Hey Guys,

First time hunter on a new lease. So far only does on the camera at the feeder. Is that bad news? What can you expect to see this time of year?

thx-

Where do you hunt?

All we have seen for the most part is bucks.

What you see is only representative of what is on the area right then. Tomorrow, next week or just an hour from now that can change. I would say there are bucks on the area, you may not see them on the game cams or you may see a lot of them.

I have routinely seen nice bucks taken at feeders that a game camera showed mostly heavy doe usage. Once the rut kicks in, bucks can show up practically anywhere.

Let me add that as a first time hunter, there is nothing that will benefit you more than learning as much as you can about the rut.

Good luck!

Where there are does there will be bucks

We hunt in east Texas and don't see bucks on the camera's until late Oct. We took several nice bucks last year. They will come if the does are there.

Not necessarily. The bachelor groups probably haven't started breaking up yet and when they start rutting it won't be a bad thing to have lots of does hanging around your feeders/blinds.

The bucks will be going where the does are shortly. You will be fine.

I'm in central Texas and it's normal to have a few deer in the yard (my yard is actually my surrounding pastures). We've had a young buck and a few does hanging around together for a month or two, but just lately the buck has been showing up alone. And when he's around the does, he does a little chasing. Something may be in the air...could it be LUV?

Does are better eating than bucks.

Yeah, that's what I've heard but the lease is a "antler restiction" county. If I understand that correctly, doesn't that mean no does, even in archery season. Right?

No, the antler restriction only applies to bucks. A doe can be taken on an 'antlerless tag'

Archery season you can shoot doe even if its a buck only general season. I hunt in Wilson county. It's a two buck no antlerless general season but you can shoot up to 2 doe in archery season.

Here is the info for Wilson county which is in antler restrictions.


Archery Only
Sep. 28 - Nov. 1, 2013
No permit required unless MLD permits have been issued for the property.

This means you can shoot doe and use your tags but if you have MLD permits then you use those tags and not the ones on your license.

General Season
Nov. 2, 2013 - Jan. 5, 2014
Antlerless Permit Antlerless by MLD permit only
Youth-Only
Early Youth-Only Season
Oct. 26 - 27, 2013
Late Youth-Only Season
Jan. 6 - 19, 2014
Muzzleloader
Jan. 6 - 19, 2014
Antlerless Permit General season – buck limits apply, antlerless by MLD permit only
Bag Limit 4 deer, no more than 2 bucks, and no more than 2 antlerless, all seasons combined.

This means you can shoot up to two doe in Archery season without MLD Tags.


Antler Restrictions Special Antler Restrictions do not apply to properties for which Level 2 or Level 3 MLDPs have been issued. For counties with Special Antler Restrictions, a legal buck deer has: 1. at least one unbranched antler, or 2. an inside spread of 13 inches or greater. The inside spread requirement does not apply to any buck that has an unbranched antler. Not more than one buck with an inside spread of 13 inches or greater may be taken.

Also if it comes down to it, it is legal to shoot two spikes during general season.

Great info. Do you need the archery only stamp or permit on your license?

Yes, to hunt Archery Season you need the archery stamp on your license.

Hi Panther- Limestone County is where we have the lease.

Hi Panther- Limestone County is where we have the lease.

yep!