freezer periodically to ensure using older packages and containers first. A few always get missed. Check all packages for content before tossing due to an old date.

Good luck on your next venture into hunting or fishing. Take good care of your kill or catch and package properly before freezing. You’ll be most happy dining on your wild bounty after season and before the chance to go again. Bon appétit.

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Author Photos

STORY

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JD Dillard with his grandfather, “Pop,” basking in the success of JD’s whitetail hunt.

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A

s a young boy from Alabama, I was raised up hunting by my grandfather on my mom’s side of the family.

Papaw started taking me hunting as far back as I can remember. From the mid 1980s off and on until 2007 we hunted a large ranch in La Salle County, south of Cotulla. As a young a hunter I soon realized just how special hunting in South Texas was. The times that we shared as a family hunting there is something very special to me and my family.

The author sharing a moment with his son, JD.

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On my first trip when I was 5 years old, Papaw loaded me up in a 1986 Chevrolet dually loaded down with Alabama homegrown watermelons. We drove out that July and spent a week on the ranch. When we left to come home we had given the ranch family the large truckload of watermelons and in return they sent us back to Alabama with a truckload of mesquite firewood for our family to cook with. I knew as young boy in 1986 that there was just something special about South Texas.

As the years have passed I have been able to work and raise my children to love hunting as much as I did. In the back of my mind, I have always wanted to take them to Texas to hunt like Papaw did for me. Not only do my boys love to hunt, but they love to hunt with my dad and my wife’s dad. There is just something special about hunting with your grandfather.

We decided when my oldest son JD graduated from high school in 2022, that is what we would do.

Fast forward to last June we found a ranch about 2 hours from San Antonio and decided to schedule a hunt for JD and my dad.

As the excitement built all summer and the time to leave came closer I knew it was going to be a special trip for JD. The time finally came for my dad, JD, my brother in-law, and myself to drive out and head southwest.

After eating peanuts and telling hunting tales the entire way, we arrived in town to purchase our hunting license. Then we went on out to the ranch. It

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was the second week of November and after a warm JD took this fine trophy buck with his brand new .270 Winchester, welcome and the first cold front of the year we were a gift from his parents. ready to hunt. JD has grown up hunting with my trusty old Remington .25-06 and has taken a lot of game with it. My wife and I decided to surprise him with a brand new .270 Winchester this summer to take with him on his trip. After breaking in his new rifle this fall and checking it at the ranch after the drive we were ready to go hunting!

My dad is known as Pop to all his grandchildren and a lot of other folks as well.

So JD and Pop headed out before daylight the first morning of the hunt. I will never forget getting back to breakfast that morning and listening to JD tell us about all the different bucks he and Pop had seen that morning. JD could not wait to go back out for the afternoon hunt.

That afternoon JD and Pop went back to the same stand and continued to see a lot of deer. One in particular that came in early that afternoon was a giant 10 point with a kicker off the end of his main beam.

This was the oldest and largest buck that JD had ever saw. The buck was really cautious and stayed at the back of the field for a while before deciding to leave and slipped out into the brush and was gone.

Pop said he thought the buck was spooky because of the rattling blind from JD shaking in his boots!

About the time JD was finally able to get his nerves back into form, lo and behold here came the giant 10-point buck back out. He slowly worked his way into shooting range and JD was able to get his new rifle on him and hold his nerves together just long enough to make a great shot directly into the giant buck’s shoulder. This buck was by far the largest that JD had ever seen, much less to get a shot at. miles. One thing I was looking forward to when we got back After the shot, the buck jumped and ran to the edge of the home was for JD to be able to tell his great grandfather, yes the field before dropping. JD and Pop couldn’t wait to go check this same Papaw who took me hunting in Texas for the first time giant Texas buck out up close. After taking some pictures of almost 40 years ago, about his trip. the buck and bringing him back to the ranch house, JD told his Papaw turned 84 years old last year, but due to declining Uncle Alan and me all about the hunt. I would have loved to be health, couldn’t make the trip with us. But to see the twinkle with him in the blind during this exciting hunt, but I wanted in his eyes as his great grandson told him about his first ever him to hunt with Pop. Like I said earlier, there is something hunting trip to Texas with Pop was priceless, and something I special about hunting with your grandfather! We all had a great will never forget. Papaw passed away two weeks after JD and I hunting trip and when the time came to head back home we got back from our hunting trip. I’m thankful to have been able had all taken a good buck and a few does. to spend time hunting with my grandfather. I am also so very On the ride back home to Alabama we were able to talk and thankful that my son was able to experience his first Texas trip re-tell our hunting stories from the trip over and over for 800 hunting with Pop. God bless!

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The Mule Deer Tag That Wasn’t

By Horace Gore

H

ave you ever bought a hunting license with a missing tag? This story is about a mule deer tag that never existed. The hunter was Bobby Schmidt of Niederwald.

Bobby and I have been good friends for nearly 50 years.

His father had some acreage close to the new Texas Parks and Wildlife Department headquarters out of the city limits in 1976, and we leased the dove hunting. We would take our guns and gear in our vehicles, and go to the hunt right from the headquarters office.

Bobby worked as an electrical contractor; Platinum Life Member No. 149, with an office near Creedmoor. As a side venture, he had several farms leased for cattle, and I found that some had good dove hunting. Bobby and I made a deal that I would get paying dove hunters from TPWD and give him half of the money. This arrangement continued for years, and Bobby was always surprised each time I handed him several hundred dollars.

After I retired from TPWD in 1993, I moved from Austin to the Kokernot Ranch in Gonzales County and worked for Texas Trophy Hunters in San Antonio. Part of my job was helping Brian Hawkins with the Trophy Hunters TV shows. On one occasion, we were filming mule deer hunting in Yoakum County (Panhandle) where deer were coming to circular irrigated pepper patches. I had mentioned this to Bobby, and he made a deal with the rancher to come with us on the TV filming expedition, hoping to kill a good buck for the TV show.

The filming went well, and Bobby shot a running “wall

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hanger” buck that fell quickly to his Beretta .300 Win. Mag. Brian filmed all the action as we went to the buck. After we got through admiring the big typical mule deer, Bobby took out his wallet and produced his new hunting license. I watched as he went down the long list of tags. The license at that time looked like a coon tail of strung-out license tags.

Bobby looked at the tags a couple of times and handed the license to me. “I can’t find a mule deer tag,” he said. I took the license and carefully went through the tags—and found no mule deer tag. “Where did you buy the license?” I asked.

He said, “At Walmart about a week ago. A young lady sold me the license.” I looked at all the tags again, and said, “Well, she didn’t sell you a mule deer tag!”

Brian came over and looked at the tags because he wanted to film Bobby putting a tag on the buck. “Here, use my tag for the videoing,” I said. Bobby took my tag to finish the scene. I put the tag back in my wallet and Bobby took his deer home with a valid hunting license in his pocket, with no mule deer tag!

I was concerned Bobby’s license didn’t have a tag for mule deer, and I asked a clerk at our local Walmart in Gonzales about the problem. She told me that mule deer tags were the last on the list. “If the license is taken out of the machine too soon, the mule deer tag is not printed.” So much for Bobby’s hunting license absent on one mule deer tag.

We’ve laughed about the incident many times, and many years later, the mule deer tag “that wasn’t” is just a story of the past.

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Author Photos

Hog Wild Menard schoolteacher Kim Powell with a very rare boar hog with double cutters on the left side. She killed four hogs on her first hunt with the aid of a great pack of hog dogs in Menard County.

One of the dogs is leashed to the tree above.

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O

n the last weekend of September, Menard celebrated “Spanish Colonial Heritage Day” because of the early influence Spain had on this area. Truth is, Spain had bigger plans for Menard than they did for San Antonio, as they sent over 400 folks along with their livestock to settle this area in 1757, while sending less than 100 to San Antonio when it was first settled. Had it not been for the Comanche Indians armed and encouraged by the French, the Riverwalk might very well be on the San Saba rather than the San Antonio River.

In addition to cattle and sheep, the

Spaniards brought hogs that thrived on pecans in the largest native pecan grove in the world along the river and spring fed creeks. They also ate the acorns from live oaks and shinnery in the hills. While the massacre on the Spanish mission occurred in March 1758, it was not until 1772 that the last Spanish soldiers left the presidio, or fort, near Menard and marched back to San Antonio, abandoning much of the livestock including the hogs that roamed the hills and spring fed streams. It’s no wonder the early populations of hogs were found where the Spaniards came ashore on the Texas Gulf

Coast and near early Spanish settlements.

In the 1930s, Eurasian or Russian boars were introduced into Texas, no doubt for the hunting opportunities.

The first story I ever heard about hunting Russian boars with dogs was told by Bob Snow in about 1972 when he was working for the Y.O. Ranch. The Y.O. was the first game ranch that I heard of that was actually stocked with Eurasian hogs, though there may have been several others.

While wilds hogs have roamed Texas for hundreds of years, man has hunted them for thousands. While hogs can

Starting a hunt before daybreak.

Notice how all the catch dogs listen intently for the barking of the bay dogs.

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Hogs will stop when they feel they are in a good defensive position, often with just a thicket behind them.

equipped with a GPS collar, so the hunter knows the location of the dog at all times. Not only will the collars give the dog’s location, they give the hunter the ability to discipline the dog by electrical stimulation from over a mile away.

Today, most hog hunters running dogs hunt from specially equipped UTVs making it quicker and easier to get to the bay and over rugged and brushy terrain.

Many have trailers built to haul the dogs and all their specialty equipment, feed and water as well as room to haul the UTV. In addition to the custom trailer, you need a ¾-ton, four-wheel drive truck to tow the loaded trailer. This can be a very expensive habit.

Many times I have described hog

hunting with dogs as “controlled chaos.”

The better the dogs, the chaos is more controlled.

Since hogs are non-game animals, they can legally be hunted year-round and by most any method, including aerial gunning, which is possibly the most effective in the scattered timber of the Hill Country, big country, Panhandle and Trans-Pecos. Aerial hunting is not quite as effective in South and East Texas where the cover is much denser. Hunting over bait or grain fields can also be very effective, especially after dark with high When the dogs get the scent of the hogs, they will whine or jump from the buggy, sometimes while it’s moving.

be hunted and trapped in many different fashions, my favorite method, is with dogs. The reason I prefer to hunt hogs with dogs is because this was the way they were originally hunted nearly 20,000 years ago.

When humans began hunting hogs with dogs, things were very simple. Most likely, it was a man armed with a spear or bow and whatever canine or canines he could find to run and bay the hog. Once the hog was held at bay, the hunter would sneak in and attempt to kill the hog with crude weaponry. The prey had to be close and occupied by the dog so the hunter could execute the kill. If the hunter failed, he didn’t eat. It was that simple.

Today, it’s still a man and his dog, but that’s where the similarities end. The modern pack of hog dogs has specialists.

You have the “bay” dogs—usually black mouth curs—whose job it is to find the hogs either by trailing or winding them and then to get them to stop. This is generally accomplished when the hogs feel that they are in a good position to defend themselves. I have seen hogs take to a stock tank, river, creek, cave, culvert, or brush pile, but usually just a thicket.

Then you have the “catch” dogs that are led in and released so they do not have to run very far before reaching the hogs.

The catch dogs are usually strong and compact, with some bulldog breeding, the most popular being the American pit bull terrier. While these dogs are quick, their conformation is not for running long distances especially while wearing a Kevlar vest with which most hunters suit their catch dogs before turning into a bay.

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powered rifles and night vision.

While trapping no doubt eliminates a larger percentage of wild hogs annually, it does little to satisfy the hunter’s appetite for hunting.

Once the hogs are brought to bay, the hunters drive the hunting buggy as close to the bay as possible, approaching from downwind in order to cover noise and keep the bayed hogs from winding the hunters. As a rule, two catch dogs are led into the bay in the event a large boar is held at bay. A 200-plus pound boar with big “cutters” can be difficult for one catch dog to subdue. We normally lead the catch dogs within 20-30 steps of the bay, and then turn them loose simultaneously so that they will generally target the same hog.

Ideally, you want one catch dog on the hog’s right ear and the other on the left. When this happens, some of the other bay dogs become emboldened and will latch onto the hog as well. It is at this time that things get interesting.

The hunters move in once the dogs have made the catch and the first hunter to the hog grabs it by the hind legs, greatly limiting the hog’s ability to move and reducing its power.

Once the hog is under control, the other hunter moves in with a knife with a five-to-six-inch blade and “sticks” the squealing swine. The target area is low and behind the front leg in an attempt to pierce the heart or cut the arteries leading to it. Once the proper “stick” is executed, the hog will expire rapidly, generally less than a minute or two.

As soon as the hog is dead, a good bay dog leaves in an attempt to bay up any other hogs that might have split from the sounder or group of hogs. Getting the catch dogs off the hog is generally a little more challenging. Many of the pit bulls require the use of a pry stick to get them to release their hold on the hog.

To the outsider looking in, most folks think that the use of a knife as a weapon is rather barbaric, and used to give the hunter an adrenaline rush. This is not the case. The reason for using the knife is to prevent dogs from being killed by a stray bullet, or one passing through the hog. Therefore, it’s for the safety of the dogs and other hunters.

Yeah, you can hunt hogs in a variety of ways, but put me behind a pack of dogs with a sharp knife in my hands and I will go hog wild. www.TTHA www.

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Author Photos

STORY

Robert with his elk rack. He shot the elk in 2021, but wasn’t able to recover it then. On a 2022 hunt, he finally found the remains of his elk and made arragements with authorities to bring it home.

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n September 2016, my lifelong friend, Dr. Brandon Gunn, and I embarked on a journey that would take us into the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico in search of mature bull elk to hunt with a bow.

Gunn’s wife, Heather, had been in Santa Fe at a custom knife shop and overheard a gentleman talking about a landowner tag he had available to take a bull elk in a unit northwest of Santa Fe. That conversation led to an annual tradition of us meeting at our deer lease in the Hill Country and driving up to New Mexico for a week of “doit-yourself” backcountry bowhunting. We always joke that we look like the Beverly Hillbillies because the truck and trailer get loaded down with tons of equipment.

The area we hunt requires a 33-mile drive up an old logging road to get to the top of the mountain at 10,000 feet. It’s rutted, rocky, and anything but straight. The area is mountainous with small areas of burn and thousands of acres of aspen and spruce, rocks and ridges.

We knew with our established goal to both take mature bull elk with a bow on our own, the success rate for taking an elk with a bow in our unit is 6%. There are no guides, no pack horses, and no running water or electricity. We camp in tents, cook over fire, and use what we call “mountain hygiene” best practices. At 10,000 feet, the altitude has an impact on you, and makes these animals tough.

Game wardens have told us stories of cleaning elk shot with a bow and finding broadheads in the heart that had been there for years. It’s a taxing endeavor carrying a backpack, and if you’re lucky, a head or shoulder on your back. If I’m getting winded unloading the truck, how in the heck am I gonna pack an elk out?

Dr. Brandon Gunn with his bow-killed elk.

In our third year, Gunn took a mature bull only about a mile from camp. We see multiple bulls in our area every year, and at least we have a little clue about what we’re doing. We sat in some aspens overlooking wallows in a meadow with a steady rain coming down. The rain eventually stopped and suddenly we heard a monster bugle coming from the opposite side of the meadow.

A view of the Santa Clara Canyon.

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With each vocalization of the bull, our excitement grew.

The bull eventually came crashing into the meadow. He went straight to the nearest wallow, which was 60 yards from us, rubbing his antlers in the mud and pawing with his hooves. I heard Gunn’s shot and saw the arrow fly 60 yards and hit the bull right behind the shoulder. The bull buckled and limped away about 20 yards.

Gunn sent another arrow 80 yards and it found its mark. The bull disappeared through the aspen and spruce covered ridge.

We were hopeful the bull went down, but you never can be certain until you have your hands on the rack. We came back the next day and split up to start the search.

After about 20 minutes I heard, “I found him!” I ran through the blow downs and rocks like an Olympic hurdler and there he was. A 6x6 with the tell-tale dark brown rack and polished white tips. The work of butchering and packing out the bull started.

It helps to have good knives and strong shoulders. Packing that elk out was no joke. I am proud of my friend for the shots he made and the time and discipline he puts into this hobby.

In September 2021, we were hunting the same meadow and the same series of wallows where Gunn had shot his bull 3

Robert looks to the horizon as he carries out his trophy.

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years earlier. We started hunting directly over the wallows and heading into midday, 7 to 8 hour sits on the ground. It’s a challenge to sit still and be quiet that long.

One hunt, around 1:30 p.m., I heard a bull screaming. The bugle was so loud! I looked to my left and all I saw was the rack. The bull moved directly towards my wallow 15 yards away.

He stepped behind a spruce tree, I drew back, and released the arrow. It hit right behind the right shoulder. The bull spun and jumped into another wallow. I nocked another arrow but he started moving up the ridge.

We backed out and waited a couple hours or so, knowing the bull was hit hard. We started at the point of the shot and followed his path. No blood. None.

We split up and turned on the tracker in our ONX app. We searched for 6 hours until we reached points that were no longer accessible. We went back to camp because it was getting dark and just hoped and prayed the birds would lead us to him the next day.

I was pulling back 70 pounds with a high-tech compound bow using a broadhead with a 2-inch cutting diameter. I saw the bull run off with the arrow stuck in him right behind the shoulder. We never did find the bull and I left feeling regret, disappointment, and failure. For the next year I thought about that bull every day.

The 2022 hunt arrived. I felt like Bill Buckner heading back to the infamous game where he let the ball go between his legs in the World Series. I said, “Lord, please release me from these feelings of regret, disappointment, and failure. Please give me some sign that will allow me to get over this.”

As we were looking to recover another friend’s bull that had been shot one afternoon, I looked in any aspen blow downs and behind every rock and every spruce grove I could see. I noticed what looked like an antler tip sticking up above a fallen aspen. I walked over and knew exactly what I was looking at. It was my bull from the previous year.

He fell 70 yards from where I had shot him. I knew from the frame of the rack and the overall character, that it was my bull.

I have since reviewed video and pictures with Gunn, a P&Y official, and other hunters, and it’s the same bull. It’s extremely unfortunate we were not able to recover him that day.

We missed out on the bounty of meat and the great pictures.

He had buried himself in the middle of a huge field of aspen blow downs, peppered with 5-foot-tall spruce trees. We had walked by him three times and were 15 yards away the previous year. God had answered my prayers.

I felt redeemed with some level of relief. Not soon thereafter, Gunn walked up to me. I said, “Hey, come look at what I found.” After the feelings of disappointment over the last year, knowing I had made the shot, and the arrow and broadhead had done their job, that supplied some level of satisfaction. We called New Mexico Game and Fish and made proper arrangements to have the rack in my possession.

We had accomplished what few do. We had both killed mature bull elk with stick and string, on our own, on public land.

We got there on different paths but the bond between us that hunting has facilitated is a strong one. We will continue our annual journey to New Mexico, and we will continue to hunt whitetails in the beautiful Texas Hill Country for years to come, if the good Lord allows.

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a strong comeback in the Muzzleloading hunting world. Many states have separate seasons allowing the use For The of muzzleloaders, and some of those seasons give the advantage of early dates Traveling and better draw odds. The traditional “octagon barrel” and “flintlock” guns Hunter shooting patched round balls or lead

loader hunters have to do this at higher levels. As a well-traveled muzzleloader hunter, I understand all too well what could go wrong on an adventure if proper attention is not paid to your equipment.

Weather and atmospheric changes that don’t change the variables for high power rifle or compound bows can make or break a hunt with a muzzleloader.

by Eric Stanosheck

Planning the trip

uzzleloaders have made

Author Photos

poured conical bullets have updated technology. The “inline” muzzleloaders have allowed for a variety of projectiles to

A mountian lion in Nevada with snow all morning led Eric to load his Hawken muzzleloader only seconds before taking the shot.

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be shot with maximum powder charges, and in some states, scopes are allowed.

Traveling hunters understand the importance of maintaining their gear and double checking what they pack. Muzzle-

I shoot everything with essentially the same bullet when I hunt with a muzzleloader. There’s some truth in the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) adage, especially with muzzleloaders.

I’ve killed everything from pronghorn to bison with a 250-grain sabot or 350-grain lead bullet.

You must completely understand the vitals location on each game species you’re hunting. Where a high-powered rifle can kill by shock, even without a perfect shot, your muzzleloader bullet at the end of its effective range doesn’t have that same type of knockdown, so accuracy is paramount. When shooting muzzleloaders, failing to plan really means planning to fail.

Weather is the No. 1 variable on your trips. Extreme freezing temperatures for late season hunts require adhesive hand warmers to put around the barrel where the bullet sits. I’ve found this to be true, when either using plastic sabots or lube-packed lead bullets.

The extreme cold will cause the plastic or lube to contract, so when the primer or cap fires, there’s a loss of pressure and accuracy is severely compromised.

If there is one thing that will sabotage your hunt more than anything else, it’s moisture. I was on an Alaskan Dall sheep hunt and loaded my muzzleloader

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before leaving camp in the morning under clear bluebird skies. The weather changed, and the final 11/2 hours of the stalk was in 4 inches of wet-blowing snow that found its way into the breech of my gun, even though the barrel and entire breech was taped and covered.

On the hunt On my Alaska caribou hunt, there was a light drizzle all day, and at the moment of truth, the bullet didn’t even make it to the caribou. I had crawled for a half-mile for this bedded bull and shot from 80 yards. Fortunately, I reloaded my gun and made a follow up shot at 171 yards and downed the current No. 19 Muzzleloader Record Book barren ground caribou.

Keep in mind that the caribou hunt was with an enclosed breech inline muzzleloader and the powder was still saturated. Heavy rains on trips when I used my Hawken muzzleloader led me to wrap the gun Alaska caribou from an extremely wet, 100% humidity hunt that required reloading after a completely in a heavyfailed shot. Always have your gun and gear prepared ahead of time. duty trash bag until I was ready to shoot.

If you’re going on a hunt Cleaning your muzzleloader tive shooting range. With my where you land, you have where it’s generally windy, Here comes the elbow octagon barreled Hawken .50 to plan ahead. Muzzleloader you need to spend time grease! Cleaning a muzzlecaliber, that wind drift is far powder and primers qualify shooting in crosswinds. Every more, based on the lead bullet as explosives, and you risk loader is always important, but it’s even more important while gun and bullet will react and only 110 grains of loose either losing them or doing traveling. Prepare for anything: differently, and it’s not worth powder. In a 20-mph wind at jail time and paying fines if dust, sand, moisture, etc. I missing the opportunity at 100 yards the .50 cal. bullet the TSA inspects your checkmake it a practice to clean my a trophy just because you drift is 7 inches, or 40% more in luggage. gun thoroughly and lube it haven’t practiced. than with my inline.

Usually, I have a local With my T/C Omega Inline, Getting powder and primcontact buy powder and prim- before my trip. On arrival, I dry swab the barrel and wipe I know a 20-mph wind at 100 ers to your hunt has become ers for me at my destination, any additional lube off the gun yards will change my point one of the most difficult parts but on occasion the creative and shoot a few practice shots. of impact almost 5 inches. It’s of planning. If you happen solutions box gets opened.

Once I get back from a trip, important to break this down to be hunting somewhere Whatever you decide, just the entire gun comes apart and by 50 yard and 10 mph incre- you’ll have to fly to, and there make sure this detail is taken every piece gets cleaned. ments throughout your effecare no sporting goods stores care of well ahead of time. www.TTHA www.

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[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

MUST-HAVES

Barrel Spreader The 100-pound Poly Barrel Spreader is extremely corrosion resistant thanks to its plastic hopper and stainless-steel Spinner Mechanism. It’s adjustable to work with fertilizer, seed, salt, feed, pelletized minerals, sand and more. The spreader mounts via 2” receiver hitch and is powered via AC accessory (cigarette lighter) plug. Operates off an electrical switch with no manual gate—operational from the driver seat.

Visit spintechspreaders.com/collections/best-sellers/ products/100-lb-poly-barrel-spreader.

New Hornady cartridge The 22 ARC (Advanced Rifle Cartridge) brings exceptional power and performance, elegantly packed into a compact cartridge that fits into your AR-15 but is equally at home in a bolt action. By using the new 62-grain ELD-VT bullet, the 22 ARC brings extraordinary performance that rivals the .22-250 to the AR-15 platform. The 22 ARC was engineered to use modern, high-BC bullets. Designing the cartridge and chamber in unison provides consistent accuracy, great velocity spreads and an outstanding shooting experience.

This cartridge is the result of careful and meticulous design, following the same proven methodology as the highly acclaimed 6mm ARC. Visit Hornady.com.

Abyss 7.62 suppressor The Abyss 7.62 suppressor’s design allows rounds to pass through while gasses expand into the baffle spaces, lowering pressure, minimizing muzzle flash, and significantly reducing decibels. It also lessens back pressure by routing gasses forward, away from the shooter for increased comfort and reliability.

Constructed from stainless steel and titanium components, it’s overall length is 6.6 inches without a mount, and 7.3 inches when paired with Gemtech’s ETMTM (Elite Taper Mount). The Abyss series suppressors can be mounted to barrels through direct thread standards. The Abyss 7.62 is fully-auto rated and has a caliber rating ranging from 5.7x28mm through .300 Win. Mag. Visit gemtech.com.

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MUST-HAVES

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VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

Fashionable holster The ROSE by SIG SAUER model Reckoning Holster offers proven reliability for EDC. Boasting a durable, top grain leather backer and a precision molded Kydex pocket, this holster offers multiple retention points that are adjustable so shooters can achieve the optimal retention for their draw and carry style.

Configurable for both inside and outside (with available conversion hardware) waistband carry, this holster can be worn in the strong side, appendix, or cross-draw positions. It’s also compatible with several CrossBreed clip options and can be used with the Reckoning/Accomplice Adapter to add an Accomplice Mag Carrier to the holster for a complete carry system.

Visit CrossBreedHolsters.com.

Leica Amplus scope For all practically minded hunters, the new Leica Amplus 6 riflescope series is the attractive entry into the premium class.

The well-balanced, high-quality optics feature an extremely crisp illuminated dot, 6X zoom, a large exit pupil, and a wide field of view. The rugged design makes it ideal for use in any terrain – even in the most adverse weather conditions. The high-quality feel of the functional elements ensures secure and flexible handling at the decisive moment.

Visit leica-camera.com/en-US/leica-amplus-6.

Mobile Mag The Mobile Mag is a fully functioning magazine combining mobility and complete security with fast access that cannot be removed from the firearm when locked.

Going from ready-to-fire to locked in a matter of seconds, when locked, it blocks the trigger to prevent unintended firing even with a round in the chamber.

Features include: 10 round capacity; prevents firing— even with a round in the chamber—when locked; cannot be removed from the firearm while locked; can switch to your OEM mag in seconds; includes unique-to-user high security key; camlock lock included; compatible with all holsters and compatible with Glock 17, 19, 19x & 34.

Visit gosafenow.com/products/gosafe-mag.

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[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

MUST-HAVES

Bow shot placement guide The National Bowhunter Education Foundation introduces its Advanced Whitetail Anatomy and Shot Placement Guide. It offers informative shot placement training aids with full color 8.5”x 11” transparent overlays. Separate acrylic overlays feature the muscular system, skeletal system, circulatory system, and vital organs specific to a white-tailed deer. Booklet also includes shot placement information and illustrations for both firearm hunters and bowhunters. Useful for hunting guides, hunter education instructors or today’s informed hunter. Responsible hunting includes knowledge of accurate shot placement for a quick kill and game recovery.

Visit shop.nbef.org.

Texas Logo Diamond Vest County Road Clothing Co. brings everyday apparel to those embracing the outdoor lifestyle. Their classic men’s diamond vest is perfect for showing your love for the outdoors and your Texas pride.

Lightweight and versatile, the vest is water resistant and protects your core from the wind and other elements. Available in blue, black, and green. Women’s vests are also available. Every purchase from County Road Clothing Co. goes towards helping veterans and first responders. Discounts for TTHA Members using coupon code: TTHACRCC. Visit countyroadclothingco.com.

Air rifle Hatsan’s ZADA break barrel air rifle is an exceptional entrylevel, spring-action airgun that boasts a refined design and precise engineering, making it an optimal beginner shooting platform. It features a precision rifled German steel barrel and a synthetic molded shroud that reduces overall weight. Available in three calibers (.177, .22, and .25), it can produce up to 24 ft-lbs. of kinetic energy and velocities ranging from 700 to 1,300 fps, depending on the caliber and type of ammunition selected.

It has an easy-cocking break barrel specially designed for the beginning shooter. The large muzzle break makes manipulating the single-shot cocking action smooth and nearly effortless, providing more control to the shooter. It comes with a 4X32 Optima scope and rings.

Visit hatsanusa.com.

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MUST-HAVES

[ THE JOURNAL ]

VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

Portable blood tracker NEBO’s IllumaTrace Blood Tracker Flashlight features dual light modes to transition between white light to illuminate the path or choose three blood-tracking strobe rate modes to work in several environments or ambient conditions. The Blood Tracker mode provides an alternating “vivifying” and “fulling” mode to cast a light that enhances or dulls red items based on the LEDs used. It has a range of up to 292 feet, is impact-resistant, and USB-C rechargeable. With a run time of up to 2 hours and 30 minutes in white light mode, and 3 hours in strobe mode, it provides hours of function on a single charge.

Made from anodized aircraft-grade aluminum, it’s durable and strong while weighing less than a pound and its finish is scratch and corrosion-resistant. It’s waterproof in up to 1 meter of fresh water for 30 minutes.

Visit nebo.acgbrands.com.

EDC knife and bottle opener TRUE’s two-piece Wharncliffe knife and dog tag bottle opener set—Flat Dark Earth Duo—makes a great combination for your everyday carry needs. The knife blade is made from 3Cr13 steel with a black oxide finish. The knife is 4 inches overall, has a pocket clip, a built-in carabiner, flat dark earth contoured grip, and a thumb stud for one-handed opening. The bottle opener features a split-ring keyring, black oxide finish, and flat dark earth lettering. For each set sold, TRUE will donate $1 to Disabled American Veterans.

Visit nebo.acgbrands.com.

King Rat slingshots The King Rat line of Barnett slingshots includes the Havoc, Havoc Hunter, Cobra, Black Widow, Black Widow Hunter, and Ambush models. All slingshots are great for young hunters practicing target shooting, squirrel hunting, and plinking with a beginner hunting tool. Each slingshot features a brushed leather center-shot pouch, various textured grips, and sights in a lightweight and compact design. Different models will feature a standard slingshot band, a magnum power band, or a Double-X tapered band that is replaceable. For ammo, each slingshot comes with Hotshot .38 steel pellets that are also purchasable in 50, 100, or 200 counts.

Visit barnettcrossbows.com/browse/slingshots.

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Skills Training

I

have always wanted to be part of a startup business.

I wanted to be part of something that would impact people in a very positive way and bless them. I have always had a passion for the outdoors, and I love sharing my outdoor experiences with young people. It has been 23 years since we started the Christian Outdoor Alliance, geared toward getting kids involved in the

outdoors through our youth events and summer camps.

Over the years the Christian Outdoor Alliance has grown to become one of the leaders in sharing our outdoor heritage with kids across the United States. Most of the kids who come to our camps are right here in Texas, but over the past few years we have had children join us from Florida to California and several points

The author helps kids sharpen their bowhunting skills as well as teaching them animal identification. He also introduces them into the culinary delight of these animals.

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in between. Along this fun journey we have met some wonderful people who have been a huge blessing to us by sharing either their land or their products with the kids and adults who join us on our events.

This past summer we were offered a bundle of recurve bows with a dozens of arrows to train kids to shoot. We set up a large round bale of hay and put together our big whitetail 3D targets and started the training process. Unlike the compound bow where you have a peep sight and front pins to line up your target, the recurve is a traditional piece of equipment that relies on feel and trajectory. Turning the bow slightly over so the arrow rests easy on the bow and lining up your eyesight with the arrow and target down range is the simple way to get started.

Over the years we have spent hours on the archery range with the recurve bows and the kids had tons of fun shooting and honing their skills. The recurve bow changed all of that for us, as the kids took on the new challenge and started having fun on the range again.

When I mean they had fun, instead of dialing in the compound bow, we were laughing, joking and needling each other and just plain shooting. If you want to dial it up a notch, make it competition with balloons and the kids will spend hours shooting.

The nice thing about the recurves is that the misses are easier to find when the arrow goes down range.

The equipment is so simple and the time spent shooting instead of repairing your bow is a lot more fun for everyone involved. I highly recommend kids pick up a recurve and start shooting in the backyard. The challenge is over the top, and the sense of accomplishment you get when you hit the mark will build your confidence in everything you do.

Another great tool we picked up this year were some small rifle targets with moveable parts. The targets have metal cut outs with hinges and swing when you hit them. They also make lots of noise when you hit them, so the gratification of hitting the mark is amplified with the “ting” on the other end of the range. We use suppressed .22s on the range so the initial click from the gun and the impact down range is what we 72 | January/February 2024

are listening for and the kids absolutely love it. You can use pellet guns, .17s, .22s, etc. to train the kids’ marksmanship and understand this is hours and hours of fun.

Another fun exercise we do at camp is animal identification. We do a lot more of this in our hunter education course, but a lot of this takes place in the field. Our Hill Country Summer Camp home has anything from addax to zebra and the kids seeing these critters for the first time is a lot of fun. We have axis, blackbuck, aoudad, fallow, elk, rams, whitetail, turkey, dove, quail, hogs, and more. You never know what you might see when you go to a hunting location or on a spot and stalk.

These animals roam both the free range and high fence environments that make up the ranches we hunt. Teaching the kids what to look for and identify the critters is a key part of their education process. There are a few animals that are very close in look and learning the subtleties is very important. A lot of adults ask me all the time about names of animals and teaching kids at an early age is a great part of our outdoor heritage.

When the kids take their big game animals, we clean the animals together and at the end of the week, we take the choice cuts for our final nights’ wild game dinner. The kids look forward to this meal all week and are proud to see their animal from the field to the dinner plate. We use whatever meat is left over to share with campers and we also process some of the meat to feed the next camp. Just about every meal revolves around some sort of wild game.

We make burgers the first night, lots of breakfast sausage each morning, we have a sausage supper, taco night and then chicken fried backstrap and gravy on the last night. The kids do not do the cooking at our camps, but they are very interested in the meals we prepare, and of course they love the meals. Quality appreciation of the wild game meat is essential for a young hunter and learning the importance of taking it from the field to the table is critical to their outdoor education. The meat is not supplied by the grocery store, as it is raised and taken in the field and the entire process is experienced by all.

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Our lead counselors are chosen from a pool of very qualified applicants that come and train the kids about a life with Christ through critical daily lessons on being good people and community leaders. The future is bright for our camp staff, as we have a bunch of kids that have been campers and are now counselors in training. By the time they reach college age they have a job each summer working with kids and sharing their passion for the outdoors. It’s a good thing to be young, as the kids at our camps are very energetic and with the long days during the summer we are going non-stop from daylight till dark.

Most of the time after dark, we are at the cleaning shed prepping a big game animal for the cooler. There is no rest at our camps as we are running wide open for a solid week. The training and lessons our campers receive build leaders who will go out in their communities and become well-rounded citizens able to add great things to whatever they choose to do in their life.

I look so forward to each summer as we spend time with all of these wonderful kids. We get to know them and their families as we spend time fellowshipping and

enjoying all of God’s wonderful great outdoors. I encourage you to look into the Christian Outdoor Alliance program and get your child involved in one of our summer camps or youth hunts. It’s something that all kids should be a part of to continue their outdoor education.

Michael Marbach is the CEO of the Christian Outdoor Alliance, www.mycoa.org; 210-827-9802.

COA’s mission is to guide youth and outdoorsmen to a relationship with Jesus Christ through experience in God’s great outdoors.

Hey Junior Trophy Hunters – Did you get your deer this hunting season? Or a hog or anything else that’s fun to hunt? Then tell your parents to send in your photo for Hunt’s End so we can share it with everyone! See page 125 for details and the form to send in with your picture.

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Kubota courtesy photo

ATVs & UTVs for ’24

BY JOHN GOODSPEED

S

everal of these new utility terrain vehicles are decked out like a top-of-the-line pickup, including air conditioning, leather seats and touchscreen infotainment system. Those prices can be truck-like, too, with one coming in at $50,499.

Capabilities increase year after year.

The UTVs in this roundup produce up to 110 horsepower, can tow up to 4,000 pounds and clear 15 inches of obstacles.

Arctic Cat arcticcat.txtsv.com

Alterra 600 Black Hills Edition, $11,599 The latest in the Alterra 600 series is the Black Hills Edition, which rolls on 28-inch tires and high-clearance control arms. It has 12.8 inches of ground clearance. It also features a selectable locking front differential and a lower gear ratio transaxle.

In 2022, the Alterra 600 was redesigned with a new engine, drivetrain and chassis for more power, better handling, more durability and easier servicing. The 600cc, single-cylinder, EFI engine — built by Arctic Cat in the United States — offers 45 horsepower and a lower center of gravity. Its CVT system features a set of Arctic Cat-tuned CVTech Trailbloc drive and Invance driven clutches for increased performance, smooth lowspeed engagement and longer belt life.

On the ATV side, horsepower goes up to 50, towing up to 1,830 pounds and ground clearance hits 12.8 inches.

Electric power steering, or EPS, which provides assistance to reduce effort, bump steer and rider fatigue, is featured on almost all models, as is electronic fuel injection, or EFI. Manufacturers’ suggested retail prices are listed.

Prowler Pro Crew LTD, $20,999 This six-seater comes with a flashy color scheme, Fossil with color-matched Spark Orange front bumper, springs and roll cage. Features include premium seats, a 4,500-pound Warn Winch, LED-accented halogen headlights and a roof with storage console. The Prowler Pro series is known for its quiet 50-horsepower, 812cc EFI engine, ample storage and comfortable ride with a double A-arm suspension front and rear. The bed can carry 1,000 pounds. Total capacity is 1,500 pounds. It can tow up to 2,000 pounds. Ground clearance is 13 inches. In 2022, Arctic Cat introduced a number of improvements to the three-seat Prowler Pro and the six-seater including a new suspension and a performance-tuned CVTech clutch.

Manufacturer Photos

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Argo XTV

argoxtv.com Xplorer XR 700 LE, $9,999 The XR 700 line features an improved suspension with independent double A-arms front and rear with extended travel for comfort and control, especially with the adjustable preload shock absorbers. Wheel travel is 7 inches in the front and 7.4 inches in the rear. It is powered by a 695cc EFI engine.

The XR 700 LE includes 26-inch Maxxis tires on 14-inch aluminum wheels, hand guards, painted plastic body panels, a 3,000-pound winch and push-button four-wheel-drive with locking front differential. The steel front rack can hold 114 pounds and the rear can carry 209 pounds. It can tow 1,000 pounds. Ground clearance is 10.2 inches. It comes in Graphite Grey or Flame Orange.

950 Aurora Huntmaster, $32,299 Yes, this UTV floats. It also can get up to 3 mph in water while traversing snags, stumps and outcrops with a full skid plate. Mud is no problem, either, for those eight 25-inch XT117, low-pressure tires with chevron treads and bead-lock steel rims. And, yes, it is eight-wheel drive. The Huntmaster can go 25 mph on land. Seating capacity is six on land and four on water. It is powered by a 950cc V-twin engine. It also comes with a brush guard and a 3,500-pound winch. For turning, handlebars apply braking on either side. It can tow 1,800 pounds. Ground clearance is 11 inches. It comes in Truetimber Prairie Camo.

Can-Am Off Road

can-am.brp.com/off-road Outlander PRO Hunting Edition HD7, $10,499 At 50 horsepower, this model with a 650cc single-cylinder engine gets 10 more ponies than others in the line, which all come in camo. Torque is 41 foot pounds. Features include a 3,500-pound winch, aluminum front and rear A-arm protectors, Visco-4Lock automatic front-locking differential, premium front and rear bumpers, tri-mode dynamic power steering, LED headlights and taillights, a glove box with a cell phone holder and USB charging port and an RF digitally encoded anti-theft system. It can carry 120 pounds on the front rack, 240 pounds on the rear and tow up to 1,830 pounds. Ground clearance is 12 inches. It rolls on 26-inch tires mounted on 12-inch aluminum wheels.

Defender MAX Limited, $32,999 This loaded model comes with heating and air-conditioning, rear glass window, electric windows in the front, glass tilt-up windshield with a wiper/washer kit, a hard roof with liner and dome light and a panoramic rear-view mirror. But wait — there’s more: a 7.6 digital display with keypad, a brake holding mechanism, bolster bench seat with reinforced seat skin, adjustable driver seat, tilt steering wheel, two USB ports and LED lighting. It is powered by a Rotax 976cc V-twin rated at 82 horsepower and 69 foot pounds of torque. The cargo box can carry 1,000 pounds. It can tow 2,500 pounds. Ground clearance is 14 inches. It rides on 30-inch tires on 14-inch rims.

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Honda Powersports

HuntVe

powersports.honda.com FourTrax Recon, $4,799

huntve.com Electra, $25,600

Honda brings back its three smallest ATV models — the one shown here, the TRS250X ($5,399) and the TRS90X Sport ($3,449). What they have in common is that they all are small but capable. The Recon is the smallest in Honda’s multipurpose ATV lineup. Powered by an overhead-valve 229cc engine, the power plant is compact with a low center of gravity. The standard Recon comes with a semiautomatic foot-shift gearbox. The Recon ES ($5,049) boasts electric push-button shifting. A single shock absorber dampens the swing-arm rear suspension. The steel front cargo rack can carry 33 pounds while the rear payload is 66 pounds. It comes in Avenger Red, Black Forest Green and Krypton Green, shown here.

HuntVe 4x4 electric UTVs are known for their dual direct drive 40-horsepower motor and high-amperage controller system. With the new Electra, HuntVe ups the ante with a 72-volt smart lithium battery pack that provides what the manufacturer says is 50 percent more range than the flooded lead-acid battery pack. The lithium battery also allows for better performance and less maintenance. It is available as a twoor four-seater. The four-wheel independent suspension gives a smooth ride. The Electra comes with 27-inch tires mounted on 14-inch aluminum wheels. Like all HuntVe models, the Electra is equipped with four-wheel hydraulic brakes, power dump bed and a 25 mph top speed.

John Deere

johndeere.com/gator Gator XUV835 R Signature Edition, $40,499 This UTV is built for comfort and work. Features include heating and air conditioning, leather seating for three, seven-speaker infotainment system with touchscreen tuned by Harmon, tilt steering wheel, roof-mounted LED driving lights in addition to headlights, rear camera and sliding rear window.

The front suspension is independent dual A-arm with adjustable coils. Rear is the same but with a sway bar. The front differential is limited slip while the rear locks with a switch. The 812cc engine generates 54 horsepower.

The power-lift cargo box can carry 1,000 pounds. Towing is rated at 4,000 pounds. Ground clearance is 11.2 inches. It rolls on 27-inch tires with a choice of Maxxis Bighorn or Predator Heavy Duty.

Kubota Tractor Corp. kubotausa.com RTV-XG850 Sidekick, $14,499

This model boasts speeds up to 40 mph thanks to a new 851cc twin-cylinder EFI engine that produces 48 horsepower. Speed-sensitive EPS provides control over any terrain. Smoothing bumps are independent dual A-arms with adjustable spring preload in the front with independent suspension with coil over shock absorbers in the rear. The four-wheel-drive system is a bit different. While the front differential is limited slip, the rear differential lock is foot operated. Front suspension travel is nine inches and 8½ inches in the rear. The steel cargo box can carry 1,000 pounds. An electric/hydraulic bed lift is optional. It can tow up to 2,000 pounds. Ground clearance is 9.8 inches.

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Kawasaki Motors Corp. kawasaki.com Brute Force 300, $5,099

This model leads the pack of diminutive ATVs returning to the Kawasaki lineup for 2024. The other two are the entry-level KFX90 ($3,299) and KFX50 ($2,499). The Brute Force 300 is powered by a mid-size liquid-cooled, 271cc singlecylinder engine that produces 15.9 foot pounds of torque. It is paired with a continuously variable transmission with high and low ranges. Suspension is handled by independent A-arms in the front with a single-shock-absorber swing arm in the rear. Front and rear cargo racks can carry 44 pounds and

66 pounds, respectively. It can tow 500 pounds. Ground clearance is 6.1 inches. It comes in Grayish Blue, shown here, and Firecracker Red.

Mule PRO-FXR 1000 LE, $17,699 Kawasaki introduces a new series in its flagship Mule UTVs for 2024 with the PRO-FXR LE 1000 shown here, the PRO-FX 1000 ($18,299) and the six-seat PROFXT 1000 ($20,299). All are powered by a new, larger displacement 999cc parallel-twin engine that delivers 61½ foot-pounds of torque. Also new across the line are a longer suspension travel of up to 11 inches, increased ground clearance of 13.2 inches, self-leveling rear suspension on some models, improved service access and a new front-end styling that includes a rugged front bumper and a painted grill

Suzuki Motor of America suzuki.com

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with small-diameter headlines for a truck-like appearance. The cargo bed can carry 999 pounds. It can tow 2,000 pounds.

KingQuad 400 ASi SE Camo, $7,499 This model hits 2024 in True Timber Kanati camouflage with power from a 376-cc EFI engine with an iridium spark plug for better combustion, cleaner emissions and longer plug life. It’s also petite enough to fit into a 6½-foot truck bed for easy transportation. The four-wheel-drive system uses a limited-slip front differential. Front suspension is a double wishbone with coil spring while the rear is a swing arm with coil spring. Wheel travel is 6.7 inches. It is winch-ready with mounts and wiring conduit installed. Ground clearance is 9.8 inches.

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Polaris Industries polaris.com

Ranger Crew XD 1500 Northstar Ultimate Edition, $50,499 This model sits at the top of the newly launched Ranger 1500 line. This trim level includes heating and air conditioning, power windows, tip-out windshield, heated seats, JBL Trail Pro 2000 audio system, seven-inch infotainment screen, a cargo box with electronic lift, 12-volt power port and LED lights, 6,000-pound winch, 30-inch Kenda CrossTrail tires on 15-inch wheels and RIDE COMMAND+, which allows checking the vehicle’s health, location and maintenance schedule from a smart phone. It is powered by a three-cylinder 1,498cc engine with 110 horsepower and 105 foot pounds of torque. The cargo bed can hold 1,500 pounds. It can tow 3,500 pounds. Ground clearance is 15 inches.

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Sportsman 570 Hunt Edition, $11,699 The Sportsman 570 line returns for 2024, including the Hunt Edition shown here dressed in Polaris Pursuit Camo. Designed to meet the needs of hunters, the Hunt Editions include such accessories such as the 3,500-pound Polaris Winch, Kolpin Gun Scabbard and Mount, Kolpin Ratchet Claws, hand and thumb warmers, high-output LED pod and headlights, front and rear trail bumpers and front and rear steel rack extenders.

The 567cc engine produces 44 horsepower. The front rack can carry 90 pounds with 180 pounds in the rear. Ground clearance is 11½ inches.

Improvements in the 570 line include a new rear brake pedal for reduced effort, improved sealing around the shifter and enhanced seat fitment for a more comfortable ride.

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Author Photos

STORY

Following some unique circumstances, Kyle managed to finally take his trophy Kansas buck.

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HL Hall of Fame great Wayne Gretzky once said, “You cut corn rows for a half mile, in hunting boots and carrying a miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” This certainly bow, with air temps in the 20s and dropping, and a wind chill applies across a wide array of situations. But as a bowsomewhere near negative 3,471 degrees! Putting it lightly, this hunter, this has to be part of your credo.

To clarify, it does not mean taking marginal shots because you might not get another shot at that animal. What it means is simple: to get animals in close and get the right shot. Sometimes you have to take risks and be creative.

Sometimes those shots work out and sometimes those shots are misses.

A couple of years ago, Kansas gave me an opportunity to take a shot. For a Texas Hill Country kid, the Midwest presents a series of unique challenges, with geography and weather the typical dominant variables. For this particular hunt, it was cold and windy.

In fact, a front had blown in during the night over the Kansas plains. What was a comfortable 45-degree, windless day with bright sunshine, was replaced with a stiff 30 mile per hour north wind, cloud cover, and a steadily dropping air temp of 21 degrees. It was perfect.

After a morning hunt in a cut corn field, fighting the wind chill, my dad picked me up, fresh coffee in tow, and we opted to scout some additional ground I was planning on hunting that evening a couple of miles from the current setup. I hoped to see deer entering or exiting in the midday rut rush. As fate would have it, as we drove through one of the creek bottoms we hunt, I spotted a heavy antlered buck chasing a doe down the creek wash in a southward direction.

The wind was perfect. The doe leading him was perfect. What was lacking was this particular creek bottom thinned down to a set of spindly trees, periodically dotted with a fleeting cedar tree or other small trees, while the creek itself narrowed down to no more than a trace that snaked in and out in the bottom of a seemingly endless cut corn field that was a true section.

Getting into position would be the problem. After we set the plan, we cut Thick timber area near the location where Kyle shot his buck. around the east side of this property to a spot where I would hop out and hustle down to the middle of the tight draw where I might recover a part of the plan was terrible. After completing the trek, and shot. I opened the door, said a blissful goodbye to the warmth feeling rather proud at what little speed I did amass, I paused of the truck and my coffee, and began. next to a blowdown to get a look for movement and get my gear The plan involved “quickly” walking perpendicularly across situated.

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Seeing none, my secondary plan was to still hunt back to the north, knowing the wind was in my favor. Working stand of trees to pockets of brush, I was making progress up the draw.

The bois d’arc (Osage) trees seem to be the prevalent tree in this thin draw, and as I was clearing my cap from hanging up on one of the thorns, I heard the unmistakable snort of a deer that had picked me out.

As a hunter, what’s funny about this moment is that almost all of us do the exact same thing. We freeze up like a tree then try to telekinetically will the animal not to make a sound again.

Which she did. Needless to say, my live decoy of a doe ran uphill to the east, away through the cut corn, leaving her scent trail as she made haste.

All I could do was attempt to get my cap freed from the thorns and work back to the north in the event the buck had not heard her snorts and still presented a shot. Stepping down into the creek to cross at one of the snaked curls, I leaned into the bank to peer over the edge, and immediately saw movement. I was in a poor position, so my poor-at-best logic was to get up onto the creek bank leaning flat on my stomach, using the trail as cover, then rise up when the shot presented itself.

Working my way up the trail, I could see glimpses of the buck’s legs working back and forth over the scent trail, and it seemed he approached on a line right towards me. When his body finally emerged, my heart absolutely sank.

It was a small, forked buck trying to make his move for the doe the big buck had clearly lost. And he was coming right to me.

Resigned to my new fate, I lay down in the trail, with my bow in the grass next to me. He wouldn’t smell me because the wind was in my favor. He would step right on top of me, and then would be doing the dance with him snorting and making a fuss, scaring away the dominant buck. As these thoughts were flashing in my mind, the young buck cleared my sight line and was 10 feet from my own stubborn cap that got me into this predicament. His eyes locked on me in alert as he sprang his tail into action and assumed his cautionary stance.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

I began to smirk as I thought about my next step.

Rather than be discovered and alert the other deer, I locked my eyes on this little buck. After a quick, silent 1-2 count, I went berserk. I flopped over, growled, and let out a “waaaaahaaaahaaaaa” to cap it off, which must have been all he needed. He turned, and as luck would have it, rather than run back the way he came, he skirted out perpendicular away, without so much as a snort. At last glance, he was topping the ridge of the field, still at a full sprint.

I smiled, then frowned, knowing I had undoubtedly sealed my own fate, having to tell the story of how I snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. I had not seen the big buck at all, thinking that he pushed to the north, especially after my last episode. I

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gathered my bow and pack, crossed the creek one more time and leaned up against a tree. I saw I was almost as far north as I needed to be for a great setup for a hunt on this property.

I debated about what my next step should be: waiting this out or packing out to go to the stand I had set on an adjacent farm. But then I saw a flutter of movement. Thinking there was no way I was this lucky, having been busted twice, the heavy antlered nine-point I had seen from the road emerged upstream from me, apparently oblivious to my tirade. He was making quick progress, following the back and forth of the creek, when he finally emerged on an open part of the bank 18 yards in front of me, not seeing me the entire time. I had calmed my breathing and got drawn as he made his ascent up the bank.

And fortunately, I put the arrow where it needed to be, making him whirl back and making a short 40-yard semicircle before he piled up.

The elation was palpable, but so was the amusement as I recalled the order of events for this hunt. In talking about it during the drive home with my father, we continued to chuckle at the thought of me trying to bust the hunt by scaring the little buck. Much like the adage that Gretzky mentioned, you have to be willing to take the shot. And most important, don’t be afraid to miss.

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Despite the overall decline in waterfowl populations, the greenwinged teal population, estimated at 2.5 million, climbed 16% from last year, according to U.S. Fish & Wildlife.

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exas waterfowl hunters across the board have faced one looming question in recent seasons: Where have all the ducks and geese gone?

It’s a query with no simple answer, as state biologists and those elsewhere note, citing the most recent population report issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 2023 breeding counts and pond counts conducted in the spring and accompanying figures released in August showed another decline across multiple fronts.

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The survey, which is used to set hunting regulations throughout North America, estimated a breeding duck population of 32.3 million ducks in the traditional survey area, 7% less than 2022 and 9% below the long-term average. The spring pond count, a vital indicator of habitat and potential production, showed about 5 million ponds, a 9% decrease and 5% below the long-term average.

Looking at individual species, mallards came in at 6.1 million in the traditional survey area, an 18% drop from

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last year. The estimate puts mallards 23% below the long-term average — the lowest index since 1993. Blue-winged teal, the second most abundant duck in North America, declined 19% from last year and at 5.25 million are 2% above the species’ long-term average.

Pintails were a bright spot, estimated at 2.2 million, a 24% rise from 2022 though still a troubling 43% below the longterm average. Green-winged teal breeding populations also climbed. Greenwings are estimated at 2.5 million, up 16% from last year and 15% above the long-term average.

Among other puddle ducks, gadwalls declined 5% but remain 25% above the long-term average. Shovelers also declined 6% but sit 8% above the long-term average. Wigeon numbers didn’t show the same, dropping 14% and resting 28% below the long-term average.

One silver lining to the estimates—biologists will tell hunters—is that though breeding numbers are down, production in summer has more to do with fall hunting success than a snapshot of pair numbers. The other silver lining is that hunters target the fall flight, which is composed of the breeding population plus this year’s duck production.

With all that being said, there are aspects of waterfowl hunting that Texans can target to help increase their chances of first locating and then bringing birds in. The shooting part is all up to you after that. Here’s a look, in particular, at South Texas and coastal waterfowl hunting tips and tactics:

species such as pintails and redheads, and even puddle ducks.

WMAs do feature a draw system and hunters are advised to show up early for what undoubtedly will be a line of folks during the busiest days of hunting season. It’s also advised to study up on the specific means and methods for each area.

Information: tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/public

Target freshwater locales “Going coastal” for waterfowl typically means heading out into any of Texas’ notable bay systems to pursue mostly redheads and pintails. However, there are notable freshwater spots that will hold ducks, some of which you may not necessarily think about among your first thoughts. Another WMA—James E. Daughtrey, and the accompanying Choke Canyon Reservoir—offer what can be exceptional waterfowl hunting for much of the season.

It should be noted when land areas are closed, waterfowl hunters may access the lake through public boat ramps but must remain within the first 50 feet of the bank from the existing waters’ edge. Waterfowl hunting overall also is restricted to

Target wildlife management areas Public hunting brings pro and cons, regardless of the species, but when discussing waterfowl, some of the best duck spots offer access to the masses, which is especially true along the Texas coast. There are hundreds of thousands of acres of marsh, wetland and estuary areas scattered across various WMAs that can simply harbor loads of birds when conditions are right.

The notable WMAs along the coast open to day-waterfowl hunts through the annual public hunting permit are Justin Hurst, Mad Island, J.D. Murphree, Matagorda Island and Guadalupe Delta. Each of them has varying terrain and rules and regulations, but all of them can be solid spots for

The Texas coast offers untold miles of shoreline from which to duck hunt which offers a good reason to spread out and not crowd other hunters. www.TTHA www.

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the surface of Choke Canyon and within the first 50 feet of the bank. In addition to waterfowl, rails, gallinule, snipe, moorhen and woodcock can be taken during dates for waterfowl as long as those frameworks coincide with duck hunting.

Another freshwater option are the myriad stock tanks and cisterns that dot the Texas landscape, especially in the brush country. Biologists have noted an influx of ducks and geese in recent seasons in locales that have steady water sources, which livestock certainly rely on, too. If you have access, these water holes could be prime places, especially if dry conditions arise in the fall and winter.

Target off days You can bank on pressure playing a huge role in hunting, especially if you’re discussing any area open to the public. That especially is true on weekends, again regardless of the species you’re pursuing. One way to skirt that influx of stress on ducks is to hunt during the week, which some public hunting areas offer.

It’s similar to the fishing pressure along the coast from Friday through Sunday and the corresponding drop on Monday to Thursday as the weekend warriors head home and the flats and marshes get somewhat back to normal. Another totally opposite framework to target when waterfowl hunting is to aim for holidays or other days that coincide with prime hunting times for other species, which is much different than attempting to head to the salt for Memorial Day or July Fourth fishing weekends.

Another target should be in times of extreme or rugged weather that might keep other hunters indoors. Breaking ice isn’t really ever an issue on South Texas waterfowl hunts, but storms and other weather events can pop up quickly and certainly put a damper on spending time in the elements—though most duck hunters live for those mornings.

days—you might be surprised how much better a waterfowler you can become.

Waterfowl bag limits Duck bag limit: 6/day in the aggregate (includes mergansers); includes no more than 5 mallards (of which only 2 may be hens), 3 wood ducks, 2 redheads, 2 canvasbacks, 1 pintail, 1 scaup, 1 “dusky duck” (mottled, black or Mexican-like) may only be taken after the first 5 days of the season in the respective zones. All other species not listed: 6. Coots: 15/day. Possession limit is 3 times the daily bag limit for all migratory game birds except snow geese which have no possession limit.

Goose bag limit: 5 dark geese, to include no more than 2 white-fronted geese, 10 light geese (no possession limit on light geese).

Sandhill crane bag limit: Zones A and B: Bag Limit: 3, possession limit 9; Zone C: Bag Limit: 2, possession limit 6.

Target the best weather Regardless of where you’re hunting, timing your outings to coincide with favorable weather patterns can exponentially increase your odds of seeing and shooting birds. In recent seasons in South Texas and along the coast, the best hunting occurred at the end of the fall and winter frameworks as cold fronts and rainy patterns brought in an influx of ducks across the landscape.

Any veteran hunter will tell you that the younger birds at the beginning of the season are the easiest to call in and bag, and by the same token, birds still around in January are about as hard to kill as any species that runs or flies. If you are able to stack up the chances in your favor by planning around weather—even something as simple as high winds after a period of calmer 86 | January/February 2024

Texas Wildlife Management Areas offer good hunting for waterfowl though public access can provide extra company nearby.

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STORY

Author Photos

Carol with her nine-point buck she shot while on a hunt with her brothers in Menard County.

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was so excited to get invited to hunt on opening day with my oldest brother, Kent Hamby, at his La Kenda Ranch in Menard. Kent, the oldest of seven, bought the ranch in 2008 after our grandparents’ farm in Staples, Texas, was sold.

He had in mind a place where his siblings, children, grandchildren, and in-laws would have a place to hunt. My brothers, Speed Hamby and Jeff Hamby, were also going.

Kent’s son, Kyle, and his son, Jin, were there, too. Jin was getting the .223 sighted in with the help of Grandpa Kent.

Jin was ready to shoot his first deer. We had filled feeders in October and set the timers for daylight saving time. Kent runs

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about six feeders, all marked with a license plate for which they are named: Texas, Colorado, Rhode Island, Illinois, Alaska and Iowa. The reflection from the license plate helps locate the stand in the dark.

When Paul, my spouse, helped with the feeders, he asked Kent about wild pigs on the ranch. Kent replied he doesn’t have any. Paul said there are only two kinds of ranches in Texas: those with pigs and those that will have pigs. As of last year, Kent saw his first wild pig on his ranch. Now I guess the rattlesnake problem might be solved. When we filled feeders in October, I noticed pig activity, but had not actually seen one.

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The terrain in Menard is much different from the lease I normally hunt in Uvalde. That land is flat with rolling hills, lots of cactus and lots of rattlesnakes. The beautiful San Saba River runs through Menard.

With my mother’s Ruger .243 sighted in and my Halle knife sharpened, I was ready to bring home some great Texas table fare—venison. Kent gave me the green light to shoot a good buck if I saw one. Speed and I got up early opening day. Kent would do an afternoon hunt this time and Jeff would cook for us because he shot a very nice buck last year. Chef Jeff prepared ham steak and eggs, biscuits and gravy, and fajitas. Life is good.

Menard’s Chamber of Commerce holds its Hunter’s Blowout Ball the evening of opening day. The whole town is dressed in camouflage. You might stick out like a sore thumb if you’re not

wearing camouflage this time of year. While the band plays “Green Snakes on the Ceiling,” families enjoy the good food and reflect on a good hunting day. A big raffle is held, and a lot of rifles are donated to this raffle. Kent has donated a rifle before, as did former Gov. Rick Perry. This is a ball you won’t want to miss.

The weather was perfect—cool in the morning and not too hot during the day. I checked my HuntStand app. The moon phase was a waxing gibbous. This phase is when the moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a full moon. I think it’s a fair moon to hunt by.

Speed and I got up too early, but it was opening day after all.

I hunted the Rhode Island stand. It’s a tall stand and has a tight shooting lane. Hunting an unfamiliar stand can be challenging,

Carol’s brother, Kent, with his whitetail.

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but I got settled in, checked the scope, and waited.

At daylight, a small buck was in the feeder pen eating corn from the day before. Suddenly a nice buck came from the left and ran him off. They both ran in the bushes. The big buck did not seem interested in the corn. He was more interested in showing dominance over the younger buck.

After about 30 minutes or more, the bigger buck returned.

This time from the left, and not at a good angle to shoot.

I waited, and sure enough, he did start eating corn that was on the outside of the feeder pen. I maneuvered to get a good aim.

A bush had grown up in front of the feeder. I should have taken care of that when we filled feeders in October. The buck was not spooked, and as he casually ate his corn, I waited for the perfect broadside shot. He finally turned for me and I took the shot.

I was so excited, but he did not act like he was hit. I was apprehensive. Speed was hunting close by, and I did not want to mess up his hunt. I texted to him that I would wait awhile to go look, just to be sure the buck was hit. It was still early.

After the wait, I climbed from the stand, still unsure if I had hit my target. When I walked to the other side of the feeder I saw drops of blood. With my heart racing, I started to track the blood. To my excitement, the deer was down and

The Hamby brothers (l-r): Jeff, Kent and Speed.

had only gone about 20 feet.

It was 8:30 a.m. and the feeder had just gone off. One year, I shot a doe early while hunting with Kent. He texted me and said, “Can you at least wait for the feeder to go off?”

Oh well, I did it again. I can’t help it if Kent has an abundance of nice deer.

We all pitched in with cleaning the deer. Speed and I—mostly Speed—started skinning the deer. I thought two knives on one deer was enough. Kent was the saw man.

Jeff helped with water pump, cleaning the deer and keeping the buck iced down, and positioning the deer with the wench. Jin did my old job of holding the legs while I skinned them. Kyle stood by and got us whatever we needed. His knife was excellent for skinning.

It was a family affair.

I am very, very happy with this Menard nine-point buck with nice, six-inch brow tines. Speed could hardly see the backstraps due to the fat. I am so grateful and excited to have had such a great hunting trip, thanks to my wonderful brothers. They have never left me behind on adventures, even while growing up and running all over the farm, fishing and hunting. Even though they did not leave me behind, it was clear they were not going to stop and wait for me either during those days. This time proved to be no different.

Editor’s note: Carol’s buck won first place female in the Modern Arms Open Range category at last year’s Hunters Extravaganza in Houston.

Jeff with his whitetail.

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George Andrejko Photo

Mule deer in the Southwest rut in the last two weeks of December.

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unting mule deer in the Southwest is special enough, but the added bonus is the beautiful country they will lead you through. Mule deer like wide open spaces where they can see their surroundings and detect danger well before it threatens them. Mule deer are known for their lack of consistent movement patterns compared to whitetails, so you are not likely to predict daily movements to and from bedding or feeding areas. Mule deer are much more nomadic and random in their movements as they drift around and locate whatever it is they feel like they need at any given time. This, and the fact they do not make scrapes, makes it more difficult for hunters to figure out what they’re up to.

Desert deer tactics

The early bird Deer are most active in the early dawn and late dusk time periods. If you want to be successful you have to make sure you are active during those time periods too. You have to plan accordingly so you are in your glassing location before it gets light, and you should be looking for deer until it is too dark to stalk. Staying out all day takes a little more preparation and more attention to your comfort level. This is where a

Author Photo

“Glassing” is the term used in the West for sitting on a high point and searching for deer with binoculars (glass) and then sneaking within range. Many people hunt with binoculars, but

do not really “spot-and-stalk.” Carrying around a pair of binoculars all day and using them to get a better look at a deer only after you jump it is not glassing. Optics are more important to a serious mule deer hunter than even toilet paper. Obviously the better the quality of your optics, the more game you see. The more you pay, the better the optics, so find the best binoculars you can afford and then buy the next better pair. You will never be sorry you bought binoculars that are too good.

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waterproof, padded seat keeps you comfortable and out in the field. You should have GPS waypoints for the spots you want to glass from so you can get to them in the dark with minimal disturbance.

Have a system

When glassing, position yourself as high as possible to get the best view. For every 50 feet in elevation, more and more country down below opens up for your inspection. It is also very important you do not set up and glass where you are silhouetted against the sky and easy to see.

Just because deer are seen at greater distances when glassing does not mean you can sit out in the open. You should always set up in the shade of a tree, bush, or other structure. This protects you from the sun and wind, but more importantly, shade keeps the sun from glinting off your optics or equipment.

When glassing for deer, one does not randomly look around hoping to spot something. Glassing efficiently and effectively means you search your visible area in a systematic way and a tripod is a must if you are serious. The tripod allows you to search the area systematically, while stabilizing the field of view, which is important if you are trying to detect a subtle ear flick or tail wag. When glassing, start in the lower corner of your visible area and study that full field of view until you are sure there are no deer in that view. Then, move the binoculars on the tripod to the next field of view to the right of the one you just “cleared.” When you get to the end of your first bottom “row,” move the binoculars up one field of view and then back in the opposite direction, one field of view at a time. Do not sweep the binoculars from one side to the other, but instead move them frame by frame in a process of elimination.

Sunny Southwest

Focus

Consider the sun when planning where you will glass from and what direction to look. You always want the sun to your back to prevent you from looking directly into it, but also to assure that the deer will be squinting into it. More important though is the fact that you will be looking at canyons and hillsides illuminated brightly by the sun behind you. Deer are many times more obvious when standing on a hill in the sunlight. Study your maps before going afield and have a few potential sites selected that will allow you to look to the west or northwest in the morning and east or northeast in the afternoon. In the Southwest, it is crucial to have plenty of water, sunscreen, and shade in the form of a hat or even an umbrella for long hours exposed to the sun.

It’s important to maintain a high level of concentration. It’s easy to fall into “screen-saver mode” where your eyes glaze over. If you do not stay focused, it’s easy to miss deer right in the middle of your field of view.

Closing the distance When a deer is seen, it takes some judgment to decide when to pursue it quickly and when to watch it until it beds down.

It is a difficult call and depends on what the deer is doing at the moment and what you think it will do in the next hour. I have had many deer slip secretly away because I was being too careful, but I have also blown stalks by rushing in. It depends on the situation and the terrain.

Plan your stalk carefully before moving from your location

Author Photo

Climb and hide

Hunting southwestern mule deer exposes you to some beautiful sights.

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Shawn Gray Photo

and mark the animal’s location exactly in reference to unique land features that you can find when you stalk close to where the animal is.

Look at the wind direction, vegetative cover, and topography to decide how you can get within range without being detected.

As you stalk towards the animal, relocate it frequently through binoculars to keep track of where it is.

Sealing the deal In the long hours and days of the hunt, it is critical to maintain a positive In the desert southwest, mule deer need diverse shrubs to survive periods of drought. attitude. This means you have to constantly expect to see an animal. Those need to completely care for the animal. In southwestern mule who expect to see an animal and those who don’t are usually deer country that usually involves a few good knives, knife both right. Being prepared for the hunt doesn’t just mean being sharpener, meat bags, and a pack frame to break it down and prepared to start off on the right foot, but it means being able to cool it off in warm weather. Hunting is hard work and most of that work comes after you pull the trigger. Open-country mule finish the job when you are successful. deer hunting in the Southwest is very different but rewarding if Before the hunt, run through the scenario of successfully you plan well, come prepared, and work hard. harvesting an animal and make sure you have everything you

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Live aoudad rams at close range in the Texas Panhandle.

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t was way back in October of 2010 that I shot one of my best-ever aoudad rams. From a lofty perch in the Chinati Mountains of West Texas, guide Hunter Ross from Desert Safaris and I peered at a large herd of aoudad below us. There were several big rams, but the one bedded in the shade of a car-sized boulder was outstanding. His horns were wide and long. With my rifle’s stock rested over my pack, we waited for the king to stand. He was just under 300 yards away.

Finally, an hour into the wait, he stood. The bullet from my .270 WSM Nosler rifle hit him in the chest, and he wobbled a couple times. I peered through the scope about to launch a second round when Hunter patted me on the back. The ram went down, while aoudad ran everywhere up the cliff face.

It took us an hour to weave down through the rocks to that dead ram, but the effort was worth it. His longest horn was 35 inches while the short side was 34 inches. The pack out to the ranch headquarters was brutal in the desert heat, but big rams like that seldom come without some pain.

Aoudad have become one of Texas’ most popular exotics. To see a big one in the wild for the first time, it’s no wonder why they’re so popular. They inhabit steep, unforgiving cliffs and canyons far from civilization. A big,

Brandon shot this aoudad ram in the Trans-Pecos in October 2010. The big ram was shot from the cliff in the background with the help of guide Hunter Ross. Horns were 35x34 inches.

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tawny-colored ram blends with the desert like a lizard on a rock. To finally hold the dust-covered, banana-shaped horns of a mature ram after a difficult hunt, a rookie hunter is sure to be in awe. As an avid aoudad hunter for 30 years and an aoudad guide now for 12 years, I get asked lots of questions by new clients. Here are a few of the highlights of things to know before your hunt.

About aoudad

bases and long chaps. They were certainly trophies by every meaning of the word, despite being shy of the 30-inch mark.

The “hair” is also a trophy. Big beard, big chaps and long leggings make a mount even more stunning on the wall.

As interest has increased in free-range, wild aoudad hunting, so has the price. I researched six well-known outfits in Texas and their hunt prices ranged from $6,000-$9,000 for a fully guided hunt in 2024. These hunts include food, lodging, 1x1 guide and high odds for success. Compared to North American native sheep species like Dall’s, stone, desert bighorn and Rocky Mountain bighorn, where prices start at $25,000 and can go over $100,000, the aoudad is a more affordable option.

Travel and license costs are also less for an aoudad.

Aoudad are native to North Africa. They were released at different locations in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle in the 1950s. The desert landscape and climate in Texas were like their native lands and populations grew rapidly. Today, aoudad can be hunted year-round with no bag limit. Landowners determine the management of these introduced exotics.

By contrast, in New Mexico they are referred to as Barbary sheep and require a license and hunting season. They are well-adapted to drought and hot weather.

When deer numbers suffer in hard times, aoudad populations are often increasing.

In certain landscapes, they do compete with deer and bighorn sheep for food and space.

Both rams and ewes have horns. Rams can weigh 250-350 pounds live weight while ewes weigh half as much. Rams are built like an old bison bull. Their back end is narrow and the front shoulders and neck are big and stout. Mature rams, those 10 years old or older, will have chaps and leggings that grow with age on their front legs and neck. Horns grow with age, growing rapidly the first five years of life, then adding only an inch or two per year after that. Aoudad can breed year-round, but peak breeding occurs from mid-September through early November.

What is a trophy ram? That is a complicated question. The effort required to get a ram should be just as much a part of that answer as the size of the horns.

Most guides regard a 30-inch ram as a solid trophy. That means a ram with at least one horn measuring 30 inches around the curl. I’ve heard that 30-inch mark compared to a 150-class whitetail.

Anything in the 31-34-inch range is exceptional. A 35-inch ram is as rare as a 200-inch whitetail. Bases measuring 12-14-inches make an impressive trophy.

The biggest I ever put a tape on had 15inch bases. Age is also a consideration. I have seen a few old rams, animals 10-14 years old, that “only” had horns measuring 28-29 inches, sometimes broomed off on the tips or genetically not capable of Guide Kurt Stallings packing out an aoudad cape growing huge horns. They still had big and horns on the edge of the Palo Duro Canyon.

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Brandon and Jed Winters with Jed’s this 30-inch ram in the Texas Panhandle in September 2022. Jed used a crossbow to make a 20-yard shot.

Gear for the hunt Mountain hunters rely on two key pieces of gear: boots and optics. For traversing steep, rocky ground where aoudad live, invest in top-notch boots that lace up well above the ankle.

Ankle support is key in loose shale and rock. Brands like Danner, Crispi and Kenetrek come to mind. I prefer soles made of stiff Vibram or air bobs. Socks are equally important. Forget cotton. Wear thin to midweight merino wool socks and change your socks often.

Standard gear for this game is a pair of 10X40 binoculars with a comfortable bino harness. Binoculars of 12X have merit in big country, but are harder to hold steady in any sort of wind. Binoculars with a built-in rangefinder are handy.

Otherwise, buy a pocket-sized rangefinder and keep it close.

Shots at aoudad are often at steep downward angles where the incline/decline feature of a rangefinder will show the true distance to shoot for. Buy the best optics you can afford. Brands like Swarovski, Zeiss and Leica are top-notch. Sig Sauer, Nikon and Leupold offer great glass for less money. For locating and judging rams in big landscapes, choose a compact spotting scope. Something with either a 50mm or 60mm objective and a 15-45X zoom. A lightweight tripod that fits in the pack is just as valuable. Spying on a herd from a distance, the scope will tell you if that ram is big enough to warrant a long hike to get within range.

The best rifle setup for aoudad is a common debate among guides. The standard answer is whatever gun you shoot most accurately is probably the best choice. True. Aoudad are big, tough critters, but I’d rather have a client that shoots his deer gun with manageable recoil accurately than someone who brings a .300 Magnum that makes them flinch just to sling it over their shoulder! I’ve seen multiple big rams killed with a .243, .25-06 and 6.5 Creedmoor. Proper shot placement and www.TTHA www.

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shot distances under 150 yards were the key on those kills.

More common calibers for this game would include the classic .270 Win., .30-06, .270 WSM and the .300 WSM. A synthetic stock makes more sense than walnut when banging around in the rocks. A light to midweight bolt action rifle gets my vote. Top the gun with a simple 3-10X40 scope, and practice!

Too many hunters substitute high-tech scopes with dots and lines rather than dedicated practice with a simpler setup. Shot distances where I guide in the Panhandle are usually 50300 yards. A daypack with water, snacks, knives, a hatchet, flashlight, head lamp, rope, leather gloves, lighter, first aid kit and cell phone complete the kit. Many times, the backpack can be used as a sort of sandbag to rest the rifle on when taking a cross-canyon shot.

Taking a mature aoudad ram with archery tackle is an extreme challenge. Practice shooting at steep downward angles at distances from 20-60 yards. Aoudad are thick-skinned beasts with a barrel-shaped chest. The goal is an arrow through both lungs, the lungs sitting more forward in the chest than on a deer. To maximize penetration, choose micro diameter arrows with extra front-of-center weight and fixed blade broadheads.

I advise clients to use arrows weighing at least 450-500 grains for best odds of deep penetration. Wait for a broadside to slight quartering away angle. Broadheads like the standard Slick Trick, Iron Will Single Bevel, Solid Legend, G5 CS Montec, Wasp Dart and Muzzy Trocar, all excellent options I’ve either used myself or seen clients use successfully.

For most hunters, an aoudad hunt is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Do your research, get in shape, and go prepared.

When your guide helps you get your dream ram and he packs it out of the rough country on his sweaty back, give him more than a handshake. I know from experience he will have earned a great tip!

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Joshua Hughes Photo

Alaskan Gabriel Hughes, 14, called up and shot this 55-inch Alaska bull moose in fall 2023 on a 14-day hunt with his dad Joshua and granddad Randy (left). Gabriel called the bull for two hours before it came into range, and dropped it with one shot from his .30-06.

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you’re going to dream, dream big and hunt antlers in Alaska.

While there are hunts for giant brown bears, majestic Dall sheep, and mountain goats, those require non-residents to hire a guide, and expect to pay the price of a modest house. But moose and caribou are still available to any Alaskan hunter.

So, this discussion is about the great deer of Alaska—the giant Alaska Yukon moose and majestic caribou—which are available to any hunter putting in an investment in time, money, and boot leather.

There’s no such thing as an easy Alaska moose. Moose season in Alaska is traditionally a combination of rare bluebird days, but more often than not, gale force winds, torrential rain, frosty nights, wearisome days, and few moose.

If moose don’t get you with days upon days of torrential rain and sloshing through muskeg and alder thickets, they have an inherent ability to take a bullet and drop dead in the deep water. And even if by some miracle, a moose chooses to fall on dry land, the simple act of cutting and packing out a beast that Author Photos

n 2023, Joshua Hughes, his father Randy, along with his son Gabriel (14) were pursuing a big bull moose for Gabriel. After several days without success, they’d spotted a big bull at some distance. Randy and Gabriel stalked to a clearing within about 500 yards of the moose, which seemed oblivious to his surroundings.

It was the sixth day of a two-week family moose hunt. Joshua spends his summers guiding Alaska anglers, but he saves September for moose hunting with the family.

With no chance to get closer to the bull, Gabriel began imitating a cow moose, with soft grunts that the bull initially ignored. But as light faded with their hopes, the old bull took notice and began walking closer with that head-waving, sideto-side shuffle of an agitated bull moose. After a long wait, Gabriel anchored the bull with a single 180-grain .30-06 slug.

Gabriel’s bull carried a 553⁄8 -inch-wide rack, a fine bull for any Alaska hunter. And the chance to collect such a moose with your dad and granddad is the stuff dreams are made of. So, if

Guide Mel Erickson divides time between fishing Alaska summer and Costa Rica winters, but saves a few weeks for the annual moose hunt that provides rewards like this 53-inch bull he shot in 2023.

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can weigh 1,400 pounds is a lesson you don’t forget. Seasoned Alaskan hunters will never shoot a moose more than a short distance from a trail or a boat or a four-wheeler.

It’s amazing how vocal and responsive moose can get during the rut. Just like calling a turkey gobbler or a bull elk, success has a lot has to do with THEIR location, YOUR location, and THEIR attitude at the time. A lovesick bull moose that likes the sexy cow grunts you’re making will run right over you, looking for “Mama.” But most of the time they simply poke their head out of the alders to look your way, but not come a foot closer.

But when the hunting gods smile, and that big old bull waddles in, waving 5 feet of antler side-to-side and ready for a fight, it makes all the misery, aggravation, heartache, mud, bugs, and bad weather worth it.

The good news is moose hunting is a lazy man’s sport. Getting there is hard, usually by float plane or boat. Getting home with a quarter ton of meat is tougher.

The hunt itself is a waiting game of glassing and calling. You need to get into good moose country, work to a good vantage point, get comfortable, and start looking. And waiting.

New moose hunters often move too far, cover too much ground, and in the process, spook the animal they want. With all those millions of acres of Alaska to hunt, it’s hard to slow

down and avoid busting the animal you have dreamed of. The good news is that anybody, regardless of physical ability, has a chance to kill a moose, as long as you can get into moose country.

Caribou fall into that same category. Once in good caribou country, you need to get lucky with the migration and find a good spot to intercept the moving caribou. These antlered animals are creatures of the wilderness, so get into remote country.

Caribou hunting is like fishing a salmon run. Before and after the run or migration, the hillsides and rivers are empty. But be there when your quarry is flooding through, and it is just a matter of picking the one you want. Frankly, I’ve always found my caribou not in giant herds, but alone or in small groups.

There are few sights in wild Alaska more breath taking than a mature caribou bull, resplendent with white mane beneath a sweeping arch of honey colored monstrously large antlers, standing amid scarlet tundra beneath snowcapped peaks reaching to the heavens.

That said, caribou are crazy. They are wilderness will-o’-the wisps, covering vast stretches of Arctic tundra, constantly on the move, evading wolves and bugs and Native hunters. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game does maintain hotlines and online resources with updates on migrations, which can

It’s impossible to describe the power of a full grown Alaska bull moose, with antlers that may weigh 50 or 60 pounds.

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help you zero in on a migration once you have arrived. You can bring your favorite Texas rifle and proper ammo, but do a lot of practice off-hand at 200-300 yards.

For either moose or caribou, I recommend hiring a transporter that will fly or boat you into a good area and leave you to hunt on your own.

Transporters are licensed individuals and companies able to move hunters to more remote areas by bush plane, boat, horse, ATV, snow machine, or even highway vehicle. Many resident hunters use transporters as well because they tend to be much less expensive than full guide services.

There are still truly giant moose killed in Alaska every year, with at least a few pushing 70 inches of spread. Just a few years ago, an Alaska guide killed a bull with an antler spread more than 80 inches that’s now No. 4 in the Boone and Crockett record book. But they seldom grow old and big in easy-to-reach country.

A good transporter can deliver you away from crowds, where you hunt on your own. You have a camp, cook your own meals, scout, and hunt as you like, and also have to get your game back to the landing strip or riverbank. For planning your trip and information on licenses, tags and resources like guides and transporters, start at www.adfg.alaska.gov.

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Note how much damage this old fighter of a bull has done to his antlers battling other bull moose.

Alaska’s winter of 2022, like winter throughout the western U.S., was brutal with lots of deep snow broken up by occasional warm, rainy spells that create an icy crust. Such conditions made it impossible for moose and caribou to find food in Alaska, and in the lower 48, for elk and mule deer to survive.

Many of the traditional caribou hunts like the popular Nelchina herd were closed because caribou numbers are extremely low. That doesn’t mean that great animals weren’t taken in many parts of the state, but if you’re planning for 2024, devote lots of time to research what the herd looks like in the area you’re going to hunt. And dream big!

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BUCKS BY THE BOOK

Record book data helps you find trophy bucks

Author Photos

By Brandon Ray

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Brandon shot this Duval County whitetail in December 2005 over a waterhole.

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ou can learn a lot by studying the record books. Organizations like the Boone & Crockett Club (B&C), Pope & Young Club (P&Y), Safari Club International (SCI) and the Texas Big Game Awards (TBGA) all keep records that include a buck’s score, year of kill, and the county where it was taken. Age, genetics and nutrition are all important, but some regions just consistently do it better than others. The following details come mostly from the trophy search options on both the B&C and P&Y websites.

Texas whitetails Current estimates put Texas’ whitetail population at 5.3 million. They inhabit 252 of the 254 counties. According to the P&Y Club, Texas has 2,070 typical whitetail entries, five typicals in velvet, 133 non-typicals and one non-typical in velvet. A map that shows the distribution of these entries shows the majority are from Central, South and East Texas counties.

The Golden Triangle, including counties of Dimmit, La Salle, Maverick, Zavala and Webb, are well documented for growing big racks. Central Texas counties with lots of entries include Kerr, Sutton, McCulloch, Tom Green and Irion. Current trends beyond the proven mesquite and cactus flats of South Texas and the deer-rich counties of the Edward’s Plateau would include counties in North Texas like Shackelford, Throckmorton and Grayson. Counties in the eastern Panhandle are a sleeper for big bucks. Data from the past 10 years of entries in B&C shows most entries are from South Texas counties, but a couple each year are from North Texas.

While tree stands are the norm for eastern deer hunters, in Texas’ scrub brush landscape, tripods and ground blinds are more common. Hunting over bait like corn is a Texas tradition.

Guarding a windmill pond also works. I recall a Duval County buck I shot at midday over a dirt pond on Dec. 27, 2005. His tongue was lolling from chasing does when he charged in for a drink. The dark-antlered, main-framed eight-point with kickers net-scored 1315⁄8 P&Y. Most archery record-book whitetails are taken at 25 yards or less. A single pin sight setup keeps things simple for close shots.

Panhandle deer densities are lower compared to other parts of Texas, but bucks grow big. A mature northern Panhandle buck is a lot bigger in body size than the average Texas Hill Country specimen. On Nov. 6, 2015, I shot a big-bodied 11-point that made my truck’s tailgate sag. I never got that Roberts County buck on a scale, but a veterinarian that was in camp that day estimated the buck’s live weight at 250 pounds or more. The buck’s rack was impressive too, net-scoring 1545⁄8 P&Y.

Texas mule deer Texas’ “other” deer live in the Trans-Pecos and Panhandle regions. According to the P&Y Club, Texas has 40 typical mule deer entries, one typical entry in velvet and six non-typical entries. About two thirds of those are from Panhandle counties. The top county for each region with the most entries is Culberson in the Trans-Pecos and Randall in the Panhandle.

Pecos, Brewster, Presidio and Reeves are also mentioned in the western counties. In the Panhandle, Hartley, Oldham, Cottle and Armstrong stand out.

One trend you don’t see from the P&Y stats is the emergence of big bucks from Texas’ sandhill counties. It’s only been in the past 20 years that counties in this region have had a legal mule deer season. TBGA has documented many great bucks

Brandon shot this 30-inch wide mule deer in Armstrong County back in 2010.

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Brandon shot this Texas pronghorn using a decoy in Oldham County in 2013.

from these counties near the New Mexico line. So far, most of the bucks have been taken with a gun, so P&Y data does not reflect this trend.

Due to open terrain, expect longer shots at mule deer. It’s wise to practice shooting from your knees at 40-60 yards.

Likewise, you’ll need to be in good shape to cover rough terrain. Spot-and-stalk is the most common tactic, but guarding waterholes works as does sitting in a blind over bait like corn or alfalfa.

A 30-inch mule deer is a rare critter. Way back in 2010, I found a buck I thought would push that magical number. Not only was that buck wide, but he also had a 6-inch drop tine! I set a bait pile of corn and alfalfa hay and built a natural brush blind out of mesquite branches and broomweeds 20 yards away. The area where I found that buck was flat and choked with mesquites, making spot and stalk difficult, so I decided to employ patience in the blind.

On Oct.16, “Wide Clyde” showed up at sunset. My arrow found the ribs and I watched the old monarch drop less than 100 yards away. His greatest antler spread was exactly 30 inches. Due to the drop tine, his net typical score suffered, but ask me if I care! That Armstrong County buck net-scored 1596⁄8 P&Y.

Texas pronghor ns Pronghorns are found in the Trans-Pecos and Panhandle regions. According to the P&Y Club, Texas has 39 entries.

Hudspeth County has 14 of those, but in the B&C record-book you see that name even more often. Hudspeth has produced more 80 inch or bigger pronghorns than any other county in

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Texas. Other top locations would include Hartley and Dallam counties in the northwestern Panhandle, but a big buck could come from any of the Panhandle counties.

Texas’ pronghorn hunting is controlled by TPWD. After summer surveys, permits are issued to landowners. Landowners set their own prices for the right to hunt with a permit.

The season typically starts on the Saturday closest to October 1. In my experience, by the start of Texas’ pronghorn season, most years the peak rut action is over. The rut typically peaks in mid-September, but using decoys to get close is still effective. Sitting over water works when things are dusty and dry.

Expect shot distances to be longer than the average poke at a whitetail. Sitting water expect 20-40-yard shots, but stalking and decoying might demand skills at 40-60 yards.

Back in 2013, I held a permit in Oldham County. Opening day that year was Sept. 28, closer to the rut’s peak. I glassed a distant buck running does in a circle. Using the contour of the land, my host, RA Brown, and I closed the gap to 250 yards.

We raised my old vintage, Mel Dutton decoy and I let out a challenge chuckle with my voice. The distant buck raised his head, stared, and came at us like a guided missile! When the buck came up the hill, starting to circle to our downwind side, I ranged him at 51 yards. My arrow caught him square through the right side shoulder blade. The black-faced buck spun and disappeared down the rocky hill, wearing half my arrow. Hit through both lungs, we found him stone dead 100 yards away.

Both his horn tips were broken from fighting, but he still netscored 714⁄8 P&Y. Study the record books. In a state as big as Texas, doing your homework will help narrow the search for a big buck.

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Family, friends and co-workers gathered themselves together in October in San Antonio to celebrate the 90th birthday of our editor, Horace Gore. The party came as a total surprise to Horace, who merely expected attending a small family reunion. Jerry Johnston presented a slideshow for the birthday honoree, which included some poignant moments from their long friendship. Horace gave a speech, sharing a few stories and imparting some wisdom to those in attendance. We look forward to celebrating your next birthday, Horace!

Horace with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Horace telling tall tales to amuse the kids.

The guest of honor is totally surprised.

Horace with son, Barry (far right), and Barry’s family.

Jerry Johnston sharing stories about Horace.

Horace with a special gift from Jerry Johnston.

Horace being presented with his birthday cake.

Horace with daughter, Donna, and her husband, Bubba.

All of Horace’s family and friends sharing a grand moment.

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January/February 2024 |

111

Blue Sky, Majestic Purple Shade, Life Lessons

By Logan White

112 | January/February 2024

Brigades Photos

S

outh Texas Buckskin Brigade is a fantastic camp focused on teaching today’s youth how to maintain and improve habitats, specifically those of the whitetail deer. It’s five days of education, building leadership skills, teamwork, and public speaking. Throughout the duration of the camp, we were split into six “herds,” which consist of five first-time cadets, an assistant herd leader who is coming for their second time, and an adult herd leader. We had lessons on the anatomy, diets, and habits of whitetail deer from professionals who work for organizations such as Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M Agrilife Extension.

Throughout the week, we had trivia games to review what we had learned. We also had quizzes on the plants we were expected to study. Other than these, we had activities that strengthened our teamwork skills such as using elastic bands to make a tower of cans.

Additionally, we had activities to build our public speaking skills. We had to learn cadences to sing while marching, give a group presentation, and participate in an activity called “Deer Politics,” which had us argue for an assigned point of view in a mock public hearing. Every person also had to find a “Silver Bullet,” a quote, we had to recite to the camp.

We started learning as soon as we got to the camp. On the very first day, we went outside and learned about the diets, digestive tract, muscles, glands, and habits of whitetail deer. We also got two books, one outlining what we would be learning and the other listing all the plants we would need to know, their important features, and what plant class they belonged to.

We learned that these plant classes, forbs, browse, and grasses all serve different purposes to deer; from food and shade, to concealing fawns.

On the second day, we collected four different plants from each of the three plant classes, identified them, and preserved them for a slideshow we would make in the coming days. We also learned about range safety and the right place to shoot

Logan receives the Top Cadet award.

when you are hunting deer to achieve a humane harvest.

On the third day, we got up earlier than usual so we could go out and journal the sunrise. After that, we had stations to learn about ethics and laws regarding hunting, as well as different survey methods used to evaluate land. Another thing we enjoyed was an in-depth group discussion about some of the ethics surrounding different methods of hunting.

On day four we finished the various presentations and projects we had been working on throughout the week. We also had tests and competitions such as a shooting contest and testing on aging deer based on their teeth.

On the fifth and final day, we presented our presentations to the camp and had a meal with our families before going home.

We also received awards for the things we had done throughout the week. There were awards such as Top Herd, given to the herd that had earned the most points throughout the week, as well as Top Journal, given to the person who had the best journal entry for the sunrise of day three. My journal entry was one of the two that won.

“The gentle chirping of songbirds fills the cool, blue sky. The grass, dirt, trees, and wildlife all begin to come alive as the gentle rays of

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Brought to you by

Cadets enjoy the sunrise while getting ready to do their lessons and activities in the field.

Cadets also study things deer eat.

Cadets observe and collect flora samples.

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sunlight begin to bask the world in a calming warmth. As the trees sway in the wind and insects scuttle about, complete peace and tranquility are felt. Caution tape from the range just beside us can be heard swaying as the wind gently whistles in our ears. The smell of surrounding forestry wafts into our noses, bringing peace to all. As rays of sunshine begin to peek over the horizon, the pond at the bottom of the ditch in front of us sparkles. Irrigation systems, housing, telephone lines, and radio towers begin to animate with the start of a new day. Both the national and state flag mesmerizingly wave in front of the main house of the grand ranch we have been permitted to stay at. The clouds glow a gorgeous shade of orange and the blue sky mixes with them to form a majestic shade of purple as the radiant sunlight illuminates the G2 ranch. Flowers illuminate, adding an extra layer of beauty to the already perfect scenery around us. The shades of nature begin to show, from vibrant greens, to mud browns, to pleasant yellows, and even baby blues. As the beautiful oranges and purples fade from the sky, the colors from the ground beneath us show their beauty just as much. The melodic chirping of birds grows ever louder and more persistent as the gentle rays of sunlight begin to wake the world. The gentle whistle of the wind seems to be forever unchanging, even as the world around us stirs to life.

The orange of the clouds is not completely gone however, it is merely shifting through the sky above us, and after the world in front of us is completely alive, it will move on to the world behind us. Dogs begin to bark with excitement as they know the day is young and can be whatever it needs to be. As the throats of those in the South Texas Buckskin Brigade parch at the thought of the late day’s heat, the peace, tranquility, and most importantly, water, around us quenches that thirst while driving us to want to see more.”

I would highly recommend South Texas Buckskin Brigade to any youth hunter or conservationist. Not only will you learn an amazing amount about whitetail deer, you’ll also have an amazing opportunity to enhance your leadership skills while making lifelong friends from across the state.

Texas Brigades is a conservation-based leadership organization which organizes wildlife and natural resource-based leadership camps for participants ranging in age from 13-17. Its mission is to educate and empower youths with leadership skills and knowledge in wildlife, fisheries, and land stewardship to become conservation ambassadors for a sustained natural resource legacy. There are multiple camps scheduled in the summers, focusing on different animal species while incorporating leadership development. Summer camps include Rolling Plains and South Texas Bobwhite Brigade, South and North Texas Buckskin Brigade, Bass Brigade, Waterfowl Brigade, Coastal Brigade, and Ranch Brigade. Visit texasbrigades.org or call 210-556-1391 for more information.

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January/February 2024 |

113

NILGAI, ANYONE?

By The Old Hunter

L

way of eluding hunters!

We hunted all morning without seeing any nilgai. At noon we went by a hunting camp and begged a Hobo sandwich and some coffee, while Mike enquired of two other visitors if they had seen any nilgai cows. The hunter and guide were after a good “blue bull,” but the guide told Mike about a couple adult cows he had seen.

A nilgai cow is big—up to 400 pounds—but she can hide behind a live oak bush. We looked a long time before we found the cows. They were extra wild, and we soon lost sight of them as they disappeared into some distant live oak.

Since the two cows were the only ones we had seen, we decided to rest a while in the truck, and let them settle down.

Dave Boisvert illustration

ike a lot of Texas hunters, my time hunting nilgai antelope on the Wild Horse Desert is long, but thin. My first nilgai was a cow taken about 30 years ago. A game warden friend—I’ll call him Mike—in Sarita took me on the vast Kenedy Ranch in February for some nilgai meat. Mike suggested I take my Winchester .30-06, with 165-grain Hornady Spire Point ammo for a cow nilgai. I had brought along the ’06 and a favorite .270.

Mike and I left Sarita at daybreak and began the hunt at sunup. We were “safari” hunting—cruising the dim roads of a large pasture where Mike had seen some nilgai a few days before. I had never hunted nilgai, and did not know what to expect. One thing I found out very soon—nilgai have an uncanny

114 | January/February 2024

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“Mike and I left Sarita at daybreak and began the hunt at sunup. We were ‘safari’ hunting—cruising the dim roads of a large pasture where Mike had seen some nilgai a few days before. I had never hunted nilgai, and did not know what to expect.

One thing I found out very soon—nilgai have an uncanny way of eluding hunters!”

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processing.

Skinning a nilgai requires a high hoist because they’re about 12 feet long when hanging. After we got the cow skinned and cut up for the big ice chest, we took a needed rest. There’s a lot of meat on a nilgai—the best of Texas’ big game.

Since that hunt long ago, I have been in on several hunts for the tough India antelope. The bulls can weigh 600 pounds, and run faster than a racehorse. Where nilgai are hunted regularly, they may break into a run at 400 yards, and disappear like a rat in a corn crib.

When hunting bull nilgai, leave the .270 and smaller rifles at home. An adult bull can take a lot of lead, and the two lungs are between the shoulder bones. I have always used heavy bullets in big calibers, and so have my friends. After many hunts, I’ve found that you need plenty of firepower and equipment when going after the big antelope of the Wild Horse Desert.

The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

Author photos

Mike knew the area and where the cows might be resting. As we approached their loafing spot, one of the cows bolted out and disappeared.

While Mike looked for the other cow, he nudged me and said, “She thinks she is hid, but I think I see her.

Let’s go slow for another 50 yards, and you see if you can get a good look at her with the binocs.” Mike slowly drove the pickup up a few yards. “If she thinks she is hid, she may let us get close enough for a shot.”

When we stopped, I found the outline of the cow through the brush. Pulling down the binocs, I raised the ’06, closed the bolt and looked through the four-power Weaver scope for a good shooting spot. The cow was close but well hidden—not more than 100 yards.

I decided to aim where the cow’s long neck met the shoulder—a big target and a deadly shot. I took careful aim and squeezed the trigger as soon as I felt good about the shot.

Lucky for us the cow fell in her tracks, but we had work ahead getting her out of the oak brush.

Mike had brought what we needed to get the cow out in the open. He backed the truck up as close as he could and tied a nylon rope to the trailer hitch. We then tied the rope to both hind legs, and Mike proceeded to pull her out where we did the field dressing—a procedure that is much heftier than deer or even aoudad.

We placed a long plywood board from the ground to the tail gate of the truck. Using a come-along winch and the rope again, we pulled the field-dressed cow up the plywood board and into the pickup. Mike’s last move was to pull the long neck and head in so I could close the tailgate. We finally had a cow nilgai ready to take back to headquarters for skinning and

January/February 2024 |

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116 | January/February 2024

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YOU WILL NEED: • ¼ lb. blue cheese (softened) • 1 stick butter (softened) • 2 Tsp. brandy • 2 large whole venison backstraps (silver removed) • Extra-virgin olive oil • Kosher salt • Coarse-ground black pepper • 1 clove garlic, minced • ¼ cup (1 stick) melted butter • 1 Tsp. Worcestershire sauce • Flaky salt (for serving)

ROYAL VENISON BACKSTRAP

DIRECTIONS Combine the blue cheese, butter and brandy until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large square of plastic wrap, and roll into a cylinder and chill (do this in advance). Drizzle the backstraps with olive oil to fully coat, and generously season with salt and pepper. Allow the meat to marinate at room temp for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, combine the garlic and melted butter in a small pan over medium heat until butter begins to sizzle. Add Worcestershire sauce, stir, and allow the mixture to cool for at least 5 minutes.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place the backstraps on a rack that is fitted into a roaster pan, and brush the meat ALL OVER with the garlic-butter mixture.

Cover and cook for 45 minutes, basting the meat all over every 15 to 20 minutes, and immediately before removing from oven. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Allow the meat to rest 10 minutes before slicing cross-grain into ½-inch slices. Serve two slices

Do you have a favorite Wild Game recipe that you would like to share with our readers? If so, please type or print recipe and send to: Texas Trophy Hunters Association, ATTN: Editor 700 E. Sonterra Blvd., Suite 1206 San Antonio, TX 78258 122 | January/February 2024

warm, drizzled with pan juices and topped with a dollop of blue cheese butter (it should melt into the meat) and a sprinkle of flaky salt. Sides of beans or whole corn, a teaspoon of tart jelly, and a small house salad work well. Serves 6 to 8.

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Fish and game move in search of food in cycles relative to the moon’s location to the Earth. The time spans listed are the prime or major period times to start each day and along each time zone meridian of longitude 75° (Eastern), 90° (Central), 105° (Mountain) and 120° (Pacific). To determine the feeding cycle time for fishing and hunting in the area you plan to fish or hunt, advance the sum of 4 minutes for each degree west and back up 4 minutes for each degree east. The next prime feeding cycle (not listed on the calendar) will be approximately 121⁄2 hours later. There are minor periods that occur between the prime or major periods. The moon’s phases are shown as New, First Quarter (FQ), Full and Last Quarter (LQ). The feeding times are not a cure-all. Weather and other environmental conditions affect wildlife feeding activity.

JANUARY 2024 3

4

LQ

5

6

2:50P - 7:50P

3:40P - 8:40P

4:40P - 9:40P

5:05A - 10:05A

5:55A - 10:55A

6:45A - 11:45A

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

7:30A - 12:30P

8:15A - 1:15P

8:55A - 1:55P

9:40A - 2:40P

10:25A - 2:25P

11:15A - 4:15P

12:15P - 5:15P

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

1:25P - 6:25P

FQ

NEW

2:15P - 7:15P

3:15P - 8:15P

4:15P - 9:15P

4:45A - 9:45A

5:35A -10:35A

6:15A - 11:15A

22

23

24

25

26

27

7:35A - 12:35P

8:15A - 1:15P

9:00A - 2:00P

9:50A - 2:50P

10:35A - 3:35P

11:20A - 4:20P

28

29

30

31

12:10P - 5:10P

1:00P - 6:00P

1:50P - 6:50P

2:35P - 7:35P

21 6:55A - 11:55A

FULL

FEBRUARY 2024 1

3:30P - 8:30P

4

5

6

7

8

5:45A - 10:45A

6:35A - 11:35A

7:25A - 12:25P

8:15A - 1:15P

11

12

13

14

11:45A - 4:45P

12:40P - 5:40P

1:40P - 6:40P

2:40P - 7:40P

3:40P - 8:40P

18

19

20

21

5:50A - 10:50A

6:35A - 11:35A

7:15A - 12:15P

25

26

11:00A - 4:00P

11:45A - 4:45P

BEST

2

3

LQ

4:30A - 9:30A

4:55A - 9:55A

9

10

9:05A - 2:05P

9:55A - 2:55P

10:50A - 3:50P

15

16

17

4:40A - 9:00A

5:05A - 10:05A

22

23

24

8:00A - 1:00P

8:45A - 1:45P

9:30A - 2:30P

27

28

29

12:45P - 5:45P

1:35P - 6:35P

2:20P - 7:20P

GOOD

NEW

FAIR

FQ

FULL

10:15A - 3:15P

POOR

Annual vest pocket books, which show all the major and minor periods, can be ordered by sending a check or money order for $19.95 per book. For shipping and handling, please add $4.95 to an order of 1 to 4 books. Make check or money order payable to Feeding Times. Send to Feeding Times, P.O. Box 2240, Covington, GA 30015. After October 1, please indicate book year in your order. For questions or comments, call 404-373-7151.

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The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

N

JANUARY

2

Jan 11 FQ

Jan 17 F

Jan 25 LQ

Jan 03 N

FEBRUARY

1

Feb 08

FQ

Feb 16 F

Feb 24 LQ

Feb 02 January/February 2024 |

123

BRODY SMITH: nilgai taken 3/10/23 in Willacy County.

GEAR: .300 PRC. OUTFITTER: H Yturria Ranch.

ROY COLLIER: whitetail three-point (first deer) taken 11/12/22 in Henderson County.

GEAR: Olympic Arms .223 AR-15, .223 Hornady 55-grain Vmax ammo.

OUTFITTER: Pawpaw and Dad (family ranch).

124 | January/February 2024

LUKE SPAHN: whitetail doe (first deer) taken 10/9/22 in Wilson County.

GEAR: Remington Mohawk, .222 Rem. ammo, Weaver 3-9X scope.

OUTFITTER: Grandpa.

DREW BONILLA: nilgai taken 3/10/23 in Willacy County.

GEAR: .300 PRC. OUTFITTER: H Yturria Ranch.

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LOU DULIEN: hog taken 4/4/23.

GEAR: Hoyt Carbon RX-7, Easton axis 6.5mm, Spot Hog triple stack sight.

OUTFITTER: London Oaks.

RANDY FIVECOAT: whitetail 14-point taken 1/2/23 in Hopkins County.

GEAR: 50-cal. black powder rifle.

OUTFITTER: self.

WILLIAM NICHOLS: whitetail 10-point with 20-inch inside spread taken 12/7/22 in Dimmitt County.

GEAR: Weatherby .300 WSM, 165-grain ammo, Sig-Sauer scope.

OUTFITTER: Double J Ranch.

WILL BONILLA: scimitar-horned oryx taken 3/9/23 in Willacy County.

GEAR: .300 PRC. OUTFITTER: H Yturria Ranch.

SEND US YOUR HUNTING PHOTOS! NOTE: Only members of Texas Trophy Hunters Association or immediate family may submit photos. Out of fairness to all members, only one photo of each family member will be accepted each year. Do not paperclip or staple photos as this can damage them. Prints must be no larger than 4x6 inches and printed on photo-quality paper. No photos will be returned. Photos may also be e-mailed to HuntsEnd@ttha.com.

If sent by e-mail, please make sure to include all information from the form below and limit your photo size to less than 5MB. Send a separate e-mail for each entry.

NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED UNLESS THIS FORM IS COMPLETED PROPERLY.

Hunter’s Name: ___________________________________________________________________ Member’s Name (if different): ________________________________________________________ Email: __________________________________________

Please Circle One:

Youth

Adult

Member ID Number: ___________________________

Species Taken: _______________________________ Number of Points: ________________

Date Taken: __________________________ Inside Spread: _______________________ Net or Gross B&C Score (if known): _______________________ Phone Number: (___________)__________________________________

State or County: _________________________

Projectile: _________________________ Sighting System: _________________________ Weapon: ________________________________________

Outfitter: ___________________________________________ Comments: ___________________________________________________________

Send To: Hunt’s End, 700 E. Sonterra Blvd., Suite 1206, San Antonio, TX 78258

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January/February 2024 |

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[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

THE ROUND-UP

Texas Trophy Hunters Association Round-Up ads provide excellent exposure at a minimal cost. For more information on placing your ad in the Round-Up, please contact Debbie Keene at 210-288-9491 or deborah@ttha.com.

126 | January/February 2024

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CLASSIFIED

[ THE JOURNAL ]

VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

“MEMBERS ONLY” Benefit!

Don’t forget to use your free classified ad!

It’s once per year and you must have an active membership in good standing. Send to:

TTHA Classified 700 E. Sonterra Blvd., Suite 1206, San Antonio, TX 78258 You may fax your ad to (210) 523-8871, Attn: Debbie Keene or e-mail to Deborah@ttha.com. Send your ad in by January 10 to run in the next issue!

FREE CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING!

Available to current members of Texas Trophy Hunters Association only! Limit 25 words per ad. Each member may run 1 FREE ad in one issue per year. 25 word ads after FREE issue are $40 each. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT OR REFUSE ANY AD.

DuBOSE RANCH Outfitters. Trophy hunts in South Texas for 30+ years.

Website – duboseranch.com. Phone – 830-391-7905.

ALASKA HUNTING – Bear, sheep, wolf, wolverine. Best Prices! Open to trade for good year-round TX deer hunting lease. TrackoftheGrizzly.com. 907-7417161.

THE PRECISION RIFLE for the serious hunter, because accuracy matters. Check out our rifle options at blackbrushprecisionrifles.com.

BEE COUNTY- 175 Ac. Hunting, ranching, recreational. Beautiful oak & elm trees, native brush and pasture.

Water, electricity, and dry creek. Rabe Real Estate, LLC- 361-358-1255.

LUXURY CABINS - Built on your lot in Hill Country area. Starting at $72,000.

Visit model in Spicewood Tx. www.

Selectcabin.com. Call Dave at 512-9217979.

TRAPPER FOR HIRE. High-fence or no fence. Predator management is crucial for fawn survival. Call Bob 317-3264670 for details.

VETERANS CREED OUTDOORS Team Texas. Outdoor Trips for Veterans and First Responders. Find us on Facebook on our page and group.

THE LONE STAR Bowhunters Association. Preserving and Promoting bow hunting in Texas since 1974. Join

today at www.lonestarbowhunter.com.

Take a kid hunting.

VIC NIXON, REAL ESTATE BROKER for 45 years selling the Texas Hill Country.

Ranches, small acreage, homes, STR’s, and other real estate in or around Fredericksburg, TX. Please call Vic Nixon 830-889-2325 or email: vic@ nixonrealestate.com.

28 YR. OUTFITTER in search of more land to outfit and hunt in Central TX. Looking for high fence with deer from 150-200" We are outgrowing ourselves!

Will also consider So. TX. Call Dale 325-642-7596 SDWhitetails.com.

CEDAR CREEK CAMO – Own your own camo company. $30,000… First and Only Cedar Pattern. LETS TALK, Kris 210.772.0803. PRICED TO SELL FAST!!!

RUSTY HINGE Ranch offers whitetail, hogs, squirrels, rabbits, coon, fox, duck hunting, fishing. Blinds, treestands, feeders & water year-round. 70 mi. north of Houston. $100/day or $800/ year. 713-823-7139.

HELP FEED THE HOMELESS – donate excess game animals to feed the homeless, orphans, and needy families.

Go to www.trinityoaks.org “contact us” tab.

WILDLIFE & HABITAT Consulting.

Commercial hunts available.

Contact Certified Wildlife Biologist Jason Shipman 210-508-8447 or jasonashipman@gmail.com.

S & D WHITETAILS – Limited hunts avail. Booking 2021 now. All native S TX deer from 140-230 class. Deer & Dove hunts Central TX. Over 7500 ac. 24-yrs experience. 5 Star rating. 325-6427596.

TEXAS HUNTER FISH FEEDERS create ‘feeding zones’ that make catching fish fun for the whole family. Project fish feed up to 45ft. into the water to feed fish on a regular basis which helps you grow bigger fish faster. Call 800-9693337 or www.TexasHunter.com.

TEXANS ARCHERY CLUB wants to expand our state’s archery range infrastructure. Looking for local partners/land to expand our network. www.TexasArchery.info 501c3.

MEXICO RANCH 8,500 ac. Trophy whitetail, protein program. 4-Day Hunt Pkgs for 2023/2024 Season. All Inclusive – transportation, permits, lodging/meals! 210-379-7510, email jharlan29@gmail.com.

MAP MY RANCH specializes in developing printed maps for all your outdoor needs. We can create basic boundary maps, or those with customized features - locations of deer blinds, feeders, food plots, ponds, etc.

Contact today to get started! www.

MapMyRanch.com or 713-302-2028.

AFRICAN SAFARI $2,995 3 animals in 1 week. Lodging, meals, open bar, guide, airport transfers and trophy fees included!! Call 956-867-4964 for details. www.matorisafaris.com.

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

AD INDEX

JOURNAL ADVERTISERS FEATURED ADVERTISERS IN THE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 ISSUE

AgTrust Farm Credit

Grainger Ranch Recruiting..................... 23

TPWD Gear Up for Game Wardens....... 23

(formerly Lone Star Ag Credit)............. 57

Hornady.................................................. 79

TTHA Bucks & BBQ......................... 28, 29

Atascosa Wildlife Supply......................... 19

Jason A. Shipman.................................... 87

TTHA Digital Series...................... 102, 103

Berry Whitetails...................................... 13

Jerry Johnston......................................... 12

TTHA Gear............................................. 48

Briscoe-Cochina & Catarina Ranches.... 78

Outback Feeders............................... 40, 41

TTHA Hunters Extravaganza

Bruton Trailers......................................... 33

Ranch King Blinds................................ IFC

Save the Date........................................ 53

Capital Farm Credit................................ 97

Safe Gun Storage................................... 126

TTHA Jr. Trophy Hunters....................... 73

CASA of Tarrant County....................... 126

SCI Convention......................................... 5

TTHA Membership........................... 64, 65

Case IH Agriculture................................ 45

South Texas Tripods & Feeders............ 126

TTHA NEW Membership Premiums..... 83

Charco Marrano Ranch..........................116

Speer Ag................................................ 107

TTHA Platinum Life

Chas-Mac..............................................23

Spin Tech................................................. 27

Membership.................................70, 117

Christian Outdoor Alliance.................... 70

Texas Direct Hunting Products............. 126

TTHA PLM Listing.........118, 119, 120, 121

Classic Chrysler Dodge Jeep Fiat.......8, 9

Texas Hunter Products............................ 61

TTHA Podcast......................................... 91

County Road Clothing Company........... 78

Texas State Rifle Association..................116

TTHA Write a Story.............................. 124

Dullnig Ranch Sales................................ 96

The-Eliminator...................................... 126

Waypoint TV..........................................3

Everett Asphalt Paving............................ 36

The-Remote............................................. 95

West Texas Feeder Supply.............. IBC, BC

G2 Ranch................................................1

The-Timer.............................................. 126