Drawn for Richland Creek - Looking for Pointers

[BowhunterB]

Hello everyone,
I am pretty new to the green screen, but I just found out this moring that we got drawn for Richland Creek. I have never been there and am not familiar with the area at all. I decided to put in for Richland because of pictures of three really nice bucks that were shot there last year (believe they were all last year), because the odds of getting picked seemed pretty good and the success rate was good compared to many of the other archery hunts. I was wondering if any of you have any recent experience there and could provide any advice on areas, maybe a map, and any other things we might need to know. Appreciate any help you can give. Good luck to y'all on getting picked and good luck on your hunts.

[sqiggy]

Are you huntin by yourself or do you have a group?
I've hunted there twice on a archery hunt and once on a youth hunt.

[BowhunterB]

I am part of a group of 4 Squiggy. Did you have any luck there?

[sqiggy]

I am part of a group of 4 Squiggy. Did you have any luck there?

OHHHHHHHHHHHH YEAH!!! We almost tagged out. My 2 buddys did. I held off for a buck after I got a doe. We hunted compartment 16. Seen lots of deer in there. I have only been on the north side. Yall may end up on the south side. Whatever compartment you get, ask the folks that run the place everything they know about it. Spend the first afternoon scouting and gettin stands in place. Trails are very easy to locate there. Only problem, you will probably see so many, you won't know which one to choose. I would take at least 2 stands, climbers or lock-ons. One for mornings and one for evenings. Evening stands, if your compartment has any clearings, pastures, pipelines, anything open, is where to set up. Late evenings, the deer will come out. Mornings, try to find that one tree that has any akerns on it. If you can't find akerns, find a rub line. I seen a lot of deer in the morning at a rub line. I had 4 does out in front of me @ 10 yds. Then a buck came in behind me and I could hear him tearin a tree up. But with the 4 deer in front of me, I never could get turned around to see what the buck looked like. After the buck left, the 4 does left and I started gruntin. Grunted in 2 bucks, but they wasn't what I wanted. Both were 3 and 4 pointers.
On my son's youth hunt, we were in 20 or 21. We hunted in a pop up on a pipeline. I bet we saw over 20 deer cross that first morning, but they were all to far for his range.
I think you'll like it!!!

[BowhunterB]

Thanks Squiggy,
sounds like y'all had a lot of action and fun. I appreciate the help. I called the WMA and they said the deer should be rutting around that time, that is a lot earlier than down around San Antonio and South Texas. Think I will try to find some acorns and see if they are chasing does. That can be tough but at least maybe some of the big boys will be moving around and a little careless.

[BTLowry]

Find an oak dropping acorns and sit and they will come to you. Oaks are few and far between from what I have seen down there and that is what we have found to work best. Of course the last time I hunted it was when you could just hunt with the APH, no draw

[Richard]

Find an oak dropping acorns and sit and they will come to you. Oaks are few and far between from what I have seen down there and that is what we have found to work best. Of course the last time I hunted it was when you could just hunt with the APH, no draw

Oh yes the good ole' days! I've got a video laying around somewhere where I video'd 5 bucks one afternoon and I'm pretty sure they would all make p&Y. The biggest one I video'd for 30 minutes was about a 150" buck. Just find the thick nasty stuff and hunt a trail coming out of it. Oh, lots of Poison Ivy!!!!!

[BowhunterB]

Thanks guys,
Hopefully I can find a cluster of oaks dropping some acorns within short range of some really thick brush. Thanks for the heads up on the poison ivy as well. I heard the chiggers are bad there too, but they don;t usually bother me too much. Has anyone had luck rattling there?

[HotRod Hunter]

Hey BowhunterB What dates did you draw ? I struck out with my archery draw at Nannie Stringfellow but me and my group got selected for the CB hunt at Richland Creek we will be there on the dates of 10/10-10/14.

Not to Hijack your thread

It says ATV/ORV is recomended. Is that a must? Or can a High clareance trucks be OK ? whats it like are there main roads then have side trails for atvs can mountain bikes be useful. Can climbing stands be used . We have game carts and muscle we frequent public hunting lands in East Texas and are use to walking miles is it just real swampy any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Good Luck to you and your group BowhunterB !

[sqiggy]

It says ATV/ORV is recomended. Is that a must? Or can a High clareance trucks be OK ? whats it like are there main roads then have side trails for atvs can mountain bikes be useful. Can climbing stands be used . We have game carts and muscle we frequent public hunting lands in East Texas and are use to walking miles is it just real swampy any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Unless the place gets a lot of rain between now and then, plain ole 2 wh dr will get you where you need to go. I have never been thru the South unit, so don't know about the roads there. On the north unit, the main road is a good gravel road that the oil/gas companies built. Lot of well locations on that side. So you can get to just about every compartment via that road. Then, on some compartments, there are some "pasture" roads. Some of these roads will go to a pipeline ROW. If it is really wet, then a 4 whlr is what you need. If it is dry, plain ole truck is all you need. This ground is that black dirt. When wet, it turns into slick gumbo mud.
Climbing stands work great, but there may be a great spot to hunt that a climber won't work cause the trees are to big. Then a lock-on and climbing sticks would be the way to go.

[BowhunterB]

Hey HotRod Hunter,
We will be there the following week. 10/17 - 10/21, so save on for me and let me know where he is if you can. I called the WMA and they said more or less what Squiggy said. Unless it is really wet you should be able to get around pretty good in a 2WD truck. This year is really dry so unless things change ATV is not a must. Good luck.

[HotRod Hunter]

BowhunterB thanks for the info.I will let you know how it goes after my hunt. And I'll tell you if any good bucks are left..

Does anybody know when the rut is in that area? Is there camping on site and if so are there campsites with water, electricity, restrooms, showers etc. or is it primitive?

[BowhunterB]

HotRod Hunter,
Not sure about the camping, they show campsites but I don't think they have showers, but you will have to call to find out for sure. There are some cabins in the area that I think are pretty reasonable. The rangers told me that the rut should be on around the time of the hunts. They try to schedule the hunts to coincide with the rut. We will have to see. I hope the weather cooperates.

[sqiggy]

Is there camping on site and if so are there campsites with water, electricity, restrooms, showers etc. or is it primitive?

There is a primitive campsite on the north unit. There are some cabins you can rent on the lake, about 10 min away. I can't remember the name of the place but I found them by doing a search on Richland Chamber Lake. It's a pretty nice place. Or you could stay at Fairfield State Park. They have showers there and takes about 30 mins to the north unit.
The 2 times I've hunted out there, the 3rd week of Oct, me or anybody in our group didn't see any signs of ruttin. Still a little early I think.
Good Luck to all and keep us posted on the hunt.

[Richard]

I think they require ATV certification for public use and you will have to wear helmet and goggles. Game warden will give tickets! Call the park office and they can give you more info. Climbing stands work very well. Lots of trees
for climbing stands. Good luck!
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