Byron South
New member
I grew up in the edge of the Texas panhandle and back then (late 70's early 80's) there weren't many deer. In fact there we so few that hardly anyone at all hunted them. Boy how things have changed since then. Now just about every property out there has a strong population of deer. In fact now most every property is leased to deer hunters from everywhere. I used to be able to hunt coyotes just about anywhere out there by just making a phone call or two. Not anymore. Through the years though I've maintained good relations with several ranchers and farmers in the area and still have access to hunt some pretty good properties (mostly for coyotes though after deer season).
One property though is owned by an older gentleman that has no desire to lease his land. Although he has always let me hunt everytime I've asked he won't even consider leasing it to me. All he wants is deer jerky if I kill a deer. I figure this is a pretty good trade but would rather lease the land. This way I could put up some stands and a feeder or two. This would make it a little easier for me to take my wife and kids to hunt. As it stands now though I have no stands and have to ask for permission each time I go. He won't give me a key to the gate but will go unlock it when I'm coming and comes out and locks it back when I leave.
I now live in East Texas and the deer hunting in my immediate area is pretty tough. You can hunt for a solid week and never even see a deer. We have feeders and cameras out but the only activity and pictures we get on our cameras is at night. Rarely do we see a deer during the day on our place here.
This year Tanner (10) was bound and determined to get his first deer. We hunted for several days and just couldn't put it together. I then decided it was time to call my buddy out West and ask if I could bring my family out to try for a deer. He said sure and that he would go unlock the gate for us.
I've hunted the place for several years and know the property (1200 acres) very well. Although I've mostly hunted it for coyotes I had a pretty good grasp of how we might set up for deer. Without stands we would have to do a little scouting and make some improvised blinds to get Tanner on a nice buck. This was a great experience for Tanner and he and I both enjoyed it.
On the second evening things came together and Tanner made a great shot on his first buck. He was using my R-15 shooting 62 grain core-lokt bullets. Tanner patiently waited for the buck to present a good shot. At 140 yards the buck turned perfect and Tanner placed the shot right behind the shoulder. At the shot the buck made it about 40 yards before piling up. Tanner's first buck was down for the count.
While we were hunting and scouting we had seen a large buck crossing a fence row several times chasing a doe. Even at 5-800 yards we could tell he was BIG. After Tanner killed his deer I had only the next morning to hunt and see if could get on this big deer before we had to head home.
As the sun came up the final morning the fog rolled in. It was thick as soup and you couldn't see 30 yards. For most of the morning the fog was really bad and I only caught a glimpse of the big buck but he never offered a good shot. As we packed and left I told my wife if I had just one more day I believe I could kill this buck.
While back home all I could think of was trying to find time to get back up there to try for that buck. Sure enough I found some time and last weekend me and my wife and I headed back up there. Saturdy morning found us out there again. We saw lots of deer that morning and another very impressive buck but he was standing across the fence on another property nosing a doe around. Even though it was very tempting all we could do was watch him as he faded away. Then it occured to me he was headed for another property that I have access too. We quickly retreated to the truck and drove around to the other property and snuck down as close to where we thought he was headed. He was nowhere to be found. I then began to rattle and grunt a little in hopes of calling him in ( you know me
). After about twenty minutes we had decided he was not taking the bait and decided to head a little deeper. Bad move. We got up and only went a few yards until we bumped into him headed right for us. This was a VERY nice buck too.
Well that afternoon I decided to head back to where Tanner and I had seen the big buck before. We had also found some large rubs there too. I set up in the fence row about 2-300 yards from where I thought he would cross. At about an hour before dark he appeared right on cue and I was ready. I had already ranged it and new he was right past the 300 yard mark. With the Nikon BDC reticle I just placed the 300 reference circle on his chest and squeezed the trigger. The rewarding sound of the 30-06's 168 grain core-lokt ultra thudded back to my ears with clear evidence of a solid hit. The buck stumbled and then went down. Yep, one more day is all I needed.
The buck grossed 153 2/8 and I guess him to be 5 1/2 years old.
Thanks for reading my story.
Good Hunting, and God Bless,
Byron
One property though is owned by an older gentleman that has no desire to lease his land. Although he has always let me hunt everytime I've asked he won't even consider leasing it to me. All he wants is deer jerky if I kill a deer. I figure this is a pretty good trade but would rather lease the land. This way I could put up some stands and a feeder or two. This would make it a little easier for me to take my wife and kids to hunt. As it stands now though I have no stands and have to ask for permission each time I go. He won't give me a key to the gate but will go unlock it when I'm coming and comes out and locks it back when I leave.
I now live in East Texas and the deer hunting in my immediate area is pretty tough. You can hunt for a solid week and never even see a deer. We have feeders and cameras out but the only activity and pictures we get on our cameras is at night. Rarely do we see a deer during the day on our place here.
This year Tanner (10) was bound and determined to get his first deer. We hunted for several days and just couldn't put it together. I then decided it was time to call my buddy out West and ask if I could bring my family out to try for a deer. He said sure and that he would go unlock the gate for us.
I've hunted the place for several years and know the property (1200 acres) very well. Although I've mostly hunted it for coyotes I had a pretty good grasp of how we might set up for deer. Without stands we would have to do a little scouting and make some improvised blinds to get Tanner on a nice buck. This was a great experience for Tanner and he and I both enjoyed it.
On the second evening things came together and Tanner made a great shot on his first buck. He was using my R-15 shooting 62 grain core-lokt bullets. Tanner patiently waited for the buck to present a good shot. At 140 yards the buck turned perfect and Tanner placed the shot right behind the shoulder. At the shot the buck made it about 40 yards before piling up. Tanner's first buck was down for the count.
While we were hunting and scouting we had seen a large buck crossing a fence row several times chasing a doe. Even at 5-800 yards we could tell he was BIG. After Tanner killed his deer I had only the next morning to hunt and see if could get on this big deer before we had to head home.
As the sun came up the final morning the fog rolled in. It was thick as soup and you couldn't see 30 yards. For most of the morning the fog was really bad and I only caught a glimpse of the big buck but he never offered a good shot. As we packed and left I told my wife if I had just one more day I believe I could kill this buck.
While back home all I could think of was trying to find time to get back up there to try for that buck. Sure enough I found some time and last weekend me and my wife and I headed back up there. Saturdy morning found us out there again. We saw lots of deer that morning and another very impressive buck but he was standing across the fence on another property nosing a doe around. Even though it was very tempting all we could do was watch him as he faded away. Then it occured to me he was headed for another property that I have access too. We quickly retreated to the truck and drove around to the other property and snuck down as close to where we thought he was headed. He was nowhere to be found. I then began to rattle and grunt a little in hopes of calling him in ( you know me
). After about twenty minutes we had decided he was not taking the bait and decided to head a little deeper. Bad move. We got up and only went a few yards until we bumped into him headed right for us. This was a VERY nice buck too.Well that afternoon I decided to head back to where Tanner and I had seen the big buck before. We had also found some large rubs there too. I set up in the fence row about 2-300 yards from where I thought he would cross. At about an hour before dark he appeared right on cue and I was ready. I had already ranged it and new he was right past the 300 yard mark. With the Nikon BDC reticle I just placed the 300 reference circle on his chest and squeezed the trigger. The rewarding sound of the 30-06's 168 grain core-lokt ultra thudded back to my ears with clear evidence of a solid hit. The buck stumbled and then went down. Yep, one more day is all I needed.
The buck grossed 153 2/8 and I guess him to be 5 1/2 years old.
Thanks for reading my story.
Good Hunting, and God Bless,
Byron
