Deer Hunters: Are you satisfied now?

There wuz a time when I wuz made out to be the perfect example of a horrible example. Mostly by parents of daughters. My own Momma tol' me, one time, "You're the spitting image of your father, and I could spit on both of you."

Incorrigible? Me?

Yup. :D

In the immortal words of Allen Damron, "I didn't grow up; I just got bigger." My claim to fame is that I have pushed adolescence beyond all previous limits.

Art
 
Being 1/2 Germaho 1/4 Scotekiee and 1/4 Iriteec I feel as though I have some good input in this thread. I've experienced the high dollar high fence "hunt" in South Texas. I didn't pay for the experience as I was a guest of the owner. It was a neat experience in that you get to see lots and lots of wildlife from a corn baited stand. it's not my cup o tea however as I can't take stand hunting, not moving around drives me nuts.
My main problem with the whole texas hunting model is this: When or where does the average guy get to do any decent hunting in the Lonestar state? It seems to me that with the prices the way they are and going up all the time we don't need peta, land owners in texas are ging to kill hunting as we know it all on there own. The prices I see being charged prohibit the average joe from hunting much less some dad wanting to take his kids out for a couple of days of deer hunting. It's getting to the point where only the wealthy are afforded the priviledge of hunting and that will be the end of it for all of us eventually. If there are any decent places to hunt in Tx that are affordable I've never found them.
Now for the rant of the day--- If I hear one more Texan complaining about the non-resident fees in my home states of NM & CO I'll be forced to remind him of the trophy fee for either an Elk or a Whitetail on any private ranch in Texas.
 
Good points all. My "maindest" concern is this Chronic Waisting thing. It might be a good idea to let nature take its course for a while and allow the population of deer to be regulated naturally.

I hunt over water, around does and parallel to the "freeways" deer make in the woods. That is to say I find the well traveled deer trail and go above it or below it until I find the lesser traveled path. I guess you could say these are baited areas.

The head of the Oklahoma Game and Fish told me in a visit a couple of years afgo that his research indicates feeders make deer think there is more food than there actually is leading to over-breeding. Hey that's just one man's opinion but I see the logic.

One thing that we are guilty of on our heavy timber lease in S Arkanasas is selective cutting of mature timber which really causes a flurry of activity with the new browse created and makes for some great shooting lanes.

I will concede that Indians hunted over bait for day to day sustinance versus a profit motive. There's nothing wrong with a profit motive provided the herd is not harmed in the long run inho.
 
Back in the 1970s, a bunch of us leased a ranch north of Uvalde, Texas. We were quite willing to pay the rancher an amount of money equal to his annual school district taxes. 7,000 acres; $6,000 a year, or $0.83 per acre for those at College Station. There were a couple of old houses--1880s vintage--to use as bunkhouses, and we could cut firewood for camp. Sep 1 through the end of deer season at New Year's.

Some guys from Houston upped the ante to $3/acre. That was the end of us.

The more the federal government has gotten into the education business since 1962, the higher the ad valorem taxes on land to pay for the school district. Another unintended consequence which all those real smart city folks said would never happen.

A school district does not care one iota if there is drouth or not: You Pay! Thus deer become another cash crop, and our larger population with its greater amount of disposable income competes for leases. Economics 101 never quits operating...

Inflation hits ranchers just as it does the rest of us. I bought my first-ever new car, a special-order 1971 Chev 3/4-ton van with no interior and heavy-duty everything and turned the key and drove away for $3,100.

You ain't gonna find a prime deer ranch for $300 a gun for a small group. You ain't gonna find nickel coffee, or 25-cent Budweiser in a bar, either.

So...I worked 8 to 5 on salary, and 5 to midnight for me. After 15 or so years, I didn't have to do the 8 to 5 anymore. Wasn't rich, but I owned my own huntin' territory, all paid for. But the backs of my hands have more scar tissue than skin, from under-hood tight spots--but, heck, a car won't really run right without a little blood on the motor.

:), Art
 
Just between you and me, Art. My deer lease in Mason is $300 per year. For that you have access to the land. You want a feeder or deer stand-you do it yourself, as well as sleeping quarters. I towed a 20' trailer down there and set it up. You want water? Better bring that too. Some may holler about having to bring/build everything, but I personally like to do it myself, and I have no clue who else offers the same deal in the Texas Hill country.
 
David: Shhhh! Don't tell anybody! :)

A lot of that Hill Country is overloaded with deer, resulting in fairly small deer. Same with my old family place down below Cuero. Got hogs down there that stand near as tall as some of the deer...

Art
 
Right or wrong, I cannot for the life of me understand why people hunt like that. Guides are ok, if you are hunting an area you are not familier with. Even then, I prefer to get directions, and let me do the hunting. A guide should not be finding the game for you. If you are not hunter enough to find your game, you should not be out there.

I learned to hunt from an old retired Methodist preacher. A true son of the South, he knew every thing there was to know about the woods, and the birds and animals, fish and other critters that lived there. Under his guidence, I learned to track, trail, identify my quary from droppings, markings, footprints.

To this day, I can follow a trail, and walk up on deer as they sleep. My preferred hunting locations are the swamps around North Florida lakes, and the creeks that feed and drain them. I love the thick palmettos, and thickets that fill the planted pine forests.

I still hunt mostly, and do some tree standing, but never, never hunt over planted areas, or put out salt blocks. Just bad form. It is my intention to hunt, not just ambush.
 
But, Mannlicher! You started out with a guide!

Hypothetical case: You, Mannlicher, were born and raised in Brooklyn. You grow up in a typical city scene. You're bright, and somewhere along the way you invent a widget and the royalties make you a 30-year-old millionaire.

One day you pick up a copy of "Outdoor Life" at somebody's office, and say to yourself, "By golly, I'd like to try that! I'll bet elk hunting is fun!"

Which is better: You go all on your own to the Rockies, or you use a guide for a season or two before striking out on your own?

Nobody was ever born an expert anything, except for suction and pooping.

:), Art
 
Art,

My reply was my opinion. I did not slam others who hunt differently. I don't understand the' thrill of the hunt' when some one else does the hunting.

Growing up in Brooklyn is another subject for another thread. lol
 
Aw, I know. But, some folks like drag-racing while I prefer sports cars on a road circuit...

Still, everybody has to start somewhere and develop his own system. I never had anybody to teach me anything about hunting, other than reading Ernest Thompson Seton's books. Around age eight or so, my grandfather sorta threw his .22 rifle at me and pointed at the woods. He said, in effect, "Go thou from beneath my ^%$#$% feet!"

I went. Been gone, ever since.

:), Art
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top