I drew for Laguna Atascosa archery deer/exotic 11/16-11/20 and just got Mason Mountain WMA for 11/20-11/23. Mason Mountain is for 2 bucks under 5 points, unlimited hogs, and unlimited coyotes. On the hunting brochure it says Mason Mountain trys to keep the deer population density pretty low. It also requires a high clearance vehicle or 4x4. I drive a 2 wheel drive SUV at the moment.

Can anyone give me any info on the mason mountain hunt? Is it a pretty good hunt? The area looks beautiful. It's going to be difficult to go on both of these with my work schedule. But if Mason Mountain is really good I'll find a way to make it happen. I would love to put some more meat in the freezer. Is there a good amount of deer out there? Will my SUV be high clearance enough?

They have a nice lodge to stay in with a kitchen and BBQ pit. The hunt was fairly easy. My buddy and I killed 2 six points, 4 does, and a hog. We were limited out by the end of the first full day. We had our rods and reels but they wouldn’t allow fishing in the tanks so we left the next morning. They have some blinds but we killed all of our deer slowly walking draws. The deer are very small. The week before we went to the WMA I had killed a big Fisher county buck and there was more meat on that one deer than all three of the deer I killed at Mason Mountain.

Thanks. How was the terrain? Navigable with an SUV?

my boys were drawn 4-5 years ago for the management hunt. we hunted the blinds and corned around them. killed a spike within the first hour. saw 3 deer after that. my other son saw the same does and buck but never got a good shot. i think every group killed something. i had a Dodge Ram and made it fine everywhere we went but we were in a close compartment. Lodge is great and it is pretty country plus we saw some cool exotics.

I was there two years ago for an oryx hunt. Wouldn't have had any trouble at all taking management deer. The lodge is nice and the people running it are great. If you don't mind walking a bit to your blind, your two-wheel-drive should be fine. It won't be able to go everywhere, but there's really no need to drive every road.

I'm hoping to get a little bit of freezer meat. The allowance is only two bucks under 5 points which I feel like will limit the opportunity. Plus the hunt is during Thanksgiving so I will only get to hunt the first day and a half.

I did this hunt last year. It depends on where they put you. Where I was at, I was told they saw a couple spikes on cam. In three days I never saw a deer with less than 5 points. I probably had 40 sightings of deer. Didn't see any pigs.

How was the success of others?

To be honest I don't remember exactly now. The person in the spot next to me shot a pig. The facility was great and the TPWD people were great. Just disappointed to not have an opportunity.

Great team to work with. Can't say much for the deer as they are small. Facilities are awesome for your stay. Give Mark, Jeff, Kelsey and Steve my regards, the old hospital administrator.

Thanks, everyone. Hopefully, I can land some freezer meat. That's my main goal this year. I have been traveling for work the last three years which has really limited my hunting. I also drew Laguna Atascosa that ends on the same day Mason Mountain starts. So hopefully I can get some freezer meat between the two!

Getting ready to start my draw hunts next week. Just checking for any last minute advice!

Use some of the deer food attractants with your corn. I used C'mere Deer 3 day harvest there a few years ago and the deer came and ate that stuff up. Deer started showing up about an hour after I put it out and walked over corn to find it. I was on an archery hunt and shot a doe. A couple stag "cactus" bucks were reportedly out there that were less than six points. Its a beautiful place and the lodge is nice. They have a nice cleaning area with a walk in cooler also.

Thanks for the info. I have never used any of the attractants. I guess I should really start looking into them.

Good Luck on your hunt. Let us know how it turns out.