South Texas Muy Grande

FOsteology · December 26, 2011, 01:48:54 PM

Oldest boy and I are packed and about ready to head out the door. We'll be traveling a couple hours or so down to South Texas as he was lucky enough to get drawn by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Youth hunt at the Chaparral WMA (crown jewel of Texas public deer hunting). Sources on the ground indicate the rut has been in full swing for the past week.

Got my deer grunter (Thanks HuntnCarve) and a set of antlers as there's an excellent possibility of rattling one in.

We'll be looking for a buck that's 4yrs or older. Perhaps later this week I'll have some pictures of a good representation of our South Texas wt bucks.

HuntnCarve · December 26, 2011, 02:13:05 PM

Good Luck FOs! I know you guys will enjoy your hunt. Be Safe.

Dave

Hawks Feather · December 26, 2011, 03:44:03 PM

Good luck and have a safe trip. I know you mentioned the possibility of this hunt earlier and it looks like the hunting gods smiled on your son this year. Have fun.

Jerry

code · December 26, 2011, 05:48:48 PM

Good luck! Hope you have tons of fun.

Hidehunter · December 26, 2011, 05:59:25 PM

Have a fun and safe trip. Take lots of pics!!

HaMeR · December 26, 2011, 09:52:25 PM

Congratulations on the draw! Good Luck & be Safe!! Can't wait for the trip report!!

shaddragger · December 26, 2011, 10:24:01 PM

Good luck FOS and congratulations to the boy! Another great experience in the making!

FOsteology · December 27, 2011, 09:39:55 PM

Checking in from Cotulla Tx on my iPad.

Saw four young wt bucks this afternoon. Oldest was 3.5yrs

Oldest boy shot himself a javelina @ 151 yards with the Kimberly 84M .308 loaded with 150gr. accubonds. Damn things STINK. My hands still smell....

Pictures upon return.

FinsnFur · December 28, 2011, 01:02:27 AM

Oh man I could enjoy that

Stay safe, and we eagerly await your return, bearing pictures.

riverboss · December 28, 2011, 04:17:39 AM

It sounds like a great time, Enjoy for us and let us see the pics.

FOsteology · December 28, 2011, 09:42:31 PM

Chaparral is infested with javelina! We saw 17 today.

Saw four bucks. All young. No more 3.5 yr old

I'm not seeing any signs of rut. No response to grunting nor ratteling. No response to doe and buck lures/urine.

Will see what tomorrow brings.

Dave · December 29, 2011, 11:22:43 AM

Muy Grande, or no mas grande?

I wish you guys the best of luck.

lacie23 · December 29, 2011, 05:34:55 PM

Hope you get a BIG one !

FOsteology · December 30, 2011, 05:34:21 PM

Well, the hunt ended this morning at 11am. There were 12 youth hunters, and no one dropped (nor saw) a "Muy Grande". I think the rut ended sometime last week as everyone on the hunt stated emphatically that they saw no signs of rut. Bummer.

We saw a nice 4.5yr old buck last night an hour before sunset. He was a 6x4 narrow spread short tined buck. We elected to pass as we know there's better out there in that brush. At 10:43am we decided to start packing up as the hunt was scheduled to come to a close at 11am. As we're sorting gear and preparing to leave, a buck stepped out onto the sendero. A quick peek through the binoculars showed him to be a 3.5yr old 4x4.

The boy not wanting to leave empty handed, decided he was going to drop the buck. a 150gr. Nosler Accubond from the Kimber 84M .308 Winchester dropped said buck at 262 yards. My son (Joe) heads out to claim his buck while I fetch the truck and load up our gear. I hear another shot, so I drop what I'm doing and sprint back out to the sendero. My son said he must have spined the buck as when he got within 120 yards it attempted to regain it's feet and run off. So another quick shot to his neck put an end to that.

Biologist aged the buck at 3.5 yrs
8pt (4x4) scored 109 gross

Not what we had hoped for, but a buck to end the season non the less.

As mentioned earlier, the place is simply overrun with javelina. It was not uncommon for us to see up to 22 of them at once. Usually there would be a group or two of 7-8 in sight throughout the day. Mean little sob's..... they like to fight!

FOsteology · December 30, 2011, 05:41:49 PM

Some pictures of the terrain. Believe it or not, most of the Chaparral WMA burned up 4-5 years ago. With a bit of rain (which we saw virtually nill this most of this year) greens it up quick. If the cactus, mesquite, and various other thorn brush doesn't poke you, the dang rattlesnakes and javelina will bite you!

Last set of pictures show the sendero's. Since the vast majority of south Texas is covered in extremely thick heavy brush (and infested with rattlesnakes), the most popular method to kill deer is to create long dirt roads (called sendero's) and place an elevated stand in the middle, and watch for deer crossing. A bit of golden nuggets of joy spread on the sendero ups the chance of deer and other wildlife stopping long enough for a shot. Shots can be long, as most sendero's are several hundred yards in each direction.

Hawks Feather · December 30, 2011, 08:55:33 PM

Maybe that isn't the buck you were looking for, but it looks really good to me. As for the pig - nice picture, but I remember what you said about the smell.

Interesting information on the way they clear so you can shoot.

Jerry

FinsnFur · December 30, 2011, 11:19:58 PM

Didnt go home empty handed and had a dang good time in the process.

Boy those pictures sure bring back memories. Only hunted Texas once, but I'll never forget that terrian. Loved every minute of it.

Todd Rahm · December 31, 2011, 12:11:59 AM

Good stuff Fo, and thanks for sharing. Nice job Joe!!!!

HuntnCarve · December 31, 2011, 07:07:21 AM

Sounds like you had a great Father/Son outing. Congrats to Joe on a real nice buck! Thanks for sharing the adventure with all of us!

Dave

Okanagan · January 03, 2012, 11:34:07 PM

Sounds like a great hunt to me. That's bigger than any whitetail I've killed and I've never shot a pig, so I am plumb envious of that. Sure is interesting country in those photos. Thanks for the story and pics.