Matador Archery Mule Deer report

[Palehorse]

Just got back from the archery mule deer hunt at Matador. No deer were taken by myself or anyone else. There were also no bucks taken at the archery whitetail hunt a few weeks ago. It's a tough hunt for archers. The new antler restrictions for mule deer in that area is that the inside spread must be outside the ears just like whitetail. On mule deer, that's a big spread. I never saw a single deer that was legal to shoot other than whitetail does. It should help allow some young bucks to get a lot bigger though.

Still had a good time and met a couple of real cool cats that are now my friends.

[grizzman]

It's a fun hunt. No deer where taken in 2013 when I did it, either.What unit did you hunt? I had Lone Canyon in 2013.

[krausejmk]

I hunted the archery whitetail hunt last year and had a blast. We hunted Samson

[bossbowman]

I did that hunt in the mid 2000's, drew north middle, awsome country but to **** hard to do with a bow, I sure some super-human hunter has done it but for us normal mortals seems way beyond possible. If I where to do it again I would have hunted along the pease river for whitetails instead of the canyons for muleys, but seems now they won't let you shoot whitail buck now, they did back then. Saw a few big hybrid muley/whitetail on the hunt too. Swore I would never go back without a rifle but good luck on me drawing that hunt but I still try every year, we saw some toads in the compartment to the west of ours the first day. With rifles we could have easily shot a few legal mule bucks on our hunt, they were nothing special but the antler restriction back then was 4 points on one side. Also recall guy in charge was a crotchety 'ol bugger, wouldn't surprise me if he was a PETA member LOL, wonder if he is still there?

[Palehorse]

I Also recall guy in charge was a crotchety 'ol bugger, wouldn't surprise me if he was a PETA member LOL, wonder if he is still there?

If you're talking about Chip, yea he still there. He's a good ol'boy though, just has to deal with a whole lot of hootle heads that sometimes show up on these public hunts. A few years ago, I shot a real nice muley and he was genuinely excited for me. He scored it and entered the deer into the Texas Big Game Awards for me. I seriously doubt he is a PETA member. In fact on this hunt, the whole staff was very nice and helpful. They really want you to get your deer.

That said, I can be a crochety 'ol bugger myself when someone rubs me wrong. Maybe when you met him, he was having a rough day.

[Eastwood]

Did you see a lot of whitetail does? I have the rifle doe hunt in December and I hope to get some freezer meat.

[stinkbelly]

I use to see one or two monster whitetail and mule deer up there while quail hunting. It always made me want to put in for the hunt, but I never did.

Did you see many quail?

[Jen-Man]

I was there in 2009. Shot a Muley aged 5.5 and scored 146. No way he was outside his ears. Fun times. Hunted the main canyon there, forget the name. Saw a couple of nice wt bucks also.


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[Palehorse]

Did you see a lot of whitetail does? I have the rifle doe hunt in December and I hope to get some freezer meat.

Plenty of does, just not a lot in the same areas as the mule deer.

I also had my heart stopped twice by quail coveys, but I wasn't really in the areas that are known for quail.

[Eastwood]

Could you recommend a good pasture for the does? I've never been there. Thanks for the report!

[Palehorse]

Could you recommend a good pasture for the does? I've never been there. Thanks for the report!

PM sent.

[bigchiefj]

All the pastures are good for whitetail deer.