There are many states in the US that allow the legal use of suppressors for hunting whitetail deer and other game species. Now the state of Texas is making suppressors for deer hunting legal in the state. An important misconception among many people is that suppressors and silencers are not exactly the same thing. If one were to shoot full-powder loads through them, then they are quite loud. But even with a “hot” bullet, suppressors are still quiet enough on the ears to not need hearing protection, at least in most cases.
Source: “There is an incredible amount of misinformation on what suppressors do and how they may be acquired. Suppressors are not “silencers,” as depicted in typical Hollywood action films. While suppressors do not eliminate the sound of a firearm, they do reduce the muzzle report in a manner similar to the way that a muffler reduces exhaust noise from a vehicle.” Read more »
Question: “I’ve lived in the northern part of South Texas for my entire life but may be getting a job a bit further north. I enjoy whitetail deer hunting and am thinking about buying some amount of land near in my new area, Limestone County. I just want to find out more before buying some real estate. Can you tell me if deer hunting in Limestone County is good, decent, or what? Thank you.”
Response: One of my college buddies hunted in Limestone there for about five years. Currently, it is a two buck county, one buck greater than 13 inch inside spread and one buck with at least one unbranched antler can be shot each year. Limestone County has a lot of deer hunting pressure. It will not have the quality of deer that you may be used to, but maybe it could. It all depends on the location. There is a lot of hunting pressure, so the early part of deer season is the best. Read more »
Question: “I’m an archery hunter from Utah interested in deer hunting in Arkansas. I’ve hunted mule deer but love chasing elk, now I am looking to get into whitetail deer hunting. My wife is also just getting into the sport. She’s small and can’t pull a whole lot of bow. I was thinking a whitetail hunt might be the thing for her too. I’ve heard Arkansas has lots of whitetail. We are both college students and don’t have a ton of money to pay for a private hunt. We are going to start saving up for travel and permits for next season. We are just interested in a fun deer hunt, not after huge trophy bucks.
Does anyone have any suggestions being that I have never been to Arkansas? How can I plan a good fun deer hunting trip in Arkansas? What do I need? Also, is there any kind of private land hunting that would not cost me as much as the car I drive? Even cull or “management bucks” would work. Any help is greatly appreciated. I work summers here for the forest service and would be thankful for and Arkansas deer hunting ideas.” Read more »
Question: “My hunting group has the opportunity to get on a deer hunting property that is located in both Motley and Hall County. We have been through the area, but are not familiar with the whitetail or mule deer numbers in the Motley County area. Can you tell me how this part of Texas is for deer hunting, both whitetail and mulies? We know the lease has both whitetail and mule deer, but what is the ratio? More whitetail or mule deer? Thanks for all help.”
Response: My college roommate was from that area. He live and hunted near Hall County growing up. He was located southwest of Estelline and north of Turkey. In that area, he said the deer hunting improved immensely during his youth, with very good numbers of mule deer on their ranch, although not so many whitetail deer. It is difficult to get good numbers of both of these animals in one area since they prefer different habitat types. Read more »
Question: “My brother and I have been deer hunting for about 15 years, but have never been on a deer lease. We hunted my uncles 120 acres, but since he recently passed away, we are going to have to explore other opportunities. I’m going to go look at a lease in Kent County in a week or so. Do you know of anyone that has been deer hunting in Kent County in recent years or do any of you have any experience with the area? Interested primarily in whitetail.”
Response: I deer hunted north of the town of Jayton for three years about 12 years ago. I know there are some big ranches in Kent County, as well as some small ones. The quality of deer hunting will depend on which part of the county the lease you are looking at is located. Some of the ranches in the area have some really good bucks, and some just average. Of course, the deer management philosophy of the folks that own or hunt the land dictates a lot of that. Read more »
Question: “I’ve been deer hunting since I could walk and have been looking to get on a deer lease for some time now. My buddies and I have found a property in Cass County. The lease is near the town of Linden. We’ve done our research and found that hunting land in the Cass County area is going for $6 to $10 per acre. This property offers year-round access, and the owner says it’s good feral hog hunting and has a good number of whitetail deer. Does this sound about right to you?
This area is a bit different than where I am used to hunting. We’ve hunted Llano County and San Saba County for deer for years, but my buddies are located closer to Cass County. I am curious to find out if you know of anyone that has hunted the area and how it worked out? I can only assume that Cass County will not have as many deer, but just want to make sure there is some deer hunting to be had on this lease.” Read more »
If you are like us, then you are always on the lookout for some new whitetail deer hunting tips. Every once in a while we pick up something new that can be used to put a buck on the ground. But most of the time we stick to the tried-and-true methods that have worked again and again, season after season. After all, hunters have been chasing whitetails for centuries, so go with what’s worked in the past.
Before worrying about gear, wind direction, scent control and make and model of the gun or bow that you are using, put some serious thought in to location. In deer hunting, like real estate, it’s all about location, location, location! Whitetail are a lot like the people hunting them, creatures of habitat. They tend to use the same areas again and again. Find their favorite habitat and you’ve got them. Or better yet, find a buck’s favorite path to a high quality food source or his bedding area and you can set up shop. Read more »
Hunters spend a lot of time preparing for the fall whitetail deer hunting season, but sometimes the most important thing is not the gear, it’s not even the deer, but it’s shot placement that is the deciding factor on whether or not one takes a deer home or not. After decades spent in the field, I’ve learned a lot about deer hunting and tracking these animals, not that I’ve had to track that many, at least not that far.
Most of my deer hunting tracking trips have been fairly short, typically about 35 to 50 yards. And for those that aim for heart and lung shots, this is about the distance you should expect a hit animal to run before it runs out of gas, or better stated, oxygenated blood. In my opinion, the lung shot is my favorite place when it comes to shot placement. Even when I don’t need to track the animal, because I see it collapse within eyesight, I still make sure to take note of the blood trail. Read more »
Question: “I have yet to see a whitetail buck on my game camera in a month, and have not seen a doe in a while on our deer hunting lease. I brought my friend out to my land the other day, and I apparently did not do a good job of showing him the property boundaries. Anyway, he end going off of the property. The interesting thing was that he said there were 14 deer feeding in an area just 150 yards from our fence line, both bucks and does.
I called the neighbor to find out what’s going on over there. He said they had planted some winter food plots for the deer. The guy said he planted about $3,500.00 worth of clover. This plot is just a stones throw from our place, and it really is holding the deer over there. Can you give me some deer hunting advice on how I can compete with his plot? Read more »
Question: “I have a 80 acre deer hunting lease in Zephyr, Texas. This town is located in Brown County. The place we hunt has two creek bottoms going through it and we have about 65 acres of brushy habitat. Even the grassland areas are still pretty tall since the property is not grazed. We want to improve the deer hunting on the lease, so we are looking for ideas. Based on our game camera photos, we have a good number of does and some big bucks in the area, but how would I go about getting them on my place and staying around there? Thanks.”
Response: First off, an 80 acre ranch would make up only a small part of a mature buck’s home range. In fact, the good news is that it could possibly overlap of several bucks. But in short, deer will be moving onto and off of your deer lease quite regularly. This will make management efforts difficult if you are trying to go that route, but there are some things you can do to ensure that you see more deer.
If you want deer to come to you, the property you hunt must have something they want, and even better, something greater than what the neighbor has to offer them. Whether it’s protein pellets, food plots, corn, water, or bales of alfalfa hay. These deer attractants, or baits, can really help. If you have a couple of good water sources, that would be a start too. But it will take more than just good food to keep deer visiting your parcel of Texas paradise. Read more »
May 4, 2012 | 
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