Earlier this month, Mark Barrett of the Las Raices Ranch harvested what will likely be Texas’ new non-typical whitetail buck record. The massive buck will score over 300 Boone and Crockett inches and really is one amazing animal. The video above shows some scouting footage of the deer prior to the whitetail hunting season. The ranch owner’s ironically referred to the buck “Mini” at a very young age. Nice deer!
How to Make a Mock Scrape
Question: I have enjoyed whitetail hunting for years, but have never learned how to make a mock scrape. Can you give me some instructions on areas to look for and some mock scrape tips so that I can use them to attract bucks to my hunting area? Any info on mock scrapes will be greatly appreciated!
Answer: Mock scrapes can be an excellent way to bring in the big boys to your deer hunting area. The act of making a mock scrape is relatively simple, so don’t get too bogged down in the details, but the whole idea behind creating a fake scrape is to make any buck in the area think there is another buck there, too.
You can do this by actively working a found scrape or by making a mock scrape. When creating your scrape, first make sure you are scent free and then be sure that there is a licking branch located about 40 inches above the ground — this is a must!. Start out by working the ground with the heel of your boot to reveal some fresh dirt. Create a circular shape of fresh dirt that is about 20 to 24 inches in diameter. Continue reading How to Make a Mock Scrape
Melanistic Fawn Photos
Many that head out whitetail hunting are looking to bag a big buck, but there are some trophies in the woods that are much more rare. And they may or may not have antlers. These are whitetail deer that have color abnormalities. Recently, I received an email with a fawn that was much different than your everyday, run-of-the-mill, normally-colored fawn. This whitetail fawn is black!
It is not unheard of for most mammal species to occasionally be different colors. It’s all based on their genes. Most animals of the same species end up looking much like each other, but sometimes those recessive genes show up. Many times hunters and non-hunters alike will report seeing albino deer, but melanistic black deer are even more rare. Melanistic deer are, of course, not what a normal whitetail deer should look like! Continue reading Melanistic Fawn Photos
Whitetail Hunting and High Fences
Question: There always seems to be a big debate in the whitetail hunting community over shooting deer on a high fenced ranch. I don’t understand why some hunters get so bent out of shape that other hunters pay to shoot deer on high fence ranches. Big deal. There are many Texas hunting ranches that operate this way, but many others that do not. Besides, some hunters pay to shoot deer on low fenced ranches.
I don’t have a problem with hunting deer within a high fence. It’s not like the hunters who harvest them are filling the record books with them. I would rather shoot a truly wild buck, but what do you think is best? Continue reading Whitetail Hunting and High Fences
Whitetail Buck Shot Near Fredricksburg
The central part of Texas is know for high deer populations, but not necessarily big deer. But that may be changing. It looks like the Hill Country region of Texas is on the map and making history with a big whitetail buck! On Saturday, October 9th, a whitetail buck was shot near Fredericksburg, Texas, and is likely to become the new world record SCI typical whitetail buck.
The monster buck was harvest on the Bang Whitetail Ranch and the deer gross green-scored 253 2/8th inches gross. The big buck netted out at 250 1/8th inches. Now that is what I called record-breaking whitetail buck! In addition, biologist estimate the big deer to be only 4 1/2 years old.
I suspect this big whitetail is older that 4.5 years because deer that eat a lot of protein do not show as much tooth wear as deer that eat primarily native plant forages. Without natural tooth wear, it is even more difficult to age deer accurately. But age really does not matter at this point — it’s dead!
Texas Has New State Record Whitetail?
Texas is known for it’s whitetail hunting, and for good reason — there are some big ole bucks down there! The proof is the pudding, so check out the photo above if you have any doubts about the size of this potential new record book buck. Mark Barrett of the Las Raices Ranch is the proud hunter that harvested this huge buck that is predicted to top the all time leader board in the Texas record books.
The whitetail buck’s green score is reported as 311 4/8 inch gross in full velvet, which is pretty cool in itself. Of course, the score is not official at this point, but it looks like this monster whitetail buck will be the new all-time non-typical buck in Texas. This ranch also produced the current top non-typical buck, which was shot by Mark’s son, and scored 275+ inches. It looks like first and second place is in the ranch’s near future. Continue reading Texas Has New State Record Whitetail?
Whitetail Deer Hunting in Tall Grass
Question: I love bow hunting and spend most of my time whitetail hunting on a small piece of land with a major creek on the backside of it. The creek is a good travel corridor, but it has farm land surrounding it. I only have permission to hunt on the back 10 acres and got to see a lot of whitetail last year, so I know it is not a bad spot for deer hunting.
Last year, the land was mowed a lot and the grass never got over knee high. This year has been we and he never mowed and now it is almost 6 foot high. I think the grass in Johnson Grass, but I am not 100% on this. I mowed some paths for me to walk back to the blind as well as the area around the feeder, but the rest is tall grass. Will the taller grass help or hurt my whitetail deer hunting? I am not sure if it will hurt the hunting or if the deer will feel even more comfortable with the extra cover. What do you think? Continue reading Whitetail Deer Hunting in Tall Grass
Hunting Leased Land for Whitetail Deer
Question: I have recently leased 497 acres for whitetail hunting in Northeast Texas. In the past, I only hunted public lands where hunters were not allowed to have feeders or food plots, etc. I will not have full access to this deer lease until late October. The property is loaded with pine trees and has some power line right of ways and is surrounded by heavily-wooded areas.
So, what would be the best way to start establishing a decent place to attract whitetail deer and hogs? Please keep in mind that I do not have any equipment such as tractors, disks, and etc to create food plots.
Answer: First, let me say nice job at finding a deer lease! Most hunters have a harder time finding land to lease than they do finding deer once they have a place to hunt. Ideally, you would like to have access to the property earlier, but late October will work. The big advantage you have on leased land is that you have it all to yourself. Continue reading Hunting Leased Land for Whitetail Deer