Success South West of Dallas

[tuthdoc]

Thanksgiving week turned out to be pretty good to me. I took two 150+ bucks in less than a week. Both were at least 5 1/2 yo deer that we had been watching for a few years. Our lease is 2300 acres, bow only, and we have 8 spots. We added another place late last year, and did it without adding members. It upped the money that 4 of us were paying, but it gave my nephews a place that they could set up themselves and learn on their own. I chipped in, even though I don't have enough tags to kill what I need to kill on our other place. I knew I wouldn't hunt the other place unless a really big one showed up, so I applied my additional funds toward two trophies. I seldom kill one, much less two. I usually "give them one more year". However, we knew that there were some good deer coming of age and I had my heart set on a couple of them.

As you've noticed, I've quit posting pics of our best deer. I made a couple mistakes posting pics that allowed our place to be located and it seemed the poaching pressure went up. We lost a 165+ 4 1/2 yo a few years ago, and we had buck after buck disappear, along with finding multiple smaller bucks dead within a hundred yards of the roads. Too small and left, apparantly. When we got a tip about who killed Pretty Boy and where he was being mounted, Gold went on a little recon. The taxidermist didn't have the buck, but he did show her some examples of what kind of deer were in the area. One of the pics was one that I had posted of Pretty Boy. Alarms went off and the pics stopped.

My first buck was an 11 that we named FYB, Fine Young Buck. He showed up as a young 10 in 05. It was Mailman's first year to hunt the spot that he had inherited from my middle brother when my middle brother got off the lease. The area is called Valhalla because it's deer heaven. I was hunting "his" blind when the buck came in for the first time. My little brother had seen him the day before in our trap pasture. The potential was obvious. Here are pics of him that year.











The next year, he showed up again, a little bigger. Same spot. We made sure that he was protected and he became a "board deer". He grew a 5 in 06. He also showed signs that he could become a typical 12 and maybe kick some trash.

[tuthdoc]

This deer, unless he went somewhere that fed protein off our place, never used a drop of protein. I never put a feeder at mailman's Valhalla other than a corn slinger and the closest protein would have been Dog's feeder, nearly a half mile away. He always disappeared in February and would show back up the first week in November. We'd get pics of him on the river on his way to Valhalla at Dog' feeder, but he wouldn't stay very long. Maybe a day. Once he reached Valhalla, he became a home boy. He'd show up daily, or nearly so. I saw him a lot last year while Mailman was hunting Houdini at my Road Feeder. Again he grew. Still onlyhad one 5, but the mass got better and he still showed signs of potential blow up. He was 4 1/2 last year. He liked to run does in the open fields near the river and was seen on numberous occasions in the wide open. We were worried about him getting too close to the river and getting shot, even though there was supposedly no hunting allowed over there. It was a gamble, but we protected him again.

These pics were taken at Dog's river feeder. He showed up on schedule.







He next went by Gold and got her all excited....until we told her who he was and he was protected. The then settled into Valhalla. I got a lot of video of him and here are pics that I captured from it. He was seen, still in tact, into February, and then he went home for the spring and summer. Should have named him Snow Bird.















That gets the history out of the way. The hunt starts next.

[kfd82]

Wheres the rest of the story??? Dont leave us hanging!!

[tuthdoc]

bedtime. Plus, I have to capture pics off my video cam.

[bdphunt]

Looking forward to the rest of the story. Your avatar has some nice foreshadowing. Congrats

[supertrooperl14]

Looking forward to the rest Doc.

[maglite]

The Suspence Is Killing Me!!!!!!

[tuthdoc]

Early, at least in Mailman terms, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, Mailman and I left to head to our San Angelo lease. On the way, we discussed what we would do. He had hunted a buck he named Houdini because of his penchant for not giving him shots and escaping certain death by not turning broadside. The rest of us called him Matt's Buck. He is a regular at my Road Feeder. I suggested that he hunt my Road Feeder and try to close the deal on that buck. I'd hunt his Valhalla Palace. Little did he know that Tommy, one of our new guys, called my brother and said that FYB had showed on my camera at the Palace. I left that little tidbit out of the planning.

Later, during the trip, I kind of let him know that FYB had shown at the Palace. He thought that was kind of important info he should know. I disagreed. I told him it would be much better to finish what he started last year. He didn't think trading a 150 for a 130 was a good deal. I did manage to pursuade him that it was. (Dang, he's easy).





One problem did arise. When we checked my Road Feeder card, these pics were on it.









He called "no takebacks" and suddenly thought our deal was a lot better. I told him to not hold back on Houdini. He only get one trophy, but if Houdini went less than 130, which he would, I'd call him a hit list and let him hunt Lucky 2 also. Seemed he was coming in pretty regularly.

Plans were set and the hunts would start in earnest. I figured it would take me a couple hunts to kill FYB. He always had been a regular once he entered Valhalla. He had shown at his normal time and had reappeared on the 13th. Only problem was, I had no more pics of him after that. No worries yet.



We got to the ranch just in time to dress and go out. We didn't see anything, but we did pull the cards at the two feeders. Yep, FYB had shown up as normal, the first week in November. He looked to have stayed the same as the year before. Got a better 5, but didn't push out any trash or a second 5. Just a clean 11. Matt protested some more, but it didn't do him any good.

[DaveC]

Ahh the suspense!

Congrats on your new avatar while we wait.

[Big8]

great deer yall have. looks like you have something good to look to

[bsills]

Are yall hunting from tripods or ground blinds? If ground blinds pop up or permenant?

[tuthdoc]

Mailman can tell all his trials and tribulations while hunting Houdini and Lucky
2. I'll concentrate on my hunt for FYB.

Like I said, he was a regular for about 4 months at Valhalla...every year. When he didn't show on the cams after the 13th, I wasn't initially worried. I knew he liked to run the cotton/wheat fields and would expose himself to poachers or maybe get too close to the river and catch a bullet, but he had made it 3 years doing the same thing and survived. (Maybe we should have called him Lucky 2).

The way I hunt this area when I'm by myself ( was dropping Mailman off), is to drive my truck to the feeder. The deer are used to it. I leave it running, unload my gear, get my corn ready to put out, but I don't do it at that time. I then drive off, parking either north several hundred yards in the brush, or south to the double gates, which are up a hill several hundred yards. There is a lot of deer activity north of me in the big woods. The south area has a narrow line of brush that the deer will follow from our trap to our main pasture. I felt like I would intrude on the deer less using my double gate parking spot.

Sunday had a lot of deer come in, but mostly young bucks and several culls. I was tempted to shoot one of the big culls, but I didn't want to contaminate the area with that kind of activity, plus I only have two tags and the two trophies, if I were to get the opportunity, would take up those. Monday was more of the same. No FYB. I started wondering if he had met the fate of Pretty Boy and Big Baby Crab and all the others that have disappeared over the years. He should have been there by now. 5 hunts. No FYB. Mailman even decided we should go out a different route Monday afternoon. Change our luck. Soon as he headed down that road, about 200 yards from camp, we had a sidewall blow out. Our luck was really changing...for the bad. We got the stuff out to change the tire, we had plenty time, but we couldn't get his tire to go down. I finally told him to walk to my road feeder, a little over half a mile, and I'd fix it. No since in both of us missing the evening hunt. Well, after over an hour, crawling around under his truck, working my arms in little nooks and openings, I finally got the stuff to line up so I could lower the spare. Over an hour to do a 10 minute job. When I finished, I drove to Valhalla, but it was too late to get in the blind. I drove in as I normally do, put out corn, and then drove out of the area. I watched from a distance to see if he crossed the road, but no luck.

Tuesday morning was more of the same. Culls and small bucks. I had to do something different. It dawned on me that the only water source at this time with all the tanks dry is at the double gates. Maybe he was staying near water and hanging out in those little strips of brush. He could see my truck from there and just lay low. Tuesday evening, I parked my truck in my north parking spot. Settled in a little after 3. Same story. Culls, does, young deer.

AT a quarter to 5, all the deer at the feeder looked toward the cotton field. So did I. There he was. Other side of the fence. Walking north, looking at the deer at the feeder. My heart revved. That liitle change was all it took for him to come in. However, he kept on walking. I was leaning as far forward as I could until he disappeared from view, heading north. Sorta like a turkey that forgets it can fly and can't get over a fence. He forgot how to jump. I was happy to see that he was alive. I settled back and hoped.

A few minutes later, I could hear some tree thrashing. I leaned forward and there he was, working a scrape about 30 yards from the pen. He turned and headed my way. I had my camera set up for the feeder shot. The deer stopped in my prickly pear and started eating. I love those Texas Blindfolds. He was quartering toward me. I decided to not take a chance on moving my camera. He was about 12 yards. I got my bow and drew. I held and held. He wouldn't turn. I finally had to let up. My new 82nd is set at 55 lbs. I shoot 300 fps and can draw it and let it up very easily. I love the thing. As soon as I let up, I started easing the camera over to the shooting hole. I decided I needed to get some pics of him at least. By the time I got the camera set up, he had turned fully broadside, had his head in the cactus, leg forward, and was begging for a Rage.





I was getting ready to draw my bow and kill him, but I knew it was close to 5.
My feeder goes off at 5. I checked my watch and it was 4:59. If I drew to shoot, I'd end up rushing the shot, or the feeder would go off just as I released. I decided to wait and see what happened when the feeder went off. I wasn't going to risk a rushed shot, even with him standing there perfectly set up at about 12 yards. About that time, the feeder went off and he was gone.





All I had left was a dust cloud. Rats.

[Brian H]

can't wait for the rest of the story

[tuthdoc]

This blind we call the Palace. I built it out of a 20 ft horse panel. It's tall and big. I built it for Mailman and my daughter so they'd have plenty room. It has a PVC supported tarp roof.

I also hunt out of tripods, towers, and pop-ups. Whatever it takes.

[bsills]

This is a great story,now finish