Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge

[jnd1959]

Headed up tonight. Orientation tomorrow at noon. Drove by last week, looks pretty thick with Cedar but google earth shows some openings. Anxious to see what’s up out there.


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Good luck! I've never figured out how to hunt the thick junipers successfully other than to glass the pinch points and trails. Hope you have a good and successful trip!

[ahlongslide]

Anybody get one this past weekend?

[Jen-Man]

Between 4 of us in 10 and 11 one yearling doe was seen. Lots of time put into watching trails and funnels.


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[ahlongslide]

That sucks. Sorry to hear that.

[Jen-Man]

That sucks. Sorry to hear that.

Ah, it’s ok. Still enjoyed it. Beautiful country and I wasn’t working.


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[Matt_Dinger]

Given the heavy rain expected on Friday, does anyone have experience with possible vehicle driving conditions in unit 3?

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[ahlongslide]

You’ll probably want 4WD. They were established dirt roads, but they were already pretty muddy 3 weeks ago

[jaredmartin]

If anyone wants to revive this thread, I got the draw for Dec. 6-8. Wont have time to scout, but I am still looking forward to the challenge.

[Jen-Man]

If anyone wants to revive this thread, I got the draw for Dec. 6-8. Wont have time to scout, but I am still looking forward to the challenge.

Good luck. I’d try to stay out of 10 &11. Blew my mind not to see a single deer in that part of the state. I even watched some backyards of a neighboring subdivision..... nothing. Beautiful country. Enjoy.


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[jnd1959]

We drew the unit closest to the NWR office. That area is mostly junipers and live oaks. I honestly don't know what they eat. I expect the browse on junipers and eat the live oak acorns. We saw two bucks at 330 yards the first night. We should have taken that shot but we expected we would see more. We didn't, although there was a decent amount of sign. The other areas are further north and may be somewhat different. It is hill country so setting high and glassing was the best course (first night). We did have a chance at a hog but my old eyes couldn't find him in the low light. Driving for us was not a problem. It was a little muddy but the roads were not worse than west texas. Other areas may be different.

If I were to do this again, I would talk to the biologists about food sources in that area. If the are eating junipers and live oaks there is no concentration. If they are eating something else I would find that and concentrate on it. Dec may have a second rut. Bucks could be where the does are and does will be where the food is...my theory. If there is not concentration of food source you best bet may be to treat it as a western hunt and climb high and glass.

Good luck

[toomuchsun]

I used to manage the Uplands (3200 acres) for the developer and leased ranching activity. This land partially finally became a separated section of the Canyon Lands to the bigger section more toward Burnet. I also owned and sold a small tract surrounded by the big unit in reference in this thread. Lots of Melinistic Deer (Black genitic color). A few Black buck. There were so many critters I guess they survive by knowing the Units are dander to them. The Uplands Has Barton Creek running through it. It has since been partially built out but I am happy some of the Uplands was reserved. It was originally not build-able because of the Golden Cheek Warbler which moved out once the clearing stopped. Go Figure! They like partial cleared Ash Junipers per the US Wildlife Bioligists. As always 2 or more sides to every story. Dealing with the Big city environmentalists was challenging to say the least. I believe in common sense protections but also the ability to use our resources wisely. I was lucky to have had 4 years to hunt these areas. Enjoy and good luck.

[m10]

My wife and I drew 12/13-12/15. Was excited at first but kinda bummed as everything I have read seems to be low. We will be there anyways. A weekend in beautiful country is worth it to us.

[jnd1959]

My wife and I drew 12/13-12/15. Was excited at first but kinda bummed as everything I have read seems to be low. We will be there anyways. A weekend in beautiful country is worth it to us.

It's a tough hunt but as I said earlier, if one can figure out the food sources I think they can be successful. If you're used to hunting in that central texas juniper/live oak stuff, you probably have a leg up. It was fun to set and glass without having to drive 17 hours.


Find the food, you'll find the deer, I believe.

We stayed in Lago Vista on the lake this summer and there were a boatload of deer. It looked like true central texas.

There's no motels in Lago Vista but there are some places to eat.

[bigchiefj]

It depends on your compartment. Some are good hunting and some are not. I don't know how they assign compartments, but you can call the area.

[ahlongslide]

I was in Unit 3 mid-November last year and liked it so much I put in for the same hunt this year. Unfortunately, I didn't get drawn. Like was stated above, my spot was perfect for setting up high and glassing. There was tons of movement. The 9 Pointer I got was 310yds away, 6.5Manbun to the heart dropped him straight down.