Igloo you nailed it. Last year was hard on everything in the hill country and we lost a lot of deer. Get off the trails and you will find bones everywhere from last years drought :crying: In the long run, I think the die off was a positive thing, the deer that made it through found plenty to eat this year and they all look good.
Heres a game cam pic from last summer if you want to see starving deer. Some of them were much worse than these, ribs showing and bony hips. We ran feeders all year just to try and keep them alive. I felt bad for them, only took one deer and we ran out of meat early.
It wasnt just animals that suffered. If you look at my pics earlier you'll see grey leafless trees everywhere. These are all dead Live Oaks, and they were old trees too. Texas A&M estimated the state of Texas lost 200-300 million trees in the last few years to drought. Drive anywhere in West Texas and you'll see dead standing trees everywhere you go.
Heres a game cam pic from last summer if you want to see starving deer. Some of them were much worse than these, ribs showing and bony hips. We ran feeders all year just to try and keep them alive. I felt bad for them, only took one deer and we ran out of meat early.
It wasnt just animals that suffered. If you look at my pics earlier you'll see grey leafless trees everywhere. These are all dead Live Oaks, and they were old trees too. Texas A&M estimated the state of Texas lost 200-300 million trees in the last few years to drought. Drive anywhere in West Texas and you'll see dead standing trees everywhere you go.
:rofl: Thats the ticket. There are so many deer in the Hill Country its not a matter of finding one, its a matter of picking the one you want to eat. Seeing 40 deer a day is common. Our Rancher is worried about the die off, he doesnt want does shot for a few years. I think thats crazy, they died because they were overpopulated, but his ranch his rules. So for now we take bucks only, and I might as well shoot something worth putting on the wall !
