posted
Took the wife with me down to the riverbottoms in East Texas on my friend's place to scout for next year's treestand/tripod sites. These bottoms are full of mature huge oak trees and they carpet the ground with acorns. After getting skunked this season on corn feeder set ups, I'm going where the acorns are (and literally nobody ever hunts here) to ambush some big deer. Found a few great trees and one awesome spot that was literally crisscrossed with game trails, leading between bedding areas, cover, and two giant oaks about twenty feet apart, not 50 yds from the river. I think this will be my go to spot during the rut. It was a beautiful afternoon and we hiked about 7 miles. I only fell into the creek once.
-------------------- Black Widow PSAX Bocote 57# @28, 58 AMO Black Widow PLX Tiger Myrtle 60# @28, 64 AMO J.D. Berry Osage Argos 60# @28, 66 AMO Posts: 1171 | From: TEXAS | Registered: Dec 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Great pictures, scouting is also a year round process for me too. Hope your new spot works out in 2011.
Posts: 161 | From: aledo, il | Registered: Jan 2009
| IP: Logged |
posted
Great pics, I like the skins on the bow as well.
-------------------- Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem. —President Ronald Reagan Posts: 7953 | From: NJ to GA back to NJ =Lost ;) | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged |
posted
That big ol downed tree looks like a good ground blind! Cool pics, Thanks' for sharing! Jason
-------------------- If your gonna take time to do it, do it right the first time! My Dad 1940-2002 Posts: 1773 | From: S. Indiana | Registered: Jan 2008
| IP: Logged |
How big is the ranch and how far into "East Texas" are ya. Doesnt look like you are way over in the Piney woods....
Nice pig track.
Marilyn and I took our bows for a walk on Saturday. The weather here was great. No pigs (that was kinda iffy anyway) and no pictures (battery in camera went south) but a great day out.
Great pics man....
-------------------- Bruce A. Hering Program Coordinator/Instructor Shotgun Team Coach ACUI 2011 Div. I National Champions SCTP 2011 Collegiate Division National Champions Game Preserve/Shooting Complex Mg Southeastern Illinois College NSCA Level III Instructor Posts: 1842 | From: Illinois, Southernmost | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Nice pictures! I had forgot what green grass and leaves looked like.
Man, your creek is not froze! We hit -42 this morning with wind-chill, and the wind was only blowing 11 mph.
-------------------- Member of; Comptons Pope and Young PBS Colorado Traditional Archers Society and Life member of Bowhunters Of Wyoming Posts: 2398 | From: Wyoming | Registered: Jan 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
Alex,I guess I'm always going to have a preconcieved idea of what I think a place looks like.Definitely not what I thought Texas riverbottom to look like.It's a beautiful place and reminds me of the place I hunt right here in south Ms.Keep up the hard work it'll be here before you know it.
Posts: 884 | From: Hurley, Mississippi | Registered: May 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hunt we're almost past Tyler, on 7000 acres, and this bottom is mostly oaks, 100 yards north and south of the river are mixed THICK pines. As you can see the area is wide open on either side of the river. Get up in a tree and you have a seriously good view of everything and I mean everything up and down both side of that river. I'm going to put myself in a high traffic spot/choke point.
It should be interesting.
-------------------- Black Widow PSAX Bocote 57# @28, 58 AMO Black Widow PLX Tiger Myrtle 60# @28, 64 AMO J.D. Berry Osage Argos 60# @28, 66 AMO Posts: 1171 | From: TEXAS | Registered: Dec 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Oh yea. You are on the right track. Whitetails will normally eat white acorns every time over corn.
Posts: 2331 | From: Illinois | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hey Jon, besides corn feeders, there are foodplots here on the ranch too, and the deer use them. I'd set up ground blinds on the approaches and exits to those, but down in the bottoms the deer are 99% undisturbed and you would not believe the amount of acorns washed down or dropped on that area. It's super thick alders and post oak except for the immediate area that floods and that's where the huge oaks are. It's a deer's paradise down in there, and the owners don't go that far to shoot anything or even really venture down there. Something tells me I will see some wild stuff there come October....
-------------------- Black Widow PSAX Bocote 57# @28, 58 AMO Black Widow PLX Tiger Myrtle 60# @28, 64 AMO J.D. Berry Osage Argos 60# @28, 66 AMO Posts: 1171 | From: TEXAS | Registered: Dec 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Lord Alex... you should have some in there. That sounds like a good property. Are ya restricted on kill by size or age?
I have heard of some good deer coming out of that part of the state.
-------------------- Bruce A. Hering Program Coordinator/Instructor Shotgun Team Coach ACUI 2011 Div. I National Champions SCTP 2011 Collegiate Division National Champions Game Preserve/Shooting Complex Mg Southeastern Illinois College NSCA Level III Instructor Posts: 1842 | From: Illinois, Southernmost | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I usually take pictures of deer that are shooters and show my buddy to get the OK or send a text message, and he's never said no. Nobody has quantified the bucks in this part of the ranch as the bottoms get little attention because it's 4 miles from the ranch house, often muddy, hard to get to, and a long quad ride then walk in the dark......the kind of stuff that I love!
If it's not easy to get to and a straightforward shot, these guys won't hunt there. Lazy. They hunt for about an hour and a half and go back in, didn't see anything.....Remember these guys also hunt their feeders mainly, and this year the acorns were EVERYWHERE. Another thing is the ranch hands are allowed to hunt putting even more pressure on the feeders. Nobody there uses real whitetail tactics/strategy beyond "It's really cold so they'll be coming in this morning" or the like.
For a trad hunter, finding the hairiest, thickest stuff is the best part, right? I wanted to find 4-5 spots where there is primo deer habitat and no feeders, etc.
They are supposed to kill something like 25 does annually according to their biologist. Any buck I am going to shoot at must to be a mature animal.
-------------------- Black Widow PSAX Bocote 57# @28, 58 AMO Black Widow PLX Tiger Myrtle 60# @28, 64 AMO J.D. Berry Osage Argos 60# @28, 66 AMO Posts: 1171 | From: TEXAS | Registered: Dec 2007
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Cool pics, Thanks' for sharing! Jason
