Buck Manager | Buck Manager

Deer Hunting in the Early Season

Early Season is Best

It’s always exciting as fall approaches, but deer hunting in the early season can be downright frustrating, zapping that initial enthusiasm you took into the field. It’s nothing new for seasoned hunters. But regardless of whether you are new to the sport or an “have been around the block,” it takes more than luck to find your buck during the early season.

This was a tough year for deer in Texas. The first eight months of the year were dry. Summer is always dry, but this one seemed especially rough following a less than stellar spring. White-tailed deer no doubt found natural foods waning earlier than usual as summer progressed. It appeared fawn production was going to be lackluster, but bucks would be highly patternable as food would be the go-to play during the early part of the hunting season.

Hunting Season in View

“Range conditions had diminished somewhat with the long stretches of 100 degree weather and wind,” said Alan Cain, TPWD whitetail deer program leader. “The majority of the state had reasonable forb production and good brush green-up this past spring, which provided a good foundation of native forage to get deer off to a good start in terms of antler growth and fawn production. By late August, we were seeing preferred forbs becoming less available for deer.”

But all that changed on a dime. Hey, this is Texas. September rolled around and it started raining. And raining. And raining. As mid-month approached, many properties in the state received as much or more rain during the first two weeks of September as they had received the eight months prior. Of course.

It was dry enough to significantly reduce the fawn crop in many areas, but now it’s so wet and green that deer will not be easily-patterned on specific food sources. High quality, natural foods are now found everywhere. Did I mention that the acorns that are out there are now beginning to fall? To add insult to injury for early season deer hunters, mosquitos populations are, well, robust.

Early Season is GREEN

“Hunting might be a little tough with the exceptional rainfall in September that has created a giant food plot of native forage across the state,” said Cain. It’s a bittersweet situation for those deer hunting in the early season. Conditions have helped the deer herd; makes it much more difficult for hunters.

There are about 4.6 million deer in Texas but good eats can literally be found anywhere and everywhere across the landscape. When food is so abundant it’s as if the deer herd simply dries up. “Deer may be visiting feeders less frequently with the available forage, so hunters might rely on information gathered recently on their trail cameras to help narrow down windows of opportunity as to when deer are visiting feeder and blind locations.”

The influx of new groceries on the ground should provide a boost of nutrition heading into the fall. It should also give wildlife managers some relief after range conditions across much of the state heading out of the summer doldrums began to decline.

5 Hunting Tips for the Early Season

Hunting white-tailed deer during the early season offers its own unique set of challenges. Not only are natural deer foods abundant, making deer more difficult to pattern, but so are bugs, potentially making life miserable. On the plus side, deer haven’t been hunted for the better part of a year so a nimble hunter has the chance scout, locate and sneak in for the kill.

If you haven’t done anything yet — you’re most definitely late. Regardless of whether you’ve been living in a stand this year or just getting ready to head afield, here are a few things to consider to improve the odds of you tagging a buck during this season:

1. Use Game Cameras

Game cameras are like the most effective scouting tools that we as hunters have at our disposal. They work well whether using them to identify early season deer hunting action or trying to pattern the movement of deer during the late season. The take home message is they can be in more places than us and they keep score.

2. Early Season Patience

Wait for it, grasshopper. The season is just getting underway in many areas and that has you pumped to go jump in your favorite stand and shoot a monster buck, but don’t rush it! When weather conditions are wrong for hunting a particular stand, just stay away. You will leave with nothing, except getting busted by the very deer you are attempting to hunt. Wait for the right time or you risk pushing the buck you are chasing right into another hunter’s lair.

3. Scent Control

This goes right along with number two. Don’t do everything right only to phone it in on scent control. Some hunters really stink (I know, I know) when it comes to mitigating scent, but it’s the easiest way for a buck to know you are there, stop, and simply walk the other way (with you being none the wiser).

4. Control Insects

Think about this prior to climbing into your favorite early season deer hunting setup. It is early fall, after all. Whether hunting from up high or down low, you do not need to be more uncomfortable than trying remain semi-motionless while sitting on a less-than-comfortable seat for half a day.

5. Early Season Evening Hunts

Just as in life, timing is everything in deer hunting. If you have limited time for deer hunting then make sure you give priority to evening hunts rather than morning hunts when hunting deer during the early season. If you are not bound by time, well, then lucky you. During the early season, a hunter is more likely to encounter a whitetail buck during the afternoon/evening hunt. It’s also easier to get into a stand without bumping deer, which is step one when trying to tag an early season buck.

Air Guns for Deer Hunting in Texas

Air Guns: More Options for Deer

Hunters can now add big-bore pneumatic (air) guns to the list of legal means and methods for deer hunting in Texas. Over the past few years, states across the US, including Texas, have been expanding the options available to hunters (think crossbows and suppressors). This expansion is the result of innovative, improved technology that is able to demonstrate success in the field.

Without a doubt, any regulation that changes takes someone lobbying for things to be different. I’m all for change so long as those changes are positive and big-bore, pre-charged air rifles look to be highly effective on deer and other big game species.

Air Gun Regulations in Texas

Beginning this fall, hunters in Texas will be able to use air guns and arrow guns that meet criteria established under new rules adopted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. The regulations create a new category of legal means for hunting deer and other wildlife in Texas defined as pre-charged pneumatic devices.

Unlike pellet guns and traditional air rifles that can be charged manually or with an attached CO2 cartridge, pre-charged pneumatic air guns and arrow guns are those weapons for which an unignited compressed gas propellant is supplied or introduced from a detached source.

Air Gun Requirements for Hunting in Texas

The TPW Commission decision follows months of scrutiny to avoid creating undue risks of wounding of wildlife from pneumatic weaponry. These devices must meet minimum standards of ballistic efficacy.

Minimum ballistic specifications of pre-charged pneumatics approved by the Commission for hunting alligators, big game and turkeys are: .30 caliber bullets weighing at least 150 grains powered by an unignited compressed gas propellant charge capable of attaining a muzzle velocity of at least 800 feet per second (fps) OR any bullet weight and muzzle velocity combination that produces at least 215 foot pounds of energy.

For furbearers, pre-charged pneumatics must be at least .30 caliber. For squirrels, chachalaca, quail and pheasant an air rifle does not need to be a pre-charged pneumatic, but it must be able to propel a minimum .177 caliber projectile at least 600 fps.

In addition to minimum standards for pre-charged pneumatic devices, the Commission adopted provisions that hunter education certification requirements be met in order to hunt any wildlife resource.

Pneumatic Guns for Hunting

At least 10 other states permit the use of pneumatic devices for hunting big game, and all but three states allow their use for hunting certain other wildlife species. Their use in Texas previously was limited to hunting anything other than game animals (except squirrels), game birds, alligators, and furbearers.

The new rules will take effect Sept. 29, 2018. Additional information on the use of air guns and arrow guns is available online. Update: Read the new Texas regulations on these guns at the end of this article.

Air Gun History: A Tell of Technology

Source: “Technology seldom sits still for long. While air guns have been around for hundreds of years, they have been relegated for the past several decades as paper-punchers and quiet pest eliminators. But when we look back in history, this was not always the case. Every book of American History detailed (or should detail) the Louis and Clark Expedition.

As they were traveling through parts unknown with limited resources, they had to be smart about a method of safely fending off attacks and harvesting game for food. Muzzleloading rifles and muskets of the time were slow and cumbersome to load. Slow, but effective, these black powder rifles and muskets need to keep the powder dry in order to function.

The expedition called for a considerable amount of boat travel so they opted to include an air rifle that was made in Italy. The .46 caliber Girandoni air rifle accompanied Louis and Clark on their journey to explore the Louisiana Purchase. Not only was this heavy hitting PCP capable of launching a 210 grain projectile with considerable force, it was also a repeater.

But using a high pressure air rifle does come with some downsides. They tend to be more complex than firearm counterparts and require some physical effort to charge the air reservoir with the high pressure needed to launch a projectile with the force needed to humanely dispatch larger game. Thus, the concept for big bore air guns was put on the back burner.

Technology has recently caught up with the concept. Air gun manufacturers have started making air guns that are bigger than the popular .177 and .22 calibers that have been available for decades. The first forays into big bore air rifles were nothing more than pellet rifles with larger barrels. These air rifles generated much more power than their spring powered counterparts, but the muzzle energy was still not in the large game territory.

Each successive year led to the envelope being pushed father in terms of muzzle energy. The bores grew in diameter. Projectiles grew in mass. And velocities began to climb. This meant that a shooter using air as a propellant was able to launch a heavy (by air rifle standards) projectile with enough muzzle energy to dispatch large game species in a humane way.

Not to mention that charging the air tanks of these big bore rifles became cheaper with portable high-pressure electric pumps. Technology caught up with the concept.”

Air Guns for Deer Hunting

There are a couple of aspects of big-bore air rifles that will make them attractive to deer hunters. The novelty of hunting deer with an air gun is enough to get many hunters interested in slinging it across their shoulder and heading into the field, but another factor that makes me want to take a closer look is the reduced sound/noise level that these guns emit.

Very rarely will I shoot a rifle without ear/hearing protection anymore. It only happens out of perceived necessity when in the field shooting deer or hogs. Even then, there is usually more than enough time to ensure that my hearing protection is on prior to squeezing the trigger.

Time catches up with all of us though. Once we notice our hearing tapering off, it’s time to wise up and be more cognizant about how we approach some of our activities. In my research on big-bore, pre-charged air rifles, it appears a number of them are fairly quiet.

Many shoot the large bullets used for deer hunting at subsonic velocities, so much quieter than a standard deer hunting rifle. This is attractive to me, but so is a suppressor. Both situations, however, limit maximum range to about 100 yards.

Each hunter considering a big-bore air gun will have to evaluate its utility for their hunting situation. Reduced sound and recoil are going to be quite attractive to many. Reduced range is going to be be a non-starter with other hunters, but not out of the question for those deer hunting in areas with limited visibility. It’s going to be interesting to see if air guns catch on. Would you hunt deer with one?

UPDATE 8/29/18: Air Guns, Arrow Guns Regulations

TPWD Means and Methods Definitions:

Arrow gun: a device that fires an arrow or bolt solely by the use of unignited compressed gas as the propellant.
Air gun: a device that fires a bullet solely by the use of unignited compressed gas as the propellant.
Pre-charged pneumatic: an air gun or arrow gun for which the propellant is supplied or introduced by means of a source that is physically separate from the air gun or arrow gun.

Alligator, game animals, furbearers, squirrels, and non-migratory game birds (except Eastern Turkey) may be hunted with air guns and arrow guns provided:

Alligators, big horn sheep, javelina, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and turkey may be taken only with pre-charged pneumatic arrow guns, or air guns that fire a projectile of at least 30 caliber in diameter and at least 150 grains in weight with a minimum muzzle velocity of 800 feet per second or any combination of bullet weight and muzzle velocity that produces muzzle energy of at least 215 foot pounds of energy.
Squirrels, pheasant, quail, and chachalaca may be hunted with air guns that fire a projectile of at least .177 caliber (4.5mm) in diameter producing a muzzle velocity of at least 600 feet per second.
Arrows or bolts used with an arrow gun must conform to the same standards for projectiles for archery.
Arrow guns may not be used to hunt deer or turkey during archery season.

Deer with Large Udder: Can Deer Get Mastitis?

An Odd Looking Deer

Question: “I have a whitetail doe with a milk bag the size of a milking goat. She is walking funny and stays off to herself while other deer are feeding in the area. Is this due to perhaps a snake bite or possible a disease?

We have been watching this doe daily for about 2 weeks and the bag appears to have grown larger, but seems to be stable in its current size. No fawn has been seen with this deer. Any idea why this doe has a large udder?”

Response: It’s often difficult to pinpoint what’s wrong with any single deer. Whitetail live in a wild world and are subject to a variety of hazards, both natural and introduced. Although a snake bite is not necessarily a bad guess with regard to the doe in question, a doe with a particularly large udder is more than likely suffering from something else.

Reasons for a Large Udder

In this situation, the whitetail doe is likely dealing with one of four possible issues. Since I don’t have the luxury of looking at a photo of the deer in question, I’m going to toss out four possible things that could be plaguing your deer:

Abscess
Tumor
Hernia
Mastitis

Deer with Infection or Injury?

1. Abscess – An abscess can occur anytime bacteria enter a deer’s body. When a foreign object enters the body, whether it be a stick, piece of wire, whatever, it brings with in bacteria and infection. The infected, bacteria-ridden area often gets bombarded by the deer’s immune system and confines it to the impacted area. This ares becomes a pus pocket, an abscess. An abscess can be found anywhere in a deer’s body, tissue or organ. Internal abscesses are not often visible unless they are large enough to cause some type of protrusion.

2. Tumor – Like an abscess, a tumor can occur just about anywhere on a deer. Again, the ones we see or suspect must be located just under the deer’s hide causing a protrusion or found externally. External tumors are often black in color. These masses are most often caused by a viral infection and typically range in size from that of a golf ball to a football, with smaller ones more common in size.

3. Hernia – A hernia happens when organs or even internal tissues move into places where they are not supposed to be found. A hernia is the result of a hole, tear in thin muscular wall. A hole in such muscle can occur as a birth defect possible, but is more often the result of trauma. Hernias within a deer can result from fighting, straining during the birthing process, or even from from running into a hard object, such as tree or t-post, for example.

4. Mastitis – Mastitis is caused by a bacterial infection that is specifically confined to a doe’s udder and/or mammary tissues. Mastitis that can lead to inflammation resulting in a noticeably larger udder, milk bag in female deer.

Why a Large Milk Bag?

Of the four potential reasons, the most likely reason for a doe to have a large udder at this time of year is mastitis. Not to say that the deer does not have an abscess or possibly even a hernia, but whitetail does are still actively tending to their fawns during the late summer.

Mastitis occurs when bacteria found on the skin of a deer invades mammary tissue. The most likely time for this to happen is when female deer are lactating and nursing their young of the year. For starters, a doe’s milk bag is larger than normal during this time, which makes it more prone to possible injury outside of nursing. In addition, a fawn can cause injury to a doe during the nursing process by being an aggressive feeders.

Any cut or tear in a teat or the udder creates a possible entry point for bacteria that can lead to mastitis in a deer. The primary question asked was, “Any idea why this doe has a large udder?” I can’t say for sure, but my best guess is the deer has mastitis. After reviewing the possibilities, what do you think?

Ranch Manager in Texas Busted for Under-the-Table Hunts

Selling Hunts Illegally

A ranch manager in Live Oak County, Texas, has been nailed for selling deer hunts on a property he was paid to look after. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TWD) game wardens recently wrapped up a six month multistate investigation of an illegal commercial hunting operation on a ranch in Live Oak County. The result: Ranch manager busted.

A landowner contacted game wardens regarding his ranch manager selling white-tailed deer hunts under the table and hunting without landowner consent. Sounds like a bad decision by the ranch manager. Furthermore, it’s a bad deal for everyone involved from the landowner to deer hunters.

Ranch Manger Busted

The landowner learned of the illegal deer hunting activities when contacted by a taxidermist regarding an unpaid balance for several buck mounts belonging to the ranch manager. The landowner did not give the ranch manager or his family permission to harvest any animals on the ranch.

During an extensive investigation, wardens determined the ranch manager sold trophy buck hunts to out of state clients, pocketing their money, and falsifying the ranch harvest records.

Ranch Manager Busted Over Bucks

The ranch manager was responsible for brokering illegal hunts for 14 white-tailed deer (with scores ranging from 245 B&C to under 100 B&C) and numerous exotic game animals. The ranch manager and his daughter also unlawfully appropriated $17,450 from the ranch owner. Okay, that’s just straight up taking cash out of the register.

Hunters paid for their deer hunts by check made out to the ranch manager or daughter instead of to the ranch. The wardens obtained arrest warrants for the ranch manager for hunting without consent for white-tailed deer and exotic animals. Basically, ranch manager busted. He was arrested without incident.

If you’ve got a deer hunt scheduled for this fall in Live Oak County, then you may want to touch base with the ranch to make sure you’re still good to go.

Texas Woman Charged for Interfering with Deer Trapping Program

Deer Trouble in Lakeway

Managing overabundant deer populations is an ongoing issue in many areas across the US. Such programs are almost always controversial. Now, a Central Texas woman is facing charges for interfering with one such program in Lakeway, Texas. And it was all captured on video.

In the video, which was taken on March 8, you can see several white-tailed deer captured under a drop net, with some of them bleating. Now months later, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has charged Ashlea Beck, who also took the video, with criminal mischief and harassment after she freed two of the deer by cutting the net with household scissors.

Beck’s Deer Trapping Video

How Can Deer be Trapped?

Lakeway, located just northwest of Austin, has been managing white-tailed deer for over 20 years. The City of Lakeway maintains a permit by TPWD to reduce the the number of deer living within the city.

Whitetail deer are removed annually by trappers working under the City’s Trap, Transport and Process (TTP) Permit authorized by TPWD. Entities possessing a TTP are allowed to trap and transport deer to commercial processing facility, where deer are dispatched, processed and donated to local charities — a must under permit rules.

The permit allows the City of Lakeway to address excessive deer numbers in an area where hunting as a means of reducing the deer population is not considered feasible. According to the TPWD web site, TTP permits are available to municipalities, political subdivisions, and certain qualified individuals.

Lakeway’s Deer Trapping in the News

At one point in the video, you can hear her ask the workers, “Why are you doing this?”

Angry with what she saw, Beck cut part of the net and released two deer.

“I think they should do it away from kids, away from families,” Beck told KVUE in an interview on March 14.

Months later, Texas Parks and Wildlife has charged Beck with criminal mischief and harassment. A TPWD spokesperson sent KVUE the following statement:

“Ms. Beck interfered with lawful efforts to trap and remove white-tailed deer, causing damage to private property in the process. It is a violation of the Sportsman’s Rights Act to intentionally interfere with another person lawfully engaged in the process of hunting or catching wildlife, or intentionally harass, drive, or disturb any wildlife for the purpose of disrupting lawful hunting.”

Citizen Advocates for Animals of Lakeway president Rita Cross told KVUE she thinks Beck’s punishment is too harsh.

“She was in shock, she was trying to protect her kids and the deer, and she released two of them when she cut the net,” Cross said.

Cross thought TPWD would give Beck a warning or a fine.