Outdoors With Mat Taylor
Jury still out on success level of deer season

PHOTO BY MAT TAYLOR This young seven-point buck survived this past hunting season due to the county's antler restrictions which allowed him to live for another year. In a few years, with good range conditions it could grow into a trophy buck.

After 67 days, the Texas general deer season has come to a close. That is not entirely true, however, as a special two-day, youth-only hunt is scheduled Jan. 19-20. Also, some hunting is allowed on Managed Land Deer Permit ranches for another month or so.

How good was the season? That is difficult to determine at the present time. Official deer harvest records for Lampasas County and the state will not be available for several months.

Jed Dunning, owner of Sulphur Creek Taxidermy and Deer Processing, said it was an OK season overall, but the plant processed fewer deer than last year. The deer were in very good condition, he added, and antler development was above average. This probably was due to good rains and excellent range conditions in the spring and summer, and in part due to the second season of antler restrictions in the county, as the average age of bucks was older.

Dunning believes the hot, dry weather the first few weeks of the season and the antler restrictions resulted in fewer deer killed this season. He reasoned that many hunters passed on bucks that were questionable whether they were legal.

Those bucks will be able to live another year and may become a trophy deer in the future, he added.

Lampasas County TPWD Game Warden Jim Lindeman said he and Game Warden Jeff Hill considered it a good season, as most hunters abided by the antler restrictions. Some citations, however, were issued for bucks taken with less than a 13-inch inside spread. Although some other problems existed, Lindeman said less road hunting was reported this season.

For the most part, hunters are following the state's rules and regulations.

The game warden said he, too, believes fewer deer were killed this season, but he observed the average antler size was improved over the last few years. Lindeman also attributed that to good range conditions and antler restrictions.

On our family ranch in eastern Lampasas County, my brother's family shot three bucks and several does. The bucks included a good nine-pointer, an eight-point that was just barely went over the limit with a 14-inch spread and a legal three-pointer. All the deer were very fat.

I shot four bucks and about a dozen does. No, I did not break the law; I used my camera instead of a rifle. At this stage of my life, I have harvested a large number of deer, and unless I see a very big trophy buck I prefer to shoot them with a camera. By taking a photo, I realize I easily could have killed any of them with a gun.

My trophy deer are stored in my computer, not hanging in the tree in the backyard.

Don't get the wrong idea: I am not turning into an anti-hunter, but I would rather let younger people be introduced to hunting and let them harvest a deer.

In addition to the youth-only season for deer and turkey, there is a late season for does and spikes in 39 Edwards Plateau counties, including Burnet, San Saba and Mills.

Lampasas, Bell and Coryell do not have the lateseason hunt.

The general quail season, if you can find some birds, is open and continues through Feb. 24.

Former Soil Conservation Service employee and longtime writer Mat Taylor offers his outdoors column for Dispatch Record readers. He can be contacted at (254) 518-2262 or via e-mail at mntaylor@agristar.net.