The best place you've ever hunted?

[Warwagon]

I'm not talking about the most expensive or most prestigous ranch you've hunted on. Although that may be your best place to date, and if it is, that's great. What I'm talking about is the place with the most memories, the place where you learned how to be a better hunter every time you went to the stand. The place where the "bowhunting game" came together for you.

Currently I hunt in S. Texas on a 7800 acre ranch that is very well managed, I have waited for a spot on this place for atleast ten years. So I guess you could say this is my "dream lease". But it's not the best place I've ever hunted. For me, it was a little 125 acre cattle ranch in Madison County, about 2 miles NW of Madisonville. A buddy of mine started bringing me along when I was 14, his dad owned the ranch and knew nothing about bowhunting. He would drive us up there so we could hunt in the mornings and evenings and work cows and whatever else he could come up with in the afternoon. At 14 our bowhunting knowledge was very limited to say the least, heck we didn't even know you were supposed to cut your arrows. At full draw we had atleast a foot of arrow in front our rest, we still flung em though. We started out hunting with what I would consider today, horrible brush blinds and finally graduated to hanging lock-ons.

I hunted on that place from 14, til I was 29. The last 6 years, I had the place entirely to myself. My buddies parents had moved to Canada, and my buddy was busy hunting down at our current place in S. Texas. Besides he didn't want to mess with them little E.Texas deer. It really worked out well, his parents needed someone to take care of the place and my buddy was busy with work. So for a little tractor mowing and ranch work I got to hunt for free. The free part isn't what made it nice, I would have gladly paid whatever they wanted. What made it nice, was for a good while I had my own little hunting paradise.

The land was 50/50 pasture and wood lots, it had 3 stock tanks, that you just tear the bass up in, or you could sit on them and wear the doves and ducks out. The ranch was at the end of a road and for good many years hunting pressure was minimal. The place had a lot of deer and hogs so you always had a target rich environment. My wife killed her first deer there, my daughter fetched her first dove there at 2 years old and I got to share my last hunt with my Pap-paw on that place. I ran 2 feeders year around and would plant food plots, I had a lock-on at each feeder and 4-5 more scattered around on various game trails. If I got tired of hunting a feeder, I would change stands and hunt the trails. I don't know how many deer and hogs I killed, and I surely never killed any monsters, but man I always had a great time.

When my buddies parents returned home from Canada, they had kinda got the whole Cowboy/ranching thing out of there system. They ended up selling the ranch for about 200,000 more than they paid for it, I wish I could have bought it but I just didn't have the scratch. I mostly hunted that place by myself and when you do that, you lot of things the hard way. I know for sure that place made me a better hunter. I catch myself thinking about how simple hunting was for me back then, I wasn't sitting in a double bull scoring and aging, I was just hunting and I miss that.

[Xspot]

The state of Oregon. National forest land. Low pressure one lots of elk. Hundeds of square miles of public land! I miss it every day but will be back up there real soon. Hunted there for 14 years.

[DrenalinJunkie]

My uncles farm in Nebraska....... not only do I get to hang with him for 2 weeks, I get to hunt in one of the most over looked big deer states there is free of charge.

[BrandonA]

My inlaws in ranch in Zavala County and our friends ranch in Greenwood Cnty Kansas. Everytime I hunt the thought of knowing that a monster is could step out will keep your attention. If I had to choose Kansas would get the nod.

[silentdeath]

I got to hunt a pristine 286,000 acres from 1991 until I graduated in 1998. I was 15 minutes max from my favorite dove, quail, and pheasant holes. I have ahd the opprtunity since I moved away to return and take a 5x5 Muley and a little forkhorn white tail. Kicker here is all this property was PUBLIC, therefore free for me to hunt, fish, camp, etc. on. ANd believe me I spent more time on those Kansas Grasslands that I can remember. Best part of it, I got to hunt with my father every week(end) during the season and my best friend and I still return there yearly to hunt together. Love that Lifetime.

[Fishndude]

Ed Cox's ranch in Athens. 10k acres under high fence. We almost ran over a 200 class buck on the way in from hunting. Wow! I have never seen deer like that anywhere.

[duck'n]

My buddies ranch south of Lometa on the Colorado River. River frontage, three "wet" creeks, deep canyons, flats...oh and deer, turkey, hogs, and fishing. We always have said if one of us hits the lottery we will buy it, high fence it, and as they are setting the last panel of high fence we will wave good bye from the inside.

I also hunted greenheads along the Kansas River last year, outside of Manhattan and that was absolutely stunning. Watching the green drop in from the sky, highlighted by the snow covered banks...AMAZING!

[JSAPP]

When I was in highschool my dad got us on a 2000 acre lease about 10 miles from the house. Soon after we got on my runnin buddy(and fellow TBH'er) talked his dad into getting on as well. We spent almost all of our time out there chasin anything from deer and hogs to coons and squirrel. I know that lease kept us out of alot of trouble. Instead of running around town being stupid kids, we were out in the woods being stupid kids. We weren't trophy hunters but did learn alot about hunting and the outdoors from the time spent out there. The sad thing is I think it cost about $600 per family to be on that lease. Now my son is getting old enough to hunt and I want him to have a place to go, but I am spending much more for alot less acerage.

[Ricky T]

Great story, Warwagon. Some of us get hung up in the natural progression of a hunter at the "horn" stage. I know I did. I still slobber at times. The place I'm on now has a lot of deer. Top end would probably hit mid 140s. I love it.

I cut my teeth bowhunting in East Texas; mosquitos, mud and two year old houdini deer. The first good lease I was on was a 12,000 acre timber company lease that was covered in white oaks and deer in the mid 1980s. Timber company gradually cut all the hardwoods and left a big pine plantation. Most of the deer got killed off or left. I learned a lot, though. I still sometimes miss sitting in a big ole hickory tree with the smell of honeysuckle in the evenings. Probably not enough to hunt back there, though. Thanks again for the post.

[boss bowman]

I've been on several leases all over north texas, as well as some youth hunts in deep south texas and the hill country, but the best place I've ever hunted without a doubt would be a piece of public land, matador WMA. I was lucky enough to draw a hunt there years back and the place is amazing, everything from hardwoods to canyon. Book class mule deer and whitetail deer as well as hybrids species between the two. We glassed some muley bucks up in the canyons that were just jaw dropping big.

[dennisomfs]

fishin dude...you're right about Ed's ranch being a beautiful thing...his management practices insured great deer! Jack Brittingham's ranch near Athens is the same......but for me, one of the most memorable times was while I was in college with a room-mate whose dad was foreman of the 50K Grey Estate Ranch near Vinton,La. We had run of the place and killed so many ducks and geese that our college freezers were always full. Deer etc. were secondary to the never-ending duck/goose hunts. We also moved cattle over the intercoastal waterway by roping the calves, putting them in pirogues, then pushing the cows across. We'd ride down into the red grass marsh and often kill so many geese, we'd have to walk the horses out!.....for bowhunting, Q/L caribou in Canada, bears in Alberta, and elk in Chama NM are my all time favorites with great memories and skills learned and improved upon with each trip....

[justin156bc]

#1 My family ranch in Bosque county, I killed my first deer there and it will always be my first choice of were I want to hunt. I also killed my first deer with my bow there. I cant say enough about how I much I love that place.

#2 Growing up we had a lease that was 6000 acres just west of Abilene. After about 5-6 years we got off the lease, due to my dad not wanting to drive that far. So when I was 19 I got back on it. I love that place had great deer and lots of turkey. I killed my biggest buck there 156 3/8. Had the place leased out from under.

Good Memories.

[Venado Bonito]

Definitely Mexico.. I hunted there until I was 12. My dad was in charge of 12,000 acres so I was down there about every weekend. I never killed any monster bucks but it was definitely the best memories I can recall. I remember when I was 7 I found the first arrowhead on the ranch.. after that we looked every weekend we were down there. We now have a collection of about 1500

[Jaspro]

No way I could narrow it down to just one property. I have hunted way to many different places and each one holds its own unique lessons and memories.

Nicest property would easily be with Aironeout in Tilden.

Can't miss hunt would be our Muley hunt in December.

Best group hunt would be at the Lewis in July.

Most sentimental would be back home with my grandparents.

[prkchp]

When I was a kid my grandpa used to lease a spot of land about 3 miles up the road from his house. It was about 2000 acres and was loaded with deer, big deer. It's too bad I, and all of my family were not smart enough, or just did'nt realise what kind of place it was, we just shot the first buck that came out. We killed lots of deer off that place, and had a ton of great times and come to think of it, I really don't care that we did'nt know anything about hunting big deer.
Only thing that leaves a bad taste in my mouth about the place is that my grandpa leased the place for 40 years and out of the blue, got kicked off because a couple of guys leased it for 50 cents more an acre and we never got a chance to match it.