2019 Panhandle Hunting Thread (7th Annual!)

[talltexasshoote]

We took over 4 inches at the ranch in Garza county in the last few days. It was much needed. Things were getting very crispy. Animals looking great. It should be a great year.

[coldgas]

Originally Posted by Jethro

Wellington got 4.5" of rain last night. That was in addition to about an inch in the previous 2 days.

Send it about 40 miles north Jeff. We are drier than a popcorn fart in Allison America. Wellington, Canadian, and Pampa are all getting rain but we seem to be in a bubble.

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[Jethro]

That rain we got Sat night was a very narrow strip. Go 15 miles in about any other direction and all they got was around an inch. Really needed it here in town, we had missed out on several of the previous rains. This time of year you take what you can when you can. It is late Sept though, everyone should be getting some moisture in the next couple weeks.

[jooger17]

I’m new to this thread but I have read back through several of these PH threads getting the lay of the land. I jumped on a place near Shamrock in south Wheeler Co this year. I’ve hunted North Texas up around Seymore but never this far north. I took the wife and kids up about 2 weeks ago and got cams/ feeders/ stands set up and things are looking pretty good. Several nice bucks, jist nothing that I’d call mature yet. We did sneak in a little dove shoot while we were there. With a 3 year old and 5 year old I had a little more help than I coukd stand but still managed to knock down 15 of the really really dumb ones. I’m looking forward to keeping tabs on the page and posting some pics myself. Good luck to everyone this year!

[Johnny_Dodson]

Originally Posted by jooger17

I’m new to this thread but I have read back through several of these PH threads getting the lay of the land. I jumped on a place near Shamrock in south Wheeler Co this year. I’ve hunted North Texas up around Seymore but never this far north. I took the wife and kids up about 2 weeks ago and got cams/ feeders/ stands set up and things are looking pretty good. Several nice bucks, jist nothing that I’d call mature yet. We did sneak in a little dove shoot while we were there. With a 3 year old and 5 year old I had a little more help than I coukd stand but still managed to knock down 15 of the really really dumb ones. I’m looking forward to keeping tabs on the page and posting some pics myself. Good luck to everyone this year!

Welcome to the area, don’t worry the mature bucks will start showing up here in the next month. There always late to the party. We have a ranch outside of McLean. We have new deer showing up daily.


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[kry226]

Originally Posted by Johnny_Dodson

Welcome to the area, don’t worry the mature bucks will start showing up here in the next month. There always late to the party. We have a ranch outside of McLean. We have new deer showing up daily.


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Ditto. My bucks always show the first week of October, then disappear until the rut.

[jooger17]

Originally Posted by Johnny_Dodson

Welcome to the area, don’t worry the mature bucks will start showing up here in the next month. There always late to the party. We have a ranch outside of McLean. We have new deer showing up daily.


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Same here. I’m running 3 cams and only 1 of them is a cell cam. When I was up a couple of weeks ago feeders and cams had only been up about a week and the cell cam stand was the least active. It’s been popping pretty good the last week or so, makes me wonder what the other cams are doing!

[jooger17]

A few of the locals.


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[Mudslinger]

More rain on our place 1.56" in the last 24 hour! Might be a little soggy come Saturday!

[Hi-Lonesome]

Knocked down a few dove yesterday evening by the stock tank. Dove numbers are fair in my area.

[jooger17]

Originally Posted by Hi-Lonesome

Knocked down a few dove yesterday evening by the stock tank. Dove numbers are fair in my area.

Let’s talk about that pretty shotgun!

[jshouse]

Good luck fellas, always enjoy skimming these threads

[Hi-Lonesome]

Originally Posted by jooger17

Let’s talk about that pretty shotgun!

That's a single shot Remington youth 20 gauge shotgun. It's compact and works well for small game.

[jooger17]

Originally Posted by Hi-Lonesome

That's a single shot Remington youth 20 gauge shotgun. It's compact and works well for small game.

Turkish Walnut wood?

[kry226]

I can feel it, boy and girls!

Y'all shoot straight and be safe!

[talltexasshoote]

In for the opener. It just rained for the last 2 hours and the word for the day is steamy. Looking for a tall 8 and a massive 10 this am. It is almost go time.

[myway]

67 and light rain here Briscoe.I’ll take it!

[Aggiehunter08]

Good luck, I’ll be on stand this evening.

[zappmaster]

2 inches in spur tx still hunting

[Aggiehunter08]

Nothing but does and small bucks this eve.

[jooger17]

I wish I was adding to this thread a little more than pouting on it. I’m at work until the 10th but will leaving the rig and headed straight to Wheeler Co!

[myway]

Originally Posted by jooger17

I wish I was adding to this thread a little more than pouting on it. I’m at work until the 10th but will leaving the rig and headed straight to Wheeler Co!

Your not missing much. Most of our activity on cameras is still nocturnal and with all of the rain this last week there are more mosquitoes than I have ever seen. Yes thermocells work but they don’t help to and from. Not sure if it will show on camera but there are 100’s on the screen of my pop up. Sounds like they are about to carry the **** thing off.
With that being said I did shoot a pig yesterday AM and just shot two more so far this AM. So it’s not all bad.

[Aggiehunter08]

Had a big boar cruise by and run all the deer off, never could get a shot at him.

[DOUBLE-Z]

Saw just about every buck on our property last night. One shooter buck and a few nice ones that just need one more year. This should be a good week!

[DOUBLE-Z]

Originally Posted by jooger17

I wish I was adding to this thread a little more than pouting on it. I’m at work until the 10th but will leaving the rig and headed straight to Wheeler Co!

Whereabouts in wheeler co?

[talltexasshoote]

saw the buck I would love to shoot last pm. He came in about 5 minutes after shooting light. It was 90 degrees plus with high humidity so nothing moved until dark. I wish I had not been in that hot box from 5-730. 730 till dark was pretty good. At least he enjoyed his free corn meal and will be back. Cooler weather this week should help with what time they are moving.

[bowtecmike]

Some of y'all know my lease mate Josh from Lubbock Indoor Archery. This is his stepdaughter Crisyln. She's a cutie, and stone cold.

pray for rain

[bowtecmike]

Forgot to attach

pray for rain

[Jethro]

Tell her congrats on the buck!

[Jethro]

So, for those of you who rattle over on the eastern side of the panhandle (Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, Hall, Gray, Wheeler) when do you consider prime time for that? Seems like usually by the time I get around to it, I am thinking I should have been rattling a week or two before I actually started, and miss the boat. Curious what others think.

[Aggiehunter08]

Anyone ever called a tracking dog in panhandle? Don’t need one just trying to be proactive. I’ve seen Jeff Bonner and Steve Tisdale listed on the tracking dog thread. Any referrals?

[Dc78]

Jeff Bonner came out for friend last year. He can get it done. He is out of Pampa.

[jooger17]

Originally Posted by DOUBLE-Z

Whereabouts in wheeler co?

10mi or so west of Shamrock

[jooger17]

Originally Posted by bowtecmike

Forgot to attachAttachment 974340

pray for rain

Congratulations young lady!

Originally Posted by Jethro

So, for those of you who rattle over on the eastern side of the panhandle (Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, Hall, Gray, Wheeler) when do you consider prime time for that? Seems like usually by the time I get around to it, I am thinking I should have been rattling a week or two before I actually started, and miss the boat. Curious what others think.

Curious a out this one myself.

[kry226]

Congrats to Crisyln!!!!

[Heron]

Originally Posted by Jethro

So, for those of you who rattle over on the eastern side of the panhandle (Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, Hall, Gray, Wheeler) when do you consider prime time for that? Seems like usually by the time I get around to it, I am thinking I should have been rattling a week or two before I actually started, and miss the boat. Curious what others think.

What? No love.for Hemphill? Regardless, I have no clue. I used to have decent results around T-day but mostly miss the last.few years.

My current unsound and unproven theory for our area is.that the last drought ended in March 2013 and that only the last bred does managed to carry and drop. Those fawns were similarly bred late and so on. Basically, the drought pushed back the estrous cycle. Again, pure speculation but I live on the place and have plenty of time for observation.

Likewise, not seeing.as many broken antlers by T-day as I used to. Then again just beginning to.see.decent numbers of mature bucks.

Even pre-drought, the earliesf I.ever got a.response was the weekend before T-Day. It was a beautiful.morning with temps in the 50s and no wind. Come mid-November, it's worth a try if temps are in the 50s or lower.

Btw, I've had a.few come in to grunts and doe bleats without rattling. And if the buck is not right under me, a snort-wheeze definitely gets their attention and I've never seen one spooked by it. Sometimes they'll come in closer and other times they'll look around for a bit then casually go on about their business.

[Heron]

One more thought, fwiw. Our cover is pretty sparse compared to a lot of deer habitat. Like coyotes, deer have an uncanny ability to pinpoint the location of the sound from quite a distance and I think when a buck comes in he's expecting to see another deer. If he can see 50 yards, he'll hang up at 50, etc.

A decoy might help in some encounters but I've never used one for WT so can't really say. Of course, that's assuming you don't mind shelling out even more money and hassling with a decoy.

I used a Montana collapsible elk decoy several years ago on an elk hunt and pretty quickly abandoned it due to being a pain to set up even without 15-20 mph winds.

[Top Of Texas]

Originally Posted by Dc78

Jeff Bonner came out for friend last year. He can get it done. He is out of Pampa.

I appreciate the kind words.

Since y'all brought it up, anyone curious for more info can feel free to checkout my website.

https://topoftexastracking.com/

I'm not sure posting that here is appropriate for the thread, but it does all comes from the great Texas Panhandle. If not appropriate, OP, please remove with my apologies or instruct me as to how. I don't want to do anything to kicked off my favorite thread.

[Mudslinger]

Steven Tisdale is out of Lubbock and a personal friend. He has a Bavarian mountain hound, Yeager I believe and Hoyt his bloodhound. I have seen both work and they are good.

[Top Of Texas]

Originally Posted by bowtecmike

Forgot to attachAttachment 974340

Congrats little lady!

[Top Of Texas]

Originally Posted by Mudslinger

Steven Tisdale is out of Lubbock and a personal friend. He has a Bavarian mountain hound, Yeager I believe and Hoyt his bloodhound. I have seen both work and they are good.

Yep, I've sent several calls to Steve that were too far south for me, and vice-versa

[Jethro]

Originally Posted by Heron

What? No love.for Hemphill? Regardless, I have no clue. I used to have decent results around T-day but mostly miss the last.few years.

My current unsound and unproven theory for our area is.that the last drought ended in March 2013 and that only the last bred does managed to carry and drop. Those fawns were similarly bred late and so on. Basically, the drought pushed back the estrous cycle. Again, pure speculation but I live on the place and have plenty of time for observation.

Likewise, not seeing.as many broken antlers by T-day as I used to. Then again just beginning to.see.decent numbers of mature bucks.

Even pre-drought, the earliesf I.ever got a.response was the weekend before T-Day. It was a beautiful.morning with temps in the 50s and no wind. Come mid-November, it's worth a try if temps are in the 50s or lower.

Btw, I've had a.few come in to grunts and doe bleats without rattling. And if the buck is not right under me, a snort-wheeze definitely gets their attention and I've never seen one spooked by it. Sometimes they'll come in closer and other times they'll look around for a bit then casually go on about their business.

Talking to a local guide, he claims that usually there will be a day sometime in middle of Nov, between say the 10-15th, when suddenly the bucks will start responding to horns. He says that from there on out they will see results with rattling into December.

However, like you, he says that generally the temp is the key. As long as the temp is below 50 degrees or so you can get good results, but as the temp rises towards (and above) 60 degrees then normally response falls off pretty quickly.

[cap50948]

Anybody have trail cam pics of prospects for this season? I haven't checked since this summer and will pull cards this weekend as long as it doesn't rain too much. Excited to see what's around, had some good young deer that needed a year or two.

[Aggiehunter08]

Originally Posted by cap50948

Anybody have trail cam pics of prospects for this season? I haven't checked since this summer and will pull cards this weekend as long as it doesn't rain too much. Excited to see what's around, had some good young deer that needed a year or two.

Here's my 2 target bucks. Leaving tomorrow to chase them!
9pt with stickers
[IMG]09210865 by Jarrod Stone, on Flickr[/IMG]

10pt with trashy bases
[IMG]09100046 by Jarrod Stone, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Puncher51]

I haven’t quite figured out if I’m hunting this deer or not. Any guesses on score?

[cap50948]

Originally Posted by Puncher51

I haven’t quite figured out if I’m hunting this deer or not. Any guesses on score?

looks like he might have gotten some frost bite damage on his ears.

[Top Of Texas]

Originally Posted by Jethro

Talking to a local guide, he claims that usually there will be a day sometime in middle of Nov, between say the 10-15th, when suddenly the bucks will start responding to horns. He says that from there on out they will see results with rattling into December.

However, like you, he says that generally the temp is the key. As long as the temp is below 50 degrees or so you can get good results, but as the temp rises towards (and above) 60 degrees then normally response falls off pretty quickly.

I'll watch for appropriate weather forecast beginning the first full week of November through Thanksgiving weekend. Weather being overcast, cool, moist air, with light wind can rattle all day, but any morning, first thing rattle, can pull in bucks during that time. Mostly youngsters early on. Older boys by second week. Lots of broken antlers by Thanksgiving.

The later it gets into the day, the closer I gotta get to make them respond, and the more I gotta be aware of having a secure pathway for buck to get to me.

It's more about a good setup than about banging horns. Jethro, as much as you like calling coyotes, you know what I mean. Where I'm hidden but maintain max visibility downwind and already have an idea where I expect them to come from.

One day could be a total zero. The next day they come running over you. I still haven't figured that one out, but overcast days,even drizzle, are definitely better.

[Jethro]

I think you are spot on with those comments.

I know how far I can call a coyote from, some days a long dang ways, other days not too far. But I don't know about rattling a buck. I feel like I need to be fairly close in to one, maybe no further than 500 yards or so. I have no idea if that is correct though. I don't know how far you can rattle a buck from.

[Ownthewest]

Lots of good bucks showing up on cameras. The whole area is getting rain this week. It's going to be a great season!

[Heron]

Originally Posted by Jethro

I think you are spot on with those comments.

I know how far I can call a coyote from, some days a long dang ways, other days not too far. But I don't know about rattling a buck. I feel like I need to be fairly close in to one, maybe no further than 500 yards or so. I have no idea if that is correct though. I don't know how far you can rattle a buck from.

Other than air temp and cover, I would think wind speed would be the biggest factor affecting calling distance just like coyote calling, at least in my experience.

I should probably add that my situation is.somewhat unique in that I hunt on family property on which I can roam about as I please. I'm not limited to a stand or a smaller area within a leased parcel. Also, the land has caprock on it (83/60 just north of the "Y" as you're approaching Canadian) which offers long calling/shooting (rifle) opportunities.

No running.water on the place, no winter wheat and cover is limited to mesquite, sand plums, skunk brush and broken terrain. Low deer density as compared to a few miles north along the river. Based on photos and driving around, I'd estimate our resident population at less than 2 deer per 100 acres. Buck to doe ratio (in my experience, the biggest factor affecting rattling/calling) is roughly equal depending on what this years fawns end up being.

Also, when rattling I'm usually "running & gunning" covering a lot of ground and limiting my sits to around 20 minutes per location and carrying a rifle in case a monster appears. On a good day, I might get a 25% response rate (1 ibuck response per 4 sets) and those have consistently been bucks 3.5 years or younger. For me, rattling is usually more about scouting and entertainment than getting a buck within bow range.