Headed to Big Bend SP!

[KLAPPER]

My 9 year old and I are headed to Big Bend SP on Sunday for youth rifle hunt and to say we are excited would be an understatement! We are about as prepared as I know how to be and I’m looking for advise from all of you who have hunted in or around this area, we both have decent optics including spotting scope and are prepared to cover some ground but I’m curious how passable the roads are, I have a late model 4x4 truck that I would really rather not scratch all of the paint off of, also we are coming in Sunday night does anyone have a lead on a good place to stay within a couple hours of the Sauceda ranger station? Any tips or tricks to find these deer, areas to focus on? Any tips or past experiences would be helpful! Obviously we don’t know what unit we will be hunting just looking for general info, thanks and I look forward to updating this thread as we go!

[thegrouse]

I go out there quite a bit but I have never hunted the SP. If you drive in the backcountry your truck will get scratched up. The roads are gnarly. There are sites along River Rd in the SP that you can use your RV or tent camp. If you are hunting in the backcountry Presidio, TX is the closest place. If you are not camping Air BnB might be your best option. Sauceda has limited accommodations in their bunkhouse area. Lajitas has a resort but this is the busy time of year. If you do the speed limit Sauceda is about an hour from the paved road. The closer you can stay the better. You will not have cell service. If you are going off the main roads be sure you have E rated tires and a good spare. I carry plugs and a compressor just in case.

[thegrouse]

Typical road off the main dirt road



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[wilded]

I stayed in a motel in Presidio and it is a little over an hour drive to the park headquarters. I also stayed in the bunkhouse at the park and it is ok. Your truck will get scratched just have it polished when you get home. Get high and glass. Drive and drive to see deer. Most move just after dawn and late in the day. Find water and glass. We killed good deer and javelina. Take a camera for the views, wildlife, wild burros and cattle. Presidio closes down early so don't waste time if you want to eat in town at night. Take cans of fix a flat and a compressor that works off the truck. Take plenty of water as you will dehydrate easily in the high desert.

[KLAPPER]

Thanks guys keep it coming, anyone else have anything

[djs303]

PM sent

[Greenheadless]

Good luck! That place holds a special place for me was I was able to take a 170” mule deer in the early years of the park.

[Greenheadless]

Well?

[easeup]

off the grid right now?

[KLAPPER]

Originally Posted by easeup

off the grid right now?

We got it done in a big way! Pics coming

[Tomkat70]

Following

[dclifton]

Id really like to know more about this. I love it down there in that area. But the thought of hunting it to me was more of a dream. Would be a neat hunt for me and the wife. Or me and my dad to go on. Is it a draw hunt or what?

[3rdCoastHunter]

In for pics and story

[ttaxidermy]

Awesome!!!! In for the pics..

[Rwc]

I like the sound of this......

Rwc

[Redraider]

Man it's a nice one. Congrats to your son. It wasn't easy

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[Mule Skinner]

Big Bend Ranch State Park is great.

I took my son there for a youth hunt in 2017 and last December I took a buck.

[KLAPPER]

Having a hard time uploading I guess the pictures are too large I’ll try resizing them later


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[Snowflake Killa]

Come on worse than low fence

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[KLAPPER]

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[thegrouse]

Wow, Amigo, you nailed it!!!!!! That is great stuff for sure. That is what life is all about those great moments

[Charrison]

That is awesome. Congrats on a heck of a deer and what looks like a world class experience with your boy.

[trophyhunter01]

Really nice!

[KLAPPER]

For starters Big Bend is an incredible place and made for a successful trip long before we pulled the trigger or even saw a deer! The time spent with my son camping and seeing the sights that this place has to offer was something I will never forget, after 2 days of hunting hard getting up before daylight and glassing and hiking we had only stumbled upon one young buck that gave us a very small opportunity but couldn’t get on him in time, if you have ever hunted with young kids you likely know there’s a process to getting them setup and comfortable and spooked deer rarely give you the time you need. The next morning we got setup on a glassing knob where we had last seen the deer and immediately found him on the move at 600 yards, we made a play on him trying to work the wind and terrain in our favor and never turned him up again, there’s no such thing as walking a straight line in this terrain with the rocks and 100 different types of pokey Thorney plants I also feel like it’s noteworthy that afternoon the highs were in the low 90s on the 3rd day of our hunt and I was expecting mid 70s, needless to say it zapped us! Last morning of the hunt we setup before sunrise on the same knob as the morning before just hoping we could turn him up again and after an hour of glassing I decided we would give it 15 more minutes much to my sons dismay but I knew we still had a big camp to pack up and a long drive ahead of us. We decided to move up to another high spot about 200 yards west and immediately glassed up a buck! We are shooting a sig cross in 6.5 creedmoor with hand loaded 143gr hornady eldx bullets and I have good data out to 500 yards, my son is lights out shooting 300 off our back porch so I was confident he could make the shot, we got him setup with the front of the rifle locked into a tripod and the rear of the rifle sitting on a Boulder with him laying somewhat prone, I may be leaving out a few unnecessary details but ultimately he dropped in his tracks what I consider to be a giant Muley especially considering I have never shot one! All I can say is Glory to God, we are just overwhelmed with thankfulness! Also when we started this journey I had many questions that I couldn’t find answers to so if anyone stumbles upon this thread in the future I would love to share more details about how all of this works I do believe that TPWD does a great job on these hunts but some things you just don’t know until you go, the Head park officer was very helpful and worked with us to make this a hunt of a lifetime!


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[Tmag]

That is awesome, great hunt for y’all. Congratulations.

[Grant2]

Man that’s awesome congrats!

[Killer]

Wow congratulations

[lmartin5]

This is what it’s all about…congratulations to you and your Son…thank you for sharing!


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[Rocket15]

Awesome job
My son was lucky to get drawn 2 years in a row about 5 years ago. He was never able to get a shot on one, had a short opportunity on a good one but wasn’t quick enough. We hiked a lot of miles on those 2 hunts and it’s worth every step. It’s one of those places that you just have to experience. My daughters 12 this year and it’s about time to start putting her name in drawing.


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[CabezaBlanca]

Congratulations to both of you!

[Quackerbox]

Yet another hell yeah kiddo thread.

I LOVE THESE THREADS!!

Good job dad

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[rtp]

Well done Dad! Congrats to your son. His mule deer is bigger than any I have ever taken, which is zero!

[Greenheadless]

What a great outcome!

You are right, spending time out there is the special part. Getting to do so with your son was priceless. The deer was just the cherry on top.

[manwitaplan]

Fantastic! Congrats to you and your son. He will never forget this trip. Excellent write up.


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[ctom87]

That is really neat. I can't wait to take my kid hunting for the same type of memories. Congrats to your son!

[ColinR]

Outstanding! Memories that will last a lifetime!

[Treeshark]

Excellent story! What a blessing! Congratulations to your son and the guide!

[ColinR]

Had u been to big bend before and already have a lay of the land? How bad did you scratch up your truck on those narrow roads? Is the hunt by compartment or how were the hunters divided up?

[KLAPPER]

Originally Posted by ColinR

Had u been to big bend before and already have a lay of the land? How bad did you scratch up your truck on those narrow roads? Is the hunt by compartment or how were the hunters divided up?

Never been anywhere close to this area, there are 9 units with small buffer zones between each of them and they are drawn the first morning of the hunt so scouting is almost pointless but there were guys that came in the day before and checked things out, based on the map that was drawn for us and using OnX I suspect we had approximately 10,000 acres to hunt all by ourselves! Our unit only had a small road to our camp and one one other 4x4 trail that I was only willing to drive about a mile down before it narrowed to much for me to reasonably drive through so we just hiked and hiked and hiked some more, some of the other units had more hiking trails which is what we really wanted but ultimately it worked out! We could have switched units after not seeing anything for a day and a half but we would have to pack up camp so we decided to stay put, if you were staying in the bunkhouse or south Leyva camp you could change units without issues but I’m sure unit availability has to do with how many people show up


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[Olympic Recurve]

Congrats

[ColinR]

Originally Posted by KLAPPER

Never been anywhere close to this area, there are 9 units with small buffer zones between each of them and they are drawn the first morning of the hunt so scouting is almost pointless but there were guys that came in the day before and checked things out, based on the map that was drawn for us and using OnX I suspect we had approximately 10,000 acres to hunt all by ourselves! Our unit only had a small road to our camp and one one other 4x4 trail that I was only willing to drive about a mile down before it narrowed to much for me to reasonably drive through so we just hiked and hiked and hiked some more, some of the other units had more hiking trails which is what we really wanted but ultimately it worked out! We could have switched units after not seeing anything for a day and a half but we would have to pack up camp so we decided to stay put, if you were staying in the bunkhouse or south Leyva camp you could change units without issues but I’m sure unit availability has to do with how many people show up


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Thanks. I would love to do this hunt with my son. If we get drawn I will definitely be hitting you up for more details.

[Roger_Roger]

Congrats on a Great Hunt and Memory Maker

[txtrophy85]

That is a great buck. Congratulations to both of y’all

[3ChordTruth]

Congratulations, a very nice buck and an outstanding hunting adventure with your son. Great pics you and your son have to remember this hunt you two made. Good luck on all your future hunts together.

[Maui-diver]

How awesome!

[BarW]

Outstanding!

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[Mule Skinner]

Were y’all in Unit 4?

Congrats!

[sp-bow]

Congrats to the both of you. Some good memories made.

[RifleBowPistol]

It will be very hard to ever top that hunt. That's about as great as it gets. Like winning a mega lotto.

[TKRanch]

Great job both of you!! Such a great experience and you both will remember for many, many years to come!!!