Anybody ever hunt around Purdon? Chambers Creek is just south of town...any idea on deer numbers?

Deer numbers are low. I live close to there and have access to a place there. I have seen deer and seen a few killed but nothing I would ever pay a lease fee for.

I guess u live in BG? Some area's look real good...surprised they aren't more around.

Yes I do. How is it you found Purdon Texas? Would you happen to be a fireman/emt in Frisco?

I sent you a PM...

I hate to bust your bubble but Chambers is north of Corsicana and Richland is south of Purdon. And don't let anybody kid you, Navarro co. is one of the best kept secrets in the state. The deer stocked 30 yrs ago have flourished and there are several 150 to 170 class taken every year. The problem is getting access to hunt them.

Yes, there are some good deer taken. And the population is growing every year. Problem is, the deer in Navarro county are still very place-specific. No way would I pay for a lease here without knowing exactly what I was getting. One place can be great and you can go a 1/2 mile away and get a place where you won't see a deer all season.

I got my creeks confused...lol! I meant to say Richland creek, the property is about 400 yards from the creek.

I knew which creek he meant. Should be a pig rich environment but there are no trophy deer in that area. There could be a fluke from time to time but mostly small immature deer. There are lots of coyotes too. There are a few I have seen that are half dog. I saw one from the tractor one time that was half border collie.

I know of 3 people that have taken 140-150" deer in the Richland creek bottom from Purdon to Corbet in the last 2 years. You won't see meany deer. But there are deer there and numbers increasing yearly. On the other side of the county off 309 on the Trinity I've personally seen some bruisers.

Thanks for the info! I didn't know of Corbet until this post...can't wait until hunting season! It seems the Navarro County deer you actually have to hunt unlike the Hill Country area...looking forward to the challenge!

I used to hunt on a place that was bordered by the WMA and the Trinity. I saw so many monstrous deer and frequently. It was not uncommon to see herds of doe numbering in the 40's during bow season. There have been a lot of good deer killed on that side of the county. There used to be a small place off 55 and 667 or at least right there close, that I got to hunt a few times. It was quite the honey hole.

Yes. 2nd largest deer I've ever seen on a low fence place in the wild was out there on the river bottom. He was probably book material if not high 160's. Actually probably 5-7 of the 10 biggest deer I've ever seen were out there. And this was back in the late 90's.

Lived in the area my whole life, antler restrictions have help a little I think but overall most of navarro county has lower deer #'s than some surrounding counties. The stocking effort in the 80's never really did take, the local game warden can tell you poaching/spotlighting/road hunting has always been a problem there as well. Lots and lots of coyotes and I think thats contributed to the low deer #'s, hogs really hit here bad in the mid to late 90's their population ebbs and flows but have been a problem ever since. Around the lake and WMA/trinity river is a different story.

If you look at the QDMA density map for the counties that border Navarro this is what is shown...

Ellis...less than NC 0 - 15 deer psm
Hill...same as NC 15 - 30 deer psm
Henderson...same as NC 15 - 30 deer psm
Limestone...more than NC 30 - 45 deer psm
Freestone...more than NC 30 - 45 deer psm

Of course your mileage may be different depending on where u hunt, hunting oressure, etc etc. I have seen some pretty nice bucks come from Ellis county. Like wise I heard that deer are very sparse around Mexia, which is Limestone county...

Freestone seems to offer the most wooded cover of the mentioned counties as a whole in my opinion...

I personally hunted a 170" plus typical last year hard on my place here in navarro county and watched him walk into the sunset on the last day of deer season.

That had to be tough...hopefully he is still around! It does seem that Navarro does hold some really nice bucks...just not a ton of deer numbers...I can't wait to hunt the place I just bought!!!

Did you buy it for hunting?, JMHO, but I would not buy a place around purdon just for deer hunting much less lease a place, alot better places in the state for the same price per acre.

We bought for recreation... Should have lots of dove, especially in the split season, hogs, some deer and has great tank on it...

We looked at land in Fannin County but found Navarro about half the price, it's also handy to Navarro Mills and has lots of windflowers in the Spring.

CONGRATS on your new place! Nothing like having your own place!
Good Luck!

Gotcha, dove are great in that area

I've been on a low fence ranch in Navarro county that just N.E. of Kerens for 15 years. We are an MLD III ranch.

I can tell you first hand there are plenty of nice deer in the county....and not just on our place. They may not come 20 at a time to the feeder like the hill country, but we have plenty. And, we are seeing deer weights and antler size improve year after year.

We do find that mature deer (either sex) go nocturnal QUICKLY when the pressure starts.

We've begun our counts already, and will conduct our first night counts this weekend. Night counts are one of my favorite events for sure.

Good luck to you!

thanks chucky! I think the long term potential of my little place is good and quite frankly I grew tired of hunting the Hill Country...did it for 11 years...

The big 10 in the pic went nocturnal the weekend before opening weekend. Got lots of night time pics, but the big boy just did not come near a feeder after that.

Last pic is of my son and his 1st buck. 11 points including the crab claw. At 13, he was mighty proud!

I'll post up more pics as we go into this season.

Come on by DD Steak House in Kerens one night. Would be nice to meet another Navarro County hunter...