Nacogdoches County

Hello All,

Registered today, after reading and viewing the boards for the last 2 weeks.

Long story short I am on a lease in Nacogdoches county currently. Lots of deer sign as I dropped off supplies today to start my feed pen/cameras on Thursday.

Previous group (which I was with for my first their last year) left. No real loss as it was more of a beer camp than deer camp for them.

Any one in county having any luck with sign/ pics this year? I imagine food plots should be great with all the August rain.

Any pointers would be appreciated too

I am not familiar with your county so I cannot comment there. I would get my feeder set asap if it were me. If you have hogs they will get your corn unless you have a good fenced pen or better yet a pen made from hog panels. Probably will be someone by soon who is familiar with your county.

Willhunt,

Thanks for the reply I have 10 16 ft hog panels for the pen which should give me just under 2000 sq feet. Its just going to be a long day setting it up....driving t-posts..... fun.

Which part of the county?

Just south of Garrison

Welcome to the forum, I just started throwing corn this weekend so I havent checked my cameras yet. Normally I wont plant a food plot til after september 1st and I try to plan it a day or two before it is going to rain .

Right now I am having to deal with lots of pigs and very few deer. Getting a few does and some fawns but no bucks right now.

I've seen big deer come out of Nac for years. What's the best part of the county for numbers? Quality? And why, Rifleman? You probably have more insight than just about anyone.

Thanks for the heads up.

There were a good amount of tracks at the property on the road in.

8 different crossings within a 400 yard walk in.

One of the bigger ones



Lets hope this one doesn't oink

If I were you I would hand corn some pinch points/trails and put out a trail cam on that spot first. Especially if your going to build a ten panel pen, (I do that size as well), you wanna make sure it's in a good spot. This part of Texas the deer are finicky about where and how they eat corn, especially from a penned feeder.

See if you can find some white oak trees with good acorns and put a set there. That's where the bucks will be first before they eat corn.

Good luck this season.

Yes sir did that about 3 weeks ago (after reading about scouting on these forums) Pictures were lost as the SD card is god knows where.

The site is on a wide clearing between 3 year old pine and old growth hardwoods(mostly oak) with a feeder creek running through it.

Thanks for the reply!! I hope to have a new batch of photos in about 2-3 weeks

Just hand corn some spots until the scrapes show up and then switch the cameras over to them...and probably not the ones right around the feeder. You'll pick up what bucks are within range of you throughout the entire season. It won't be uncommon for what you catch on camera now to be several miles away come early Oct and a lot of new bucks move in.

For numbers it's usually in the river bottom borders and out from Nac a ways where the old cotton plantations (now cow pastures) transition to mostly timber land. If you're hunting blocks of timber amongst a lot of pasture land no telling what you can get into quality or number-wise bc of how the limited cover can concentrate them. Too many variables to really know what to expect. What the neighbors do is important too. For instance, if you hunt up against 500ac with 8 families hunting it, it's not going to be the same as hunting up against us where one family hunts, 5yo is the target age and that tends to slip to 6/7yo (or like my inlaws where there's a lot of unhunted acreage that's treated like a petting zoo).


There's also a chance you won't get a deer inside your feed pen.

Will do Rifle i have a few game cams that can hold this purpose.

It is going to be interesting to see how much pressure that area gets during bow/early rifle.

I am not a fan of the whole brown/down,but by the looks of some of the homes in the area i cant fault them for trying to put meat on the table.

Welcome and good luck!

Sounds like a good spot As mentioned above look for trails on the peripheral of where your hunting, throw some corn on those trails and leave a small trail of corn that leads back to your feeder.

If you have good green alfalfa out there, break a bale open throw a couple of small pads out there also, put a couple in your feeder pen. Deer love Alfalfa.

Good Luck!

Pen built... both feeders set up and cameras are all around.

I will say i did not see alot of acorns
In the trees but there are some pretty massive white oaks so my guess would be they are still plumping up.

I will post photos in about 2 weeks good or bad

If you bow hunt the best time to see bucks moving in your area is bow season.

The rut is usually winding down when the gun season starts.

I have lived and hunted in northern nacogdoches county all my life. A 10 panel pen is perfect i prefer a round pen. Also i recommend always corning your shooting lanes before you hunt even if you have a feeder down every lane i still spread corn lightly "usually 1/2 sack per 300 yds. Its a pain in the backside but i see alot more mature bucks when i do it.

Got out and was able to refill/check the feeder. No deer at the pen but on the 2 trails around the pen were plent photos of does and one nice buck...barely caught on
Camera. Any guess as to age?

I've lived and hunted in North-East Nacogdoches county (not too far from where you are hunting) for about 30 years now. Hopefully you don't have the feral hog problem I've been plagued with.

In a typical year...I will start to see some deer movement about the first of October when the deer are abandoning their summer patterns. Acorns (if you have them) will influence their movement and feeding habits.

I tend to see the very best bucks about the last week of October into the first week of November.

As with any property...do what you can to attract and hold the Does (females) and you will have Bucks (males) looking for them.

Be smart about utilizing terrain features to your advantage. IF there are areas that funnel/choke down travel...this can be helpful. Deer like 'edge cover' so focus on that as well. IF you can hunt back in the wooded area(s) I would certainly encourage that, especially the hardwoods.

Often times deer will 'stage' back in the woods that surround an opening...long before venturing out (if they come out at all into an opening). All too often folks will pick a large opening to watch over...thinking it gives them the best chance of sighting a deer. And just as often...they are disappointed once hunting pressure causes the deer to avoid such open areas until after dark.

Depending upon what type of Oaks there are around there (white oaks preferred) you might have a ready made food source already in place. You'll know...when/if they suddenly stop eating the corn you put out, for the more desirable mast crop.

This part of Deep East Texas has pretty good genetics....so bucks need only decent nutrition throughout the year and AGE...in order to mature into an animal anyone would be happy to harvest.

Best of luck to you this season.

Flint.

I have been hunting the south end of the county and been seeing some does and a young buck. Anybody having any luck in nac county?