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Time is running out: Hunting late-season bucks
By Luke Clayton, Special to Star Local News
With the MLDP (Managed Lands Deer Permits) program that is in widespread use across the state, hunting late-season bucks takes on a whole new meaning.
Ranches willing to comply with management and harvest guidelines established by Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists are allowed to harvest deer -- even bucks -- through February.
For ranches other than those under MLDP management, late season equates to hunting deer during the last half of December until the close of the season in early- to mid-January. Many deer hunters have the mindset that the primary rut is the only time to harvest a mature buck.
Does that were not bred during the primary rut often come into estrus again in December. Doe fawns born early in the summer are often receptive to breeding a month after the primary rut ends.
Competition is high for breeding rights with these does and some of the most brutal buck fights of the season often occur during late season. It's common during late season to see several bucks in pursuit of the same doe.
Just last year, I was hunting with Texas' most famous deer hunter Larry Weishuhn on a well-managed ranch in central Texas. We set up on a field edge that bordered a bedding area on the north and a big winter green field on the south. Larry began working his magic with his rattling horns but promptly put them aside and grabbed his binoculars.
"See that little doe sneaking along the edge of the brush over there?" he asked as he continued to track the deer's movement through his Zeiss binoculars. "She is definitely showing signs of being in estrus. There's what appears to be a mature management buck right on her trail."
Larry's binoculars were quickly replaced with his Ruger American rifle in 3006 caliber. The buck stopped right behind the doe as she paused for an instant. Larry squeezed the trigger and had his last buck of the season on the ground.
While targeting late-season bucks in pursuit of does during this second rut produces a good number of trophy bucks each year, Weishuhn concurs that food is the real key to late-season success.
"I've killed a lot more mature bucks during late-season hunting over food sources than any other method," he said. "Scouting becomes every bit as important during late season as in the fall. As a general rule on most ranches, it will be corn or protein feeders, winter crops and food plots that pull bucks in out of the brush but a savvy hunter will look for signs of deer feeding on natural food sources as well. During years of heavy acorn production, it's possible to find oaks that deer are still hitting hard."
When the rut is done and bucks are in post rut, they often become solitary for a couple of weeks, sticking to themselves and recouping from the rigors of the breeding season, but by late January and early February they will again begin to form bachelor groups.
It's common to see bucks in bachelor herds during February, just like back in the fall during the pre-rut period. When watching trails leading out of heavy cover into open food plots, it's a good bet not to take the first shooter buck that walks out; it's a good bet there will be others taking the same trail. After the rut is wrapped up, late-season deer often again form herds and pattern well to feeders.
Late season is a great time to introduce youngsters to deer hunting. It's very common on a well-managed ranch to see large numbers of deer -- both bucks and does. Late afternoon hunting over green fields also takes the loss of sleep factor out of the deer hunting equation.
This gives kids a chance to enjoy a leisure breakfast around the camp house and ease into their deer hunting day rather than hit the ground running in a mad rush to get into the stand well before sunup.
There is really no need to get into the stand 30 minutes before sunup in order to see deer. After just over 50 years of hunting deer, I still learn something new about these fascinating animals on every hunt.
One thing about deer hunting in Texas that I truly believe is that deer detest walking through frozen grass on clear, cold, frosty mornings.
In more northern climes where I've hunted deer, frost seems to make little difference in deer movement. In areas where ice is an everyday occurrence, deer adjust and learn to live with it. If you're hunting a winter field planted in wheat, rye or one of the new blends formulated for food plots and the morning is clear, cold and frosty, take a tip from an old deer hunter and stay in the sleeping bag a bit longer.
Give that frost time to melt and plan on getting on stand around 8 a.m. You will be settled in when the frost begins to melt around 9 a.m. and deer begin to move.
Late season is a great time to save some money on deer hunts.
Ranches on MLDP programs enter into an agreement with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to harvest a predetermined number of bucks and does. If this quota has not been filled by February, ranch managers are often eager to reach their quota which sometimes results in very economically priced meat hunts for does and management bucks.
The goal is to always remove surplus deer early in the season in order to keep as much feed as possible available during the stress period of late winter, but we deer hunters often have the habit of waiting for the big one and waiting until after that big buck is hanging in the meat locker before hunting doe.
So, if you weren't lucky enough to take that trophy of a lifetime during the more traditional deer hunting period of late fall and early winter, consider giving late-season deer hunting a try.
Thanks to the dead vegetation and less available food on the range, chances are very good you will see and have the opportunity to harvest more deer.
Outdoor Tip of the Week
Many of the hunting seasons are closing and chances are good you have an abundance of meat in your freezer. How about putting it to use and creating some of the most tasty treats you can imagine?
Do you enjoy corned beef, the treat that is often served around Easter with cabbage or on rye bread with cheese as a sandwich? I recently learned how to corn meats and found the process very simple and the end result quiet tasty.
Actually, I made about 8 pounds of corned venison. My friend Mike Pullen with Frisco Spices (www.friscospices.com) supplied the cure and all I had to do was defrost the pieces of lean venison ham and follow instructions.
The process is simple: mix the cure with the appropriate amount of water, add the pieces of meat and place in a cool area for the prescribed number of days. Once the meat is cured (it takes only about one day per pound of meat), it is rinsed and either slow-baked in a covered pot or boiled.
It's good both ways but I prefer it boiled, then sliced thinly and made into corned beef sandwiches or added to cabbage.
Curing pork hams is equally simple. Rather than curing the entire ham, I much prefer to bone out the meat, then cut it into 4-5-pound pieces. These will cure in a brine solution in less than a week. Once the ham is cured, I smoke it for about an hour, then wrap in foil to avoid moisture loss and cook it until an internal temperature of 160 degrees is reached.
Frisco Spices also offers a packet of seasoning that mixed with 10 pounds of ground venison and pork (50 percent pork, 50 percent venison) to make great tasting bacon.
For the spices and a detailed instructions on making these products, contact Mike Pullen at 800-762-6689 or mike@friscospices.com. Mike can walk you through the process, which I believe you will find extremely easy and fun. There is something special about setting down to a big breakfast of eggs, potatoes and bacon or ham you have made yourself.
Remember, the Dallas Safari Club Convention, "Journeys" will be held at the Dallas Convention Center Jan. 3-6. For more information, go to www.biggame.org
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