Since I grew up through all of these East Tx changes, Ill throw my somewhat educated analysis out there.
When I was a kid, in the late 60s and early 70s, any deer was a good deer. People in East tx often ate primarily off the land. They farmed and hunted for food. Deer ate gardens and crops. Farmers ate the deer year round. As that generation of farmers died out and their kids moved to cities where they could actually make a living, old farms became overgrown with prime deer habitat and a culture began a gradual change.
People began to view deer not only as pest and/or food but as sport and trophies. Most of the farms remained in the hands of the next generation ,although now in much smaller parcels, but thats where those city kids came home for Christmas and hunting season. The deer got less year around pressure and the brown its down culture started fading into the 80s yet very few folks realized the potential for monsters. Yes a few were killed but most lived and died without even being known.
Then all heck broke loose in the 90s! It was no longer cool just to shoot a deer and peer pressure accelerated the changes. TPWD put in place much stricter and harsher fines for poaching and antler restrictions which was a fantastic move. Some of the old holdouts just couldnt afford it anymore.
On top of new regulations came the thing that saved more young deers lives than anything in hunting history! TRAIL CAMERAS!!! Before cameras, lots of folks just figured that if they didnt shoot that 3 year old, their neighbor would. Now after cameras, we can see the same deer year after year and watch his progression. No more adrenaline shock when a nice buck walked out. Now, instead of oh-my-gosh , BANG! its, "Thats Ol Long2. Hes 4. Boy will he be a monster next year". On top of that, now people that had no idea there was a monster on their property now have pics of them and have incentive to hold out. I repeat...nothing in huntings history has saved more young deer than trail cameras. they ended the Browndown mentality. Noone i know celebrates a 2 year old 8pt unless its a kids first deer anymore.
This is just part of the story though. Here comes Hurricane Rita. it rips right into the east tx coast line and continues with 100mph winds all the way up to Lufkin/Ratcliff. A few years later, here comes Ike and it tracked just West of Rita with the same result over the rest of East tx. What a mess it made of the forest. it blew down large percentage of the pine overstory. A biologist friend once told me , "Bucks have a hard time making horns from pine straw". He was right but now instead of old growth pine, the entire piney woods was broken into large swaths of opening that immediately grew high quality browse. Beauty berry, green briar, youpon, black berry honey suckle, etc. This new browse also became unhuntable thickets. Now even highly pressured public land had hiding spots no hunter was going and had them in abundance. The result of this was an older age class deer and a mature buck somewhat less experienced with hunters.
There is more to be told but in summary, East Tx is now situated to produce bigger bucks than at any other time in history. Those thickets are now holding a mature age class of deer. the holding capacity of the land is much larger and the available nutrients are better. Couple that with the recognition that a true monster is possible, and you will now see hunters continue to take greater deer than ever before in East Tx.
Steve Barclay
When I was a kid, in the late 60s and early 70s, any deer was a good deer. People in East tx often ate primarily off the land. They farmed and hunted for food. Deer ate gardens and crops. Farmers ate the deer year round. As that generation of farmers died out and their kids moved to cities where they could actually make a living, old farms became overgrown with prime deer habitat and a culture began a gradual change.
People began to view deer not only as pest and/or food but as sport and trophies. Most of the farms remained in the hands of the next generation ,although now in much smaller parcels, but thats where those city kids came home for Christmas and hunting season. The deer got less year around pressure and the brown its down culture started fading into the 80s yet very few folks realized the potential for monsters. Yes a few were killed but most lived and died without even being known.
Then all heck broke loose in the 90s! It was no longer cool just to shoot a deer and peer pressure accelerated the changes. TPWD put in place much stricter and harsher fines for poaching and antler restrictions which was a fantastic move. Some of the old holdouts just couldnt afford it anymore.
On top of new regulations came the thing that saved more young deers lives than anything in hunting history! TRAIL CAMERAS!!! Before cameras, lots of folks just figured that if they didnt shoot that 3 year old, their neighbor would. Now after cameras, we can see the same deer year after year and watch his progression. No more adrenaline shock when a nice buck walked out. Now, instead of oh-my-gosh , BANG! its, "Thats Ol Long2. Hes 4. Boy will he be a monster next year". On top of that, now people that had no idea there was a monster on their property now have pics of them and have incentive to hold out. I repeat...nothing in huntings history has saved more young deer than trail cameras. they ended the Browndown mentality. Noone i know celebrates a 2 year old 8pt unless its a kids first deer anymore.
This is just part of the story though. Here comes Hurricane Rita. it rips right into the east tx coast line and continues with 100mph winds all the way up to Lufkin/Ratcliff. A few years later, here comes Ike and it tracked just West of Rita with the same result over the rest of East tx. What a mess it made of the forest. it blew down large percentage of the pine overstory. A biologist friend once told me , "Bucks have a hard time making horns from pine straw". He was right but now instead of old growth pine, the entire piney woods was broken into large swaths of opening that immediately grew high quality browse. Beauty berry, green briar, youpon, black berry honey suckle, etc. This new browse also became unhuntable thickets. Now even highly pressured public land had hiding spots no hunter was going and had them in abundance. The result of this was an older age class deer and a mature buck somewhat less experienced with hunters.
There is more to be told but in summary, East Tx is now situated to produce bigger bucks than at any other time in history. Those thickets are now holding a mature age class of deer. the holding capacity of the land is much larger and the available nutrients are better. Couple that with the recognition that a true monster is possible, and you will now see hunters continue to take greater deer than ever before in East Tx.
Steve Barclay
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