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Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant #8517729 01/31/22 01:21 AM
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pmnitro Offline OP
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Several shooter bucks all summer on the protein feeder cameras. When the velvet dropped and the testosterone levels begin to rise, all the mature bucks vanished not to be seen again. The ranch has tons of cover and only two men hunting 2000 acres primarily. Fifteen game cameras looking 24/7 and they only caught a handful of potential shooter pics. None of which were the best bucks on the place. I tried blinds, tripods, still hunting and brush blinds. A friend warned me about the deer in that area, telling me they go nocturnal. I didn't listen. Really big deer there, low fence 160 to 170 running around. Nearly impossible to take a deer 4 yo +. Thinking about going back to the hill country hunting. Back to 140ish, but fun to hunt.
Well, that's my rant....


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Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8517747 01/31/22 01:37 AM
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Were the bucks bedding and living on your lease? Did you keep feeding protein in hunting season? I had a similar issue on my little place in Goliad County. Buck heavy during the late season till early to mid October. To many bucks and not many does because of all the bucks. My hunting was excellent in archery season and in the rut the lower end mature kept the bigger mature bucks and better younger bucks run off of my place. The smaller bucks kept the does run off. I had free choice protein, corn feeders and oats/winter peas. When those bucks left the ones that made it thru the rut would return in mid to late December. They were not nocturnal they just left due to to many bucks and to many mature bucks in a small area. Most of the bucks I had in the summer did not live on my place, so they when the rut started they stayed were they bedded. All my neighbors started their corn feeders and then road feeding. I pulled some bucks from them as they did me with corn feeders and road corn. Something similar happened on my new place in Gillepsie....my first year on it. Lot of mature bucks till late Oct then they scattered back to their normal bedding areas when the neighbors started corning. A few came back though in late Dec. Not all but some better ones.


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Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8517752 01/31/22 01:40 AM
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Last year we took two nice big bucks , a 10 and a 12 . They were out in daylight morning and evening a lot . There were others also . This year everything was out at night . Lots of deer , but all after dark .

Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8519138 02/01/22 05:05 PM
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The last 4 leases I’ve had all played out this way.. east, north central, hill country, deep hill country.. like I tell my buddies, kill them in oct, and if you can’t, you’ll get a second chance during the rut. After the rut to middle of January gets tough.

Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8519752 02/02/22 01:28 AM
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Same thing happened about 8 years ago in Haskell on our lease then we started seeing giant cat tracks. Might not have been it but no deer all season. The next year was amazing and has been ever sense.

Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: Master Plumb] #8521262 02/03/22 12:30 PM
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Pardon me guys. I was having a moment. 🤦‍♂️😂


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Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8521276 02/03/22 01:04 PM
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Knox being more rural and big country than other counties more in Cross TImbers NW; this wouldn't surprise me. Guessing those deer are prone to roam farther out for food, cover and ladies which may drive their movements into the nighttime hours. Out of curiosity, what is the hunting pressure like immediately surrounding you?

Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8521282 02/03/22 01:11 PM
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You have a hunter density of 1/1000 ac.s ....your neighbors...probably much more..maybe 1/100 ac.s. So they are feeding much more than you probably ...that is my first thing that sticks out. Second..are ya using scents? I don't think it's a problem at all. Just keep raising the feed program until you see a difference. I also had this problem of big bucks coming in at night. For two years I was seeing a 12 point buck ...AT 21:00 to 24:00. Sometimes at 03:00 but very seldom during the day. On the second year...increased the scents ...and cut back on hand feeding at or around 11:00. The buck started coming in later close to 04:00 ...then he came in at 07:10 ..just at daylight...I didn't have my normal shot but I didn't wait and took my best shot and was successful. So..just hang in there..make slight changes and see what happens. Never give up!!! It's the chase is what makes it the challenge. The more challenges ..the better. Good luck

Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8521315 02/03/22 02:03 PM
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Originally Posted by pmnitro
Pardon me guys. I was having a moment. 🤦‍♂️😂

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Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: stxranchman] #8523381 02/05/22 02:16 AM
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We’re feeding plenty. 7 protein (HB 750) going almost year round and 8 corn (650) primary mid summer Thru February or whenever they run out. Deer don’t care much for the corn but will break you eating protein. Lots of cedar which makes for tough hunting. Close to Zero pressure all the way around. You can count on one hand all the shots I heard All season. My target buck would have probably broke 170. Watched him all summer on one of the protein cams, disappearing September 16th. The one buck killed (160-4/8) seen by the land owner one time and harvested. Checking doe got him, otherwise he disappeared as well. Well, here’s to hoping my target buck is still around and for the coming season. I’ll be changing my strategy. Will hunt hideouts and trails…


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Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8525161 02/07/22 01:41 AM
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Originally Posted by pmnitro
We’re feeding plenty. 7 protein (HB 750) going almost year round and 8 corn (650) primary mid summer Thru February or whenever they run out. Deer don’t care much for the corn but will break you eating protein. Lots of cedar which makes for tough hunting. Close to Zero pressure all the way around. You can count on one hand all the shots I heard All season. My target buck would have probably broke 170. Watched him all summer on one of the protein cams, disappearing September 16th. The one buck killed (160-4/8) seen by the land owner one time and harvested. Checking doe got him, otherwise he disappeared as well. Well, here’s to hoping my target buck is still around and for the coming season. I’ll be changing my strategy. Will hunt hideouts and trails…


Always wanted to hunt out there...y'all ever decide you want another old east Texas boy give me a shout... Mike Johnson

Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8525198 02/07/22 02:26 AM
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Most of the land is leased, but young bucks by the hundred's everywhere....I live in Knox City....to get them, put a peanut butter jar on a mesquite tree about 3ft up, nail in lid with roofing tack, screw it in, and cut bottom off....works really well


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Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: jerry hart] #8526982 02/09/22 03:00 AM
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I'll try the peanut butter. Won't hurt. Many years ago, when we hunted Santa Anna, we bought 5-gallon reject peanut butter from the shopping basket in Coleman. The doe would have it all over their face when it got low. Wish I'd snapped a few pics.


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Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8527002 02/09/22 03:26 AM
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My experience with Buk'r Butter is that coons and ants eat the he'll out of it...

Re: Knox County deer are nearly impossible rant [Re: pmnitro] #8527256 02/09/22 02:26 PM
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Those mature bucks just know when hunting season starts! I remember reading a story by the biologist and pro hunter Larry Weishun, about the Yellow Tagged buck. If I remember the details right, the point is still the same, they tagged this buck when he was a yearling, and after age 3.5 he was never seen again during hunting seasons during the daylight. This was probably before game cameras. He would be at the feeder in the yard of the hunting camp a day or two before hunting season and a day or two after, and once they saw him chasing a doe in the headlights of the truck at night, but no other sighting during hunting season until he disappeared at age 11.

When I was a guide in Shackelford County, all the guides had the same stories, we'd protect our bucks until they got older but then they'd so often disappear after 3.5 years old. This was on 46,000 acres, so many of them weren't leaving the property. The biologist James Kroll had research showing that mature bucks just didn't come to fixed, obvious blinds and feeders after 3.5. We'd usually get our bigger bucks by catching a glimpse of a big buck, we didn't use cameras, and putting out a hanging feeder or corning a road for a few days, then putting up a tripod or pop up hidden in the brush. This was often pretty near a fixed feeder, but he wouldn't come in to it. If he wasn't killed on the first set he wasn't gonna come back, the gig was up, and we'd have to move. Got to where we wouldn't even scout them, we'd see big bucks, wouldn't think we got busted, but they'd never come back. But if we put a good hunter there and they were ready, they'd usually get them.

Anyway, just some stories. Best of luck to ya!


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