anyone hunted brushyhill lately?

[EasTex-Osage]

me and my son are going to brushyhill nov.15th to 18th. just wondering if any one has hunted lately? whats being seen. are the deer showing any pre-rut activity down there.

[ghenson82]

Good luck to you both. We are headed down there for the first weekend in December.

[ghenson82]

So how did it go?

I guided west of Pearsall this weekend and nothing was moving because of all the rain last month. The deer just didint have to move, everything they needed was right there in the brush. We only saw a few little bucks and 2 does.

[EasTex-Osage]

Originally Posted by ghenson82

So how did it go?

I guided west of Pearsall this weekend and nothing was moving because of all the rain last month. The deer just didint have to move, everything they needed was right there in the brush. We only saw a few little bucks and 2 does.

well i would like to say good but it sounds like a replay of what you just described. very little movement, small bucks, no hogs. i didnt even get to draw down on one. hope your hunt goes better. i did find several fresh scrapes so the rut is getting started. and i saw two smaller bucks tie up horns for about half an hour. there was about thirteen in our camping area and only one doe and one hog was killed out of all of us.

[ghenson82]

That sounds like the same thing everybody in the area is saying: no movement. I'm glad to hear about some rut activity, that should help. Which pasture did you hunt? Any suggestions?

[jwn83]

never been there heard people talk about it though

[DWS]

ghenson I'm going to be there the first weekend in Dec. also. A group of 11 in the Kreagor pasture. I think the rut around there is about mid Dec. so I've heard. What pasture do you have? Hunted the Will Rhem pasture last year seen plenty of deer several shooters but no one connected. Maybe I'll see you around later.

[ghenson82]

DWS, I dont know which pasture we are hunting yet. We have 4 hunters and one guest (camp cook), so it could be anywhere. I spoke with Ava about a week ago with that very question but she hasnt called me back yet. We'll get to the ranch around noon on Thursday and will be there until Sunday. Do you have any maps? Any suggestions? Look forward to meeting you guys.

[poco bueno]

You guys will have fun for sure. Since the passing of Rusty the (ranch foreman), I think Nick Anderson has been out there helping Pete out. Get with Nick he is a fellow TBH'er and a stand up guy, he will also help you in any possible way. I plan on being there in Jan..Lates!!

[ghenson82]

Guys I just found out that we are hunting the Will Rehm next weekend. Whats the story behind that pasture?

[ghenson82]

Anybody have a map they can email to me?

[Hound]

Hey guys we just returned from a hunt there 11-16 thru 11-20. We hunted the Will Rehm and the river pasture cause our group was so large. Nick Anderson is a good guy to check with about hunting there seamed to know what he was talking about. He did say to brush your blinds in so you cant see anything but the hole you plan to shoot out. I would suggest to get back off the corn route and find a good trail the deer use alot and hunt it. I will say this the deer there are very skittish so play the wind right and try not to spook them. We did see some very nice bucks but could never get close enough to shoot any. One place were several nice buck were seen was the north west side of the Will Rehm near the high fence.We also so saw several good bucks in the river pasture in several different places. I would say to watch the feilds the first hunt to see were the deer are entering in and then move in to hunt. We found quite a few scrapes and a lot of rubs so the deer are getting ready to rut.But all in all I would go back but would scout a lot the first day and a half or so to find were the bucks are at. P.S. I also would not pile up my corn no further than 30yrds from me, it could cost u a good buck any further out,ask me. MY choice would be the river pasture.

[poco bueno]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it..Lates!!

[KactusKiller]

I am going to call and try and set up a spot the last week of the season, 11-15 jan, anybody else going to be there. My hunting partner probably won't go so i'll be solo. Anybody?

[1point]

Me and Rocko222 will be there Jan. 5-8.

[poco bueno]

1 point, what pasture are you going to hunt.

[KactusKiller]

Anybody heard of any hunting reports from there? My kitchen pass is about worn out for the year but could probably be used again if there has been some good action and I have a group to go with.

[1point]

Poco, we booked this hunt back in the summer and I cant remember what pasture we picked, all I know is we are going to be off the corn trail.

[KactusKiller]

have u called and got a hunting report 1 point?

[1point]

I called and they said the deer are moving pretty good, starting to come out to the corn better than earlier in the year. The weather should help us alot as the lows should be around 25-30. We are gonna use light corn and tinks 69 and hope for the best with some good scouting and a perfectly brushed in ground blind. Hope we see you there Kactuskiller. We were at the Chap. when you were there earlier in the year. We killed the only coyote. Best of luck to you, Laters.

[KactusKiller]

Good luck, what pature are u hunting? I will probably miss you this week a I am going the 14-17. Let me know how you do.

[rockco222]

Originally Posted by 1point

Me and Rocko222 will be there Jan. 5-8.

i'll be there gearing up as we speak.

[poco bueno]

Good luck guys, We will get there on the 8th.

Let me know what pasture yall get, and how its going...Lates!!

[1point]

We are leaving in the morning for brushy hill. We will hunt tomorrow evening until Fri. I will give you a report when we get back, pasture, sightings, ect. The weather is gonna be great. Lows on Thurs. around 15 degrees, I dont think it gets any better than that. Poco, maybe we will meet you on Fri. Regardless, best of luck to both of you. Laters.

[poco bueno]

Sound good 1point, I will be in a gray 4 door chevy and plan on arriving between 9-10am..Good luck

[poco bueno]

1point, pm sent

[1point]

Thanks for the pm Poco, but I didnt get it until we got back. We ended up hunting in the Hog Heaven North. I have hunted day leases all over the state for 25 years, Four Arrows, Tasajuillo bowhunting, Martinena ranch, and numerous others. Some were good for a couple of years when they first started and steadily hunted out. Others were consistently good with a cap on the number of hunters. We decided to give Brushy Hill a try and I was very disappointed. I have never been to a place more overhunted. I was told only 7 bucks have been harvested the entire season. On 15,200 acres with 100s of hunters coming and going this ought to be a good indicator of a numbers problem. Game was scarce to say the least. I would not recommend it to my friends, and I will not be going back until some changes are made to get the hunting pressure down, and the quality of wildlife back up. The staff however was very friendly, the accomodations were good with a nice old camp house, and the ranch was typical south texas brush and very enjoyable.

[poco bueno]

Man 1 point sorry to here about your experience. We just got back our selves and hunting was very hard this time around. We did leave some trail cameras set up from a couple of weeks ago and had some decent deer on them. Although something definitely changed a couple days before we got there. We had normal morning and evening activity on our game cams up until the day before we arrived. Then the only movement we had on camera was from 7:30pm thru 10:30pm. So this made our hunt very difficult but we are always up for a challenge.

Over all IMO this place is not nearly pressured or over hunted as other day hunting places. We always have fun and almost always have ample opportunities when we go to Brushy Hill. Again everyone has there own opinion and I will continue to book there for years to come...Lates

[1point]

Poco, which pasture did you hunt in. We also put cameras up in numerous locations, along the corn route, on feeders, trails, ect. and we did not get a single pic of a decent buck. The only nice buck we saw was at a long distance on the neighbors. We had one pic of a large hog at a feeder. We put in alot of time in the stands only breaking for a short lunch, and I could count the deer I saw on one hand. We mixed it up with one guy on the corn route, one on a road hand corned off the route, and one on trails leading to a feeder. If one was working we were going to adapt, but we just werent seeing anything worthwhile. We were also a little disapointed with the cattle around our blinds breaking brush constantly. Most of the brush had been affected by the freezes and corn should have been much more effective especially at night, that is why we felt like the numbers were way low. We also hunted during the week so we would have a better chance of normal activity, because we felt like the deer would change habits on the weekends which is what might have happened to you. Thus, our feelings about way too much pressure. I could go there many times and increase my odds, but I am going to put all that $ together and just get a season lease in the south texas region. Easier said than done. Enjoyed talkin' with you, hopefully we will meet up on a hunt sometime in the future. Laters.

[poco bueno]

Sorry double post

[poco bueno]

1 point, we also found our selves a bowhunting lease for this coming year and so far it looks like it may turn out to be a pretty decent place. With that said I am still going to book a few hunts with BHR, simply because we always have a good time out there. I do have to say that I've been there 5 times and only killed once, but I have passed on a few animals alot of people might have shot at. Also friends have had there share at quality animals but couldn't close the deal. Anyways good luck finding a lease and Happy New Year to you brother...Lates!!

We hunted the Hog Heaven South.

[STXBOWHUNTER73]

Poco Bueno,

You mentioned you had placed out several trail cams out there can you post some pics of the bucks you did get pictures of? Also did they mention anything about a big deer being shot out of Hog Heaven South I hunted there in the middle of November and had a 155 to 160 class ten come in and a mid 130 class 8 but of course couldn’t get a shot at neither of them or I wouldn’t be asking. I was wondering if the Ten was ever killed he was a very educated big old deer, I have never seen a more nervous deer in my life. But seeing him I will definitely go back for another round it was my first time there and had a blast.

[poco bueno]

Yup, I will post them up tonight. As far as the big ten, I think I know what deer your talking about. My buddy had it come in two weeks ago and all he needed was for it to take another couple of steps. Needless to say he took the steps but they were backwards. This time around my buddy hunted that deer all 3 days and no sign of him..Lates!!

[KactusKiller]

I'll be looking for them as well as I need a confidence boost after hearing from a couple people on the poor hunting, KillemAll is hunting at Firstpoint and says the deer movement sucks there as well so its not just Brushyhill.

[poco bueno]

Some of the bucks are broken up already but they will give you an idea of what can be found out there.

[STXBOWHUNTER73]

Originally Posted by poco bueno

Yup, I will post them up tonight. As far as the big ten, I think I know what deer your talking about. My buddy had it come in two weeks ago and all he needed was for it to take another couple of steps. Needless to say he took the steps but they were backwards. This time around my buddy hunted that deer all 3 days and no sign of him..Lates!!

He was a very nice deer but very very educated he was walking the trail looking up (checking the trees) would stop every 5 feet make sure he didn’t miss anything. And then he hit my corned area (SUPER LIGHT) that wasn’t there the day before and he came out of his skin before I could get a shot! But he never busted me just knew that corn wasn’t there yesterday!

He was a golden horned deer not dark horned lots of mass heavy all the way out his beams. The 130 eight i saw was dark horned.

[rockco222]

I was there with 1 point,i hunted off the corn route,deer very educated,i put some corn out a few does came by saw it took off.I also notice them looking right at my pop up and i burshed it in real good.I hunted on the corn route just because it was the normal for them,notthing starts happening till the corn truck goes by.My best advise would be bursh your pop up real good and then go back and bursh it in some more,it looks to me like they pick out the dark hole I got a pick of my pop up brush in i had a good set up saw some does.I would not put any corn out just let them know more less where you are at and they'll try to trun the sppiner on there,the hand that did the corn route when we were there is pretty cool ,they will walk up and down the corned road.Any thing out of the normal and they are gone!

[rockco222]

Here is a pick of my set up at burshy hill.

[narco1]

I'm looking to hunt hogs there in March. Were you guys see any hogs while you were there?

[rockco222]

My game cam took a pic of one at night.

[KactusKiller]

rockco were you on the edge of the rd(corn route). If you hunt the corn rout you should set up 20-30 yds down wind of the route with a small shooting lane between you and the route. I sometimes even trickle a little corn off the main route and into some bushes in my shooting lane. If I use a pop up I will usaually set up behind an existing bush and cut a lne thru it with the bush between me and the deer that way its more naturally brushed in. Any deer there will pick off even the best brushed in blind if its right on the road. Just an FYI from experience there.

[rockco222]

Originally Posted by KactusKiller

rockco were you on the edge of the rd(corn route). If you hunt the corn rout you should set up 20-30 yds down wind of the route with a small shooting lane between you and the route. I sometimes even trickle a little corn off the main route and into some bushes in my shooting lane. If I use a pop up I will usaually set up behind an existing bush and cut a lne thru it with the bush between me and the deer that way its more naturally brushed in. Any deer there will pick off even the best brushed in blind if its right on the road. Just an FYI from experience there.

I was off the corn route 25 yards,i wasn't on the road,i was in the brush 25 yards.

[KactusKiller]

The only thing else I would say is that I would dig a hole to sit in and make a solid natural brush blind. The only time I use a popup anymore is if the weather is really bad because its hard to brush in a popup enough and like you said if they can see any bit of a black hole they will dart. Most of the guys that score out there hunt this way, as natural as possible.

[rockco222]

Originally Posted by KactusKiller

The only thing else I would say is that I would dig a hole to sit in and make a solid natural brush blind. The only time I use a popup anymore is if the weather is really bad because its hard to brush in a popup enough and like you said if they can see any bit of a black hole they will dart. Most of the guys that score out there hunt this way, as natural as possible.

We did make a couple of pit blinds,is what we call them.

[KactusKiller]

hey pocco those pics aren't going to post themselves!

[STXBOWHUNTER73]

Originally Posted by KactusKiller

hey pocco those pics aren't going to post themselves!

x2

[rockco222]

here a pic of the hog look close,i put my camera to far away.

[STXBOWHUNTER73]

Originally Posted by stxbowhunter73

x2

poco still waiting....ttt

[poco bueno]

Darn guys I forgot all about it. I will post them tonight for sure..Lates!!

[Killem all]

Originally Posted by rockco222

Here is a pick of my set up at burshy hill.

I think they are talking about more brush than that.

When I brush you can't even see the blind. Plus I brush outwards about 7' to 10' either side and then lighten up towards the out side edge to make it blend. I usually spend 3-4 hours just brushing.