Don’t know about you, but I’m one of those who lives for November, throughout three-fourth of the year I exist (yes, I hunt the rest of the year somewhere, some thing, it’s my job). Throughout all the rest of the year however I can hardly wait for November to roll around, thankfully it’s not just a once in a lifetime experience. I simply feel better in November when the leaves are starting to turn, the morning temperature is cooler, and there is totally different “feeling” in the air. Of course the fact that Texas whitetail hunting season is finally here again could have something to do with it! Come to think of it, it probably has all to do with it!
 During the last days of October and first days of November thru the night before the opening of the general Texas whitetail season, I spent what spare time I had at our Los Cazadores store. There I noted those who visited the store, the staff and fellow owners all were wearing a smile, whistling happy tunes and seemed a whole lot happier than they did during July or August.
Lots of things have been happening and lots of questions been asked about what really to expect this fall. Many of the South Texas ranchers and managers have stopped by the store to visit about what they’ve been seeing in terms of the quality of bucks and also about fawn crops due to the recent, or should I say nearly continuing drought that is as much a part of South Texas as prickly pear, rattlesnakes and coyotes. Interestingly those who have had their properties involved in good wildlife management programs report seeing many good quality bucks, including some absolute monsters. Those in the early stages of their management programs report seeing some good bucks, but most not as big as they had hoped to have this year. One of the good things we have working for us throughout South Texas is that 3 to 6 years ago we had good fawn survival rates, and thus have a pretty fair number of bucks in the herds. That’s not necessarily the case this year.
Fawn survival is all important, not many fawns surviving this year means not many big mature bucks in five years. Throughout the next several years there will be a hole where the 2006 fawn crop should have been. I spoke with one rancher who the day before the season opened did their usual helicopter game survey. On their property they counted 80 does and 3 fawns! I also spoke with Murphy Ray, one of our partners in Los Cazadores who long has conducted helicopter game surveys. Murphy mentioned that those properties who fed year round protein (and especially the Los Cazadores ration) had fawn survival rates of 40 to 60 percent or more. Those which didn’t had from 12 to 20 per cent fawn survival, and some even considerably lower. Thus proving nutrition is of paramount importance in the fawn survival equation.
Interestingly too, there has been some research brought to light that shows that if you supplemental feed a deer herd the range conditions are generally considerably better than on places where no supplemental feed is utilized. This is something several of us long involved in supplemental feeding have seen and stated for a long, long time.
As mentioned lots of things going on, if you’ve stopped by our Los Cazadores Hunting Headquarters lately you will have noticed Los Cazadores Taxidermy now has it’s own new building behind the store proper. The inside the store area that was the taxidermy shop is now where the Los Cazadores Deer Contest Leader Board is located.
Also of note is that long-time friend and in our estimation the world’s greatest whitetail artist is now working on a series of paintings involving old world wood nymphs which have in recent years been appearing miraculously throughout the South Texas Brush Country. The first of the series of painting can now be seen in the Los Cazadores Steakhouse Bar, next door to the store. Don and I are currently in the planning stages of working on a book, he doing the art work and I doing the words, about these South Texas heretofore thought mythical creatures. Hopefully we’ll have this project completed by mid-summer or so. Watch here on our website for details.
For those of you who have been watching my T/C’s ONE GOOD SHOT television show which airs at 8:00 pm on Sunday nights on Men’s Outdoors & Recreation, I say a sincere THANK YOU for watching. It will continue airing there throughout December, then will again start once again in July 2008. Sometime during the next month or so, the shows will be available to be downloaded onto your computer or ipod for $3.95 per show from the Los Cazadores website. It’s something we’ve been working on for a while and finally getting into the final stages. We (Ray Boone who produces and films my show and I) are also working on other similar projects which will be “downloadable” from the Los Cazadores website...
Lots of interesting things just around the corner!
Here’s wishing to each of you the most enjoyable and successful deer hunting season ever. Stop by to see us at the Los Cazadores Hunting Headquarters.
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