Texas Whitetail Hunts With Rockin G Ranch

[gizmo]

Is that a Rambo ram on the left a few pics up? Couple of nice looking Rams in the bunch.

Yes sir and he’s a beast too

 

[IdaRam]

I'm hoping that the recent legislation passed with antler restrictions on panhandle mule deer will help the over all herd quality and health in a few years at which time I will re-evaluate the circumstances.

Hey @gizmo ,
I’m curious about the antler point legislation you referred to. Does it mandate 3 point or better? 4 point or better? And is there any kind of plan for harvest of management bucks?
It sounds like a change in management plan was definitely needed. I hope it restores the age structure and quality of bucks.
A lot of the western states we traditionally think of as mule deer states have struggled, and continue to struggle, with mule deer management. It comes with its own set of unique challenges. I hope Texas can use some of those hard earned lessons and get a better result than some of their colleagues.
Utah, Idaho and Wyoming to name a few have had very mixed results with antler point restrictions. Utah imposed a 4point or better restriction in one of the areas I hunted alot back in the 1980’s in an attempt to manage for more trophy bucks. Ultimately it ended up having a negative overall effect because it allowed inferior genetics to propagate and the herd ended up having a disproportionate number of big 2x3 and 3x3 bucks. Most of the bucks with desirable genetics, 4x4’s and better, were getting shot and the less desirable horn configurations were surviving.
A management buck provision would have been a big help and might have made all the difference. Today, both of Utah’s premier trophy mule deer units (yup, only 2) also have management tags as part of the management plan.
I know I am probably telling Noah about the flood It sounds like you, as someone who cares deeply about wildlife, have made wise, responsible choices for your operation and I commend you.
I hope to see your place and hunt with you one of these days. You’re building a heck of an operation!

 

[gizmo]

Hey @gizmo ,
I’m curious about the antler point legislation you referred to. Does it mandate 3 point or better? 4 point or better? And is there any kind of plan for harvest of management bucks?
It sounds like a change in management plan was definitely needed. I hope it restores the age structure and quality of bucks.
A lot of the western states we traditionally think of as mule deer states have struggled, and continue to struggle, with mule deer management. It comes with its own set of unique challenges. I hope Texas can use some of those hard earned lessons and get a better result than some of their colleagues.
Utah, Idaho and Wyoming to name a few have had very mixed results with antler point restrictions. Utah imposed a 4point or better restriction in one of the areas I hunted alot back in the 1980’s in an attempt to manage for more trophy bucks. Ultimately it ended up having a negative overall effect because it allowed inferior genetics to propagate and the herd ended up having a disproportionate number of big 2x3 and 3x3 bucks. Most of the bucks with desirable genetics, 4x4’s and better, were getting shot and the less desirable horn configurations were surviving.
A management buck provision would have been a big help and might have made all the difference. Today, both of Utah’s premier trophy mule deer units (yup, only 2) also have management tags as part of the management plan.
I know I am probably telling Noah about the flood It sounds like you, as someone who cares deeply about wildlife, have made wise, responsible choices for your operation and I commend you.
I hope to see your place and hunt with you one of these days. You’re building a heck of an operation!

What I absolutely love about this is that it doesn’t have a point restriction. IMO that’s where states really screw up. You can have a great deer that’s 3 with great genetics that’s say a 4 point per side muley and he gets shot at three. On the other hand you can have a crap 7 y/o muley that’s just a fork horn and he passes his inferior genes.
The solution imo and has worked wonderfully in south Texas on Whitetail is a spread restriction. To be legally harvested starting next year all mule deer must have an inside spread wider that their ears. This is significant in mule deer as it will at least get them to 4 1/2 before they can be shot. Is there a perfect plan, no because you have to legislate for the masses who don’t know their ass from their elbow about deer management but it’s a huge step in the right direction. Ideally we’d want a 6 1/2 year old minimum age but reality says it would never be practical as the average hunter puts very little effort into learning how to age deer and deer management. Also some deer are just hard to judge, I’ve never known anyone to not be occasionally wrong myself included when it comes to aging deer on the hoof. The only way to know for sure required killing the animal so at that point the ship has sailed.
Point restrictions just don’t work. It’s an old outdated theory that’s based on research from 50+ years ago and was wrong then. It’s a lot like people who think that spikes are inferior deer when in reality that’s actually rarely the case with the rare exception of isolated populations. I could write a book on this alone and there certainly have been many on that subject.
Deer hunting is like anything else. 90% of the population doesn’t know shit about the reality of deer management. 5% like myself know enough to get themselves into trouble, and 5% really k ow their stuff.

 

[IdaRam]

I like the sound of it! Much better approach than antler point restriction. It will be very interesting to see the results.
And you are absolutely correct. One of the biggest challenges to responsible wildlife management we have is all the folks who don’t know their ass from their elbow!

 

[Mekaniks]

Your are absolutely correct @gizmo and I applaud your conservation plan. Somebody has to do it and it’s awsome that you all are making it work.

We have similar regulations in AK regarding Moose in many areas. It’s defiantly not perfect, and has some holes but the reality is that it’s about the best plan moving forward to ensure some semblance of stability and growth in populations