We are going to get on a small ranch around London north of Junction. They say deer and turkey and of course goats.

Any clues as to how the deer are in this area?????

Any help. Thanks

Well, I've never hunted there, but driving thru they look small

agree that there are a lot of smaller ones, but i have seen a couple of nice bucks by the roadside when i drive thru there. you will not have to worry about whether you will see deer to hunt. they are thick in that area

some of the best bucks i killed and seen came from menard. was years ago but i am sure it is still good. it was a great lease.

good area - lots of deer, but i would be worried about them goats. too many of them and hunting can be poor.

I grew up on ranches in Menard and Kimble county. You will see lots of deer. That area probably even has a few axis running around especially if your near the river. As for quality your probably gonna be in the 130 140 range with potential for 150s. The goats are every where in that area so you will be no worse off than the guys next door.

lots of deer not many monsters we hunted London for nearly 20 yrs untill lease was lost

The goats are going to be gone, except for a few that might jump on the B-B-Que pit. Love me some cabritto (sp)?

The place has a nice large tank that has bass and also a lot of turkey.

This is a hard decision to make I have been on a lease for over 11 years with my brother and great friends that was year round and only 1 hour from the house down south between Devine and Pearsall on I35 South.

The deer were good but then the hogs moved in and we could not shoot them fast enough. Not for lack of ammo they went nocturnal.

I can only take 1 hunter with me. This is a family ranch and the deal is to good.

Hard decision to make.

Thanks for the reply's.

Plenty of deer. Just like everywhere else in regard to racks. If you let them get some age on them, you will have some with decent racks. Hunted between Junction and London on family place for last 45 years. Some years are better than others. Looks like plenty of rain to get racks off to a good start this year. How they finish is another story.

I have done a couple of cull hunts in Menard and there are some nice bucks, though not neccessarily huge. They are, however, plentiful.

As most of you know, I live in Menard County and have been on most of the ranches either hunting or making livestock inspections when I was President of Menard National. The body and antler size of the deer in Menard County is above average for the Hill Country with the North and Western part of the county having the better quality simply because populations are a little lower.
The problem with Menard County and most in this area is that it was sheep and goat country for too many years. Sheep and goats have removed the quality browse from years of overgrazing. Even after the sheep and goats are removed from a ranch, it takes many years for the good deer browse to return. For this reason, I have always felt that feeding protien has a greater impact on the overall health and quality of a deer herd in this area than it does in south Texas.
A good mature buck will field dress 120 pounds and antlers gross score in the 130's. One of the better free ranging, no protien fed bucks I have seen was killed by my wife the year before last. I rattled the buck to her and he came very aggressively and would not stop. She shot him a little far back and I did not find hum until this spring. I scored him at 145 gross B&C after lying on the ground for 18 months. He no doubt would have scored over 150 had we killed him cleanly. I know there are bigger but that is a pretty good Menard Co. 10 point (typical).
Adios,
Gary

You boys shouldn't put much stock in what Gary says. You can't trust a man that lives with four Aggies.

I grew up hunting on my family's ranch on the San Saba. There are a few deer that get up into the 150's but they are few and far between. A good buck will go 130. The hunting pressure in our area is VERY heavy. I believe that the limiting factor as far as horns go is age. Nobody lets anything grow up.

o2bwest
You are sure right about that! It has greatly impaired my judgment. Send me some of that rain you guys are "Hogging".
Gary

I hunted on a lease south of Menard between Menard and Hext for 8 years and on a lease north of Menard between Menard and Eden for 7 years. We found that the whitetail north of Menard had larger bodies and antlers. We proteined heavy and harvested some nice bucks. I'd say the average buck we harvested south of Menard was 120's to 130's and to the north was 130's to 140's with a couple going in the 150's. Very seldom will you go out not see any deer (lots of turkeys too).
The thing you need to watch for is the amount of goats and sheep the rancher will run. They compete directly with the whitetail for browse and if the land is overgrazed the whitetail numbers and size will be much lower. You definetly need to pen your feeders.
We have lots of good memories from that area.
Good luck and good hunting.

We hunt south of hext, about 10 miles from London, lots of deer as described above, 110 to 120 is fairly common with a 130-140 poking his head out once in a while, last year we missed opening weekend and wend the second weekend and they were in full rut, We like to kill our does early and wait on the big boys, we also have lots of spike and young deer. Our Turkey population is good and best if you are on a live spring and then next to best on a well fed trough. Good Luck....good Mexican food at the place in mason right off 29 past the square

The thing you need to watch for is the amount of goats and sheep the rancher will run.
Yeah those sheep where a bunch of bulls#*t I was ready to throw some lambchops on the grill.

our rancher runs quite a few goats, but they are not the problem, they stink and crap everywhere, but the 10 cows he had were the biggest pain, the deer on our lease were apparently not used to cows and i had some cows come in on me and ruin a shot on a doe last year, she spooked and when I turned to see why, there they were....then she came around behind me for another look at the cows...

anybody know how the range conditions look out there right now?

Back in April, there was knee high grass everywhere on our lease just outside of Menard.

Last week, still pretty green, and some muddy spots, so I guess the rain has been visiting the area on a regular basis. Should be a good year if things continue like this.

thanks, i cant wait to get back out there