texashuntingforum.com logo
Main Menu
Advertisement
Affiliates
Advertisement
Newest Members
TraeMartin, Beatixre, MooseSteed, Trappernewt, casyoo
71987 Registered Users
Top Posters(All Time)
dogcatcher 110,788
bill oxner 91,416
SnakeWrangler 65,416
stxranchman 60,296
Gravytrain 46,950
RKHarm24 44,585
rifleman 44,461
Stub 43,769
Forum Statistics
Forums46
Topics537,006
Posts9,719,369
Members86,987
Most Online25,604
Feb 12th, 2024
Print Thread
Public Land Deer #6924005 10/17/17 09:51 PM
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 172
W
wacoducks Offline OP
Woodsman
OP Offline
Woodsman
W
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 172
For all the public land guys out there, what age deer are y'all pulling the trigger on? I've seen some 3.5 year old but unlike private land I'd wait on those. However, seeing that its public land would you pull the trigger on them or let them go.

Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6924008 10/17/17 09:56 PM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29,609
S
SapperTitan Offline
Taking Requests
Offline
Taking Requests
S
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29,609
I've killed 2 public land deer the last 2 yrs. a 5 yr old 10 point and a 6 yr old 8 point both verified by biologist. Passed on multiple legal 3 and 4 yr old deer.

Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6924216 10/18/17 01:26 AM
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,811
B
Bigfoot Offline
Pro Tracker
Offline
Pro Tracker
B
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,811
I guess that depends on what you want. If you are after a freezer of meat then the younger the better and usually easier.

This year I wont have a lot of time to hunt so I will kill whatever is legal and gives me an opportunity.

Last edited by Bigfoot; 10/18/17 01:29 AM.

GO TRUMP!
Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6924258 10/18/17 02:12 AM
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,862
S
swampthang Offline
Pro Tracker
Offline
Pro Tracker
S
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,862
Kinda depends on what public area you're talking about.The quality of hunting varies widely from one public area to the next. Some areas are loaded with mature bucks and you can afford to be more picky/selective,Haggerman,Richland Creek, Chapparel,etc. While other areas might not even have a 3 year old buck on them. If you get a shot at a 3 year old buck on one of the latter areas you might as well go ahead and kill it.Because if you dont some other guy probably will.

Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6924404 10/18/17 10:33 AM
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271
P
Palehorse Offline
THF Trophy Hunter
Offline
THF Trophy Hunter
P
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271
It depends on the management goals of the WMA. Some are managed for quality deer so it's better to wait for an older buck. Most of the WMAs though are simply trying to get the population down to carrying capacity for the area. In that case, I don't feel one bit guilty about dropping the first legal deer I see. A two year old 13" buck eats the same amount of browse as a 7 year old, so biologically it makes no difference.

Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6924521 10/18/17 12:57 PM
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 1,363
C
Cherokee Mingan Offline
Pro Tracker
Offline
Pro Tracker
C
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 1,363
I agree with Palehorse that it depends on what the biologists are trying to accomplish.

Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6924557 10/18/17 01:22 PM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29,609
S
SapperTitan Offline
Taking Requests
Offline
Taking Requests
S
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 29,609
I just passed a 3 yr old 8 point about 16 inches wide he was at 20 yards broadside. This is on Ft Hood public land hunting.

Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6924955 10/18/17 06:54 PM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 269
T
TomBaty Offline
Bird Dog
Offline
Bird Dog
T
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 269
This'll be my first year chasing deer on public (chasing deer period really), and I drew a doe tag. I'll be popping the first doe that walks out. I'm new to deer hunting, trying to learn how to do it on public land, so I'm not going to be too picky. If I keep doing this year after year I might get picky, but for now I'm just looking for a meat deer.

Re: Public Land Deer [Re: TomBaty] #6924991 10/18/17 07:39 PM
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,862
S
swampthang Offline
Pro Tracker
Offline
Pro Tracker
S
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,862
Originally Posted By: TomBaty
This'll be my first year chasing deer on public (chasing deer period really), and I drew a doe tag. I'll be popping the first doe that walks out. I'm new to deer hunting, trying to learn how to do it on public land, so I'm not going to be too picky. If I keep doing this year after year I might get picky, but for now I'm just looking for a meat deer.


Right on brutha,bust a cap in her azz!

Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6934484 10/26/17 03:04 PM
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,429
C
charner Offline
Pro Tracker
Offline
Pro Tracker
C
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,429
i have hunted on multiple public land units... I have had only one shot at a legal buck other than spikes... i let my wife shoot and she pushed the shot. that was 5 years ago... where I am hunting now I have 2 really nice deer on camera, a 3.5 yr old 6 point (no brow tines) and really nice 10 with alot of trash points that looks to be around 5.5. the 10 would be a trophy buck on private land and I really would like an opportunity to take him, that being said... if the legal 6 point walks out, ill probably take the shot still

Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6935786 10/27/17 03:05 PM
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 344
P
Paul W Offline
Bird Dog
Offline
Bird Dog
P
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 344
I'd pass on younger deer regardless.


Honorable Discharge USAF 1997
Re: Public Land Deer [Re: wacoducks] #6935854 10/27/17 04:02 PM
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 65
Q
quackedup Offline
Outdoorsman
Offline
Outdoorsman
Q
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 65
all depends on the management goals, as previously stated. My kids were able to hunt the Chaparral and killed 6.5 and 7.5 deer. Drawn at Mason Mountain management and it was spikes. South LLano was numbers.

Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread

© 2004-2024 OUTDOOR SITES NETWORK all rights reserved USA and Worldwide
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.3