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Garner State Park Axis Deer Hunting??

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    Garner State Park Axis Deer Hunting??

    Me and some fellow TBHers got drawn for an Axis deer hunt for three days in mid January. Wondering if anyone has hunted out there, curious to know what to expect. Any tips or suggestions for a garner newbie.

    Thanks

    Muzzy100

    #2
    Ttt

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      #3
      i camp there 2 times a year for past 12 years or so i can tell you there are some big big axis there. im not sure how the hunts work because the deer at garner are pretty used to people being around. you cant pet them but we had a big axis come up to our camp to at least 20yrds while we were having breakfast.

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        #4
        I hope the hunt is successful my understanding is you are out in assigned blinds with assigned shooting lanes so not really sure what to expect.

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          #5
          My dad and his buddy put in and got drawn a couple years ago. They said they would never go back. His buddy shot an axis, but overall they werent impressed with the "expericence"......if you will. LOL.

          One instance I remember them telling me was the park had one of their "snow bird" campers ferrying people around to blinds in the back of a pickup.

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            #6
            That is likely what I have heard is something similar to this

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              #7
              I would have figured more tbhers had attended this hunt!

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                #8
                I hunted there once, but wont do it again. They will take you to your blind(blind is a loose term). You have shooting lanes cause there is other folks close by shooting in a different direction. they will drive by at set intervals. You catch a ride or stay out till the next run.
                If you shoot something and it runs off...can not track it. Gotta wait till they come get you. Gut the deer at the makeshift cleaning area full of wood chips. After the hunt they scrape it all up and leave no trace of the hunters. I may have a picture of their blind set up if you would like.

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                  #9
                  I think this is the way a lot of state park hunts go.

                  I have been on 2 this year and they were similar. I will still go back, my son had a blast and it was good practice for him and he got up close to the deer, even though the are semi tame.

                  I look at these as a meat hunt.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Huntindad View Post
                    I hunted there once, but wont do it again. They will take you to your blind(blind is a loose term). You have shooting lanes cause there is other folks close by shooting in a different direction. they will drive by at set intervals. You catch a ride or stay out till the next run.
                    If you shoot something and it runs off...can not track it. Gotta wait till they come get you. Gut the deer at the makeshift cleaning area full of wood chips. After the hunt they scrape it all up and leave no trace of the hunters. I may have a picture of their blind set up if you would like.
                    Where you successful in the hunt? What did you see?

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                      #11
                      My son did shoot a small axis buck when we there on a youth hunt. Take a comfortable chair to sit in.

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                        #12
                        Cool thx for the info

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                          #13
                          My son won the youth axis hunt a couple of years ago and was Super excited. I have nothing but great things to say about the TPWD public hunt program when people ask and I frequently email TPWD after hunts to let them know what a great program they have. I have been on over 15 youth/adult public hunts in the last 14 years and have enjoyed them immensely, met some great people and been treated to a great experience by TPWD staff. I truly appreciate the time and sacrifice the park staff endures and I love the opportunity to hunt different parts of the staff and IF LUCKY, manage to harvest something.

                          BUT if I was ranking all the hunts, the Garner hunt would be at the very bottom. Pretty sad because this is an awesome opportunity for some people to harvest their first (and only) exotic. Just a quick summary. The orientation started with the Park Superintendent telling us how HIS park is the highest revenue-grossing park in the state and that they LOSE a lot of money holding these public hunts. Next he spent some time talking about having to use funds to purchase new pop up stands and shooting platforms. Then he mentioned how his "volunteers" are limited to the number of hours they can work and that this hunt cut into projects they could be helping on. Also we were originally told since it was a weekend hunt only, we would be able to hunt Saturday afternoon and ALL day Sunday. Unfortunately during orientation we were told they were ending the hunt on Sunday at noon so they could be ready for visitors first thing Monday morning.

                          Then the hunt began and we were loaded in a truck and driven to our stands. We actually drew a very desirable stand near the entrance road where I had seen a lot of axis in the past. Well, we are walked to our blind and shown 2 trees directly in front of the stand with flagging tape on them. Told we could ONLY shoot between those 2 trees. I understood the reasoning but they basically gave us about a 35 degree window to shoot through. Of course, my son and I saw about a dozen different axis (some within 40 yds) but naturally, none went through our shooting window even though we threw out corn and chaffee (sp?) hay. I believe only 1 axis was harvested that hunt.

                          Don't mean to put a "downer" on your upcoming hunt. The park is loaded with axis and you may be successful. It is a beautiful park and I got to spend a weekend with my teenage son (which is huge) but the experience was much different than what I usually experience on TPWD hunts. It's funny because last year I hunted at Inks Lake and the Superintendent asked me if I had hunted anywhere else and I mentioned Garner. He made a funny face, mentioned the Park Supers name and wondered how my "experience" was there. I guess word gets around

                          Best of luck and hopefully your experience is better.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by WinslowBoy View Post
                            My son won the youth axis hunt a couple of years ago and was Super excited. I have nothing but great things to say about the TPWD public hunt program when people ask and I frequently email TPWD after hunts to let them know what a great program they have. I have been on over 15 youth/adult public hunts in the last 14 years and have enjoyed them immensely, met some great people and been treated to a great experience by TPWD staff. I truly appreciate the time and sacrifice the park staff endures and I love the opportunity to hunt different parts of the staff and IF LUCKY, manage to harvest something.

                            BUT if I was ranking all the hunts, the Garner hunt would be at the very bottom. Pretty sad because this is an awesome opportunity for some people to harvest their first (and only) exotic. Just a quick summary. The orientation started with the Park Superintendent telling us how HIS park is the highest revenue-grossing park in the state and that they LOSE a lot of money holding these public hunts. Next he spent some time talking about having to use funds to purchase new pop up stands and shooting platforms. Then he mentioned how his "volunteers" are limited to the number of hours they can work and that this hunt cut into projects they could be helping on. Also we were originally told since it was a weekend hunt only, we would be able to hunt Saturday afternoon and ALL day Sunday. Unfortunately during orientation we were told they were ending the hunt on Sunday at noon so they could be ready for visitors first thing Monday morning.

                            Then the hunt began and we were loaded in a truck and driven to our stands. We actually drew a very desirable stand near the entrance road where I had seen a lot of axis in the past. Well, we are walked to our blind and shown 2 trees directly in front of the stand with flagging tape on them. Told we could ONLY shoot between those 2 trees. I understood the reasoning but they basically gave us about a 35 degree window to shoot through. Of course, my son and I saw about a dozen different axis (some within 40 yds) but naturally, none went through our shooting window even though we threw out corn and chaffee (sp?) hay. I believe only 1 axis was harvested that hunt.

                            Don't mean to put a "downer" on your upcoming hunt. The park is loaded with axis and you may be successful. It is a beautiful park and I got to spend a weekend with my teenage son (which is huge) but the experience was much different than what I usually experience on TPWD hunts. It's funny because last year I hunted at Inks Lake and the Superintendent asked me if I had hunted anywhere else and I mentioned Garner. He made a funny face, mentioned the Park Supers name and wondered how my "experience" was there. I guess word gets around

                            Best of luck and hopefully your experience is better.
                            Wow, that's crazy. I went on a hunt at Enchanted Rock and it was great, the staff was awsome.

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                              #15
                              good luck!

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