Menard/Mason/Brady 2019-2020 season

[Capp35]

Feeders were slow last weekend, but plenty were coming to water.

[BuckySWT]

Lots of movement. Saw 12 does and 5 trash bucks. Not really interested in corn.
Bucks still chasing does somewhat.

Poleaxed a pig.

[Gary Roberson]

16 degrees here this morning. Should start seeing the secondary rut shortly, if not already beginning.
Adios,
Gary

[BuckySWT]

Saw no mature bucks the past 2 days.
Young trash and a bunch of jumpy does.
The young bucks were all wanting to fight each other and the does we’re running around like a bunch of love struck idiots.

We still have lots of acorns on the ground.

[ccallarman]

The only advice I can give is to get away from a stand with a feeder if possible.
If you have the time and the freedom to hunt away from a feeder, go hand corn at a water source and continue doing so for every morning/evening hunt while you're up there and your chances of seeing that mature deer you've been after will greatly increase.

I've only hunted a hand corned water hole exclusively for the past 2 seasons and have seen some very mature animals that we haven't ever had a single picture of at our feeders.

I have so much confidence in this method that I will hunt it the first time I put corn on the ground after being gone from the lease for 10-14 days. Sit late into the morning hunt and get in early for the evening hunts.

[Gary Roberson]

Deer were moving yesterday evening and this morning when it was 12 degrees, clear and very little wind.
Adios,
Gary

[12thman]

we are seeing doe and smaller bucks but good numbers. since its dry water sources might be a good option.

[Gunswayne]

I took my boys to our lease in Fort McKavett this weekend. Deer movement was good on feeders and great on out hand corn spots. We filled 2 of our 3 remaining doe tags. I brought the boys home Sunday evening and headed back solo Monday morning.

I had some pics of really good bucks hitting our hand corn on 3 of our 4 chum spots. Of course the north wind was wrong for all 3. Playing it safe, I made the evening sit at a feeder I call the Creek feeder. It's on a mostly dry creek bed with thick vegetation, pecans and oaks. My first visitors were 3 young bucks. All three had broken off their main beams on one side each which made it kinda weird. They eased off and immediately several axis does and a few young axis bucks moved in. I never turn down a shot at an axis so I started to prepare myself. A nice 8pt joined the mix and was dogging a doe fawn all over the place. I finally picked out the biggest bodied axis buck and made a good quartered away double lung shot on him. After a short 40 yard track he was headed to the skinning rack.

Tuesday morning I hunted the Pond Chum and filled our eighth and final doe tag. This was kind of a priority as doing so gets me 2 extra buck tags. I'll be taking the boys back after Christmas to fill those. The evening hunt was at my Northwest Feeder. I had a fawn in early and a mature 110" 8pt late. About the time I decided to take him he left.

Wednesday morning the wind finally switched out of the West. It is what I was waiting on. It was switching back north every so often so I decided to go back to the pond chum as I didn't want to bugger up the other chum spots with the big bucks showing up. My truck said it was 9 degrees and I only made it until 8am before bugging out. No deer seen.

Wednesday Afternoon. Wind is finally West though slow. I opt going to my Northeast Chum. This is a new spot I hung in October and was getting pics of some awesome bucks. My 15yo killed a really nice 8pt off of it in November.
I get in at 1:30 pm. The cameras had the deer showing around 4:30pm. At 4:23 a young 8 pops up and starts feeding on the corn. At 4:25 my number one hit list buck pushes him off of the corn at 18 yards. My stomach goes up into my throat, my heart goes into overdrive. I've never had a buck this big in front of me in my 40 years of hunting. I slowly grab my bow and ease into position. He lifts his head and looks the other way. I draw. He bolts!(Dang no wind) I die a little bit. As it happens, this is my first sit in this stand as my boys have hogged it all year. When I was sitting there early I ranged a bunch of spots. This saved the day. He ran in a tight circle and stopped by a clump of cactus I had ranged at 35 yards. I wasted no time splitting my 30 and 40 yard pins on his vitals and tripped the release. I watched the Rage Hypo tipped GT arrow fly true on a perfect quartered away double lung shot. He bolted and I just turned to jelly. I waited 30ish minutes, lowered my stuff down and took up an easy 60 yard trail to this magnificent beast. I can't quit looking at him. I had 2 pics of him in October. He started showing up again last week. About once every 3 days. This was his first daylight showing. He is a mainframe 11pt. He taped out at 157 6/8". His teeth show 6-7 years old. His live weight was 140. I'm on cloud 9! What an awesome few days in the woods we have had.

[DaveC]

Awesome story, congrats and a huge buck!


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[Bh_liberty]

Nice. Congrats


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[Pstraw]

That's a great buck. Congratulations to you!

[James]

Need help or professional opinion on age and size of this buck. I’m in Mason County, this buck is biggest we’ve seen on cam on our 150 acre low fence. He seems young to me but biggest horns we’ve ever seen here on this property. Been after him since bow opener but haven’t seen him in person yet. He’s got double droptines, definitely a first for us to ever see something like this

Very mature, keep checking back to see if you got him yet. Good luck

[CentralTXHunter]

Holy mass! Great buck! Congrats!! We are heading west at lunch today to hunt through Sunday.


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[Gunswayne]

Thanks ya'll and good luck to those headed out this weekend. I was going to take the boys but one is sick so we will wait until after Christmas.

[ccallarman]

wow

stud of a deer!! congrats