I was drawn for the GDE at Gus Engling! Has anyone here hunted there and do you have any pointers?

Thanks

If it is like it was when I hunted there, you will be assigned compartments. The workers there often will give you tips on where in the compartment has some good traffic to look at for a hunting site. Good luck

Never hunted deer but have been over parts of it duck hunting . Good luck

Coach

Congrats on the draw!

Been there a few times in the past. Invest in a good pop-up. Great campsite for hunters. Has fire rings, bathrooms, and tables. We always use a tent. We will be there this year on YDA and YDM.

When did u find out? I have been trying to call but it just rings and rings. I put in for the same hunt!!

Thats all i got to was ringing.... i talked to someone last week and he said they were not drawing until next week. Guess im SOL!

congrats on the draw!

Early yesterday morning.

Try late at night or early in the morning. The computer is just busy from everyone calling in.

I've not been but I have seen two ~150 deer that came from there. Good potential for sure.

Yea, I'm fired up. Last year they had 3 entries into the Texas Big Game Awards, a 140, a 146, and a 156. The deer are there, it's up to me to follow through.

A good climber is what you will need, or a lock-on. Good luck.
When is the hunt?

Thanks Squig. That's a good suggestion. The hunt is November 8th through the 12th.

Palehorse, my nephew and I did a Standby hunt there last year and he killed a real bruiser. He used my climber but only went up a few feet to get his head up around 10 ft or so. He wore a Guillie suit and disappeared up gainst the tree.

The bucks reacted strongly to even well brushed pop ups, I recomend sitting in a bushy area and cutting the center out of it. With some good cammo the deer come right up to you.

Dang! Nice buck! Thanks for the tip!

Here is a "Cut out" stand I did a couple of years ago on Gus Engeling. I was driving down the road in my "section" and saw a buck chasing a doe in the far wood line. So I cut a hole into the brush and set up with a chair and shooting stick. Used cut branches from the bushes to hide my spot. Had my doe an hour later. The road is 15 steps behind the bushes.



This was where she was standing when I shot her


Gus Engeling is a big place and you must be flexible and hunt where the deer and sign are. I normally hunt the woods but that trip I was seeing them along wood lines and field edges.

Great buck for your nephew. Those deers' aint got no legs!

Yea, I shoot them off so they come by him slow enough he can get a shot off!

This was his first "Trophy" buck and he was so excited! I have been hunting with him since he was just a young-un about 6 or so.

At Gus Engeling they have first class facilities and will hang your deer for you in a cooler, but they lop the legs off befor they put them up. We both got our limit of three and spent the last morning of the hunt skinning and quartering deer.

Palehorse, the pics above kinda look like the compartment me and my boy were the 2nd and 3rd time, except we didn't hunt that open spot. He was only good at 50 to 75 yd shots, so we set up in that smaller opening I told you about.
Also, when you start your hunt, do a speed scout of your area. Try to locate a good used worn trail and a good food source. Lot of oaks on the place. Some should have a lot of akerns under them. Find the tree with the most deer poop under it!!!
Once you see your area, shouldn't be hard to figure it out. Like I said, some is real thick woods (mainly due to the underbrush) and some that I seen was open timber, where you can see good for 100 to 150 yds.

Did y'all get your compartment for just your group or did they have you share the compartment with someone else?

They tried to match the compartments to each group, some people had to share. In all of my hunts there (3) I have had a compartment to myself or to my group.

They try to time the GDE hunts with the peak of the rut.

Thanks everyone for the tips. That's exactly the type of info I was looking for!

First 2 times, we had a compartment to ourself. The 3rd time there we shared a compartment, but since we hunted it before, I told the other guy and his son where exactly we were going, and had no problems.

Good luck and save some for my GDM hunt in January 2013.