Hey Guys, new to the forum...looks like a great place for like minded people. My family has land west of ft stockton at I-10 and Mendal Rd area. It is a very large tract of land with terrain that we have never hunted deer on before. I know the area is well known for mule deer on the south/southwest side of ft stockton but you never hear anything about west of town. My father and I will be headed out there next weekend for 4-5 days to shoot some blue quail, set up a couple of feeders and cameras and get familiar with the place. We have gone out there a couple of times to hunt quail while we had a lease in ozozna but never spent more than the day. If anyone on here can share with us some advice on where to begin hunting whitetails/mulies on the pretty much flat land, some draws and hills but mostly flat. Also if there is a turkey population out there?Thank you in advance.

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I think forum members Mulie Mike or 7mag will be your best bet for that area. I haven't noticed them on the forum today, probably out hunting or working.

Both those guys know the area for sure.

Cheatham to the forum

I hunt east of you and south of IH-10. If your ranch is large with some old gas wells on the east side we probably join you on your whole East Side. We go from 2 miles south of IH-10 to about 17 miles south of IH-10 on our south end. No whitetails(we have only seen 2 in 7 years) in that area and a few hogs. Elk and Aoudads on the south end. Very few turkey. Deer will probably not know what corn is nor come to a feeder. New oil drilling in that area also has jumped up the traffic. Get you a great pair of binoculars and spotting scope and set on some elevation and glass. Hunt all day long. Do not attempt to hunt those mule deer like you would whitetails are you will be very disappointed. You have another large unhunted ranch on your southwest. Your area did not get much rain till later this summer and early fall. More south and east you go the more it rained. 160 class mule deer in that area and might get up to the 190 class. Deer are not pressured much at all on the 70,000 we hunt on. We have very little terrain change on the north end. Those deer live in those greasewood/mesquite flats more than you would think. Find the food source and you will find the bucks. Some very mature bucks also in that area. Water is the key. Hunt with in 3/4 to 1 mile max from water. Does go to water every 1-2 days to water and bucks only 3-5 days. We get very few bucks on TC at water compared to what we see in person. Very large fawn crop this year compared to last year and it was a good fawn year, bucks look really good according to our reports, and quail are best in 4 yrs. PM if you want any other help or advice. Hunt them deer hard and run them our way!

I've hunted to the south of you quite a bit. The country had a little more terrain than you've described. Whitetail, Mulies, turkey, quail and javelina. We mainly did spot and stalk hunting. Driving around in a jeep glassing.

There's not a lot of feeder hunting around there but it depends on how much land your hunting. We were on 75,000 acres

Thanks guys...happy huntin

I hunted that part of the woods yrs ago. Not many whitetails. A few mule deer and a chance at a decent one if you have the acreage. Quite a few hogs, more so because of Belding farms.

If you can get anywhere close to Belding farms alfalfa fields, it is your best bet watch where the mule deer are crossing and see if they are coming into your property. Belding has an abundance of water and food sources most people don't know about. They have properties on both the north and south sides of I-10. Claytie Williams owns most the adjoining properties and he feeds his livestock well, plus for wildlife.

The herd of good mule deer really gets better to your south, towards Alpine. Thus area was also known for great herds of Pronghorn, but the die off has been really bad. Quite a few elk, and I saw a small herd just south of the interstate. Turkey's are not plentiful, if any. A few aoudad in the higher hills. The area you will be in will be slow rolling hills with a few draws. Stay positive and do your homework. You never know what may come out. Best of luck.

is belding farms behind firestone on the west side? or is it the big farms south of i-10....or both

we lease a few sections to some farmers off mendal road on the west side about half way up from 10 before the turn east...we have 6 sections south of I 10 at mendal rd i beleive it is 3 sections wide and 2 sections deep....its in between kennedy road west to mendal rd

Belding is south of IH-10 before 67.

I have hunted the Alfalfa Farms just west of town on the road to Belding for the past 10 years. Mule deer love to come and eat the hay in the fields at night. All the ranches around the area buy alfalfa to feed the mule deer and the elk. We have only had 2 elk wonder on the place in the 10 years. There are lots of hogs, but mainly to the fact that there is alot of water in irrigation ditches around the alfalfa farms and the pecan farms. In the last 5 years we have started to see more and more white tail. Best bet for baiting deer in that area would be alfalfa. The farms around there will sell the small bales for $7-12, Or you can buy large one ton bales for $300-500. I have never seen turkey. There are lots of blue quail, javalina, porcupines, skunks, bob cats, and the ocasional Mt Lion.

thank you

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