Well done HJ...looks like you have got yourself a goodly supply of meat for the winter mate.

Cheers, Vince

ohh man our stags are in velvet and hinds are dropping fawns.. Ill wait till after christmas then get out and get amounst them. great look deer for the freezer and that buck looks fantastic to this wee kiwi lad.

Thanks guys...

I still have one tag left for the "zone" I live in, and I'm supposed to head to a different zone for the the December 18th-19th weekend (I can fill 3 tags there). We're only allowed 1 buck per year, so everything else will be antlerless. Our freezer is full, so we're going into "donation" mode now...

Got to watch an 8-point buck yesterday around sunset for about 20 minutes. Texas has a minimum antler size of 13" inside spread and this fellow didn't meet it. The State is trying to obtain a more mature buck population. Hope this guy is bigger next year and that I see a mature doe this morning. I'm out of venison.

I know all about pig traps. I used to have one, but someone has stolen the place they had rented. I think I'll have to build another. When I left home this morning to head to work, I found about 20 wild pigs in my yard again (I think they're telling all your friends about this neat place to spend time. They have just arrived, because I could not see any damage to the courtyard. I had my gun for me, so I just yelled and then took off like lightning.

Well, this week for deer hunting has been a bust for me, 2 flat tires for me on 2 different vehicles on the way to the hunt, one broken water meter in the house.
As Charlie Brown would say "Good Grief". Just put new tires on the truck and will be heading out tomorrow in spite of the ice storm or sleet they predicted for tonight and tomorrow.

Ominivision1 wrote:

Just put new tires on the truck and will be heading out tomorrow in spite of the ice storm or sleet they predicted for tonight and tomorrow.

Be safe OV1!

slimjim wrote:

Ominivision1 wrote: Just put new tires on the truck and will be heading out tomorrow in spite of the ice storm or sleet they predicted for tonight and tomorrow. Be safe OV1!

I'm with Slim mate...be safe...have a good hunt, but BE SAFE.

Cheers, Vince

Last day of shotgun deer season here today. A nice 2" dusting of snow last night. This means the local hunters will probably drive a load of deer onto my property from the surrounding WMA's and State Forest today and Monday (opening day of blackpowder season). I am psyched for a mid-week success story. Just hope the wind changes and the rain/snow mix for Sunday and Monday doesn't turn into another ice storm.

Hey guys and gals, just got home a little bit ago and the weather was rain this am, then sleet and now it's a blizzard warning. We didn't fill the rest of the tags but look forward to January for the late muzzle loader season.

Marty...if the deer head for your place do you think that you will have a problem with poachers moving in as well?

I take it that you cannot enter private property without permission. Are there many problems with that sort of thing happening?

Cheers, Vince

Vince, some counties here require you to have written permission from the land owner to hunt there. One of the ones I hunt in does. I'm not sure how much it helps though.

So from what you say, I can assume that poaching on private property is a common thing.

Where do you stand if you catch or find someone hunting on your property without permission? Is it classified as Trespassing?

Cheers, Vince

and trespassers are shot,
survivers will be shot again...

Vince wrote:

Marty...if the deer head for your place do you think that you will have a problem with poachers moving in as well? I take it that you cannot enter private property without permission. Are there many problems with that sort of thing happening? Cheers, Vince

So far, so good. Locals have a reputation for dealing with poachers, so few take the chance. Last season, two poachers pulled into a logging road on a neighbor's property and hunted his posted land. They returned to their truck to find he had removed the valves from the valve stems on their tires. The owner of the truck was summoned to court where he was fined for trespassing. They lost their hunting licenses for a few years, too, according to the neighbor.

Most of us in the area cut our own firewood. Standard practice is to drop a tree across the logging road behind the offenders' vehicle. Game wardens take care of anyone parked alongside the main roads. There are thousands of acres of legal hunting areas surrounding these properties, so no real need to poach here.