Some of you may have seen my simi-live thread earlier in the week from the public hunt on Matagorda Island. I thought I'd sum it up in a thread about the trip. I wish I had more pictures but sadly I didn't take enough and many came out bad due to the conditions including the LDP's of my deer with me in it.
To start off, this is a remote and primitive hunt. You can only access the island via boat then you tent camp right off the bay near the old Army Base. One group stayed in Sea Drift which meant making that 8-10 ride in the dark morning and evening. They do have an diesel generator running for lights and water to the Parks and Wildlife facilities. You have toilets and a cold water shower with a very nice cleaning facility or use.
After the orientation, you have a short break before meeting back at HQ to be taken to the blinds. All hunting is from their blinds and you’re delivered via a breezy ride in the back of a truck as far as 20 miles down the island. They run you out in 4 different trucks to shorten the ride time. Years ago, it was a slow haul in a school bus. I was in a very nice new stand of which they should all be like this by next year. Some of the stands are in poor condition and will be replaced. They’re most all 4x4 box about 4 feet off of the ground. The new ones have a roof while many of the older ones do not. The norm for a park hunt with their limited budget.
All of my shot opportunities were long and brief, although some guys shot their deer as close as 75-150 yards. Additionally, the grass is really tall and deceiving until you see a deer in it just how tall and thick it is. I was lucky to have seen 4 bucks crossing the dunes and 5 does all of which were too far or buried in these 6-8 foot tall weeds which seemed to be used as an edge type cover by the deer. With no ranching and very little improvement made to the place, water seemed to be the real limiting factor for deer and IMO why I saw so many deer. I had a 20x40 pot hole close to my blind that was covered in trails.
I would recommend that anyone going on this hunt be prepared to shoot 300 yards at a minimum for best chances at success and bring a range finder and good glass.
Here’s my deer. No monster by any means but for a public land barrier island hunt I'm pleased. Per the biologist, a 125 class 10 is near top end and mine was the biggest killed this year. The deer was 4.5, dressed 90 pounds and I’m guessing he’ll score around 105 but haven’t put a tape to him yet. Looked like a 2 year old. I shot him on Tuesday morning (first full day) coming off of a sand dune at 452 yards in a stiff quartering wind. It was the 4th buck I saw and the 3rd I was sure was legal. All 4 bucks gave me 30 to 45 seconds to evaluate, range, dial the scope and shoot. I was seconds from shooting a nicer looking 8 at first light before he dropped off into the high grass at 390 yards.
All in all, it was a fun hunt and something completely different from the norm. I would entertain doing it again, but likely won’t put in for it anytime soon as it was pretty taxing on my dad. He’s a trooper and in good shape for his age but was wore out by the end. We both had a great time and were glad to have the chance to hunt the place that we’ve fished around for so many years.
In addition to my deer, two other bucks and 5 does were killed on the hunt. One wasn’t recovered until the evening as it was lost in the grass but the buzzards led him to it later. Besides the deer, the bird life was amazing. Everywhere we went, we saw hawks and falcons working the grass then early and late the bay side would erupt with ducks and geese in the back lakes. I’ve fished this area for years but rarely in the winter and couldn’t believe the size of some of the flocks of birds we saw.
Here’s a few pics from the trip.
To start off, this is a remote and primitive hunt. You can only access the island via boat then you tent camp right off the bay near the old Army Base. One group stayed in Sea Drift which meant making that 8-10 ride in the dark morning and evening. They do have an diesel generator running for lights and water to the Parks and Wildlife facilities. You have toilets and a cold water shower with a very nice cleaning facility or use.
After the orientation, you have a short break before meeting back at HQ to be taken to the blinds. All hunting is from their blinds and you’re delivered via a breezy ride in the back of a truck as far as 20 miles down the island. They run you out in 4 different trucks to shorten the ride time. Years ago, it was a slow haul in a school bus. I was in a very nice new stand of which they should all be like this by next year. Some of the stands are in poor condition and will be replaced. They’re most all 4x4 box about 4 feet off of the ground. The new ones have a roof while many of the older ones do not. The norm for a park hunt with their limited budget.
All of my shot opportunities were long and brief, although some guys shot their deer as close as 75-150 yards. Additionally, the grass is really tall and deceiving until you see a deer in it just how tall and thick it is. I was lucky to have seen 4 bucks crossing the dunes and 5 does all of which were too far or buried in these 6-8 foot tall weeds which seemed to be used as an edge type cover by the deer. With no ranching and very little improvement made to the place, water seemed to be the real limiting factor for deer and IMO why I saw so many deer. I had a 20x40 pot hole close to my blind that was covered in trails.
I would recommend that anyone going on this hunt be prepared to shoot 300 yards at a minimum for best chances at success and bring a range finder and good glass.
Here’s my deer. No monster by any means but for a public land barrier island hunt I'm pleased. Per the biologist, a 125 class 10 is near top end and mine was the biggest killed this year. The deer was 4.5, dressed 90 pounds and I’m guessing he’ll score around 105 but haven’t put a tape to him yet. Looked like a 2 year old. I shot him on Tuesday morning (first full day) coming off of a sand dune at 452 yards in a stiff quartering wind. It was the 4th buck I saw and the 3rd I was sure was legal. All 4 bucks gave me 30 to 45 seconds to evaluate, range, dial the scope and shoot. I was seconds from shooting a nicer looking 8 at first light before he dropped off into the high grass at 390 yards.
All in all, it was a fun hunt and something completely different from the norm. I would entertain doing it again, but likely won’t put in for it anytime soon as it was pretty taxing on my dad. He’s a trooper and in good shape for his age but was wore out by the end. We both had a great time and were glad to have the chance to hunt the place that we’ve fished around for so many years.
In addition to my deer, two other bucks and 5 does were killed on the hunt. One wasn’t recovered until the evening as it was lost in the grass but the buzzards led him to it later. Besides the deer, the bird life was amazing. Everywhere we went, we saw hawks and falcons working the grass then early and late the bay side would erupt with ducks and geese in the back lakes. I’ve fished this area for years but rarely in the winter and couldn’t believe the size of some of the flocks of birds we saw.
Here’s a few pics from the trip.
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