Our property has become the extended family hunting destination so I'm really pleased to see this group of six bachelor bucks at the mineral block that I put out after last season.

I've also got three or four bigger bucks in velvet on my cameras hitting it at night.

Last fall, for the first time in a long march of years, I shot two mature bucks. I normally have been strictly shooting for my plate and passed on anything over 2 1/2 YO. I gave away the biggest one (dressed about 250), and kept the smaller one (dressed about 200-225). I got lucky and both are eating well. If it weren't for the young hunter who'll be hunting with me and who would like a nice buck I might shoot another big one this year. As I am approaching the end of my deer killing, I look forward to it more each year.

Last year I didn't get a deer. I had more fun getting my two oldest daughters their first deer and my brother his first whitetail.

This year, I have two nephews and my son coming up for their first deer hunts, along with two daughters and Wifezila hunting.

I may hunt the blackpowder season but the modern gun season will probably be spent guiding and cleaning up everyone else's deer.

My son-in-law inherited his grandmothers ranch and it has been my hunting spot for years. I don't cook and my wife doesn't like deer so I don't shoot one unless for someone else. I do take friends and family on hunts-especially the youngsters.

On this land there are two what in Texas we call tanks--other places probably call them ponds. Both were dried up this year due to lack of rain. There is a windmill so the dried up tanks had not been a problem, but this past season the windmill wasn't working--no deer. I have twin great grandsons and one of them got a deer couple years ago and I was really wanting the other one to get a deer last year. So far the windmill has not been fixed so outlook up coming season not good.

You know that the leathers are probably dried out and that they aren't all that hard to replace?

Need a few specialized pieces of equipment to pull sucker rods and maybe the pipe also to get to the working end.
If the sucker rods are pulled and it appears leathers are the only issue then a lot of time and effort is saved.

Windmill is not going to fix itself.

Here's something unusual, a fawn colored raccoon with a white muzzle and no mask. It also has really light stripes on it's tail. Sorry for the photo quality, they were taken with my phone at 100 yards.

They are growing

Love the photos Frank!
I like to eat deer, so always take one for that reason. But, as far as fun, nothing beats taking a kid out. Many silent screams in my head of "shoot, shoot" But I never rush them, to make a good shot, they need to feel it is right.

They're getting bigger:

Just got back from a week in Florida for a consulting job and got some more photos of bucks from my game cameras: (2 cameras on different days)

You can pull a windmmill by hand as a rule, Ive used a hors and pickup with pipe wrenches, its a days work work where I lived but we set up the windmill also on one ocassion.

More big boys showing up!

Here's a nice 8 point that's visiting during the day and one of my 10 points that I see regularly at night.

Big boy has his antlers backgrounded by the tree and a smaller buck to the right. I have to reposition the camera to get a better angle. The afternoon sun was brutal.


Young guy who will be nice in a couple of years. That's my house in the background.

Wednesday I was in Illinois and these guys show up at the mineral block, 26 yards in front of my tree stand. I just noticed that the year is wrong on my camera.

The buck in the bottom pic is a beauty Frank.
If nobody has plans for him in hunting season maybe it's time I planned to visit you, at the right time of year
OTC tags possibly .... ??

quote:

Originally posted by 30.06king:
The buck in the bottom pic is a beauty Frank.
If nobody has plans for him in hunting season maybe it's time I planned to visit you, at the right time of year
OTC tags possibly .... ??

Grant, (Sorry about that, I just had Graeme Merchant who used to farm out past Pio Pio up for a visit) you're always welcome for a visit but Wifezilla and my two oldest daughters are already claiming that buck.

Wow! Very nice bucks around your place.