East Tx vs Hill Country Deer Debate

[steven]

As far as quantity of deer in the Hill Country vs East Texas, I have no idea. But regarding quality, I would put East Texas above the hill country. I am fortunate to hunt on MLD managed property, and there are very nice bucks year after year

I'm purely guessing here, but I'd guess the average 5 year old ET buck would score higher than the average hill country buck of the same age, its just easier to get a good one in the hill country because the population is higher. I wish the entire state went to MLD style and tags were issued by the property, not the hunter. Right now there is nothing to stop a guy from letting as many people as he wants to hunt and tag out on his 20 acres, and considering average tract size is smaller in ET, it takes its toll.

[Barney1971]

Bark and pine needle fed !!

IDK why this is supposed to be a "debate" nothing to argue about, its just two completely different types of hunting areas/ habitats. the guy that started the thread was just asking what the differences were. i will ALWAYS respect he guys that take big deer out of east texas, you have to know what you are doing and have a ton of patience.
honestly it really got me back to some great memories-- i can remember my uncles best stand (and he killed 140-160 inch deer) was just a couple of 2X6's in a big elm tree.- we never heard of a corn feeder back then-- he was down in a big bottom where he could see a small oat patch we planted every year, as well as an old logging road that would just be covered in acorns. he would never let me hunt there-- my grandfather sold alot of the property when i was about 14yo

[hogslayer78]

Let’s see some of Pats deer
I don’t believe I’ve seen those

And your not going too I have seen them and they are small

[curtintex]

Let’s see some of Pats deer
I don’t believe I’ve seen those

You’d have a better chance of him posting feet pics.


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[lovemylegacy]

Blackbrush, Guajillo, Mesquite, guayacan, make up most of the south tx browse and are all over 21% protein. Pine thickets are deserts to deer (except for bedding areas) there is plenty to eat in east tx, it just doesnt pack the power.
i still say biggest factor is almost all of south texas is BIG, privately owned ranches that actively manage their herd. Most hunt only 1 man to at least 500 acres and some are at 1000 acres per man, thats why the hunting is really good, but expensive.

Well once again I will disagree. Ragweed both common and giant, Goldenrod, Smylax, Black and Dewberry vines, American Beauty bush, Arrowwood and many other plants are more than available for consumption. Several mentioned above are over 20 percent protein, high in Phosphorous, Calcium, Selenium and many more trace minerals.
It sounds as if both regions are proliferate in nutritious browse. I would like to hear from the EP boys about what browse is a available there.

Agree with the pressure aspect. Our lease is 1500 acres/11 hunters, all bowhunters. So the hunter density is high, but we bowhunt and are picky. Only 3 deer taken last season. Members saw plenty, just wanting a wall hanger.

[Gumbo Man]

IDK why this is supposed to be a "debate" nothing to argue about, its just two completely different types of hunting areas/ habitats. the guy that started the thread was just asking what the differences were. i will ALWAYS respect he guys that take big deer out of east texas, you have to know what you are doing and have a ton of patience.
honestly it really got me back to some great memories-- i can remember my uncles best stand (and he killed 140-160 inch deer) was just a couple of 2X6's in a big elm tree.- we never heard of a corn feeder back then-- he was down in a big bottom where he could see a small oat patch we planted every year, as well as an old logging road that would just be covered in acorns. he would never let me hunt there-- my grandfather sold alot of the property when i was about 14yo

Nobodies getting upset and your right this is just a discussion. It’s obvious that some hunters are as uneducated on what deer not only can live on but actually benefit from in ET. I’m equally uneducated as to what HC deer live on and benefit from. ST I think we all get that but with droughts they are no different than any other region. I’ve personally watched and videoed bucks eat Youpon when I never new that they would eat it. And that was within 100 yards of a protein and corn feeder.

[Gumbo Man]

You’d have a better chance of him posting feet pics.


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True Dat. I have em on my phone and was warned about posting them ANYWHERE. He’s so secretive that he blind folds his own son riding to the lease to let him hunt. And then all cameras and phones are checked at the gate.

[HogHunter34]

Sounds like Pat has a honey hole in East Tx
He’s afraid of the outlaws finding it

[HogHunter34]

South Texas native browse has a higher nutritional value per acre than East Texas, even though it looks like it wouldn’t. Besides nutritional analysis alone you can also look at the features of many plants down there, they have some form of defense mechanism aka spines, thorns. This is often an indicator of a highly palatable plant.

Another big contributor is the average land size. South and West TX have a higher average acre per property overall. That means less fragmentation which is going to help sustain populations.


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Thanks Canny
Lots of good info here & makes sense

[Gumbo Man]

Well once again I will disagree. Ragweed both common and giant, Goldenrod, Smylax, Black and Dewberry vines, American Beauty bush, Arrowwood and many other plants are more than available for consumption. Several mentioned above are over 20 percent protein, high in Phosphorous, Calcium, Selenium and many more trace minerals.

I would have never known that about ragweed. Thanks.

[Fajkus7]

It’s only part of the year, but when live oaks are loaded there are many, many acorns on the ground. The rest of the year they must eat rocks !

Right now the Live Oaks, shin oaks, persimmons, and pecans are all LOADED. The deer are gonna have more to eat in the next two months than they know what to do with.

[HogHunter34]

On my place here in Cherokee county last spring I watched a doe behind my shop along the tree line. I noticed she was eating leaves off a shrub/bush. I didn’t identify what is was but thought that was interesting to observe
I’ve been feeding corn year around & so is my neighbor. Last fall I planted two food plots & the deer enjoyed it
The nice thing is I have bedding area behind my shop & have seen as many as 6 does bedded
Might make for an interesting rut with the does bedding & hanging around
Just haven’t seen them here lately

[Bone Thug]

I’m not here to debate but I really enjoying seeing big bucks come out of every area of Texas.

Texas as a whole is an impressive and fun state to hunt. IMO.

[Gumbo Man]

I’m not here to debate but I really enjoying seeing big bucks come out of every area of Texas.

Texas as a whole is an impressive and fun state to hunt. IMO.

Solid reply Brandon. And as always we are looking forward to seeing another stud from your place.

[lovemylegacy]

I would have never known that about ragweed. Thanks.

Yessir and its not just Ragweed.
I have never heard of some of the browse mentioned above, but have no doubt its good stuff