Pitchfork is a better WT lease than Mule deer. Not a historical high producing mulie ranch.

Bobo, I asked what was wrong with "Panhandle" not "Pitchfork". You had mentioned Transpecos but not Panhandle.

Sorry, I have a ranch in Panhandle, and have mule deer, just seldom have any thing over 165. Transpecos has ranches that are consistent 190+ producers w/ much higher densities. There are a few ranches in the panhandle that have a very special situation where they are a winter/rut destination for protected mule deer herds, such as Dkerson charity hunt

Id entertain sandhill areas also

'Thought I had a lead on a place in true, No Country For Old Men country. But, if my friend on here didn't misquote the acreage, it sounds postage-stamp size for out there and, I doubt the land manager contact will ever get back with me. Interesting history though of a place that it looks like someone thought they'd try to create another Luckenbach...in the middle of nowhere.

Creekrunner, if it's No Country For Old Men country, I think you should throw any suitcases of money you find in the nearest river. Don't want to meet Anton Chigura!

Creek, did you see the one listed in Panhandle? both MD & WT ... (probably a silly question)

If I’m gonna pay $10k for a muley and have to drive to the panhandle I’m just gonna keep going another couple hours and go to Colorado or New Mexico

That’s the trade off on a mule deer lease. At some point the cost factor on a lease vs. a package hunt has to be considered since the season is so short.

Its not short if its MLD.

True, but I can’t ever remember seeing a mule deer lease offered that was MLD. I’m sure they do exist.

Most of the mule deer properties I’ve seen were either hunted by friends and family or the hunting was spoken for by an outfitter.

Good, consistent mule deer hunting in Texas is very hard to come by. It takes a combination of proper location, habitat, and hunting pressure/managment.

Maybe if you look in the classifieds in the mule deer foundation publication you will find some ads.

One can only imagine what kind of information is packed inside those pages….i wouldn’t know though….

Nor I. TWA hired that old goober, by the way.

Ill see him at the next TWA conference handing out pamphlets on CWD…

Again, prefer mule deer only country.

'Been a couple of months, and starting to get too late for this year, but bumping anyway.

I just saw one on 2coolfishing in Van Horn.

I'm in my late 30s and been looking around this area as well! I'll jump in if y'all can find a good deal.

I'm afraid I have a better chance of finding the Holy Grail.

There are quite a few very good mule deer killed on the Pitchfork every year. There are many that aren’t killed bc most pastures only allow one MD per 5k acres so once someone on a pasture kills one the season is pretty much over. There are also a lot that don’t go public bc people don’t want others to know about them, scared someone will try to offer more money and get their lease. I agree though there are other places that consistently generate big bucks but if you like 170” Muleys with a chance at a giant the Pitchfork isn’t a bad option. Obviously some pastures have much better mule deer terrain than others.

A 170” Texas mule deer isn’t nothing to sneeze at, but are you saying that’s the average buck taken or a representative of a big deer that gets taken every once in awhile?

It all depends on the pasture you are on. If you are on the prime MD pastures you will have a pretty good chance at 170 most yrs. Also depends on the group on that pasture though bc like I said they don’t want more than 1 MD killed per 5k acres and most pastures are close to 5k acres some more some less.

This one was just killed recently out there. Just under 170

This is a hard fact that most fail to understand, either because they are ignorant (nothing wrong with not knowing), or don't know what a good one looks like. Due to lingering drought, predators, hunting pressure, etc, nowadays a 170" mule deer is a dang nice buck, and are relatively few and far between. There are a few places in the Trans Pecos that have been protein feeding deer for a few years and they can grow some good ones. We've killed quite a few 180"+ bucks over the years, a handful of 190's, and a smaller handful of 200" bucks, but the lingering drought, increased oilfield traffic, etc has really taken it's toll over the last 10 years.

180” was always my goal. Only saw one buck in the Trans Pecos that might have gotten there but he gave us the slip.

In several years of hunting I never saw one that would be in the 170’s. And these were old deer. Big ranch, low population and low pressure. No feed. There were bucks taken that were in the 170’s, 180’s and in the 200’s but I never saw one on the hoof. 160’s was the average mature buck taken.

Big Muleys are a rarity.

There are some transpecos ranch’s breaking 200 pretty consistently, in fact our old one isn’t doing to bad now, not sure it won’t be long before it’s in that bucket. 160 was probably average but that’s because some of us didn’t have 14 plus days to scout and hunt. It broke 170-200 pretty much every year though

I can remember a few years where there wasn’t a 170” killed. Some years there was a a few.

If they are feeding yes, It should improve.

If a ranch is on MLD then it helps tremendously . I never went but some of the guys would go back after Christmas and the deer they would see would make you think it wasn’t the same ranch.

I remembered I did see a big deer and tried to stalk him but the wind got me and he busted. Guy killed him a few days later joy riding thru the pasture, deer was 175”.

I miss hunting there.

There were a lot of young 165-170 passed. That last buck STX killed that was 187 was perfect example, year before I had him at 35 yards, and I also damn near had to take the gun away from trex later that week to keep him from shorting him he was in 70’s that year. They took 190 last year, it’s one guy that has whole lease, feeding and headed to mld