“Let’s Go Bran, (I mean Hunting”)
Whitetail Deer
Contributors to this thread:
Rental car picture (in honor of Idylwildarcher) not a lezberu but close
Rental car picture (in honor of Idylwildarcher) not a lezberu but close
How about a Bowsite hunt thread??
Lenny Wood has a Texas Deer lease and has invited me an Dennis Razza for a late season Cull buck and doe slam. This is my second Texas deer hunt and man o man is it fun. Every state/province I’ve deer hunted is different and Texas is a blast.
Lenny’s lease has 7 members and they are managing to get better genetic bucks so “ole guy bucks” and most 8 points are fair game for us. Additionally the lease targets 80 or so does to be killed.
Here is the fruit of their management effort. Lenny’s nice buck from last year.
Dennis and I timed our flights to hopefully make a pm hunt on arrival day. As expected we’re a bit late so Lenny gives us OnX coordinates to an aerial blind. Dennis and I hunt together the first hunt since the feeders go off at 4:30 and we got to our blind at 4:45. Darn, as we approach the blind a dozen or so bucks/does run off.
One of Lenny’s younger brothers is hunting as well so he and Lenny are together in a blind.
After about 20 minutes of thinking we should not have rushed out to hunt a blind after the feeders went off we see a few deer filtering in.
Then we see this buck come in and Dennis being the patient gentleman he is let me have first shot. We both determined this was an old, 8 point, cull buck. Just what we’re looking for.
Thanks for doing a thread, Charlie.
This was the guys second trip to the lease and they are awesome to share camp with.
The place we are hunting is a low fence property enrolled the MLD program with state. This allows us an extended season for bucks and does through the end of February.
We are about 45 minutes from San Angelo, hunting just over 11,000 contiguous acres.
Dennis showed me how to do a group “selfie”.
Dennis showed me how to do a group “selfie”.
He goes broadside and I make a good hit. The buck wheels runs off and falls about 60 yards away.
I wake up in Massachusetts, fly to Texas and shoot an ole buck in the pm. Quite a day. Time to take some photos.
I’m sure some deer are going to hit the dirt during this trip.
This is a special trip for us. Two happy eastern hunters
"...since the feeders go off at 4:30 and we got to our blind at 4:45. Darn, as we approach the blind a dozen or so bucks/does run off.
Hmmmm.....
Matt
Da boys..
Da boys..
Lenny’s brother Graham on left. He’s a big dude
Lenny’s brother Graham on left. He’s a big dude
“God bless Texas”. What a great way to end a season and have fun with good buds.
Lenny calls this a “fully guided” hunt so when we get back to the Ranch he gets the Big Green Egg going for the steaks and it’s cocktail time.
Grey Ghost, take your crap to the Community forum.
Sweet! Congrats Charlie.
That deer would make OJ proud. Damn that’s a lot of blood loss!
Looks like an old deer congrats
Lenny and his lease partners send all buck teeth off to DeerAge.com for aging. This guy is and ole boy for sure. Maybe the oldest buck I’ve ever shot. We’ll see in a few months when the results come back.
Sleep comes easy that first night.
Congrats Charlie and thanks for sharing your story and pics with us. I'm sure Dennis was happy to leave this PA weather behind!
Jim, I think Dennis brought the weather with him. It was cold in the mornings the first few days.
Congrats Charlie and crew! Indeed a great relaxing way to wound down a season.
I see a cam on a noggin. Any live footage coming?
Charlie’s bucks was an old beast. Can’t wait to see what the age is.
A long first day. Feels good to relax and get ready for the morning hunt. Camp life is good!
Ambush, That was my head lamp.
Yikes Lenny that is chilly! Cocktails at camp took that chill off I'm sure.
Dennis’ wife bought him these Merrill camp shoes. So comfy, I asked my wife to buy me a pair for my birthday.
Texas is indeed proud to have Bowsite’s ambassador and the world’s greatest taxidermist hunting with us ! We don’t normally welcome yankees but y’all are an exception. :-)
Old Fashioneds are the best at deer camp, in moderation of course.
8 pointer I took from a few years ago, I told the guys this was the upper end of what was on the hit list. I think Charlie’s response was “ under 180 right”. LOL
"Ambush, That was my head lamp".
Yeah, I guess you need that to round up the old guys after dark ;)
Looks like a hella good time!
Good ole “doubletree” blind.
Good ole “doubletree” blind.
Next am hunt was good activity but wind was 2 mph which makes the deer very nervous. I swear no wind is almost impossible to get drawn. No shots but we each saw a dozen or so bucks/does.
Lenny feeds corn, cotton seed and protein. This helps the deer rebound from the rut. We are also seeing that many of the bucks have broken tines.
Always good when you get the thumbs up from Charlie, because you know he made a great shot.
Charlie, y’all made it down here for our three days of winter judging by your clothing. Damn shame you missed October and November, you could have hunted in your skivvies !
That just looks like pure fun !!
Sounds like a great trip, Charlie!
No trouble blood trailing that buck, lol !
Geez Charlie! You hit the right artery it looks like. What a bleeder!
Oh man, tuned in for this one!
This thread hits like a glass of good bourbon. Love it! Thanks for bringing us along boys.
Two does back to the cooler
Two does back to the cooler
Lenny’s doe. Draino shot
Lenny’s doe. Draino shot
It was very cold for our Texas hunt and really good for keeping deer on their feet.
The pm hunt saw Lenny shoot a nice doe and I got one too. When I looked at my does teeth I couldn’t believe how worn down they were. Just little white bumps left for teeth. I’m definitely sending her teeth to DeerAge and I believe she’ll age double digits.
Here is a picture of the kind of bucks we’re to pass and we’re seeing a bunch of them. It’s hard looking at these deer 20 yards away and knowing you can’t shoot but this is how good management makes the experience improve.
Also, The rancher “expects” Lenny and the other lease holders to shoot close to 100 does each season. We’re hunting 11,000 acres and if they don’t hit these doe numbers they could lose the lease.
The next am hunt was freezing cold again with no wind. We saw a bunch of deer but they were so skittish we didn’t get any shots. Also, these deer have been hunted hard since October 1 so they are naturally cautious.
Lenny wanted to enter a couple of his bucks into P&Y so with both Dennis and I being measurers we did these mid day. Lenny is hoping to become a Measurer soon so we worked through each step.
Outstanding Charlie, love it. How many days you guys there for, and how many bucks can you shoot?
Pm hunt produced another doe for me and Lenny shot two.
Where’s Razza? Ha.
Here’s a pic of my doe next to the ground blind Lenny uses. Super comfortable for this kind of hunt. Also, see my Glenn’s Deer Handle. This is a fantastic deer dragging rope and keeps this ole guy in the game.
Tell him to fill out a measurer application!
He’s done that Roy. Just waiting for the next class.
Inshart: 3 days, lease is in a Texas DNR management program. Tags numbers are determined by the program, cull bucks and does only for us.
Better pic of my buck Charlie showed above that they scored, he grossed 156 6/8” and netted 128 0/8”. Not bad for west Texas.
After we cleaned up the three does and put them in the walk in cooler Lenny fired up the Big Green Egg, had some beverages and we had Half pound burgers and brats. I also discovered those Texas boys like hot sauce. “Burn, Burn, Burn, the ring of fire”.
Awesome job guys and I am extremely jealous!
One question though on the score posted....isn't the 144 0/8 the gross score and the net being 128 0/8?
A beauty for sure. Check out the mass.
A beauty for sure. Check out the mass.
Next day, One more am hunt to go. Where’s Razza? This am hunt the wind went North but it’s 25 degrees warmer. We all went to new blinds.
After light the parade began again for all. Around 8 Dennis sends a group text to Lenny and me saying a nice 8 just arrived. Lenny signs off and boom Dennis connects.
How about that Texas back drop for the photo?
Bowfreak: I didn’t include it in what I posted but the Abnormal points totaled 12 6/8” so that gets added to the 144” to arrive at Gross of 156 6/8’s”. Good question.
Lenny and Dennis have some more pics to add shortly.
Too cool HiTech Charlie! (looks cold actually) Arrows flyin' and stuff dyin' (a Canadian bowhunter once told me..... )
Hit a pipe with that one for sure! Great shot! Didn't look like he had a bunch of meat on him he was so old, but I'm sure there are ways to eat it. My suggestion is shoot a nice young doe to mix with it. =D
Droppin' strings.... only so much fun to be had wid your clothes on.... (lots of em it looks like...)
More please....
Good stuff Charlie! Congrats!
Great thread Charlie! Congrats to all you guys. That looks like a good time!
Almost everyone agrees! It's good to know that one or two guys will always feel the need to be an a$$...
Thanks Charlie for the clarification....It makes sense. For some reason my mind was adding numbers screwy and had myself confused.
A hosts work is never done, big burgers and brats. I’m just glad Dennis posted a pic without me holding a whiskey.
Lenny picked up a set of sheds when we went for my buck. Future giant!
Back in Pittsburg and already miss Texas!
My hope was the guys would be able to help us with management bucks and does, and they did.
After I’d drop them off on mornings or evenings I didn’t hunt, I’d try to scout out other spots to see what cull or management bucks I could I could find.
I was videoing this guy before Dennis got his buck. Screenshots don’t do him justice since I was phoneskoping from 140 yards away. Going to be a big one.
What a great time!
Congrats all
Dennis and I with his buck.
Dennis and I with his buck.
Looks like a blast!! Thanks for taking us along!!! Hunt
Looks like fun! And 20 degrees sounds nice after seeing that picture of Pittsburg!
Looks like a great time! Thanks for sharing the story
Looks like a great time. Good going.
Congrats. Nice to see some guys still hunting. That was probably comfortable temps in those solid blinds?
I would hate to be footing the bill for just the replacement blades that you and Dennis have been burning through this year! Looks like a great time.
Looks like fun! Thanks for taking us along! Kevin
That was a bloody mess Charlie. Sure looks like a great time
Looks like a blast….nice work.
THIS is a quality Bowsite post! Thank you.
THIS is a quality Bowsite post! Thank you.
You snagged me with the title, but kept me with the write up.:)
Congratulations on a great hunt!
"That was a bloody mess"... yea. What did you do, throw an ax at it? Enjoy the thread, thanks for sharing.
My it’s refreshing to finally see a good hunting thread! This looks like a blast! Good job Lenny, Charlie and Dennis!
Looks like a blast! Thanks for sharing!!
Great job guys...as usual! Congrats!!!
Charlie, are you still using Iron Will BHs?
Great thread guys, thanks for sharing it with us and congrats on your successes!
Man what a great time! Looks like a blast for sure and not a dull moment! Oh, and most importantly you showed us what those camp shoes were in Dennis's picture because I was going to ask. :) I think I need a pair of those.
Charlie that first one was a bloody disaster. Not to hard tracking that one. Great right up!
Good times, fellas! Thanks for taking us along
What a super fun hunt. Tks for sharing with the other Bowsiters.
Dang Charlie, that old deer must have been on Blood thinners or something. Way to go Dennis!
That terrain looks like it could be around the Lubbock-Midland-San Angelo-Abilene area, good places to hunt. Y’all had a large time I’m sure, glad you got out of the snow and ice country for a few days. Next time stay longer, a late season hunting thread is something we all needed !
Every bit of the venison was put to good use.
Every bit of the venison was put to good use.
Good write up and photos on a really fun looking hunt! Lots of opportunities and success!
What a super fun hunt. Tks for sharing with the other Bowsiters.
Good stuff! Congrats guys!
Man, can't imagine a better way to get your January bow reps in!
Thanks for sharing the stories and pics, C!