2021-22 east texas season

[jshouse]

Of course, one I really wanted to see in person showed up this morning while I'm freezing my butt off at a flag football tournament. He's lost a lot of weight the last month or so. The cell cams aren't as crisp and make it tough for me to really make a call on some of these guys. i have him at 5 and hopefully he sees 1 more year.

Also, we have been covered up with yotes this year, never seen them like this, up to 5 at a time on the corn pile eating.







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[Hix]

Yotes seem bad at my spots too chasing deer all the time. Eating corn and protein


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[Greenheadless]

Dropped a legitimate 2yo spike this evening (teeth confirmed). Had 10” spikes with 3” bases.

I had seen him multiple times before and he just wasn’t the same as the rest of the spikes I usually see that are tiny. This one dressed 120lbs.

I had thought about letting him ride, but the lack of venison in the freezer caused his demise.

Didn’t get a chance to sit long, so not sure how the activity is right now. Cameras are still logging 1,000-1,500 pictures a week though.

Still hadn’t had ‘than one’ show up this year. Still lots of time to go and patterns I typically see well after Christmas are already taking place. Should start seeing my new crop of bucks soon as home ranges shift again.

[bloodstick]

Originally Posted by Etxbuckman

This is the season that keeps on giving.

So after finding out my primary target buck had been killed by someone on an adjoining lease opening weekend of the general season, I found out today that someone else on that lease killed my other target buck the same weekend.

I'm happy for them but still kicking myself for not going in in October and killing one of them myself. Lesson learned. Hunting in the heat might suck, but that time of year the deer don't care. If they're patterned go in and kill them because the rut brings nothing but heartache.

The last two seasons, i have tagged out before the start of Rifle even begins. I’d like to call myself good, but im just plain ole lucky.

Yea, its warm in October. I hunt mostly afternoons unless the cams tell a different story. Our rut kicks off middle of October so the last week is usually a good one. I do my best to get em before the orange army enters the woods.


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[Etxbuckman]

Originally Posted by bloodstick

The last two seasons, i have tagged out before the start of Rifle even begins. I’d like to call myself good, but im just plain ole lucky.

Yea, its warm in October. I hunt mostly afternoons unless the cams tell a different story. Our rut kicks off middle of October so the last week is usually a good one. I do my best to get em before the orange army enters the woods.


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NOW I remember why I didn’t want to come in here in October. It’s in the mid-50’s right now and was probably 90°+ in my blind when I climbed in. I need to figure out how to insulate these Blynd blinds (at least the west side wall) until these trees are a little taller.

I won’t the same mistake next time though. Our bucks seem to break their bachelor groups up off their summer patterns around the 11th - 13th of October, so thats plenty of time get the job done.

[Etxbuckman]

Well after learning my plan A and B bucks are both dead it was on to plan C. The trouble with him is that he shows up so infrequently and with no rhyme or reason, and I’ve never actually laid eyes on him. Until tonight that is…

And I still needed a little luck to make it happen. Two weeks ago when I was here my rifle had fallen inside my blind, and it didn’t seem to hit hard so I didn’t think anything of it, but evidently it knocked the zero off pretty good. I was aiming for the shoulder and hit him in the neck, but it did the job quickly. Anyway, of all the bad luck I’ve had this season I’ll take any bit of good luck I can get. I will be hitting the range this week though.

[Pstraw]

Good job. That's a fine looking buck, with or without luck. Congratulations!!

[Gumbo Man]

Awesome buck. Congrats sir

[JhuntsAlot]

Very nice.

Congrats on the buck.



J

[NewBallCoach]

Nice buck

[jshouse]

Originally Posted by jshouse

He is a little on the northwest side of east Texas



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2 weeks ago i had a target buck show up on friday. saturday morning the wind was suspect, but if he came in from the south i had a good chance at him, so i went. this is a big creek bottom and i have learned that a stiff wind is needed or it just swirls in there. well, the "called for" 10mph S wind wasnt there. i am sitting in the blind watching my breath float to the east, right towards the feeders.

as luck would have it, i see him coming in from the NE and he gets all the way in to 20y, needs to take 2 more steps to be in my lane, and he spooks. turns around and trots about 20y, then looks at me and starts blowing. didnt see him for 2 weeks, luckily he showed back up at 430am yesterday.

wind was much better yesterday, SE at 10, so i get out there at 1pm, jumped something walking in, and sit till dark. the wind was in my face slightly for most of the afternoon but died off and got real calm at about 5pm. right before dark this donk comes in from the south and hangs up about 5y from the feeder. looks at me and starts blowing and walks off. he came back this morning but no sign of my target since 430am yesterday.

the lay out of this place and where the county roads are make finding a good spot tough, i have an old pop up buried in some cedar trees that form a shield from the road so nobody can see me. but its not working down there, the wind swirls too much. i would have been sick had that been my target busting me again yesterday.

finding a tree to hang a stand means possibly being visible from the road, which sucks, but it looks like thats my next course of action, unless i can get a 15+mph east wind. as you can see in the pic, there are no good trees in that area around the feeders, i will have to move the whole setup a bit to get it done. #hope

[stringmusic]

Make a brush blind for diff wind direction or find a tree in the direction he came from and ambush on his way in to the triple moultrie triangle of death. I wouldn't relocate the setup. Hell for $80 you can get a new triangle of death setup but making them relocate in mid december would not be a risk I'd be willing to take. Id spend about $150 on 6 tasco cameras and deploy them all over trying to figure out his route in and out of the triangle of death. Good luck whatever you decide. Trophy buck!

[gigem95]

Originally Posted by stringmusic

Make a brush blind for diff wind direction or find a tree in the direction he came from and ambush on his way in to the triple moultrie triangle of death. I wouldn't relocate the setup. Hell for $80 you can get a new triangle of death setup but making them relocate in mid december would not be a risk I'd be willing to take. Id spend about $150 on 6 tasco cameras and deploy them all over trying to figure out his route in and out of the triangle of death. Good luck whatever you decide. Trophy buck!

Agree!


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[jshouse]

Originally Posted by stringmusic

Make a brush blind for diff wind direction or find a tree in the direction he came from and ambush on his way in to the triple moultrie triangle of death. I wouldn't relocate the setup. Hell for $80 you can get a new triangle of death setup but making them relocate in mid december would not be a risk I'd be willing to take. Id spend about $150 on 6 tasco cameras and deploy them all over trying to figure out his route in and out of the triangle of death. Good luck whatever you decide. Trophy buck!

Originally Posted by gigem95

Agree!


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i dont want to move anything but i have found that if i cant get a good stiff wind i am wasting my time.

i know getting elevated will help, but i sure like being out of the wind in that pop up

wednesday shows to be a good wind day so i am going to try to get up there...just need him to show back up.

[Low Fence]

Climbed in my south wind stand this morning at 9:30. Have not hunted it since early October. Main event has been here in daylight several days lately usually mornings and early mid day. I got to bail at 12 noon so just throwing a curve ball

Put another load of feed in pen I believe Friday….. it’s all gone of course but there were doe and a small buck here this morning looking around

[Hix]

Originally Posted by EastTx

The buck I have been after all season showed back up this week after disappearing for a month.

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See him yet???


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[Native Texan]

Originally Posted by Hix

See him yet???


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https://discussions.texasbowhunter.c...556065&page=24

[JhuntsAlot]

Dang, those are some really nice E. Texas bucks.

That place is producing some monsters.




J

[EastTx]

Originally Posted by Hix

See him yet???


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My brother got him Sunday afternoon.

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[SaltwaterSlick]

Well congratulations to your brother, sux for you tho...

Beautiful deer!!
Sucker looks all skinny and run down from the rut... hopefully he did a lot of genetic spreading for y'all...

[Greenheadless]

Originally Posted by EastTx

My brother got him Sunday afternoon.

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That is a nice one for sure.

How old do you guys think he was?

[Pstraw]

Originally Posted by EastTx

My brother got him Sunday afternoon.

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That's an awesome buck. All sorts of purdy. Congratulations to your brother!!

[IkemanTX]

Originally Posted by EastTx

My brother got him Sunday afternoon.

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I have seen more bucks with kickers this year than i can ever remember seeing, and from all over the place. Gorgeous buck!


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[Hix]

Originally Posted by EastTx

My brother got him Sunday afternoon.

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Dang it. Congrats to him. I saw it on FB and figured y’all were related
That’s a solid buck!!


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[Southernboy]

Originally Posted by EastTx

My brother got him Sunday afternoon.

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Dang that’s a hoss!


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[Tshelly]

Originally Posted by EastTx

My brother got him Sunday afternoon.

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Next best thing to you killing him. On to the next one!! Beautiful deer


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[rolylane6]

Originally Posted by EastTx

My brother got him Sunday afternoon.

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Beautiful buck! Looks like he's been eating honey locust beans and grew the tree out of his head. Very nice!

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[PineyWoodsBow]

…


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[Hix]

This weather flat out sucks, I broke a sweat carrying my bow 200 yards this morning in a t-shirt.
We did need the rain though.

Saturday when the wind flips it should be a good couple of days in the woods.


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[Etxbuckman]

Originally Posted by Hix

This weather flat out sucks, I broke a sweat carrying my bow 200 yards this morning in a t-shirt.
We did need the rain though.

Saturday when the wind flips it should be a good couple of days in the woods.


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Yeah we haven’t even had a frost. Still plenty of green stuff for the deer to eat without having too move much.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Yea it's bad here but at my place in deep South Texas, it's in the 90's almost every day!! Sure takes the wind out of my hunting sails... Mornings are OK for a little while... Evenings, it doesn't cool down until WAY after legal shooting time... Been using my DeWalt 20V fan for evening hunts still!!

[Anvilheadtexas]

Originally Posted by Etxbuckman

Yeah we haven’t even had a frost. Still plenty of green stuff for the deer to eat without having too move much.

Folks are going to hang onto this “deer have too much to eat” thing forever. It’s mid December, whether it’s warm, cold or woods loaded with acorns the deer sightings in east Texas are going to be down for another couple weeks. It happens every single year and it will happen again next year and the year after that….

[Anvilheadtexas]

Came back into add 80° plus temperatures are definitely not helping if you are still deer hunting. I was at my place yesterday and man, it was like summer.

[Gumbo Man]

Watched 2 bucks standing on their back legs eating the fire out of Youpon Monday morning. The woods is loaded with browse for deer right now. But they are still pounding the feed to so go figure.

[Anvilheadtexas]

Originally Posted by Gumbo Man

Watched 2 bucks standing on their back legs eating the fire out of Youpon Monday morning. The woods is loaded with browse for deer right now. But they are still pounding the feed to so go figure.

I was always under the impression youpon was pretty far down on the deer’s preferred browse list? Lord knows I sure have plenty of it on my place.

[Gumbo Man]

Originally Posted by Anvilheadtexas

I was always under the impression youpon was pretty far down on the deer’s preferred browse list? Lord knows I sure have plenty of it on my place.

I agree. Was the first time I had seen it myself. At first I thought they were after the red berries but then watched for twenty minutes them eating the lower leaves as well

[Anvilheadtexas]

Originally Posted by Gumbo Man

I agree. Was the first time I had seen it myself. At first I thought they were after the red berries but then watched for twenty minutes them eating the lower leaves as well

I was going to ask you if maybe there was some kind of vine mixed in that Yaupon, but it sounds like they were actually eating the Yaupon. Crazy. If a deer decided all it wanted to eat is Yaupon, it would not have to move 5 feet in a day in some places on my land. Never mind standing on their back legs!

I would not be surprised seeing what you saw in the say late February or very early March but that has to be odd for December? There still are acorns in some limited areas.

[Gumbo Man]

Originally Posted by Anvilheadtexas

I was going to ask you if maybe there was some kind of vine mixed in that Yaupon, but it sounds like they were actually eating the Yaupon. Crazy. If a deer decided all it wanted to eat is Yaupon, it would not have to move 5 feet in a day in some places on my land. Never mind standing on their back legs!

I would not be surprised seeing what you saw in the say late February or very early March but that has to be odd for December? There still are acorns in some limited areas.

Yes after watching I decided I should have videoed so others would believe it. This is a capture from video after they stopped eating and started to move on. You can see the Yaupon in the background.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Dang! That buck looks like he's starvin' to death!! He's pooooor!!

[JhuntsAlot]

Originally Posted by Gumbo Man

Yes after watching I decided I should have videoed so others would believe it. This is a capture from video after they stopped eating and started to move on. You can see the Yaupon in the background.

I have also seen doe's eat on the Beautyberry's.

I think they are on their last resort when eating those two.

Or maybe craving another nutrient of some sort.




J

[Gumbo Man]

Originally Posted by SaltwaterSlick

Dang! That buck looks like he's starvin' to death!! He's pooooor!!

It does appear that way in the picture but he is really pretty healthy. He’s been running hard and still is today.

[Etxbuckman]

Originally Posted by Anvilheadtexas

Folks are going to hang onto this “deer have too much to eat” thing forever. It’s mid December, whether it’s warm, cold or woods loaded with acorns the deer sightings in east Texas are going to be down for another couple weeks. It happens every single year and it will happen again next year and the year after that….

That's true. I'd like to know where they hell they go during this time. LOL It seems like some mysterious black hole swallows them up and then spits them back out at the end of the month.

On a side note, it's so warm we're actually getting another cutting of hay on our farm as I type this.

[Anvilheadtexas]

Originally Posted by Etxbuckman

That's true. I'd like to know where they hell they go during this time. LOL It seems like some mysterious black hole swallows them up and then spits them back out at the end of the month.

On a side note, it's so warm we're actually getting another cutting of hay on our farm as I type this.

I’ve always called it the black hole as well! because you don’t see tracks, you don’t bump deer and you sure don’t see them. It’s almost as if they don’t exist… yet between Dec 25 - end of season they seem to pop back up to where it’s it’s actually worth sitting out there and looking for them. I’m very curious to see what happens this year I have a food plot in the back that just has not been touched I mean the oats are so high I’m thinking about cutting them with a lawnmower. Last year it was similar, maybe not to such an extreme, but we did see deer on that food plot the last week of the season including legal bucks that got the pass.

[Hix]

I still see deer, but the bucks are changing patterns and range again. New ones will show, some that come here mid December year after year. Some I thought were dead that have been gone since hard horned will return home soon.
I love this time of year.

You may get a surprise buck you’ve never seen still after the doe or a target buck thats been gone 3 months and ran ragged who’s just come back home to where he knows a meal is waiting.


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[Greenheadless]

Originally Posted by Anvilheadtexas

I was always under the impression youpon was pretty far down on the deer’s preferred browse list? Lord knows I sure have plenty of it on my place.

2nd choice browse plant in most of E Texas. They will get eaten, but if they are getting hammered, it tells you about your population.

[Greenheadless]

Originally Posted by JhuntsAlot

I have also seen doe's eat on the Beautyberry's.

I think they are on their last resort when eating those two.

Or maybe craving another nutrient of some sort.




J

First to second choice browse plant in most of E Texas. Not a last resort plant.

[Greenheadless]

Originally Posted by Hix

I still see deer, but the bucks are changing patterns and range again. New ones will show, some that come here mid December year after year. Some I thought were dead that have been gone since hard horned will return home soon.
I love this time of year.

You may get a surprise buck you’ve never seen still after the doe or a target buck thats been gone 3 months and ran ragged who’s just come back home to where he knows a meal is waiting.


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We also see this. It typically doesn’t happen for another couple weeks or a month from now, but seems to be happening early this year.

We have a few deer that have just up and changed zip codes on us but are still able to track with members reporting bucks others have said have disappeared on them.

I have one from last year that hasn’t popped up yet for last year, I am hoping to run into him soon (fingers crossed)

[Quackerbox]

I haven't hunted since the 1st week in December. Deer were HUNGRY then. My son just got back from a few days of pig wrecking. Deer are at the feeder when it spins and fighting over it.

2 free choice feeders of protein and sweet feed gone

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[Native Texan]

Originally Posted by Greenheadless

First to second choice browse plant in most of E Texas. Not a last resort plant.

I have a stand set up on several acres of beautyberry. You won't find many berries or leaves within a deer's reach.

Lots of beautyberry sprouting up in our clearcuts and seems to be their first choice, even passing up corn to eat it.

[Hix]

Filled my Gregg Co. tag this morning at 8am




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