Hey, I was drawn for GDE at Hill Country State Natural Area and want to know if anyone has hunted there before? I don't know anything about the area and would appreciate any tips. Also, any information on the deer population. Thanks.

I owned and lived on 25 acres south of there a few miles. It is rocky and rolling to rough land with lots of live oaks and cedars. With acorns this year it might be tough hunting. There are lots of hogs and some exotics in the area also. The rut is in Nov. and deer activity is good from mid Nov. till mid Dec. Rattling can work good if conditions are right. Deer can be really good for Hill Country deer in that area in a good rainfall year. Not sure what the deer population is but I would guess it to be lower than most of the Hill Country area in general due to being managed. Water sources can be a good spot to start there also. There used to be some larger ranches in that area also.

i hunted it about 5 years ago, its all uphill with very few deer

There is an absolute crap load of deer there, you just didn't see any of them.

check the success rate each year