McMullen Ranch Thread

[TildenHunter]

Figured I would start this thread to catalog pictures and hunts on our family ranch in McMullen County over the course of the 2017/18 hunting season.

A few years ago we tried to take out as many native does as we could and bought some bred does from various breeders. We took our bottom end bucks off the property and left some of the best of the best of the natives that we had running around. We had pretty good genetics to start with but we are trying to increase our top end by "fluffing up" our does with improved genetics. The original does had fawns that are now 4 years old.

We just started running cameras recently and some of our bigger deer have finally made an appearance. We have not gotten much rain at all this year and it's really dry and hot. The deer are tearing up the protein and alfalfa but starting to show some really nice growth. We won't be taking many (if any) this year but will be taking a decent number of does in order to keep our population in check.

Here are some pics over the last week or two.

Known 4 yr old




Nice 4 yr old







Really like this guy

Cool light colored fawn


Photo from this morning. Lots to be excited about and hopefully they will continue to pour it on over the next few months.




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[mudjeremy]

Amazing deer

[ACCURACYINC]

I wonder how long it would take to tunnel from our place to yours??

Great deer!!

[STGS]

Very impressive. Lots of big frames and splits. Love it.

[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by STGS

Very impressive. Lots of big frames and splits. Love it.

You don't know this but you are one of the reasons we started this venture . Your pictures and game plan is something we are generally trying to mimic. Also TBHer Split Arrow has a family place not far away from us and have had amazing results and led us in this direction.

[JAGR]

Following!


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[TildenHunter]

Little double drop


Only have an axis or two on the property but this guy is a stud.

Nice blackbuck

I don't know what to say about this guy.



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[catslayer]

Originally Posted by TildenHunter

Little double drop


Only have an axis or two on the property but this guy is a stud.

Nice blackbuck

I don't know what to say about this guy.



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How old?.. as nice and framy as those other deer look. I have a hard time letting him get at the girls

Would still be a really cool cull

[steve morton]

Looking good.

[Bisch]

Man, I still wish I had my little lease in Tilden! That place was awesome!

Looks like y'all got a great place too! Very nice critters!

Bisch


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[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by catslayer

How old?.. as nice and framy as those other deer look. I have a hard time letting him get at the girls

Would still be a really cool cull

I'm really not sure how old he is. I'll have to get eyes on him later this summer or early fall. Guessing he is 2-3. I think he will live one more year. Only thing that could get him shot this year is if he finishes with tines that go straight up and look like daggers. Would be a shame for him to kill a better buck.


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[catslayer]

Originally Posted by TildenHunter

I'm really not sure how old he is. I'll have to get eyes on him later this summer or early fall. Guessing he is 2-3. I think he will live one more year. Only thing that could get him shot this year is if he finishes with tines that go straight up and look like daggers. Would be a shame for him to kill a better buck.


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Yeah, also depends on how ypu feel about freaks. If your looking for just inches of bone somtimes they scpre CRAZY.

Marking this thread like what your doing

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[Big Mike M]

Very nice. I will be following along.

[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by catslayer

Yeah, also depends on how ypu feel about freaks. If your looking for just inches of bone somtimes they scpre CRAZY.

Marking this thread like what your doing

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I do not care about score as much as look. I just don't want to shoot him if there is a chance of pedicle damage. He obviously is capable of throwing a decent amount of bone. But more then likely he will still be ugly next year and then get whacked. We named him Barnacle Bill


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[lab man]

Looks great.
Any plans to use DMP to help get the most out of your better bucks?

[CoryW]

Following!

[160class]

Awesome bucks! Following

[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by ACCURACYINC

I wonder how long it would take to tunnel from our place to yours??

Great deer!!

Get your shovel

[catslayer]

Originally Posted by TildenHunter

I do not care about score as much as look. I just don't want to shoot him if there is a chance of pedicle damage. He obviously is capable of throwing a decent amount of bone. But more then likely he will still be ugly next year and then get whacked. We named him Barnacle Bill


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Good name

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[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by lab man

Looks great.
Any plans to use DMP to help get the most out of your better bucks?

Yes. As a matter of fact we are about to start trying to go through the process to do a DMP pen. We are going to target our best buck and 20 does. Technically we could do 2 and shoot every doe we see outside of the pens each season but that sounds like a lot of expense and work. Ha. I think we are going to do 1 and see how it goes and we can always add one in the future if we wish.

[catslayer]

... let me show my ignorance

DMP pen?

Edit: deer managment pen?

Designated man pen...

Some otheters but not pg13

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[Ingle67]

WOW!! Nice pics.

[ACCURACYINC]

Originally Posted by TildenHunter

Get your shovel

I think we'll be there just in time for those fellas to turn 6 1/2!! We need to do a Max's lunch this season!! I can't remember his handle on here, but a fellow TBH'er PM'd me last year and turned out he hunts the north end of our ranch (with the boomsticks... ) We could have a heckuva happy hour!

[lab man]

Originally Posted by catslayer

... let me show my ignorance

DMP pen?

Edit: deer managment pen?

Designated man pen...

Some otheters but not pg13

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http://tpwd.texas.gov/business/permi...nt/index.phtml

[Hawkpuppy 1]

Looking good! I like the younger buck with the solid white neck stripe too....

[catslayer]

Originally Posted by lab man

http://tpwd.texas.gov/business/permi...nt/index.phtml

Ty

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[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by catslayer

... let me show my ignorance

DMP pen?

Edit: deer managment pen?

Designated man pen...

Some otheters but not pg13

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Deer Management Pen

You can have a pen (minimum of 5 acres) and place up to 20 does and 1 buck in the pen. I think they have to all be in there by sometime in September and you can't release them until after the end of the season (I think). I am not up to speed on all of the regulations yet. We do have a pen in place and just need to get it certified. You then get a helicopter and he will net your 20 does and "breeder buck". That way you are ensuring that your buck of choice is breeding all 20 does as opposed to just the 2-4 that he would breed out on the ranch. Much cheaper then having deer in a pen year round and paying for feed, having to check on your deer year round etc.

[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by ACCURACYINC

I think we'll be there just in time for those fellas to turn 6 1/2!! We need to do a Max's lunch this season!! I can't remember his handle on here, but a fellow TBH'er PM'd me last year and turned out he hunts the north end of our ranch (with the boomsticks... ) We could have a heckuva happy hour!

Yep. We need to do it. I haven't been getting to get down there as much as I would like lately but plan on making several trips this fall. It is just hard with a 2 year old and a newborn to get away from Houston. Luckily my dad is down there almost year round and he forwards the pictures to us often. Deer are changing a good bit from week to week right now. Fun summer ahead, just need some rain!!!

[Hawkpuppy 1]

DMP pens work great. Go through all your pics and find a couple of your best deer and have the heli guys target them as choices to put in the pen. Friend I work with in the panhandle has been doing DMP for a few years now and the results are incredible for size and overall numbers.

[texashunter56]

Bucks look really great for their age. DMP is a great way to go. I would look at using my best 3 yr olds. Ranch I used to manage in La Salle started DMP in 2004 and they have continued now. They use a lot of pens on a larger ranch. It has done amazing things with the over all herd quality and upper end buck numbers. They will only re-use a buck the next year if his antler growth improves after using him as a DMP buck. If he falls off they do not use him again.

[elgato]

Fantastic. Been a fun project to watch. Congrats on your program.

[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by texashunter56

Bucks look really great for their age. DMP is a great way to go. I would look at using my best 3 yr olds. Ranch I used to manage in La Salle started DMP in 2004 and they have continued now. They use a lot of pens on a larger ranch. It has done amazing things with the over all herd quality and upper end buck numbers. They will only re-use a buck the next year if his antler growth improves after using him as a DMP buck. If he falls off they do not use him again.

Our 4 yr olds tend to be our strongest age since they are from our original bred does that were sired by really good bucks. I would like to try and get a deer that has had double drops in the past. We likely won't know who the real candidates are until mid August. We had a typical 12 last year that was a 3 yr old that was right at 170''. We have 3-4 that I think would make good bucks for the pen but as long as we can get a good one, I will be happy.

Originally Posted by elgato

Fantastic. Been a fun project to watch. Congrats on your program.

Thank you sir. I appreciate it. I have enjoyed your thread as well and it led me to wanting to start this one. I will try and take some pictures of set ups and of course more deer pics whenever I can.

[Kaicreekranch]

Hunter your deer are looking fantastic and your plan is definetly working! Congrats sir!

[Quackerbox]

Y'all defineatly have some great deer. Your dad sent me some of those same pics yesterday. He showed me a little cactus type buck as well

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[Smell the Glove]

Cool stuff. Looks like it's coming together.

[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by Smell the Glove

Cool stuff. Looks like it's coming together.

Yes indeed. Good luck this weekend and Congrats! Sorry we are missing it

[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by Kaicreekranch

Hunter your deer are looking fantastic and your plan is definetly working! Congrats sir!

Thanks Jeff. Been a really fun project and we are finally seeing some of the fruits.

Originally Posted by Quackerbox

Y'all defineatly have some great deer. Your dad sent me some of those same pics yesterday. He showed me a little cactus type buck as well

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There are certainly some small and odd deer mixed in. We are going to try and be patient and let most of our deer get as much age as possible and see what shakes out. But some of the deer are the strangest looking racks I have seen.

[Fishndude]

Wow!

Can you define "fluff up?"

I guess I'm asking If these are still considered native deer?

[Quackerbox]

This guy here

[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by Fishndude

Wow!

Can you define "fluff up?"

I guess I'm asking If these are still native deer.

I was saying "fluff up" when I was describing bringing in bred does in my original post.

We tried to take out all of the does. But obviously that was impossible. We did take out the vast majority of them. We started with 24 bred does back in 2013. We left the best of the best of the native bucks. Some of them have bred the superior genetic does. We do not have any deer in our pens or anything so I have no idea what is native and what is not. Some of these deer I know are from our original bred does and some I have no idea on.

With the exception of the does we purchased, everything else was born on the ranch. We won't be utilizing the pens in the future with the exception of trying to utilize the DMP pen program. Overall we have had a great success rate with introducing the non native bred does into our ranch. They are all Texas bloodlines. We are not scientific at all and didn't look at pedigree or any of that. We just said "We want 5 does bred to that buck". In hindsight we probably should of been a little more selective but it still has been an improvement. We are seeing better young deer then we ever have. We killed 5 deer between 180-190 from 2004-2015. Our mature trophy bucks were generally in the 150s with the occasional buck scoring up to 180-190 with a few 160, 170" deer sprinkled in.

Our goal is to make those 180"+ deer a reality every year once we have a good age structure. I think we will bust the 200" mark soon if all goes as planned. Our goal is not to have 250" deer with crazy points going everywhere. If it happens, fine. Our goal is to jump that 150" trophy up to around 175" and get the odd buck here and there to be 200" plus. By bringing in does that were supposedly superior to our native herd, we hope we have begun the process of accomplishing that. It is getting very hard to tell who was already on the ranch and who came from the superior does though. Pretty soon it is just going to be an educated guess.

At this time we have only killed 1 deer that was from an introduced doe. Everything else I have ever posted was on the ranch when we bought the place in 2004.

[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by Quackerbox

This guy here

Yep. Some odd things going on there. I have no idea what causes that.

[pilar]

Oh it makes me emotional to see some nice deer, with out a commercial attached to them
Can't wait to see the end result

[Quackerbox]

Originally Posted by TildenHunter

. Our goal is not to have 250" deer with crazy points going everywhere. If it happens, fine. Our goal is to jump that 150" trophy up to around 175" and get the odd buck here and there to be 200" plus.

Call me crazy but I'd rather have a clean 175 than a youpon 250

[Fishndude]

Ahhhhh...ok I get it now. Cool plan. We all wish we could do what you're doing. Looks to be working

[texashunter56]

Originally Posted by TildenHunter

Our 4 yr olds tend to be our strongest age since they are from our original bred does that were sired by really good bucks. I would like to try and get a deer that has had double drops in the past. We likely won't know who the real candidates are until mid August. We had a typical 12 last year that was a 3 yr old that was right at 170''. We have 3-4 that I think would make good bucks for the pen but as long as we can get a good one, I will be happy.

You have to look at what you have to breed with and what you like most of all. When I put the first two bucks (on that ranch) in DMP pens I chose one that was a 4 yr old 21" IS 5x5 that grossed right at 170 in 2003. He was one of the biggest bucks on the ranch. The other one was a 5x5 that grossed around 150 that had been a 6x6 at 3 that was really nice looking just not very wide.
The first buck with the tag is the buck that was a 5x5 at 4 when we first used him. He was 6 in this pic and had been released. They caught him again to use for 4 or 5 yrs in a row IIRC. He scored in the 180's at 8 or 9 yrs old. The second buck is a buck that was caught and used last years after 12 yrs of DMP. The ranch has always tried to select the biggest framed typical 10's or 12's with spread since DMP was used. This buck was first used at 4 2 yrs ago the released and caught last year again at 5. Here is his score totals for 225+ gross at 5:
11 5/8 inches of abnormals
IS 25 5/8
Beams 28 6/8, 29 1/8
G1 4 2/8,3 4/8
G2 12 7/8, 11 4/8
G3 13 7/8, 12 7/8
G4 11 3/8, 11
G5 4 4/8, 5 7/8
mass 36” +
They caught several more bucks of this caliber to use as DMP bucks. It is really impressive to how far along the bucks have progressed in the 10 yrs since I have left. It is mind blowing to see the amount of impressive bucks of all ages.

[Fishndude]

Good googly moogley!!! ^^^

[texashunter56]

Originally Posted by Fishndude

Good googly moogley!!! ^^^

You should see some of the other bucks they used as DMP bucks
This one was my favorite. They used another that looked like his twin almost.

[DamonJ]

Originally Posted by ACCURACYINC

I wonder how long it would take to tunnel from our place to yours??



Great deer!!

Only one way to find out...


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[TildenHunter]

Originally Posted by texashunter56

You have to look at what you have to breed with and what you like most of all. When I put the first two bucks (on that ranch) in DMP pens I chose one that was a 4 yr old 21" IS 5x5 that grossed right at 170 in 2003. He was one of the biggest bucks on the ranch. The other one was a 5x5 that grossed around 150 that had been a 6x6 at 3 that was really nice looking just not very wide.

The first buck with the tag is the buck that was a 5x5 at 4 when we first used him. He was 6 in this pic and had been released. They caught him again to use for 4 or 5 yrs in a row IIRC. He scored in the 180's at 8 or 9 yrs old. The second buck is a buck that was caught and used last years after 12 yrs of DMP. The ranch has always tried to select the biggest framed typical 10's or 12's with spread since DMP was used. This buck was first used at 4 2 yrs ago the released and caught last year again at 5. Here is his score totals for 225+ gross at 5:

11 5/8 inches of abnormals

IS 25 5/8

Beams 28 6/8, 29 1/8

G1 4 2/8,3 4/8

G2 12 7/8, 11 4/8

G3 13 7/8, 12 7/8

G4 11 3/8, 11

G5 4 4/8, 5 7/8

mass 36” +

They caught several more bucks of this caliber to use as DMP bucks. It is really impressive to how far along the bucks have progressed in the 10 yrs since I have left. It is mind blowing to see the amount of impressive bucks of all ages.

That is about the prettiest buck I've ever seen


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[Killer]

Good gosh look at all the Bone!! Wow