I have had a lease west of Cross Plains for several years now, approximately 750 acres. We feed corn and protein almost year round and have plenty of bedding areas, food sources (wheat fields) and year round water. We just aren't seeing the quantity or quality of deer that I would expect in this area. I hunt 20-25 days each season and have yet to kill or see a buck that would score better than 125. We typically see anywhere from 0-3 deer on each trip to the stand. I know there are lots of guys hunting in this area. What are ya'll seeing? I'm frustrated and thinking about finding a new lease. Suggestions?

welcome to the forum.

the area has potential. im in the northeastern corner of coleman county, south of burkett. we have our slow years also but yes your area can get hunted hard at times, especially if the neighbors shoot the first things that walk. the land/hunters surrounding us are a good bunch and we manage it real well.

here is a link to the thread i posted of the game/deer taken in my area...all but the one that says "first buck" that was at a lease by lake o.h. ivie
http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/u..._em#Post1741322

We had or shares of bad years in Runnels County...West of you. Even the land owner asked if the there was any more deer in the area. We havent killed a lot in the past 3 yrs...
Not a good sign!

Like you I have been getting frustrated. However I did set up some game cams and the deer are still there. BIG bucks...It slowly coming back. I beleive the drought had alot to do with the population in that area.

We know are neighbors and they are saying the same thing.

You would be surprised what the rut pushes through the area. With the size land you have, I wouldn't give up just yet. I agree if you don't have them, put out some game cams just to see what is wondering through.

My big buck was one. He was first seen 2 properties (almost 3 miles) north of us. The hunters on the place up the road had him on game camera and were all set to take him, but he came south and I got him.

Some friends of ours own the lil beer-stop-n-go place just north of Burkett and I put my pic on their braggin' wall. Well the hunters that had him on cam saw me with him & had a fit. lol Don't know if it was the fact they just didn't get him or that a female got him eheheheh

I hunted by Hoard Creek lake for 4 yrs and I thought the deer hunting was above average. We had a small place and it was almost like you had to commit to a spot and wait. The deer would move around and would eventually come by, but it was a chess match as to when. I shot one heavy 8 and a nice main frame 11 point that I mounted.

We are in Eastern Runnels Co. not too far from Talpa and the Coleman county line and there is no shortage of deer. We see anywhere from 5-9 deer around the feeders at a time. It looks like age structure is what we need to work on in our area. If they can grow old enough trophy genes are in these areas.

We have put out cameras and will catch a decent buck every now and then but mostly we see bucks with either basket racks, odd shaped antlers, unsymmetrical racks or just lacking mass as if the gene pool just isn't good where we are. In five years of hunting and monitoring game cameras, I have pictures of maybe 3 deer that were worthy of hanging on the wall and of course they were taken at night. Seems like as soon as hunting season comes and the wheat fields begin to sprout, most of the deer go nocturnal. If there is a decent acorn crop its even worse. Hunting is called hunting for a reason but as many hours as I spend in the stand, including all week around Thanksgiving when the rut is usually kicking off, I would have thought I'd have better luck around Cross Plains.

Buddy of mine has some land just North of Cross Plains and growing up we would go out there probably 2-3 weekends a month and the ONLY buck I ever saw was a big Fallow chasing a whitetail doe on another property and over the course of 4 years maybe saw 15-20 doe total in the daytime.

I have about 320 acres about 15 miles north east of Cross Plains and have all the deer and hogs you could ever want have some really nice bucks to just wish I would see more turkey 15 or 20 years ago we had lots of turkey but dont see them very often now days

No deer in Runnels county....

I hunt in that same area. We have owned our place since 1979. Hunting really sucked back then. If we took one doe per season off of the place, we considered that to be a great season.

Since then, the hunting has been getting better and better. We usually take at least one 140 class or better buck off of our place every year. We usually do not see big numbers of deer but we usually see something every time we get in the stand. `

The deer activity usually seems to pick up around Thanksgiving and stays busy until just before Christmas. It can be real "hit and miss" though.

About 10 years ago, we set a rule that we could only shoot bucks if they were at least 4.5 years old or had obivious genetic problems. With very few exceptions (mistakes) we have stuck to this rule and it has definitely helped out the quality of our herd. We usually try to kill at least one doe for every buck we take also.

Another advantage we have is that there is very little hunting pressure around us. The neighbors that do hunt only kill big stuff.

You have to let them mature in order to get the big ones.

i used to own about 700 acres just a few miles north of cross plains. never saw alot of deer, but i hunted hard and did see afew decent bucks. killed a ten point with a 17 inch spread, but not huge. the problem was my place was boardered by abunch of twenty or smaller acre places. some of them actually used the boundry fence for their feeder corral. talk about being pissed. anyway, they had absolutely no intention on any management and would shoot the first 8 point that walked out regardless. if you really want big deer you gotta be big, fenced, or in an area known for big bucks so neighbors dont pop ever 13' buck

What's your report on hunting near Cross Plains. We're a little west of Cross Cut and don't have deer coming into feeders, except for a few at night.

Im west of CC & a lil south. They are out there, just scarfing up the last of the acorns. They are still coming by the feeders but no signs of rut yet. Wont fire up in the are until Thanksgiving or so.

WE have a section just south of all the wind generators in lower Taylor county. We are blessed with a nice mountain, the most oak in that area, we have water, wheat, and thick oak coverage, and we haven't had any livestock in over 10 years, so there is no competion.

Before 2007, you would see 200 turkey a day, enough deer to keep your interest peaked, and very little hog sign.

Mr. Sam Nix to the south of us is the area deer surveyor that surveys all lands up to the back of Abilene state park and down to the Runnels/Taylor county lines.

This is the first year since 2007 season to see twin fawns, so rains and conditions improved over the past 3 seasons this year.

Turkey numbers aren't any better, we have seen no young birds from the hatch this season.

Survey's have been grim as reported by Sam Nix.

Hog sign is everywhere, specially in the spring/summer birthing areas. Years past, turkey and fawn crops was easy to see cause they were seen in the pastures, that has changed in the past 3 seasons.

We think the growing hog problem, lack of rain for the past few years prior are the biggest reasons we aren't seeing the numbers anymore.

We started feeding cotton seed as soon as they started ginning cotton this season, hogs don't like it, and deer will adapt as shown by south Tx ranchers that have changed over aswell.

I have to agree with overall numbers being down in parts of that area.

Any new updates for this area?

its on!!! they are running does good, moving them at 10 today & all in the woods