Drawn for Kickapoo cavern!!!!

[Huggybear]

Any help would be appreciated! It’s December 2-6! Any pointers ???

[KactusKiller]

If you get a choice try to get one of the northern compartments or the compartments right in front of the headqtrs. Get high before daylight and glass on the eastern slopes. Deer feed in the bottoms then move back into the canyons and up the slopes once sun gets up high about 9am. Just the reverse in evenings. A 120’s type buck is pretty big for there and chances of exotics are slim. I wouldn’t waste anytime or take any blinds.

[glen]

Just got back from archery hunt there. Hate to bring bad news but would not be surprised if the hunt was cancelled. Anthrax got it bad. The only thing the entire group saw were pigs and yearlings. I was told yearlings make it because they are on milk when it was bad. i imagine it will be 5 years before it gets back up for hunting numbers. Was a great camping trip and the bat cave was a experienced

[moondog]

I hadn't heard about anthrax, there. I bow hunted here last year and saw lots of exotics. A Nilgai was taken, that I know of. Not sure if anything else was taken, while I was there. We had a major flood and were stuck in camp, one day.
I sat in a pop-up blind. Saw several does. Had a chance at a small 8 pointer and passed. I would hunt this one again.

[glen]

Moondog. It was depressing. The Rangers there said they were going to try and get rest of hunts cancelled. I will go visit there again but probably wouldn’t hunt it for 5 years at least. The area was deserted. Most of the ranchers have moved their goats and cattle it appeared as well.

[doug]

Moondog. It was depressing. The Rangers there said they were going to try and get rest of hunts cancelled. I will go visit there again but probably wouldn’t hunt it for 5 years at least. The area was deserted. Most of the ranchers have moved their goats and cattle it appeared as well.

What Glen said! We hunted and scouted hard for a couple of days and saw next to nothing. Same thing with driving the roads in the area. Nothing like you usually experience in the hill country! Very sad and I imagine will be for several more years till the population can recover. Here's a pic of one of the victims.



On the positive side it was a great camping trip. The bat cave is a lifetime experience to watch! Just amazing! Also did a cave tour and it was a great experience as well. I will go there again just to hang out!

[frogfuz]

Doug,
I got everyone's contact number and will be reaching out individually. I hunted Friday morning and it was sad how many left after 2 days. Sad not because they gave up but rather because it was no longer a hunt to kill. For me it became a hunt to see. Thurs night the last two groups abandoned the evening hunt a went to watch the bats leave Stuart cave. I've never been least disappointed driving during prime time than here. Only saw 1 fawn!
I spoke with the Deputy Director of Wildlife on my drive home yesterday. I'll hear back from him Monday and share with the other hunt groups. Please DM me for more info on our conversation.

[Tatom]

This sucks to read, my daughter got drawn for the youth hunt in January.

[Chew]

That exact area has a long history of it. Doug, the lease I was on up there right before I got on the lease with you in Kerrville was a great price because it was still recovering from a big anthrax outbreak. I believe that was 2005. The oldest deer on the lease were 4 years old because almost everything else had pretty much been wiped out.

[doug]

Doug,
I got everyone's contact number and will be reaching out individually. I hunted Friday morning and it was sad how many left after 2 days. Sad not because they gave up but rather because it was no longer a hunt to kill. For me it became a hunt to see. Thurs night the last two groups abandoned the evening hunt a went to watch the bats leave Stuart cave. I've never been least disappointed driving during prime time than here. Only saw 1 fawn!
I spoke with the Deputy Director of Wildlife on my drive home yesterday. I'll hear back from him Monday and share with the other hunt groups. Please DM me for more info on our conversation.

Yea after the first day I wouldn't have killed a deer if I had seen one! I spent hours glassing those hillsides just looking for something alive and never saw a thing! Very sad but I guess its a part of nature's way of dealing with things. Sure was a beautiful place and great camping trip though! Those bats and the cave tour are amazing!!! I plan to go back with the wife and just hang out soon.

I'm interested in what the TPWD has to say. I hope they cancel the rest of the hunts. I would hate to see someone use valuable vacation time and money when there is nothing there to hunt. Also those animals need years to recover!

[doug]

That exact area has a long history of it. Doug, the lease I was on up there right before I got on the lease with you in Kerrville was a great price because it was still recovering from a big anthrax outbreak. I believe that was 2005. The oldest deer on the lease were 4 years old because almost everything else had pretty much been wiped out.

I remember you talking about that place. Beautiful country just terrible it has to have this problem. Maybe nature's way of dealing with overpopulation?

[Huggybear]

Thanks for the heads up guys! Looks like I’ll save that week of vacation for something else. It sucks to finally get drawn for one of these hunts and this happens.

[doug]

Thanks for the heads up guys! Looks like I’ll save that week of vacation for something else. It sucks to finally get drawn for one of these hunts and this happens.

I hate that for you, it's a beautiful place! I would check with them about getting a refund and your points back.

[ScooterG]

Doug, Keith, Glen, Scott, Shay, Chris. Great to meet you guys. Very awesome place to camp, hike and enjoy. The fawns with spots and no momma's was very strange. The staff at this park were great as well. Matt and Alan were super. I will be going back with the wife as well. I do feel like that if the biologists for the state had paid attention this summer that this hunt would have been cancelled as well. Had they been cancelled I would not have used up 10 years of preference points. Hope we hear from them about this but I doubt it.