Anybody have a report on deer hunting in Limestone and Navarro County? Might be looking at a lease there. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Densities are a little lower than areas both east and west of there, but that is a good thing as it attracts less hunters and the resulting buck age structure is a little better than a lot of the Post Oak/Blackland. But, desnities can be high around bottomlands, creek, and riparian areas. As a general rule, sex ratios are high (3-6 does per buck) and buck age structure is low (5%-15%). Nothing that can't be fixed with time, good harvest management, and enough acreage. I scored a book 22-point non-typical in Navarro County a few years back that netted 200 2/8 (low fence).

Wow. Thanks for the info. Any others have experience in this area? You hunting out of a box blind or other?

Have a ranch in southern limestone county, deer are spotty, lots of road hunters & poachers. AR going on 4th year, but havent noticed much change in age structure of bucks. Used to have good number of oaks, but pollution for power plant and drought has really taken a toll. Would scout lease real hard before you take it.. Good luck.

South Texas deer were introduced in mid 80's to certain areas to Navarro co. If u are lucky enough to hunt close to these areas, u have a good chance at 150 class and up. Most farmers won't lease unless they know u very well. Great deer on Trinty river and Chambers creek. Richland creek coming out of Navarro Mills lake holds a good number of deer. Good luck to u .

My wife and I also have a small place in SW Limestone county (near Thornton). When we first bought the place about 9 years ago, there weren't many deer on it due to the previous owners, who shot everything that moved. I've been corn feeding and working on improving the habitat and we now have quite a few deer. Racks now go as high as 10 points, and I keep passing on shooting him so that he can spread his genes around real well. The deer aren't very big, but that just makes them easier to skin out and process.

During my first hunting season here I don't think I saw a buck rub or a buck. Last season, before the rut started, I had 5 nice bucks in front of one of my stands one evening. And there's no shortage of buck rubs now.

Got tired of the south Texas lease game and bought a place in Limestone County 4 years ago just to have a piece of land to work. We were quite surprised at the quality of deer on the place. Not big numbers, but good age and quality. I am very picky, and almost pulled the trigger on two very nice bucks, but decided to pass to let them get a little older. One was a nice 12 pt with kickers, the other was a heavy and wide 8 pt. If I see either one of them again this coming season, I might not be so nice. Also lots of hogs, yotes, and ducks. Some dove. As stated in an earlier post, deer are spotty, so need to scout any land carefully. Also, everyone needs to get on the wardens about any suspicious activity. I think there is a local road hunting problem, and the wardens don't seem to be too interested in doing anything about it. Poachers and road hunters are the scum of the earth, IMO.

1RancherAg, most of the bucks on my place seem to be young, or it could be that the big ones are nocturnal. We are west of hwy 14 and just south of hwy 147. I'm told by some of the older locals that deer size varies by location in Limestone. I haven't seen any real heavy antlered bucks, but I hear stories of big rack deer having been taken.

603Country - Our place is near the northern edge of the county. A TP&W biologist I talked to told me that where we are located there are not a whole lot of deer, but there are some good ones. I have seen older bucks at all times of the day, mostly while either still hunting or on a tractor. We converted from an Ag to a Wildlife exemption 2 years ago, and our efforts, including keeping grazing to a minimum, are really helping the habitat.

If you decide against the one in Navarro county, could you send me a PM? I have been looking for a small lease close to home with no luck what so ever. Thanks!