2023 season living up to preseason forecast for quality bucks in the field

Most wildlife experts agreed early on that Texas deer hunters were going to be pleasantly surprised by the antler quality on whitetail bucks this fall. The reasons? Good carryover of animals that survived the 2022-23 season and banner habitat conditions last spring and early summer to jump start another year of antler growth.

Texas Parks Wildlife Department big game program leader Alan Cain thinks the early predictions were right on the mark.

Cain’s opinion is fueled largely by recent field reports from deer managers and landowners all around the state. There has also been a steady stream of hunter/deer photos circulating social media outlets. Many of the photos show lucky hunters cradling mature deer with large antlers brought down during the current archery only and managed lands deer seasons that got underway September 30.

“Everything seems to be coming to fruition,” Cain said. “Just about everybody I’ve talked to is seeing some really good quality bucks. Yeah, we had a hot and dry summer. But what many folks forget is we had a pretty darned good spring, too. Plus, the overall harvest was down last season. There are a pulse of bucks out there with another year of age on them, and those deer had good conditions to spur early antler growth. It was a recipe for success. There are big deer being knocked down everywhere.”

What is spooky about all of this is the general rifle season doesn’t begin until November 4. That’s when the majority of Texas’ 750,000 deer hunters head to the woods and the bulk of the annual harvest takes place each year, most in coincidence with the rut.

There is no bad time to be in good deer woods, but the best time is during the rut. This is when starry-eyed bucks are actively looking for receptive does for breeding. A buck with girls on his mind is prone to act goofy and make mistakes it normally would not make.

Peak times for rutting activity in Texas vary from one region to the next. TPWD performed an extensive study in the 1990s to learn more about peak breeding times for each of the state’s ecological regions. Check it out at tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/ hunt/planning/.

Texas Buck Registry: Gaining Popularity

Tompall Glasner of Austin hasn’t witnessed any rutting activity where he hunts just yet, but he has seen plenty of reliable signs of statewide hunting success at Texas-BuckRegistry.com.

Glasner started the online portal in 2012 as a way for his family to log photos and harvest data about whitetails they harvested on his family’s ranch in Kimble County. The site has since evolved into a popular public hub where Texas whitetail hunters can post pictures of their bucks along with pertinent information like the county and date of harvest, age, score, number of points, moon phase, field dressed weight, etc….

There are no antler size restrictions for logging a deer in TBR. Nor are there any fees to pay, clubs to join or any requirements to have the antlers officially measured. However, TBR users are asked to make sure pictures are respectful of the animal and that all data, including scores, are accurate as possible.

Glasner, 43, says the main purpose of TBR is to unite Texas hunters in a central place where they can share information among themselves and ultimately learn something.

“It’s useful to people,” he said. “I’ve had people tell me TBR brings awareness to the fact you don’t need 6,000 acres high fenced in South Texas and be feeding tons of protein to have big deer. There is nothing more powerful and convincing than seeing a truly old deer in a photo. Many people have never a seen a deer beyond 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 years old. It hammers home what is possible if you wait.”

The site is catching on. Glasner says TBR participation has grown at a rate of about 1,000 entries per year over last three years. The registry — searchable by county or region — now has about 5,200 entries. The majority are low fence, free ranging animals.

Glasner posts regular updates from the primary website on Facebook and Instagram. Some entries are supported by short stories behind the deer.

As earlier mentioned, a number of quality bucks have been taken around the state since the month-long Archery Only and MLD seasons launched a few weeks ago. MLD hunters are allowed to use rifles ahead of the general season as an incentive for adhering to guidelines of state-approved deer management programs.

Dozens of the deer representing multiple ecological regions have already found their way to the TBR. Some of the deer grew remarkable racks. A few

Hailey Holder: Age Equals Antler Hailey Holder’s Panhandle 13 pointer isn’t the biggest buck recorded by the registry this season, but the story behind the 7 1/2-year-old buck is one that drives home a message every management-minded hunter should be able to appreciate: Age equals antler.

An avid archer, Holder arrowed the deer on October 14 in Collingsworth County. The listed score is 169 2/8.

“We have watched this deer for the last four years on my husband’s family property,” Holder wrote on TBR. “Through a stringent management plan on this ranch for the past six years, we have finally seen the fruits of our labor pay off. This buck is proof of good management, feeding and hard hunting paying off.”

Tanner Slaten: A Happy Ending

The story behind Tanner Slaten’s TBR 10 pointer is equally compelling, just for different reasons. Slaten has been hunting the same 50-acre tract in Brazos County for 15 years, but recently learned the property will be placed up for sale at the end of the year.

His final archery season on the land culminated with a dandy whitetail reported to score 150 Boone and Crockett inches. The deer is believed to be 6 1/2 years old.

“I’ve been after this deer for three years now and I had zero expectations of him coming in that day,” Slaten wrote. “But he strolled in and the rest is history. What an amazing way to end the 15 years of hunting that place. The Lord really saved the best for last.”

Blake Williams: Mr. Gregg County

Crossbow hunter Blake Williams of Longview knows all about those small tract bruisers. Williams, 36, was set up in a ground blind on private property at the outskirts of town on the afternoon of October 5 when he made a 55-yard shot on a remarkable Gregg County giant. The 12 pointer is sure to be among highest scoring non-typicals taken in the Pineywoods this season.

The 6 1/2-year buck was officially scored at 181 gross and 168 1/8 net by TPWD wildlife biologist Justin Carpenter, an official scorer for the Texas Big Game Awards program. TBGA is a hunter/landowner recognition program run jointly by the Texas Wildlife Association and TPWD. The texasbiggameawards. org database contains more than 40,000 entries dating back to 1991.

Carpenter said the Williams’ buck is the largest ever reported to TBGA by a Gregg County crossbow or archery hunter. John Smith, Jr., owns the all-time county record with a 182 net non-typical taken by rifle in 2007.

Smith’s buck may have scored higher, but Williams’ buck was likely the more famous of the two. The hunter called the deer “Mr. Gregg County.”

“A lot of people around here have been talking about this deer for a couple of years, some for as long as three years,” Williams said. “He definitely got around. After I killed him I heard from several hunters who had pictures of him on game cameras and were after him, but they were being hush-hush about it. I had one friend tell me he saw the deer last November. He was 5-6 miles from the place where I shot him.”

Williams didn’t reveal much detail about the location of his hunting spot, but did say property was “less than 50 acres.” He said he approached a friend who had land in the area and asked if he could hunt after hearing the big buck had been seen in the vicinity. The landowner agreed, but claimed he’d never seen a buck that fit the description, Williams said.

Williams dumped some corn and AntlerMax protein on the ground in early September and pointed a game camera at it. He collected the first of many pictures of the buck within 24 hours, but said he didn’t tell a soul.

“He and several other deer showed up pretty regular,” Williams said. “I was putting out 50 pounds of corn every 3-4 days.”

As earlier mentioned, Williams wasn’t the only Gregg County hunter who knew about the handsome whitetail. Michael Britt played a frustrating cat and mouse game with the buck for nearly two years. He posted much of the chase on Facebook group hunting pages.

Britt, a hardcore archer who owns 43 acres in the county, said he and others called the buck “Drop” because of the nasty looking drop tines on its right antler. He collected dozens of camera photos and videos of the buck. Amazingly, Britt never laid eyes on deer a single time.

“I had pictures of him every day leading up to the season last year, then he went 100 percent nocturnal the third week of September,” he said. “I sat in my bow stand 69 times last season trying to kill that darned deer. I even hunted the late muzzleloader season and never saw him. Two days after the muzzleloader season was over he walked up and sniffed of my game camera. He definitely had me pegged.” ------ Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by email, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo.com.

TPWD Seeks Public Comment for Proposed Carcass Movement and Disposal Regulations From TPWD Reports Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is seeking public comment before its November Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting on proposed changes to carcass disposal regulations.

TPWD will take public comment on the following proposed changes to the carcass movement and disposal regulations for all Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) susceptible species, with input considered before any action by the commissioners at their November meeting.

These proposed rules would apply when hunter-harvested deer are transported from the ranch of harvest to a final destination at another location (e.g., home, deer processor, taxidermist, etc.): Disposal of unused parts of a CWD-susceptible species (white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, red deer, etc.): * By transport, directly or indirectly, to a landfill permitted by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to receive such waste.

* Buried at a depth of no less than three feet below the natural surface of the ground and covered with at least three feet of earthen material.

* Or returned to the property where the animal was harvested for disposal.

No person may transport a susceptible species harvested in a Containment Zone or Surveillance Zone from the respective zone to any destination unless it is first presented at the nearest department-designated check station. The check station shall provide a receipt that must remain with the animal until it reaches a final destination.

Comment may be submitted to the public comment page on TPWD’s website until 5 p.m. November 1; via email, hunter. reed@tpwd.texas.gov; or in person at the TPW Commission meeting on November 2 in Austin.