Laguna Atascosa NWR 2006

[Bloodhound]

I Need To Kill Something Again!

I'm here at a friend's house in Mission now. I stopped here on my way back from Big Bend Ranch SP's javelina hunt. I'll be staying in the "Executive Inn" roach motel again with a friend, Steven, from Irving. I marked some fresh nilgai sign on my GPS last December and I plan to stake out that area this time. I drive a white Nissan Frontier 4x4 crew cab & I'll be hunting unit 6. Hopefully I'll see some of you at the check station.

[axisbuck]

I recently moved to Texas and this is my first year hunting public land (SamHouston national Forest). As the season has ended for this year, I would appreciate if you can tell me where to get information on deer hunting on Laguna Atascosa NWR. Is it a drawnhunt? bow or rifle? How do i apply for it?
Thanks

[Sideler]

Good luck guys!!

[SneakyPhil]

We must stop meeting like this!

Well I had to work all but Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Saw nothing on Saturday and spooked two does on Sunday. Some dude decided to rattle a few yards from me on Sunday. He started at about 7:30 and rattled non-stop for a while. So long I decided to take a nap. I woke up two hours latter and the guy was still rattleing! I mean this guy didnt stop for more than a few seconds. A one point it almost sounded like he was keeping a beat. The weather was crapy so I decided to walk around and start scouting for next year. Found a nice rub in the middle of nothing. Also had to remember to watch my step in the warm weather.

[stxhunter]

That rattle snake just wanted to play, no harm done

[SneakyPhil]

Yup! I have come to really respect them snakes. I think that they are one beautifull animal. I almost steped on one that was about 10" long on my way out Sunday. That little one had some perty color. When they are that small you almost want to pick them up an pet them.

[Thumper]

The brushy knoll out across the right side of the field looks pretty good, I'd second the wide berth on you new found friend.

I had a guy doing the same with a grunt call one time, he kept constantly grunting. After about 20 min I started playing taps on mine, I think he got the message because he quit...

[Bloodhound]

The January hunt was TOUGH!

I've never seen deer so spooky. I’m pretty sure the gun hunt still had them spooked.

I saw the biggest buck I ever saw on the hoof. My best guess is that he was P&Y or nearly so. I had rattled in a nice buck at 4 pm…I spotted him when he was 35 yards downwind of me. He was looking in my general direction but not at me. He then moved more directly downwind and he spooked.

Like a novice, I spent too much time looking downwind to my right after that encounter and at 10 minutes to 6, as I was looking in the direction where the buck had spooked, a doe at 15 yards blew hard. It scared the living daylights out of me and I jerked my head to the left to see her. 3 does ran off and a huge buck was standing there at 15 yards. He promptly ran off. I became obsessed with getting him after that but I never saw him again.

The next day I saw the 2nd biggest buck I’ve ever seen. He was within 55-65 yards for nearly a half-hour. His head was down eating almost nonstop. He finally disappeared behind some trees but I spotted him again with my binoculars about 10 minutes later. He promptly disappeared in the trees again but I spotted him in the same spot another 10 minutes later. I didn’t see him after that.

I saw a much higher buck:doe ratio this time than in December.

On Sunday, I left my morning stand early and walked in a very thick-brushed area. It was so thick it was a lot like a maze. I rounded a corner and there was a small doe at 15 yards facing directly away with her head and most of her body immersed in the bushes as she ate. I slowly got ready for a shot – too slowly, it turned out. She afforded me 1 quick shot opportunity but I wasn’t ready. She went all the way into the brush and didn’t come back out. I saw her through the brush at one point with my binoculars. I tried to stalk around to the other side of the brush but she was gone.

It was a tough hunt. 4 days are not a lot of time but I’m not convinced that even an 8-day hunt would have produced for me this time. The critters just seemed like they were on the top of their game.

I saw my first coral snake on the road when I was riding out on my bike Sunday. He left before I could get his pic.

My friend, Steven Blake, bagged a very nice 8-point (much bigger than my 9-pointer from December) on Friday evening and a button buck Saturday at last light. He missed a doe that was with the button buck. The doe ran off but the button buck just stood there and took an arrow right through the heart. On Saturday morning, he had 5 javelina come up a trail to within 10 yards of him. After they scurried off, 6 hogs came within 20 yards but he didn’t get a shot after his chair squeaked!

There were only 11 animals taken on this hunt. Amazing. I wonder how many hunters actually showed up??? 6 deer and a hog were taken in unit 6 and 2 deer were taken in units 1 and 3. That’s it!!!

My video camera messed up on me. It’s under warranty so I hope to have it fixed soon.

My friend is supposed to help me edit my hunt video within the next 2-3 weeks so I hope to finally post my video from my December hunt.

I look forward to next December’s hunt! This place is tough to beat. I stayed away from unit 6 until halfway through last December’s hunt since it gets so much pressure and I like to get away from the crowds. However, unit 6 has phenomenal habitat and the statistics speak for themselves. I’ll probably hunt unit 6 at least a couple days next December.

Who else hunted???

[ol mikey]

I shot a 8pt at 7:15 on Thursday morning. He came down the same trail I shot a 9pt on 2 years ago. I shot a doe Sat morning. Both of them came out of unit 3.
I hope they have a week long hunt in Jan next year. Four days is not enough time.
Mikey

[onthetake]

OlMikey, Good to see you back on the Laguna post. Did you hunt both hunts this year? I only hunted the December hunt. I may try the January hunt next year. I only had one oppurtunity on a buck worth dragging out during December hunt and the buck won that round. Can't wait for next year.

[SneakyPhil]

Bloodhound I think I talked to your buddy on Sunday. I only got to hunt Saturday afternoon and Sunday. What did they say about you pal shooting two bucks? I guess the button buck could be considered an antlreless if his antlers dont break the skin.

[ol mikey]

No I didn't get to go in Dec. We got drawn to hunt Colorado. My buddy got a ten that scored 140. We helped a guy from Denver track his deer and it scored 180. These were both whitetails. I stuck a 150 class ten point but I could not find him. I stuck him low in the shoulder at 40 yds while he was laying down.
I still check in here from time to time. I've been busy fishing most of the year. Hunting season is over now and its time to start fishing again. The redfish tournaments start in April and last until hunting season.
Mikey

[Sideler]

Great write up Bloodhound, thanks for the report.

Gongrats Ol mikey!

Now all I need to see is some PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bloodhound]

This thread definitely needs some more pics. Some LDPs would work.

Sneakyphil, button bucks are to be tagged as antlerless so it wasn't a problem that he shot that baby buck thinking it was a doe. Tiny spikes can be hard to see so he's VERY fortunate he didn't shoot an antlered deer. Steven said he spoke to 4 guys one day and I wondered if you were one of them, Phil.

Ol Mikey, congrats on the 2 kills! Got any pics to post?

[SneakyPhil]

I am almost certain that I talked to him. I was hunting on the south side of the road opposite of the side he was hunting on. I have my spot picked out for next year in the same area I was hunting this year. Decmeber was much better for me than January was. The weather just blew for the Jan hunt.