new mini ranch

[huntnfishtex]

not that i know of but my dad was the one that purchased the place. We went out there last night and saw 13 bucks in one group 2 of them looked to be 150 to 170! Didnt get a real good look at them. Pulled into the place and the group of bucks were about 400 yrds off. We havent pulled the cards out of the cams yet but when we do I will try to figure out how to post pics!

[huntnfishtex]

we prob will have to take a few off we counted 24 deer yesterday with 14 being bucks. The only thing I am concerned about is we arent seeing alot of fawns. predators maybe? they look to be south texas bucks all very wide with nice long tines.

[Peyton]

I wouldn't be worried about not seeing fawns. They're too young to travel with the does and most will be bedded down while mom is out feeding.

Wait til Oct or so to effectively count fawns



Also, go easy on culling or reducing numbers your first year or two. You need to get a good handle on the place before you make any drastic changes.

Get a biologist out there asap, apply for MLD, scout excessively, carry a notepad to the stand, keep good harvest records, and take your time. Have fun!

[fowlball]

I agree with the rest of the folks on here. Get in MLD program asap. I have a similar sized high fenced place not far away. My first year I was kinda overwhelmed by it all. Your biologist will be a wealth of info. And it's FREE!!

[Txnrog]

Considering what you've seen, it sounds like he put some decent stock on it. I would not do anything drastic until you get a real good handle on understanding what you have. If you've got some really good deer in there, you might be able to trap and sell some of the does - on 400 acres, it's not too tough to build a trap pen and manage your feeding locations to get them in there. Also might want to do a little further research and see if he had a scientific breeder's permit - may be able to backtrack to see where he got the deer. Would be a nice little offset to feed cost to trap & sell some does rather than just putting them in the freezer - this is of course if you are seeing some real quality stock. Since you don't know the lines, you'll not get a premium for them, but I bet someone would be willing to take them for a reasonable price.

If you have a good base to start with, you may have a significant leg up. Just don't shoot the biggest buck off the place till you get a reallllly good age estimation and idea of what's behind him. On a place that size, you probably only have a couple of bucks doing the actual breeding.

[monster]

if he has 400acres and 200 acres is open pasture do you still follw the rule of 1 deer per 10 acres or what

[leebtattoos]

i would listen to Payton. it makes good sense. kinda like a 'measure twice, cut once' kind of thing

[ellgrubb]

With the previous owners wife telling you that the husband brought deer in is a good sign. The biologist in the area might have insight to where and who they came from.TXNROG has a good idea of trapping the does just be careful and again as everyone has said get the biologist on board asap and find out how to legally do the TTT. trap tag and transport. Congrats on the new place and Good luck

[Reaper]

pics?

[huntnfishtex]

thanks for all the info. We will be contacting a biologist very shortly. This is my first experience with a high fence used to free rangin places. We havent pulled the cams yet but are planning to on thurs. hopefully I can figure out how to post the pics on here. We arent planning on killing much this year just try and figure what all is out there. Maybe some take out a cull or two if we need to. Thanks for the trapping idea haavent even thought of that might try to contact her and see if she has any idea where he got them but I doubt it will do much good.

[Codie]

thanks for all the info. We will be contacting a biologist very shortly. This is my first experience with a high fence used to free rangin places. We havent pulled the cams yet but are planning to on thurs. hopefully I can figure out how to post the pics on here. We arent planning on killing much this year just try and figure what all is out there. Maybe some take out a cull or two if we need to. Thanks for the trapping idea haavent even thought of that might try to contact her and see if she has any idea where he got them but I doubt it will do much good.

contact the biologist to find out where they came from. Chances are, the previous landowner had to go through the state to be able to purchase and bring in deer, so maybe the local biologist knows where he got them from. Take folks advice above and don't decide on how many deer you are going to shoot until you get a good idea of how many you have. Allow the Biologist to help you out when it comes to getting a good deer count and figuring a deer/acre and buck/doe ratio for the place right off the bat.