Texan_Til_I_Die

Anyone heard from Bama Trae? He appears to be MIA. I wonder if he's forgotten he signed up for the contest?

Huh? What did you say?

Made 7 or 8 trips to the bow stand on 3 different ranches. Haven't seen squat for horns. I was afraid it might be one of those years with the drought. At least we got a good rain last weekend. Hopefully it will be enough to get some winter grazing going.

I'll give that one two thumbs up!

A doe with a buck already mounted? I had an idea for that. I also wondered what kind of looks I'd get driving down the highway with that in the back of the truck...

I have to think that your father wasn't the only other presence with you in that stand.

I was in Petersburg last July fishing. It's an amazing place that everyone should experience at least once.

Too Cool! You guys are getting it done. I drove to West Texas Friday afternoon and got some oats in the ground hoping the weather people were right and we'd finally get some rain. Hunted for a couple of hours and saw 8 does and 1 spike. It's really interesting that I haven't seen a spike on this ranch in the last 2 or 3 years, but this year I've already seen several. Just goes to show you how much of a factor nutrition plays. One bad drought and the spikes start showing back up. But on a good note, I got woke up Saturday morning at 3am to thunder and lightening. I looked outside and it was starting to rain. At 3pm it was up to 6 inches and still raining when I left the ranch. 13 months and 22 days since the last measurable rainfall.

To answer the questions - The next closest well is about a mile or so away. This well was watering the middle to the south end of a 2000 acre pasture. There's water in the northwest end of the pasture. These deer are used to traveling long distances to food and water. Its not unusual to see deer at night leave the ranch and walk across 2 miles of plowed ground to get to a wheat field, then turn around and walk back around sunrise. They'll be OK for now, but if the rest of the wells run dry, there will probably be a migration or a die off. We've got 7 other wells running and so far all of them are holding up. There's also a chance for rain this weekend. That would help a lot.

Ended up hunting yesterday morning and afternoon both. Saw 2 does and 9 turkeys. Buddy hunting with me saw 1 medium sized 8 point. Still looking for that first glimpse of a shooter. Probably won't go again until the weekend.

Pedro looks confused. The doves aren't happy either. Nothing to see here folks, move along. Not a bunch of happy campers. Well kiss my..... This guy was late to the party. I never thought I'd feel sorry for a yote. Welcome to the desert.

Some drama at the waterhole. Pedro sneaking in for a drink. Pedro getting told he can't have a drink. Doing a little midnight fishing. Doubt he caught much. Nice cool morning with lots of activity. Uh oh. This doesn't look good! But, but, it was here yesterday!

Odd little spike. Pedro back again. Bright eyes. Waters holding up good so far. Of course there are tons of hogs. Here they are doing what hogs do best. A couple of satisfied customers.

Because of the drought in Texas, all of the surface water disappeared from the ranch sometime in August. These are a series of pics taken between Sep 17 and 30. The water is from a windmill that has ran continuously for the 10 years I've hunted the ranch. That is, it ran continuously up until last week. This is my pet baby yote. Got over a hundred pics of him. Named him Pedro. Bobcat cruising by on a recon mission. Pedro's cousin, Wile E. And of course, where Wile E. goes, so does the Roadrunner. Some bigger critters. Not sure why this guy still has velvet on Sep 19?

That's the 2nd time I've heard of someone using a dachshund to find a downed deer. At least you made the recovery. Congrats!

Well, my opener went about like normal. Saw several does but only one little buck. I did have a decent 8 point on trail camera coming to water, but that water hole has since dried up, so that deer will probably move. I'm planning to hunt locally either tomorrow morning or Wednesday morning before work.

Leaving at noon for the 4 hour drive out to the ranch. Weather is slightly improved - lows in the mid 50's and highs mid 80's. North wind today switching to light and variable for tomorrow's opener. I like the light part, but the variable may make it tricky. All of my bow stands except one are set up for a south wind. Looks like it will just be me and one other person sharing the 7000 acres. Hope we don't get in each others way! See ya' Monday.

Yep. Been watching a 2 or 3 year old 10 point with a 19-20 inch spread for the last couple of months. Got him patterned like clockwork. He won't get shot by me.

I know how you feel. I've lost all of my older relatives over the years. It's never easy, but you might find it easier to be in the woods than you think. I went fishing just a few days after my Dad died, and at the time I didn't think it would be much fun at all. But as I got on the water, I started remembering all of the good times we shared and it really seemed to help. By the end of the day, I was sure that Dad was pleased with my decision.

First, I will unashamedly declare that I'm a trophy hunter. Score is important to me in judging a trophy, but ultimately it's about age. What gets me going is matching wits with the oldest, smartest deer in the woods. Yes, I do thoroughly enjoy just being outdoors, seeing nature first hand, and watching and studying the wildlife around me. But would I get excited about shooting a 2.5 year old 8 point buck? No. Would I get excited about someone else shooting the same deer? Yes, if it excited them. I do shoot does, but its for the meat, which I really like, and for management purposes.

All right! A score. Way to go team. Bow season opens next Saturday for me. Sure do need some cooler temps. It was 107 here yesterday. I definitely won't be shooting any does in this hot weather, but if I see the right buck...

Very nice! Gotta love it when a plan comes together.

Check your mailbox over the next couple of weeks. You'll probably get an offer to invest in his company. Just sayin'....

We're a 25 bed Critical Access hospital and we've got 11 patients in Med Surg, 2 in ICU, 1 in Observation and 1 in ER. Flu season starts next month so things should pick up then. We're also fairly busy with outpatient services. Where do you get most of your referrals from?

I agree with the hit or miss thing. I've had bucks come right in and check out a decoy and at other times it really seems to spook them. No rhyme or reason to it as far as I can tell.