Draw Hunt - Hill Country State Natural Area

[goofiefoot]

We got lucky this year, and were drawn for 2 hunts through TPWD. The Pronghorn hunt at the Rita Blanca Grasslands was amazing!

We also were drawn for the Hill Country SNA hunt Dec 13-15 near Bandera. This is a rifle hunt for:

• 4 White-tailed Deer; Antlerless Only
• Unlimited Feral Hogs
• Unlimited Exotic Mammals

I've camped and hiked at this park in the past, but haven't been there in quite some time. I'm looking forward to hunting it, and I'm curious about the exotic population around that area, especially after this year's freeze.

Anyone out in that area with population reports?

If I have enough signal I'll try to do a live hunt. Stay tuned!

[txoutdoorsman24]

Should be a good hunt, plenty of deer out that way. I wonder why no bucks though? Every time I drive thru Bandera, i see axis deer off in the pastures along the highway. Id imagine that area will have some and probably aoudad. I wish they did stand-bys because I'm only 45-50 minutes away

[OleTomTalker]

Following along. My son drew same hunt week after Christmas.

[WinslowBoy]

Our group did this hunt 2 years ago. 4 of us took 5 does and an axis. Surprisingly the staff said there aren't a lot of exotics on the SNA. Some axis along the creek and there were 2 sika shot by another hunter during our hunt but staff said only a couple exotics shot every year. When they put one person from our group in a stand by the creek, they basically told him if anybody saw an axis, it was going to be him. They were right, he was the one who shot it.

Couple of things I'll mention. They have 5 hunts at that place and they use the same blinds. Success rates start dropping the later hunt that you are. They try to rotate using stands but some of them get hunted hard. We were the 2nd hunt (early Dec) and all of us saw deer. Most of stands are hog panels with cedar branches and most are placed near roads. Easy in and out. Throw corn out and you should have an opportunity at some point during the hunt.

We talked with the head guy and apparently their buck numbers are low, hence the antlerless only hunts. He believes that they have a lot of smaller landowners around them that only shoot bucks but wasn't sure of the reason. As far as standby, the head guy said they made a decision they didn't want to hassle with standbys. They originally did standbys and he said a bunch of folks would show up and he said people would be ****** if they didn't pick everybody. He said they actually offer more permits than they actually should knowing that some folks will cancel. That way not every blind is hunted every time and they can rotate.

Last thing is they do not have a cleaning station/area. If you shoot something in the morning, you can string is up on a live oak by the maintenance building (where they do orientation) but in the evenings, they lock that area up. We actually cleaned a couple does right by the main office in the headlights of our trucks. It worked but not the most optimal situation.

With that said, its the hill country and there are a lot of deer there. Good luck on this one. I have AT&T phone service and it was very spotty in the park.

[salth2o]

My son got drawn to hunt there last year. He killed two doe, but we didn't see any exotics in the park.

Really nice blinds and the staff are great. We stayed in the lodge for $30 a night or so. At the lodge there is an area with a light that you can use to clean deer. I brought a gambrel and rope. There is a light and running water there.

Good luck!

[BarW]

Our group did this hunt 2 years ago. 4 of us took 5 does and an axis. Surprisingly the staff said there aren't a lot of exotics on the SNA. Some axis along the creek and there were 2 sika shot by another hunter during our hunt but staff said only a couple exotics shot every year. When they put one person from our group in a stand by the creek, they basically told him if anybody saw an axis, it was going to be him. They were right, he was the one who shot it.

Couple of things I'll mention. They have 5 hunts at that place and they use the same blinds. Success rates start dropping the later hunt that you are. They try to rotate using stands but some of them get hunted hard. We were the 2nd hunt (early Dec) and all of us saw deer. Most of stands are hog panels with cedar branches and most are placed near roads. Easy in and out. Throw corn out and you should have an opportunity at some point during the hunt.

We talked with the head guy and apparently their buck numbers are low, hence the antlerless only hunts. He believes that they have a lot of smaller landowners around them that only shoot bucks but wasn't sure of the reason. As far as standby, the head guy said they made a decision they didn't want to hassle with standbys. They originally did standbys and he said a bunch of folks would show up and he said people would be ****** if they didn't pick everybody. He said they actually offer more permits than they actually should knowing that some folks will cancel. That way not every blind is hunted every time and they can rotate.

Last thing is they do not have a cleaning station/area. If you shoot something in the morning, you can string is up on a live oak by the maintenance building (where they do orientation) but in the evenings, they lock that area up. We actually cleaned a couple does right by the main office in the headlights of our trucks. It worked but not the most optimal situation.

With that said, its the hill country and there are a lot of deer there. Good luck on this one. I have AT&T phone service and it was very spotty in the park.

We must have been on this same hunt, my dad killed the 2 sika. We killed 7 does and the 2 sika between three of us, they only had 16 or 19 animals taken i think so two groups killed most of them.


That being said we hunted from legal light until legal light unless we were cleaning and checking in animals. Lots of guys didn't hunt very hard and complained of not seeing deer or killing deer. Killed 9 animals and saw 14 legal animals so not over ran but enough for success.
We hunted along the creek on the road to the lodge.
We stayed in the lodge and its great for the price. All in all I think it's a good freezer filler hunt but I could see pressure and weather conditions making it hard.

We only saw 3 bucks small 6pt, solid 8pt, and my dad had a giant 10 walk 20 yards from his blind, some of the staff said they were hoping to open back up for some buck tags in the near future.

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[Txfire409]

I wish they did stand-bys because I'm only 45-50 minutes away

They use to, dont know why they wouldnt now. I was drawn for a hunt out there a few years ago and a buddy went with me hoping for a standby. There was only one spot and he got it.

[Txfire409]

Wow, sounds like they changed it up. When I hunted there it was by compartment, not assigned blind. If yall have never been in the "back valley" then you're missing out.

[WinslowBoy]

They switched to assigned blinds and no standbys about 4-5 years ago. Surprisingly success numbers have went up significantly. I think they actually do a little pre-baiting on the stands. One of the staff told us they tried to put blinds in areas where they see a lot of deer. One of our stands was literally right off the main gravel road in the park in an ugly looking drainage. Couldn't really see a long ways. Guy said it didn't look pretty but it was one of the best spots. He was right, my buddy shot 2 does out of it and saw a bunch of deer.

[goofiefoot]

Thanks for the info, y'all! Looking forward to getting out there and seeing what's moving. There are 3 of us hunting so I feel good about success. Keep my fingers crossed for getting placed in a good setup.

[TXOUTLAW]

Good luck


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[CaptTank]

My dad and I will be there next week as well. See you there.


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[goofiefoot]

My dad and I will be there next week as well. See you there.

Awesome! Looking forward to meeting y'all! Good luck out there.

[tdwinklr]

We got lucky this year, and were drawn for 2 hunts through TPWD. The Pronghorn hunt at the Rita Blanca Grasslands was amazing!

We also were drawn for the Hill Country SNA hunt Dec 13-15 near Bandera. This is a rifle hunt for:

• 4 White-tailed Deer; Antlerless Only
• Unlimited Feral Hogs
• Unlimited Exotic Mammals

I've camped and hiked at this park in the past, but haven't been there in quite some time. I'm looking forward to hunting it, and I'm curious about the exotic population around that area, especially after this year's freeze.

Anyone out in that area with population reports?

If I have enough signal I'll try to do a live hunt. Stay tuned!

wow, are you kin to Steve Rinella, who seems to get picked for all the good hunts?

[goofiefoot]

wow, are you kin to Steve Rinella, who seems to get picked for all the good hunts?

Man, that's someone I'd like to hunt with, but certainly no relation. We got lucky this year, and it's been a while since we've been drawn for anything.