Laguna Atascosa 2020

[JackRyan]

it happens. Don't sweat it. What you do about it defines you. Move on and hunt another spot... no issues.

post up by someone...no bueno.

I hunted LANWR 2018. I went in close to 2 miles in. Had a hunter walk past my set up one morning. He waved acknowledgment and kept going. Never saw him again. Saw several folks along the road. It is what it is. Folks got to get along.

I agree 100%. I’ve also had another hunter who eventually did see me, waved an apologetic wave and immediately turned around and went back in the direction he had come in from. Which is exactly what I would do in the same scenario. Now, I was nowhere near any road. If you setup on or next to a road then you really don’t leave other hunters much choice.


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[Benson]

Looking to avoid the hunting pressure. Which units have the most hunting pressure? 6 and 8 because they are closer? What is unit #1 like as far as pressure goes?

[CentralTXHunter]

Looking to avoid the hunting pressure. Which units have the most hunting pressure? 6 and 8 because they are closer? What is unit #1 like as far as pressure goes?

Unit 6 will be closed during our hunt for Ocelot monitoring or some crap, lol


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[Huntindad]

Looking to avoid the hunting pressure. Which units have the most hunting pressure? 6 and 8 because they are closer? What is unit #1 like as far as pressure goes?

I think 3 & 8 have the most Nilgai. thus a lot of folks.

I hunted unit 1 couple years ago. Saw as many people(mostly far away) as I saw animals.

mind you I was in a spot that I could see the road(500 yards). But as far back as I was, there was still a lot of traffic.

[Whalerboy67]

So after orientation we'll be able to get out to a spot and put a stand or blind up or do they have to come out everyday?

You can set up on scouting day and leave it there for the duration of the hunt. Last year, I set up a ground blind (which I only used to stay in the 1st day) and would leave all my stuff in it overnight. Took it down on the last evening of the hunt.

[Whalerboy67]

I only had one hunter come across where I was hunting last year. But that was my fault ‘cause I set up on close to a road trying to sneak on a couple nilgai. Other than that, I only saw other hunters before and after the hunt. The number of hunters appeared to decrease significantly as the days went by. The last couple of days there were few of us out there.

[reaganandkristy]

2nd Draw and the A-Team returns!

I'm going to go ahead and call it now, I'm killing a bull this hunt!

So its me and my 11 year old son, possibly my 12 year old daughter - we were all on the application. First ever hunt here, but not our first Nilgai hunt. I've read a lot of your posts and others and it seems that even though there are 200 permits per hunt, there is a decent success rate. Any advice for a dad and his younger kids on this hunt? How often are hunters on top of each other?

[Mr. Public]

So its me and my 11 year old son, possibly my 12 year old daughter - we were all on the application. First ever hunt here, but not our first Nilgai hunt. I've read a lot of your posts and others and it seems that even though there are 200 permits per hunt, there is a decent success rate. Any advice for a dad and his younger kids on this hunt? How often are hunters on top of each other?

Great that you got drawn. I don't know what you consider as a "decent" success rate. I've calculated it from total animals harvested each hunt in comparison to total permits per hunt/# of hunters present. I consider the success rate to be very low. Less than about 10% success rate for any animal (doe, buck, nilgai, hog). 10% success rate would mean at least 20+ hunters were successful if all 200 were present, not including hunters who harvested more than 1 animal. Less than 1% success rate for a mature buck or mature nilgai with a bow.

I'm not a father, so I can't back up any advice for a father and younger kids for this hunt other than that I would personally would not take kids that age on this hunt. Some have before, and I know of 1 that was successful. Archery hunting LA is not a simple task with kids, I imagine. Heck its not simple solo as an adult, and if you do actually kill a deer/nilgai it is very challenging to retrieve the animal with a team of 3 or more adults. I don't see kids being any easier.

There has been several days where all my hunts were interrupted by other hunters. Some days were very frustrating because I couldn't shake other hunters and not have a disturbance. Part of the challenge.

[TN_boy]

So its me and my 11 year old son, possibly my 12 year old daughter - we were all on the application. First ever hunt here, but not our first Nilgai hunt. I've read a lot of your posts and others and it seems that even though there are 200 permits per hunt, there is a decent success rate. Any advice for a dad and his younger kids on this hunt? How often are hunters on top of each other?

Which dates did you draw?

If it's the Dec 4-8, I'm game to help with the kiddos.
I have a 12 yr old boy, although he didn't apply for this hunt. Helping a youngster have fun would be worth donating my time and scouting efforts.

[FlyGuyy]

So its me and my 11 year old son, possibly my 12 year old daughter - we were all on the application. First ever hunt here, but not our first Nilgai hunt. I've read a lot of your posts and others and it seems that even though there are 200 permits per hunt, there is a decent success rate. Any advice for a dad and his younger kids on this hunt? How often are hunters on top of each other?

That’s awesome that you will be taking your kids with you! They will be in for quite an adventure! I don’t know their ability level (or yours) but I would just set expectations around having a great time together outdoors. The place is amazing and really cool to see so much wildlife. The success rates are pretty low for archery, pretty good for rifle tho. But you should still have opportunities and see lots of waterfowl, all kinds of migratory birds (even pink flamingos), deer and Nilgai, bobcats (I think I saw 3), tortise, hogs, lots of javelinas... you or your kids may not get drawn back but I bet it will still be an awesome experience for them to have with their Dad. And if any of you are successful then it just gets even better.

I’ve never hunted with kids so I may not be the best to give advice... but...

I imagine your best bet is going to be corralling them into a pop-up blind to hide the fidgeting and muffle the kid noise. If you see something far away that you can stalk you may be able to leave them there in the blind while you make an attempt? Cell phones work pretty decent out there so you should be able to stay in contact with them.

if they have bikes then I would bring them too as you can all get a little further out. Or it may help just to ride bikes around on the main roads some if they get bored during the hunt. If they all have binos you can ride and glass and keep them busy for a while. Just stay to the main gravel roads and you’ll be ok. If you get out onto the dirt you are going to be repairing flat tires all day.

Also, they would probably enjoy hanging out by the check in station to see the critters get weighed in and hear the stories. Worth a stop on your way in/out.

I think it’s something your kids will truly enjoy and remember for a lifetime, and hopefully fosters that hunting mindset.

[CentralTXHunter]

Accessories from Sherpa arrived today. Really am impressed with the fit and finish of this. Only issue I have now is apparently tubeless bike tires are a pain in the rear to get in. Hopefully my local bike shop gets them in before November.





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[SMS]

That’s a pretty nice setup there. I’m looking for a used bike to pick up before this hunt hopefully.

If anyone going for the 11/6 archery hunt is interested in splitting a rental in Laguna Vista I am interested. Flying solo here and will be driving from Austin area.

[Huntindad]

Accessories from Sherpa arrived today. Really am impressed with the fit and finish of this. Only issue I have now is apparently tubeless bike tires are a pain in the rear to get in. Hopefully my local bike shop gets them in before November.


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Why do you want tubeless? Are they better? I am gonna put tire liners in mine. Hopefully, if something pokes thru the tire the liner will stop it. If not I will have the military grade slime in the tube.

[CentralTXHunter]

Laguna Atascosa 2020

Tubeless with slime is what I’m going for.


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[TN_boy]

You can also get the solid tubes.