Got Lucky again!! Private Ranch-Antlerless/Spike-Travis County. Not sure if they are on different Ranches than years past or if it is the same Ranch. I will know more when TPWD sends me my info packet and permit. I have already accepted hunt, no cost to hunt this property. I drew with 4 Loyalty points so persistence pays off sometimes. Has anyone Drawn this hunt before?
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I just got all the info. I will be hunting the 4,084 acre Barton Creek Habitat Preserve in Travis County along with 5 other hunters. Limit 2 Doe, or 1 Spike Buck and 1 Doe. It will be Compartment Hunting with a Blind and a Feeder provided in each Compartment. You have to hunt in the Blind. I have looked at the map, it is near the city of Bee Cave, Tx in Travis County. Basically a Suburb of Austin. Should be an interesting hunt. I am allowed to primitive camp on the property if I want to. -
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Hi Mike, we drew that hunt also for 12/5. When are you hunting?Comment
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Doing a little research on the place. Having looked up Bartons Creek Habitat Reserve up on my OnX app, it looks like we will be in Downtown Austin with the 4000 Acre Reserve being surrounded by Shopping Centers and residential subdivisions. My question is why are they allowing us to use Centerfire Rifles? I did not see anything that mentions Archery only! I also read some interesting comments on another Forum by a couple of people that hunted there in the past.Originally posted by WildThings View PostLast edited by MtnMike; 09-03-2022, 09:32 PM.Comment
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Not exactly a raving review here from a Hunt there last year!Originally posted by WildThings View Post
From Sniper John on another Forum about the Travis County Ranch Draw Hunt.
I have only been on one of the private land drawn hunts so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. My feeling is that with the regular drawn hunts in a wma, more often than not each is going to be run within a certain expectable way. Some will roll out the red carpet, others will at least help as much as they can within the limits of the area. But there should be no surprises and within reason an expectation how the hunt is ran. I have been on several and all followed the same general routine.
I expect private land hunts to be more of a wildcard. It could be like a guided hunt in an awesome place where the landowner does everything in their power to guarantee you fill your tag, or it could be just another day on an over hunted day hunting operation where your the 5th person to hunt your stand that week.
My only private land hunt was Bartons Creek Refuge and was just a doe and Spike hunt . Though not open to general public access, it was actually public land in that I think it is owned by the nature conservancy. There is an endangered Warbler there that requires a certain plant to survive. It's an island within the city of Austin and the Deer have to be kept in low numbers so they don't over browse this plant. At least that is what I was told. There was an on site private biologist that manages it and he was tasked with running this hunt. He was at least an hour late to the orientation because he was cleaning deer he shot on the preserve that morning. He spent most of the orientation telling stories like how he accidentally shot a hen pheasant in Kansas and so he just kept shooting hens and could get away with it because he was a biologist, so yea he was a real winner. On the drive showing us the place he stopped at a barn to show us the deer he shot that morning and during the week. All very young bucks and does. He had the heads lined up outside the door. I had the feeling he did not want us shooting his deer considering he had been shooting deer all week. My hunt that evening I could see the top of someone's backyard swing set and was so close to them I could hear ever word the kids there were saying to each other. I was only on that hunt to visit with a friend from another part of the state I don't get to hunt with very often, so it was not a complete fail and I would not say I did not have a good time the short time I was there, but I did leave the hunt early considering the actual hunting part of it a waste of time.Last edited by MtnMike; 09-03-2022, 10:04 PM.Comment
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How is the 12/5 thru 7 going? I am slated to be there on Thursday.Comment
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I did not make the hunt! I killed a Nilgai Cow in October in South Texas and got a decent 8 Point on my Place in East Texas 2 weeks ago. Plus going back to South Texas in a few weeks for a Buck and a Doe, so decided I did not want to drive 240 miles one way to Austin just shoot a couple of does. Good luck to you on Thursday and give us a report on how it went!Originally posted by .270 View PostComment
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I’m here right now replying from the hotel room with one more morning hunt to go. 5 of the six hunters showed up the missing one is MtmMike as he reported above. It’s Hot but staying cloudyish. The full moon is killing us. As far as how this hunt has been run. I give it a 6 stars out of 5. Nope not a typo. Brandon handles these hunts very well. Down to earth guy. Me and my BIL James have killed a 77# spike and a 69# doe. They were taken this morning at 7:30 and 7:58. There was doe and spike in the one group and two mature does in the other group Spike was aged at 1.5 the doe at 3.5. The other three guys are a family group and they have seen 1 doe and killed it.
Brandon the preserve manager said it’s been a tough year due to weather and availability of acorns. Which carpet the ground under the oaks. Everybody’s assigned a blind (4x6) with a working feeder. Lots of corn on the ground. There have been 10 deer harvested (4 bucks,6 does)this season
The property is typical hill country terrain with lots of juniper with hardwoods throughout. 4,083 acres smack dab in the middle of Bee Cave. It has been a very enjoyable hunt. James saw two grey foxes and a 8pt buck this evening. I saw nothing. We’re hunting #3 & #4. Blinds assignment was by drawing.
Hopefully we’ll get two mor in the morning before heading out back to BaytownLast edited by WildThings; 12-06-2022, 08:38 PM.Comment
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Congrats to you and your BIL. Good luck and post up on how the rest of the hunt goes.Originally posted by WildThings View PostComment
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Pretty cool! Didn't even realize there was a public hunting opportunity there. Our home basically backs up to the preserve. I'm def going to look into this in the future!Comment
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Here's the ending to the story. Wednesday morning hunt started warm and muggy. It ended with a little spattering of rain and still muggy and warmer. I saw nothing the entire trip. BIL James killed the spike and doe. We switched stands the last two hunts and he saw 2 grey foxes and an 8 pt 15"ish wide buck. The last morning the 8 pt gave him a nice look wandering around about 40 yards out.
I mis-typed above when describing the blinds. There are 4' x 8' not 4' x 6'. Nice swivel chairs in each. He also has the yardage to the feeder posted inside above the windows
A very well-run hunt and a very enjoyable trip. Would I put in for it again. Absolutely NOT, never, not in my lifetime!! SO, nobody out there should even think about it. OK? Got it? Do not put in for this! GOOD glad I got that across to all
(ok so where did I put my entry for this hunt for next year?)Attached FilesComment
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