Big Bend State Park Draw Hunt

[Whale]

Starting a thread for any and all inputs from individuals that have hunted the Big Bend State Park area for Mule deer.

I have already received some feedback from the other draw hunt thread, but wanted to get this one going to avoid high jacking the other thread.

So far there are two othe TBH'ers drawn as well.

If you were drawn chime in...

Any feedback or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

[jnewberry18]

Did the quail hunt, never had won any I put in for.

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[Hills of Texas]

My place isn’t too far out of the park, couple miles I’d guess. I’ve seen more wildlife this year than I’ve seen in five years of owning the place.

[Whale]

My place isn’t too far out of the park, couple miles I’d guess. I’ve seen more wildlife this year than I’ve seen in five years of owning the place.

That is what I like to hear.

Back to the top for more details.

[Phorizt]

Congrats and good luck on the hunt! I've got nothing as far as hunt info goes but all I know is that my family and I wend down there last summer and drove into the park to look around. The drive was so bad and slow with the washboard roads that we couldn't take it anymore and turned around and left. Incredibly rugged country.

[Puncher51]

My nephew was drawn for that hunt 5-7 years ago or so. Beautiful country. Youth hunt is only a weekend so it was tough. We walked our entire unit but kept running into the same 2 small bucks and 4-5 does. Our unit had a lot of water in it, so it was hard to concentrate on certain areas. As in, couldn’t hunt just a pool of water, because there was water everywhere. He missed one of the small bucks on the last morning, no one killed anything that weekend. We did find a big shed and some of the other groups talked about seeing some really nice bucks though. Message me if you need any other info.

[Lee230]

I quail hunted the ranch next door to the park and the country is rugged and hard walking at times, but super awesome area!! Water will be your friend and remember, the deer like to travel in the bottom of the canyons or creek beds. Congrats and good luck!!

[WinslowBoy]

My son drew the youth hunt there several years ago. Compartments they gave the youth were large. We saw a couple does and one fork horn buck too far to shoot at. He did get a javelina. Wide open country and will be difficult with a bow.

I recommend staying in the bunkhouse. Comfortable beds and you can prepare your own meals in their kitchen (if they still allow that). A lot better than sleeping on the ground. And yes, the Saucedo Ranger Station is a legitimate 26 miles of rough gravel road to get to it. Give yourself an hour to cover that distance once you get off the paved road.

[diamond10x]

My brother got drawn for the youth hunt twice. One hunt had a chance at 2 really nice bucks but couldn’t get it done. The other hunt, the unit they were in they never even found sign of any legal game to take.

Get up high, well before daylight and spend all day behind the glass, don’t be wasting time napping and messing around for a few hours just cause it’s hot or you’re not seeing deer, do not head in until it’s actually dark. The archery hunts are earlier and deer are a lot less active, mostly up and moving at dawn and dusk, but will move to stay in the shade while bedded.

IMO hunting over water is a waste of time. MD don’t drink from a water source but once a week on a wet year, they get most their water from their browse. They will use arroyos as cover to move longer distances but mostly stay up in the rough steeper stuff.

Plan on it being hot but be prepared for it to get below freezing just in case.

[Whale]

Good info so far. Ttt for any more details.

[aggee1992]

got drawn for Oct. bow hunt.

[djs303]

Drawn for Oct 11- 14 archery hunt. 52 days away! Pretty excited. This is my second time hunting there.

[Mule Skinner]

I did the gun hunt back in December. I’ve got a thread about it on this forum.

My son was drawn for the youth hunt in 2018 (I think).

So yeah, I’ve been there on mule deer hunts twice.

Can’t wait to go back!

[Whale]

I did the gun hunt back in December. I’ve got a thread about it on this forum.

My son was drawn for the youth hunt in 2018 (I think).

So yeah, I’ve been there on mule deer hunts twice.

Can’t wait to go back!

Thanks. I tried searching for the thread but can't find it.

Sounds like a few TBH'ers going to be there in Oct. Looking forward to the hunt.

[Mule Skinner]

Thanks. I tried searching for the thread but can't find it.

Sounds like a few TBH'ers going to be there in Oct. Looking forward to the hunt.

Hey Whale, you know what? My bad, I don't think I posted it here. But I did post it here:

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3165028/replies/58179289

It's 30 miles from pavement to the BBRSP HQ. There were some guys who were selected, showed up, camped one night and went home. I guess they were expecting to sit in a blind over a feeder. It's a lot of work but a beautiful place.

When I was there was no water in my compartment, except at the camp site were fox and javelina would come for a drink.

Let me know if you have any questions.