These are the two deer in question. 11 & 10 that are coming into the same feeder.

Thanks.

Great pics and really nice bucks. I do not think either one is over 3.5 from those pics. Can you move you feeder farther to the interior of the lease?

I have 8 feeders on this 3600 acre lease. The odd thing is, I have absolutely ZERO bucks on all my southern cameras, and my two northern most feeders are the only ones seeing any buck action other than a couple spikes.

Has the ranch had corn fed in the past? If not then I am guessing that those bucks went back and forth across the fence on that end where they could eat corn. If no corn was fed on it the bucks on the other end may not know what it is. Hunted in Jayton in the late 90's for 3 yrs and corn would lay on the ground or grow when it rained. No deer, hogs or turkey would eat any of it the first 1.5 yrs there.

I have plenty of deer activity at all feeders (lots of does), and there are corn feeders still in place (I'm not using them) from last season's leasers on the south side (3 total). This northern feeder is about 500 yards from my nothern neighbor, and I don't believe he has feeders, he just has blinds set up looking directly at my fenceline about 100 yards out. Landowner said "he's a crazy drunk who shoots everything and likes to start trouble" so I'm not sure what to think. We were told that this was the closest "safe distance" to put a feeder/blind from our nothern border.

and thank you for your response stxranchman, as this post was primarily to get your opinion of these guys.

When I hunted at Jayton it took about another year to get the bucks on the feeders when finally started running them year round. If you have doe then you will have bucks eventually when the rut starts for sure. Any idea what the fawn crops were like the last 2-3 yrs on the place?

I know that this year was terrible for fawns, as I have found a few carcasses here and there. Seems like the last year had a great faw-crop as I have MANY 1.5 yr old spikes, a few obviously young bucks, and allot of young looking does, so it seems as if the age-structure is there. I know that bucks were seen regualrly last year on the southern side of the ranch because the hunters made logs of what they saw from their stands religiously and these stands/logs are still in place (although I'm not using them). I just find it very odd, because I can literally draw a line across the ranch map and north of the line, I have almost nothing but bucks on camera, and south of that line I have nothing but does/yearling spikes.

This is southern howard county/northern glasscock county if that helps. Although I have no feeders/cameras in the Glasscock area.


and if HWY_MAN even gets back on here and sees this... I know, I know, "there ain't no deer in west texas"... and we still need to meet up and have that beer.

Seems odd to have doe on cameras and not bucks on that part of the ranch. I would put cameras on water sources to see what your buck numbers look like. Those old records are invaluable in lots of ways. They will give you ratios and fawn numbers/doe from the past. I do know that that area of the state really has some great genetics and can grow some really huge bucks. I have a friend that ranches south of you that raises some really big native deer. Wide spreads, long tines and long browtines are 3 genetic traits that stick out from bucks I have seen. I also know that those deer are very different in their temperment when it comes to traffic in the pastures in the area south of you. It is nothing to see a large herd of deer running away from you after a drive around a ranch.

I know the area has some great genetics. I actually help manage another ranch west of this one in Glasscock and have personally seen some great deer. But being west texas, I also hear allot of horror stories of letting a 3yr old walk only to have him poached by oilfield workers or the like. I watched this guy many times last year on management hunts in Glasscock and watched him grow for 2 years on camera... but something happened to him as he is nowhere to be found this year on the protein cams. This particular property is unique in the fact that it is surrounded by, literally, nothing. Dirt cropland as far as the eye can see, so it essentially feels like a HF ranch with literally every buck documented for the last 8 yrs

The second picture the buck on a stretch could be 4.5. But most likely appear to both be good 3.5.