[neal7250]

Can any one down there hook a SC boy up for 2008?

[skinewmexico]

How much money do you have? It's all private land.

[neal7250]

What do the hunts usually go for?

[rrflyer]

not all theres allot of public land but its pretty well hunted.

I think hog hunts are like 150 or so from what I've read but never actually paid for one.

[QuakKillz]

www dot mccreaoutdoors dot com

NO, I am not affiliated with them, just friends of mine

[neal7250]

I'd like to chase some them old big Texas Deer.

[QuakKillz]

I'd like to chase some them old big Texas Deer.

we certainly grow'm big around here :)

[MCgunner]

I'd like to chase some them old big Texas Deer

BIG? Mulies out west, maybe. South Texas has record book racks here and there on managed leases, but it ain't for po folks. By the time you pay the point fees and such, it can run five grand. Nope, I can buy a lot of beef for that, cut and wrapped!!!! I've seen HUGE racks out of West Virginia off public land. I'd save the gas money unless you want a hog hunt which can be had pretty cheap.

It'd be nice to have one of those hunting shows on Outdoor Channel. That's the only way I'd get to hunt some place like the triple 7 or King or some such. To call yourself a trophy hunter in Texas, you best have a net worth in the multiples of millions. There is no trophy that can't be bought in Texas, however. HUNTED? Well, that is all up to your definition of the word. High fences seem to be going up everywhere and to be a game rancher, you need to be more of a geneticist it seems. I'd rather just shoot scrawny bucks and be proud of it, myself.

[neal7250]

Well said gunner

[phantomak47]

You could probably get a 3 day hunt for between $1300 to $2500 if you shop around, but be warned some people hunt in Texas with questionable set ups, but thats another thread and I am not talking about baiting, rather penned hunting.


Hogs are cheap and can be hunted all year, Nathaniel Greene recomends dos plumas in west Texas. Thats where I am looking into for a hog hunt in the future.

[neal7250]

I think that I'm gonna follow Gunner's lead. I killed a few deer this year, and I really should be thankful.

[rbernie]

To call yourself a trophy hunter in Texas, you best have a net worth in the multiples of millions. There is no trophy that can't be bought in Texas, however. HUNTED? Well, that is all up to your definition of the word. High fences seem to be going up everywhere and to be a game rancher, you need to be more of a geneticist it seems. Ya know, Mcgunner, I am getting REALLY freakin' tired of having to put up with this incessant "I'm jus' a po' boy-vs-Big Bad Modern Texas" crap. The OP never asked about 'trophy hunts', which are expensive no matter where you go. Why do you feel the need to constantly interject your chip-on-a-shoulder attitude into every discussion about Texas hunting?

If someone wants to go 'trophy hunting' anywhere in the continental US, they will almost always be hunting private land with a paid guide - no matter what state in the lower 48 the hunt is hosted in. This is not a Texas thing, and I'm pretty dang tired of folk making Texas out to be some kind of 'shoot an animal in a pen for a fee and claim a trophy' kind of location. The simple fact is that Texas has created an industry around hunting by allowing non-native species to be hunted year round. That industry, like any industry, has it's good and its bad, it's fair and its shady. No different than trophy Rocky Mountain elk hunts or African plains hunts or Alaskan bear hunts, IMO.

I do not have a net worth that's much of anything. I live and hunt in Texas. I do so on large ranches that charge me a fee for each kill. I spend less money each year than most folk that maintain a group lease, and I spend more money each year than most folk that hunt successfully on public land.

I consider myself fortunate to NOT have to worry about slob hunters, 'if it's brown, it's down' attitudes, and public land overcrowding. I enjoy being able to claim thousands of acres for my sole usage on a scheduled day, and am willing to pay a few extra schekels for the privledge. I have never paid more than $300 for a kill, and that includes having the ranch help give me a hand with retrieving the carcass and such.

I also consider myself fortunate to NOT have to spend my free time maintaining somebody else's land just so that I can have a chance at shooting a deer. I can't tell you how many folk I know that spend $3000-$5000 per year on a lease (fees + maintenance costs) in LA or OK or AR and they're not getting any more out of their hunting than I am, other than a lighter pocketbook.

I'd like to chase some them old big Texas Deer.Whitetail in Texas are pretty small, due to the relatively lack of quality forage. The Midwest and MidAtlantic deer will be much larger, in general. If you want whitetail, stick to the eastern and northern sides of the state.

However, if you want to hunt deer outside of normal hunting season, there are many large Texas ranches that are crawling with Axis and Fallow and Sika deer that make for fine quarry, are good eating, and make handsome hides.

I killed a few deer this year, and I really should be thankful.True statement. But there's nothing wrong with setting up a Rio Grande turkey hunt or hog hunt or Fallow deer hunt, if you have a hankering for something different.

[MCgunner]

Glad it works for you. :rolleyes: I dropped out of the lease thing 10 years ago. It hasn't stopped going up. Might be a little different if I didn't have land of my own to hunt, but I don't need to spend 2K a year for a lease. As long as there are idiots willing to pay more and more, hey, it's supply and demand.

You CAN buy a rack in Texas, record book. That don't mean there's not some good leases around, not high fenced, with decent deer on 'em. But, to believe those TV shows are the norm is stupid. A LOT of 'em film at high dollar managed ranches like 777 and the King. Yeah, they have big deer there, but they 're managed for them. They not only FEED 'em the protein, they have breeding programs. That's why they have the big deer and the cost of those deer are high because raising 'em is expensive.

But, hey, if you think it's worth it for a big rack, knock yourself out! I just ain't that much of a trophy hunter. I don't hunt public. I pay my taxes on my property and that's why I bought it. I justify the taxes knowing a lease as good would be 5 times the price. It's private. You don't have to worry about this "slob hunter" intruding on you, whether you hunt the forests or leases. I do my own thing, and, btw, you ain't invited. I just crossed you off my Christmas list.

[rbernie]

But, hey, if you think it's worth it for a big rack, knock yourself out!The problem with bringing an agenda to the discussion is that you miss the opportunity to LISTEN:
The OP never asked about 'trophy hunts', which are expensive no matter where you go.
I have never paid more than $300 for a kill

Nobody is beating that 'Texas Trophy hunting' drum but you. The OP just asked about getting hooked up with hunting opportunities in Texas.

I do my own thing, and, btw, you ain't invited. I just crossed you off my Christmas list.Well, ya missed me last year, too. But I'll survive.... :)

[browningguy]

To answer the question, whitetail hunting in Texas is generally expensive. A 130 class deer will run $2k and up on a managed ranch, a 180-200 class will most likely run $10-20k and up. And one guy in Houston apparantly paid $89k last year for a 240 class deer.

But you can get some excellent hunts for Axis, Fallow or Sika deer for under $1500, does usually run $300. An excellent mount and better eating than a whitetail. There are still a few ranches with hunts under $2k for deer, and plenty of places where you can hunt hogs for $75-150 each (just shoot the little ones as they are better eating.

Texas folk aren't really any worse people than anyone else, everything is supply and demand just like the rest of the planet. People that can afford it think the world is working fine, people that can't think the world sucks. Most of the people that can afford it aren't idiots, if they were they wouldn't make enough money to pay for the hunts.

PM me if you'd like me to send you some links of places I know of.

[MCgunner]

Well, ya missed me last year, too. But I'll survive....

I'm glad you saw my attempt at humor. I forgot the smiley :D

[Art Eatman]

FWIW, I'm gonna start deleting any slur on anybody or anything--so don't bother posting off-topic rants or vents.

I dunno why folks want to make this website look like garbage.

Art

[MCgunner]

Art, I've learned to expect such on boards and yappin' don't solve anything. No problems here.

BTW, the OP says "big ol' Texas deer". If that's not talking about RACK, then go for the exotics like Browningguy suggests, 'cause you won't likely find a mature whitetail in Texas much over 150 lbs and the majority of 'em are less. If you're out around Llano, you'll trip over 'em, look like horned jack rabbits. I think Llano County is where the jackalope legend got started. :D I've heard tell of 200 and some pounders in south Texas around Freer, but I've never personally laid eyes on one. Be real careful about what ranch you pick, choose large acreage. I've been on one of those high fenced exotic ranches, literally like walking through a petting zoo. I do NOT exaggerate. The hog hunting for meat, was good and was cheap, 3 kills in one day. I passed the time by petting the red stags. :rolleyes:

I'd PM Browningguy for suggestions. I'm quite sure he knows more than most of us where to go for a good hunt for whatever you want. I've been in a 10 year rut hunting my own place.

[neal7250]

WoW:uhoh:

[MudPuppy]

I saw Hays county just got some extra tax money to pay for predator/hog control, iirc it was about $80k. I'd shoot a whole lot of hogs out in the country for half that...

[Javelin]

If someone wants to go 'trophy hunting' anywhere in the continental US, they will almost always be hunting private land with a paid guide

Not so. I was very surprised to see the attitude of Texans and hunting when I moved here. Where I come from (North-West-by-Canada) the best bucks are on BLM public land and the cost is no more than a buck tag (approx $50).

Seriously it is rediculously expensive to hunt here in Northern Texas (or anywhere for in TX for that matter) as its all private land. My deer rifles are sittin the closet. My elk rifle ... well I might as well turn it into a lamp or something.

:)

[TehK1w1]

I'm a guide on the King Ranch atm. Our lease is Low-fenced, and we do not feed protein, just corn (and Milo for the birdies) We do have a complicated and irritating quota system for our buck deer though :p It's free to hunt down here on this lease, you just have to get an invitation from Halliburton (Yeah, that's real easy:rolleyes:)

[neal7250]

Who owns the deer? Who's to say who shoots what? Just curious:eek:

[El General]

double tap

[El General]

State of Texas owns the deer, but, as in most Texas law, the landowner (or his lessee) controls all.

[eliphalet]

Who owns the deer? Who's to say who shoots whatIt is my understanding that the public own the deer and state fish & game Dept's. manage them like the fish in the lakes and rivers or migratory birds. It has been that way everywhere I have ever lived but is seems the private land owner in Texas has the control not the state.
Some how, to me at least, It doesn't seem good to manage game for the almighty dollar and not for the proper management of the game it's self, which , from what I read is happening far to often.

I would think it would be advantageous for the state to step in and say " you own the land and can pick and choose who hunts but we manage what is shot in what amounts". Otherwise just put up high fences and hunt exotics.

I am not a fan of this to put it extremely mildly but I guess it is none of my business not being a Texas resident. Except for the fact that policies allowed there are spreading like a cancer to other area's of the country. Guys are attempting private game ranches even here in Idaho where we have massive amounts of public land. So far here it seems to be a "pay to shoot" in smaller area's or pens but large operations of ten's of thousands of acres are being attempted. This pay to hunt ( here) is driven by greed, lazy, or wannabe's, or bragging rights for so called hunters and a blight to the hunting community as a whole.

Lets hope in the not to distant future your average Joe without a big pocket book can hunt in Texas, or at least more of it, and can remain to do so there, here, and all across the country.

[MCgunner]

This "owns the deer" argument always cracks me up. :D

Back in the 80s, you could find reasonable pricing on day leases all over for 50 bucks a day. I paid 20 a day on one place north of Victoria. Hunting wasn't great, took a doe off it once, though. But, it beat letting my rifle sit and rust. All that started drying up, prices going up in the 90s. I got in a hunting club, "National Sportsman's Club", 750 a year and a 1200 dollar initiation fee. Hunted that for about 7 years. They had a dozen or so leases around the state, but only one really good one, 13 miles west of Langtrey near a little hole in the road off Hwy 90 called Pumpville, on the way to Marfa. It's out in Art's part of the world. That was 13000 acres and lots of spot and stalk. It made the money worth it. I took a deer or SOMETHING (Javelina twice) off it every time I drove out there. I really loved hunting that place, but it was a 7 hour drive from here. I usually hunted it once a season. They had a place 45 minutes from me near Blessing, took a couple of does over there. 8 pt minimum, passed on a lot of 6s. Took my first handgunned deer there. It was year round and had squirrels, and then they had 12 spots on Larry Gore's Eagle Lake Katy Prairie Outfitters, so I got some decent goose hunting out of the deal. When I got out, it'd gone up to 1500 a year. I had been neglecting my property all that time to hunt this club, so I just went back to hunting my place. All I've done else since is find cheap, good hog hunting day leasing which is plentiful and I prefer hog meat anyway. If I hadn't bought my land, I'd be a hog hunter now. There's lots of good, affordable hog hunting. Deer have gotten ridiculous IMHO. You can get a decent lease now for the 2K range and it's usually not year round. I had a bird lease for a while, doves and geese, decent hunting, too. That was costing me $300 a year and it's near by. I've thought about getting back on that, but my buddy up in Waco has the birds and I've been hunting with him for a long time. I might get back on that bird lease, though, had some really good hunts out there and 300 is affordable even for me. Larry, my buddy in Waco, loves goose hunting. But, we usually only get together once a year to goose hunt and there are plenty of outfitters around for 150 a day. Between his farm's dove and my places deer and hog, we have a good ol' time every hunting season. And, besides, friendships ain't really about hunting. He's my oldest, best friend all the way from our freshman year at A&M and Aggies tend to stick together, ya know. :D

Tell ya the truth of it, I enjoy wing shooting more than deer hunting. When I was a kid, my step dad worked construction. I grew up white trash, but managed to get an education and a decent job regardless. My grandpa and uncle had raised me with a gun in my hands. I took up duck hunting because there was so much of it free to be had down here. My father had gotten me a small boat and I really got into hunting ducks when I was in high school and never shook the addiction. It's the only FREE hunting, or at least so cheap I consider it free, on the Texas coast. If I didn't have decent deer/hog hunting on my place, I'd probably be back to full time wing shooting and my rifles would get a hog hunt once in a blue moon.

[El General]

seems the private land owner in Texas has the control not the state.

They, of course, have to stay within the TPWD bag limits for deer, which are set county to county or apply and qualify for a Managed Lands-Deer Permit. I don't think that private control of the deer herd is bad. Any place that sells deer has a vested interest in a healthy population. Of course they are trying to make a profit on their own land, which I don't begrudge them, though it prices most places out of my range. It is their land.

The view that all hunting in Texas is behind high fences on genetically manipulated deer herds is absurd.

[Reyn]

Off topic but i was looking at an issue of North American whitetail and 90 percent of the B&C and P&Y bucks came from like Iowa,Illinois, and one of the Northeastern states. I never realized that.

[3pairs12]

You Would Be Better Off Driving To Texas To Hunt Hogs And Stopping In Missouri On The Way For Deer. There Is A Lot Of Public Land And Some Great Deer Also Big Racks And Bodies.

[MCgunner]

The view that all hunting in Texas is behind high fences on genetically manipulated deer herds is absurd.

That's quite true and those places are the exception. My only point is that in Texas, if you want a B and C record book and you have the money, these places exist and many of those hunting shows use them. People see these big bucks being shot on TV shows and think the state is infested with 'em and it ain't really the truth of the deal. And, even the free range, non-managed ranches are quite expensive. Of course, that's a relative term, I suppose.

[Art Eatman]

eliphalet:

"Some how, to me at least, It doesn't seem good to manage game for the almighty dollar and not for the proper management of the game it's self, which , from what I read is happening far to often."

You're only reading part of the total story; much like judging all hunting by what's seen on the Outdoor Channel.

You don't get high-dollar deer without extremely good management. The high fences keep other deer out, so you don't wind up with too many deer for the habitat. These ranches not only restore native herbs, forbs and grasses, they also make sure there are mineral supplements as needed. Quite a few of these ranchers either hire or share in the hiring-cost of a wildlife biologist, and also take part in the many seminars on wildlife management.

All that is expensive. Heck, figure out the income needed to amortize the cost of 10,000 acres at $1,000 an acre, and an eight-foot net fence around it. And the operating cost, with pasture restoration/reclamation.

Check out http://www.texas-wildlife.org/ This group, to which I've belonged since its inception, is not oriented solely to the high-dollar crowd. It includes them, of course, but it works hard for all hunters in Texas.

[El General]

That's quite true and those places are the exception. My only point is that in Texas, if you want a B and C record book and you have the money, these places exist and many of those hunting shows use them. People see these big bucks being shot on TV shows and think the state is infested with 'em and it ain't really the truth of the deal. And, even the free range, non-managed ranches are quite expensive. Of course, that's a relative term, I suppose.

That's true. If I didn't live here, I probably wouldn't drive here from out of state to day hunt deer. Hogs are another story. I would not pay to hunt them, but I might if I lived out of state.

I can't afford leases at current pirces, but I am lucky that I have friends that need somebdy to cull.

[eliphalet]

Art
You're only reading part of the total story; much like judging all hunting by what's seen on the Outdoor Channel. I know that is correct and there are no good cut and dried answerers.
That looks like a good outfit you belong to.

Durn hit the space bar ( or ?) a couple of times and lost a much longer thought out post but in a nutshell,,,

Ranching/land management is costly and the money has to come from somewhere.

Nothing wrong with those than can afford it to have premium hunts but I like to view hunting as almost a heritage thing here in America and would like to see it available to everyone that can afford a license, gun, and a way to a not to distant area to hunt.
Can be a real catch 22 in some places I reckon.