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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: freerange] #8118397 01/07/21 01:59 AM
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Joe Dirte Offline OP
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I’m interested too

Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: freerange] #8118446 01/07/21 02:39 AM
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My opinion is we have a great group of guys we shoot what needs to be taken off and have a good time while were at it. Mistakes are made (so be it) As long as it's fun enjoy
Originally Posted by freerange
STx, or anybody, school me up on why Landowner grazing and leased grazing would make a lot of difference for deer hunting. I assume one would tend to overgraze but as always im on here to learn. Sorry if this is off topic but figure it keeps it bumped to the top.



To me overgrazing of the deer has problems with the cattle, sheep etc, One of the other places under the same type of lease has a large population of blackbuck and wants all BB killed off

Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: snake oil] #8121397 01/09/21 12:29 AM
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Originally Posted by snake oil
Hunted on the Figure Three 50+ years ago. We shot some pretty good deer IIRC nothing over 140 though.

I hunted the figure 3 also. Snake oil, didn't you tell me your hunting buddy died from a heart attack there? Sorry for your loss.....To the OP. 150 deer are rare as hens teeth in that country. Deer are numerous though. Back when we were on figure 3 they ran Angora sheep or goats, whatever they are. (They all look the same from behind when you're sneaking up on them). Place was overgrazed. A130" buck was a real trophy. Good luck.


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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Erathkid] #8121436 01/09/21 12:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Erathkid
Originally Posted by snake oil
Hunted on the Figure Three 50+ years ago. We shot some pretty good deer IIRC nothing over 140 though.

I hunted the figure 3 also. Snake oil, didn't you tell me your hunting buddy died from a heart attack there? Sorry for your loss.....To the OP. 150 deer are rare as hens teeth in that country. Deer are numerous though. Back when we were on figure 3 they ran Angora sheep or goats, whatever they are. (They all look the same from behind when you're sneaking up on them). Place was overgrazed. A130" buck was a real trophy. Good luck.


That country was full of sheep and goats back in the day - was for decades. During the Clinton era, they cut the wool & mohair subsidy, and the angora goats have been declining precipitously (though the proud Rocksprings HS mascot abides) as have the sheep. Meat goats have taken their place, but nowhere near to the same extent or in the same #s. Since goats and sheep are browsers, they really did directly compete with the deer. You've got less browsers in that country now, and the cattle obviously don't compete in the same way being grazers.

I say this as a neophyte on the subject - just a guy who in decades past rounded up thousands of goats way too many times - curious to hear what someone with greater knowledge of how they really impact deer has to say.

Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Erathkid] #8121913 01/09/21 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Erathkid
Originally Posted by snake oil
Hunted on the Figure Three 50+ years ago. We shot some pretty good deer IIRC nothing over 140 though.

I hunted the figure 3 also. Snake oil, didn't you tell me your hunting buddy died from a heart attack there? Sorry for your loss.....To the OP. 150 deer are rare as hens teeth in that country. Deer are numerous though. Back when we were on figure 3 they ran Angora sheep or goats, whatever they are. (They all look the same from behind when you're sneaking up on them). Place was overgrazed. A130" buck was a real trophy. Good luck.


Erathkid, That's still hard for me to talk about without getting emotional. He was struck by lighting and killed. Four of us hunting that weekend and three of us stayed up Saturday night and got drunk. Byron ( my best friend) went to bed early and hunted the next morning. Started raining the next morning and he ( typing with tears in my eyes) took shelter under a group of small live oaks. I remember hearing one clap of thunder. Tell you the rest of the story over a beer sometime.


"You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas".
Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Joe Dirte] #8122207 01/09/21 05:14 PM
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I'm so sorry. You're a great friend to your bud.


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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Joe Dirte] #8122593 01/09/21 11:50 PM
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Go for it, you might as well set your sights on a 150 as anything else. Lots of protein and corn might just get you there.

Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Erathkid] #8122706 01/10/21 01:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Erathkid
I'm so sorry. You're a great friend to your bud.


We need to hook up at the Greenwood in Bluff Dale. Drink some cold beer and swap stories. Maybe you, I, DQ, Max and who ever. Then eat at that open air seafood restaurant, don't remember the name.


"You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas".
Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: snake oil] #8122762 01/10/21 02:07 AM
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Originally Posted by snake oil
Originally Posted by Erathkid
I'm so sorry. You're a great friend to your bud.


We need to hook up at the Greenwood in Bluff Dale. Drink some cold beer and swap stories. Maybe you, I, DQ, Max and who ever. Then eat at that open air seafood restaurant, don't remember the name.

I'd be up for something....

Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: DQ Kid] #8122802 01/10/21 02:41 AM
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We have hunted in northern Sutton county on 5000 acres for 9 years. We have plenty of deer. Maybe too many, but we have not killed a 150 buck. We feed protein and are pretty selective but 140’s seems to be where we are for tops. It may be that some are taken before they reach 150 but that is probably the way it is on most leases

Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Joe Dirte] #8125897 01/12/21 03:24 AM
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It is possible to take 150 but will take discipline and just will not be often without lots of work AND luck. I grew up in Eldorado and our places are either in Schleicher exclusively or split by Schleicher/Tom Green line. You have to let your deer get old meaning at least 5.5 and preferably 6.5 before taking trophies and control numbers to up your odds. The majority of your deer will still be 120-130 and I would consider any of age and 130+ good bucks. 140+ may not even be every year so don't get bummed while working your way there. They can really benefit from some post rut help out here with something like cottonseed as our deer don't just naturally fatten up very often. I'm sure I would know your landowner or at least neighbors.

Last edited by bphillips; 01/12/21 03:25 AM.

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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Joe Dirte] #8126791 01/12/21 09:19 PM
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Our goal was also for a 150. We are 320 acres. We have been working at it since 2007 on our place and the closest we have gotten is 146. We have had a few bucks on camera over the years that we think would top 150, one of them was killed by a neighbor and was low 160's.

To me looking for a deer like that on small acreage we pick out the exceptional young deer and do what we can to let them go at all costs. If I see one of our younger promising deer I pretty much close the windows, and put the gun away, they are hard enough to grow and kill on small LF you don't need to educate them.

Like others have said the biggest thing you need to get is age. We have killed a few bucks that went 130's-140's that were only 4.5 years old. We started our management program for a minimum of 4.5 as we didn't even know if we could get deer to that point under our conditions. I 100% believe we need to and if we could up that to 5-6 we would nail our 150 in 2 years or less. Recently started sending teeth off to be professionally aged for better information. I don't think everyone hunting is ready to make that commitment though.


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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Joe Dirte] #8126890 01/12/21 10:35 PM
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while some people kill 150 plus year in year old its a hard thing to do I will say you may have the occasional run through but with that scenario you have I don't see it being a yearly thing unless you have giant properties next door

Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Joe Dirte] #8126993 01/12/21 11:41 PM
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I posted several times on this thread and ill do it again.
"It all depends", but 150 is just rare for MOST SITUATIONS.
Last year I found a brand new property that is large and has basically NEVER been hunted and certainly NO management and no protein. Tremendous native genetics and great diverse natural habitat. 4 on the new lease and we all 4 killed mature bucks that averaged 168" BC and 15 points. That is truly EXCEPTIONAL and Im unsure what will happen going forward.
The other lease Ive managed and hunted 14 years we killed 4 bucks this year that scored 150 and usually we kill only one or two 150s. No protein and do not kill enough does(we should) and all we do is let them get to 5 yrs(we really do and dont just talk.) 10 times larger place than OP and half neighbors are bigger and dont hunt at all. If you scaled our situation down to the OPs 1000 acres and throw in average neighbors and assume you did a good job like us then the math says you might kill ONE 150 every 5 or 10 years, and that would be per the whole group so an individual hunter might kill one in 20 to 40 years. Once again, not trying to be Debbie Downer but you asked opinions and I think that REALISTIC expectations are paramount to ANY endeavor. Others, including STx, have said that unrealistic expectations will cause you to give up and/or move on. My humble suggestion is to try as hard as you can or want to produce 150 deer but have other more attainable goals as your satisfaction meter. Control what you can control and ENJOY THE PROCESS. Good luck.


At some point in life its time to quit chasing the pot of gold and just enjoy the rainbow. FR
Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations. RWH
Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: snake oil] #8130359 01/15/21 03:40 PM
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Originally Posted by snake oil
Originally Posted by Erathkid
I'm so sorry. You're a great friend to your bud.


We need to hook up at the Greenwood in Bluff Dale. Drink some cold beer and swap stories. Maybe you, I, DQ, Max and who ever. Then eat at that open air seafood restaurant, don't remember the name.

Wilfongs. I'm so ready for the Greenwood saloon to open back up. Would love to you meet up with you, snake. DQ, would enjoy meeting you too. Maybe by spring they'll be back open.


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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Erathkid] #8130420 01/15/21 04:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Erathkid
Originally Posted by snake oil
Originally Posted by Erathkid
I'm so sorry. You're a great friend to your bud.


We need to hook up at the Greenwood in Bluff Dale. Drink some cold beer and swap stories. Maybe you, I, DQ, Max and who ever. Then eat at that open air seafood restaurant, don't remember the name.

Wilfongs. I'm so ready for the Greenwood saloon to open back up. Would love to you meet up with you, snake. DQ, would enjoy meeting you too. Maybe by spring they'll be back open.

cheers

Last edited by snake oil; 01/15/21 04:37 PM.

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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: Joe Dirte] #8131761 01/16/21 04:57 PM
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I’m on almost 3000 acres with 9 guys right near the Eldorado Air Force Station. Been there 4 years. We feed protein feb-oct. Not hunted too hard. We have lots of bucks in the 120” range but I’ve yet to see one near 140”. See lots of deer and it’s a great lease. I won’t leave it unless I can get on the Pitchfork or a similar ranch to it. I don’t ever plan on seeing a 150” deer, but that’s ok

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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: sbushee] #8131837 01/16/21 07:01 PM
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Originally Posted by sbushee
I’m on almost 3000 acres with 9 guys right near the Eldorado Air Force Station. Been there 4 years. We feed protein feb-oct. Not hunted too hard. We have lots of bucks in the 120” range but I’ve yet to see one near 140”. See lots of deer and it’s a great lease. I won’t leave it unless I can get on the Pitchfork or a similar ranch to it. I don’t ever plan on seeing a 150” deer, but that’s ok

"I don’t ever plan on seeing a 150” deer, but that’s ok".
That comment is the key. As long as all 9 guys have that attitude then you have a good lease. Its all about REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS and recruiting and retaining like minded lease mates. Most everyone wants bigger deer(even tlk) and some try harder than others to get there but the key is to be happy with the process and overall experience.


At some point in life its time to quit chasing the pot of gold and just enjoy the rainbow. FR
Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations. RWH
Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: freerange] #8131927 01/16/21 09:12 PM
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Originally Posted by freerange
Originally Posted by sbushee
I’m on almost 3000 acres with 9 guys right near the Eldorado Air Force Station. Been there 4 years. We feed protein feb-oct. Not hunted too hard. We have lots of bucks in the 120” range but I’ve yet to see one near 140”. See lots of deer and it’s a great lease. I won’t leave it unless I can get on the Pitchfork or a similar ranch to it. I don’t ever plan on seeing a 150” deer, but that’s ok

"I don’t ever plan on seeing a 150” deer, but that’s ok".
That comment is the key. As long as all 9 guys have that attitude then you have a good lease. Its all about REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS and recruiting and retaining like minded lease mates. Most everyone wants bigger deer(even tlk) and some try harder than others to get there but the key is to be happy with the process and overall experience.


Totally agree. We are letting what we think are 3 and 4 year olds walk. We aren’t experts but we go by, “if he looks too young, he gets a pass”. Not perfect but it’s good for us and the guys all
Enjoy it

Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: sbushee] #8132293 01/17/21 05:23 AM
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Originally Posted by sbushee
I’m on almost 3000 acres with 9 guys right near the Eldorado Air Force Station. Been there 4 years. We feed protein feb-oct. Not hunted too hard. We have lots of bucks in the 120” range but I’ve yet to see one near 140”. See lots of deer and it’s a great lease. I won’t leave it unless I can get on the Pitchfork or a similar ranch to it. I don’t ever plan on seeing a 150” deer, but that’s ok

Who is your landowner? You may neighbor one of our places


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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: bphillips] #8132416 01/17/21 02:04 PM
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Archie Clenwegle. Great guy.

Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: sbushee] #8133204 01/18/21 04:14 AM
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Originally Posted by sbushee
Archie Clenwegle. Great guy.

Yep just north of our place. We are there south of you and border the old radar station. I don’t hunt that place personally but I have it leased to a buddy of mine


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Re: Schleicher County expectations [Re: bphillips] #8133514 01/18/21 02:46 PM
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Originally Posted by bphillips
Originally Posted by sbushee
Archie Clenwegle. Great guy.

Yep just north of our place. We are there south of you and border the old radar station. I don’t hunt that place personally but I have it leased to a buddy of mine


Pm sent

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