Hunting season is upon us!

Posted: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 10:20 am

By RICK MILLER TxCaseBuster@gmail.com |

Here it is again, the time to get our deer hunting gear together. Actually, if you are just getting around to planning your deer season you are a little late. Bow hunters have already hit the woods at day break this last Saturday, Oct. 1.

With the new antler regulations put in place by the Texas Parks and Wildlife a few years back, we will be hunting bucks that are four and five years old. They are bigger and smarter. This means that we are going to have to hunt harder.

The state of Texas offers the most diverse and prolific hunting opportunities in North America, “Everything is bigger in Texas.” Texas has millions of private acres and public lands to hunt for big antlers. This vast state holds game in nearly every corner from Texarkana to Corpus Christi to El Paso. Combine the abundance and diversity of game with unparalleled southern hospitality and you will find year round sporting paradise.

East Texas is generally defined with a western boundary of I-35, Crockett, Conroe, Atlanta and Nacogdoches are a few of the townships found in the Piney Woods. This wooded area has the most abundant water supply. Several Rivers run through the area. East Texas is known for its white-tail deer and is a true honey hole for most deer hunters, starting with the largest white-tail deer population in the world at over three and a half million.

The main concern among hunters and land owners this year is the drought and the effect it is having on the deer and other animals. During preseason scouting, I have found that the drought has not had a negative effect on the grown deer so far. Deer get much of their water from the vegetation they eat. This is great news for east Texas hunters. While I was scouting during preseason I found that the acorn crop is abundant. The water oaks seem to be still producing acorns just like they did in 2005 and 2007 which were two great years for our deer population.

In areas struck by the wildfires, the deer will not be around this year because they had to move to other areas where they could survive. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. Those burned out areas will be white tail honey holes in the future. The tender browse will be coming back with the rain. When the trees and grass starts to return the whitetail will also.

Good luck to all my fellow hunters out there. Take a young person hunting this year and let them experience the great east Texas outdoors. The memories are always big, even bigger than the great state itself.

Rick Miller is a retired law enforcement officer and freelance writer now based in Atlanta.

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