Matador WMA draw hunt

[krausejmk]

Well my buddy and I got drawn for the Archery deer hunt at Matador Oct 16-20th and it is our first draw hunt for either of us. I have never even been up around that area so was hoping some of ya'll had some good tips on what to expect. I read some past threads and it looks like spot and stalk and then set up if you find some good sign ( trail, scrape, rub ) or water. Was curious about terrain, ground blinds or climbers/ladder stands. Also any good spots to eat
Anyone else get drawn by any chance? Thanks guys! To say I'm excited would be an understatement!

[ajcarricktx]

I've never been but congrats. Pending second draw here.


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[krausejmk]

Ttt

[krausejmk]

morning bump

[grizzman]

I hunted it in 2013. When I get some time tonight, I'll shoot you a PM on my experience.

You won't have trees that you can climb, at least anywhere that I was on Matador so leave the climber at home.

[krausejmk]

Originally Posted by grizzman

I hunted it in 2013. When I get some time tonight, I'll shoot you a PM on my experience.



You won't have trees that you can climb, at least anywhere that I was on Matador so leave the climber at home.

That would be great! Thank you very much

[ttu1997]

Gun hunted the Matador a few years ago, be prepared to cover a lot of ground. the grass the yr I hunted was waist high in most areas which made hard walking. The place if very snaky but we did not see a snake. Stay in Childress if you are staying in a hotel/motel. We didn't see many deer and we covered a lot of ground and glassed for hours. good luck

[Dirtfish]

if you get 1st choice pick on areas go for lone canyon or the other canyon next to it.. we drew archery in 2011. hard hunt never got close enough to any mulie bucks. tons of wt deer mostly does you see. lot of land to cover 28k acres. plenty places for pop up blinds, look for where they cross the roads on the ridge saddles. they have 2 camps there one for generators other for quite tent camping. there are some giant hogs there also.

[Flint knapper]

Good luck

[krausejmk]

Thanks for the info so far, is not sure what compartment we'll get yet or if we get to pick. We will be bringing a trailer and generator to stay in as well. Any good places to eat in Childress or surrounding areas? Will be making the drive from Katy also

[grizzman]

PMs sent.

[krausejmk]

Anyone know where I can get some good maps of the area?

[grizzman]

I had an ap on my Iphone that worked really well. No guesswork as to where I was at on the map.

[TCR²]

Not to hijack but didn't want to start another thread. My son and I drew the anterless hunt. Dec. 16-20. Any info you guys can share would be appreciated!

[grizzman]

Originally Posted by TCR²

Not to hijack but didn't want to start another thread. My son and I drew the anterless hunt. Dec. 16-20. Any info you guys can share would be appreciated!

When I was scouting in 2013 I saw a lot of whitetail does in the eastern units.

[krausejmk]

Originally Posted by TCR²

Not to hijack but didn't want to start another thread. My son and I drew the anterless hunt. Dec. 16-20. Any info you guys can share would be appreciated!

Hopefully I'll have some good tips and info after our hunt in October

[krausejmk]

Wondering if anyone has any tips on where I can find a really good map of the WMA?

[ScooterG]

Hopefully the PM's have helped you. A bow hunt at this place will be a huge task, maybe not as much as mine at Black Gap but tough. You will want to go back. Not for the food in the area though. We stayed in Paducah at the Hunters Lodge. Crash/wash/cheap.
You will learn what dust is. We gun hunted and both killed nice bucks. We chased lots of "sign" and ended up lucky. All areas are good there. You will have an adventure.

[Etxnoodler]

I'll tell you one thing. DO NOT eat at the k bobs steakhouse in Childress. Dang near crapped my pants multiple times after eating there once. So did everybody else with me

[Czechfish]

Killed a 153 and dad shot a 140 out of the Ox pasture back in 99.
Awesome place and huge Mulies in there as well.

[Wackmaster]

Congrats on the draw, I would love to hunt deer on Matador! However, I have hunted pigs on the Matador and it was awesome. I saw quite a few mule deer and whitetail, as well as some javelinas. However, I am pretty sure that javelinas are not legal in that county...Anyway, as far as deer hunting goes, the terrain is extremely diverse. There are small rolling hills with little to no cover in some areas, there is the river valley, that is fairly open, and up top it is somewhat dense with junipers and little draws throughout (this is where I found the pigs and less deer btw). Almost all of the mule deer I saw were out in the open rolling hills. Good luck, I am sure you will have a blast!

[Blank]

When we had the Caprock Canyon mule deer hunt two years ago, we came right by Matador on out way down to see friends in Uvalde. It looks like beautiful deer country and we would really like to draw there someday. The pics I have seen show some great deer.

[krausejmk]

Thanks guys! To say I'm excited would be an understatement. We plan to hunt hard and cover lots of ground. We will be pulling a camper and generator too and by looking at the food reviews looks like we'll just bring our own and grill every night, lol

[1-taylormade]

krausejmk,

I sent you a "vistor's message" due to having less than 15 posts. :/

[krausejmk]

Originally Posted by 1-taylormade

krausejmk,

I sent you a "vistor's message" due to having less than 15 posts. :/

Thanks! I cant seem to find where the visitor messages are so i will send you one and see if that works. If not feel free to post randomly on this thread to get your post count up, lol

[Hi-Lonesome]

I hunted last year's Archery Whitetail draw at the Matador. Success rate is very slim. Hot weather conditions were prevalent so not a lot of day time movement. I hunted the Shorty pasture. My advise would be to setup a brush blind near a game trail and be there way before day light and dusk to wait it out. Hike and scout during midday hours. I did spooked few whitetails on the river bottom. Glassing midday didn't turn up much activity. The deer are there in good numbers but i think are just more active at night. Watch out for Rattlesnakes! I seen a few. Good luck! Here are a couple photos I took last year in the Shorty Pasture.

[1-taylormade]

Try this again...

My deer lease of 12 years is about 6 miles due west of the Matador WMA. Like statements from the others, don’t expect any trees to hang a stand and plan on glassing all day. I’ve killed 4 nice mule deer bucks in the last 7 years with my rifle and I could have shot all of them with my bow. The mule deer in the panhandle are less skidish than what I’ve hunted in the TransPecos. That being said, I’ve spent a ton of time on the highest points glassing until I found them laying down or grazing and they were fairly easy to sneak up on. Unfortunately, GoogleEarth may have the best map (looks like it was last taken in 05/2016). Also, there’s a decent little café in “downtown” Matador.

Good luck and I’ll certainly be following your hunt through the forums.

Taylor

[1-taylormade]

Originally Posted by krausejmk

Thanks! I cant seem to find where the visitor messages are so i will send you one and see if that works. If not feel free to post randomly on this thread to get your post count up, lol

12 more to go

[BrianL]

I hunted the furtherest NE corner, and saw more than most, but is was later in the year and there were green fields already planted...

[krausejmk]

Thanks for the info everyone. Hopefully I'll have service there and if so I will try and keep up with a live hunt.

[NDN98]

Originally Posted by TCR²

Not to hijack but didn't want to start another thread. My son and I drew the anterless hunt. Dec. 16-20. Any info you guys can share would be appreciated!

Following this thread also. My brother and I lucked out and were also picked on the secondary draw for GDA on Dec. 16-20.

[TCR²]

Originally Posted by NDN98

Following this thread also. My brother and I lucked out and were also picked on the secondary draw for GDA on Dec. 16-20.

Awesome! I'm sure we'll bump into each other up there somewhere.

[NDN98]

Originally Posted by TCR²

Awesome! I'm sure we'll bump into each other up there somewhere.

I'm sure we will bump into each other. We will be 2 bald headed brother with beards that will most likely be in a white Tundra or silver F150.

[Top Of Texas]

Lucky dawg!

Depends on what you want to do, but cool thing about that country is opportunity to hunt spot and stalk on mule deer. That don't come around often for most folks.

I would suggest west side. Samson, West Aermotor, Sisk Pen, East Aermotor, Lone Canyon, in that order.

Find a high point looking at some topography with good visibility up and down a canyon and opposite slope. Sun at back. Go for max vis while staying hid. Stay put. Don't shy away from open country. Most guys chase thick brush, don't.

Arrive well before daylight with lunch and water. Good binos and spotting scope for antler restriction. Don't trust just your eyes. They're really hard to see if in shadow but shine like new penny when hit with early AM or late PM sun. Stay put till you see something worthy of stalk. Watch him long enough to determine direction. Pick a landmark where you should be able to find him again, get there quick using topo as cover. Relocate him, determine direction and get in front to set up intercept. Watch wind, blah, blah, blah, you get the routine. If you see him bed, woohoo! But not likely in that country. Go fast when you can, molasses when you must.

Swap location for late afternoon sun at back. Or since stalking daylight may be limiting, you could sit on a fence crossing, a saddle, or water hole if hot and dry. I never saw any deer sitting with only visibility of bow range, but know a few guys that did. Just not my thing especially in such beautiful open country.

Finally, resist urge to sit on hill above river. Will definitely see deer, but once you get down there you don't have a prayer of getting on them.

Getting excited talking about it. Highly suggest posting a live hunt. Please, please please!

[Top Of Texas]

In case you didn't find map.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt...g/search.phtml

Download aerial photo on phone. Then download app called Avenza. I don't know if the pdf aerial is georefrenced or not. Has to be to work with Avenza.

[ShakyBow]

I was selected for Matador on the 16th as well and looking forward to it; less than three weeks now!

[krausejmk]

Originally Posted by ShakyBow

I was selected for Matador on the 16th as well and looking forward to it; less than three weeks now!

Good deal! You staying at the camp ground there or in town?

[ShakyBow]

Originally Posted by krausejmk

Good deal! You staying at the camp ground there or in town?

I will be staying there in camp; we should be selecting our compartments soon. I called last month and was told we will be contacted in early Oct. to select them according to the order we were drawn.

[krausejmk]

Originally Posted by ShakyBow

I will be staying there in camp; we should be selecting our compartments soon. I called last month and was told we will be contacted in early Oct. to select them according to the order we were drawn.

I was wondering about that. We will be in the area that allows the generators. Have you ever hunted here before?

[ShakyBow]

Originally Posted by krausejmk

I was wondering about that. We will be in the area that allows the generators. Have you ever hunted here before?

I have not; actually, this is my first draw hunt I have been selected for.

[krausejmk]

Originally Posted by ShakyBow

I have not; actually, this is my first draw hunt I have been selected for.

Same here, have you heard from them yet about selecting our units? I haven't

[ShakyBow]

Originally Posted by krausejmk

Same here, have you heard from them yet about selecting our units? I haven't

I was wondering the same as I have not heard anything either; will probably reach back out again just to check in. Tearing this target block up helps with the anxiety

[grizzman]

If it was like it was four years ago, you don't select your units until the orientation. In 2013 we had permit numbers (mine was #1) and we went in that order.

[ShakyBow]

Originally Posted by grizzman

If it was like it was four years ago, you don't select your units until the orientation. In 2013 we had permit numbers (mine was #1) and we went in that order.

Thanks Grizzman; you are correct. I followed back up and and confirmed; we will select compartments according to drawing order on Monday. Only advantages to arriving earlier is to set up camp and socialize.

[krausejmk]

Originally Posted by ShakyBow

Thanks Grizzman; you are correct. I followed back up and and confirmed; we will select compartments according to drawing order on Monday. Only advantages to arriving earlier is to set up camp and socialize.

We will be there around noon Sunday probably. I was hoping they would let us scout Sunday afternoon but it's. if looking like it.

[clintbodie]

I've been there several times and always thought if I had the chance, I'd go to the south fenceline in the South Middle....I've seen some great mulies and whitetail bucks there. I'd take the road that goes down the "middle" of South Middle, turn west and pick one of the first 2-4 ridges and be sitting there at first light and spend some time glassing.

[krausejmk]

Originally Posted by clintbodie

I've been there several times and always thought if I had the chance, I'd go to the south fenceline in the South Middle....I've seen some great mulies and whitetail bucks there. I'd take the road that goes down the "middle" of South Middle, turn west and pick one of the first 2-4 ridges and be sitting there at first light and spend some time glassing.

Thanks for the info! Hopefully I'll get a chance to do just that

[krausejmk]

Almost time for this hunt!

[trek8500xtr]

Jealous! Good Luck!

[ShakyBow]

Originally Posted by krausejmk

Almost time for this hunt!

This day can not end soon enough!