Steve Merlo: Plenty of deer, plenty of fun hunting in Texas
| Thursday, Oct 20 2011 10:38 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Oct 20 2011 10:40 PM
Texas big game hunters live in the land of giant. Ask a Texan and they'll give you an earful of just how huge the Lone Star State can be for gun owners and hunters. Give them half a chance and they'll brag about managing their exotic animal herds, some endangered in their native countries, but now far outnumbering the ones barely eking out a living in their former homes.
They'll tell you about the millions of wild pigs that have invaded their state and are shot like jackrabbits once were in our own San Joaquin Valley. And they'll proudly tell you all about the whitetail deer that even surpass hogs in overall numbers. And they'll fiercely defend the unusual way the deer and hogs are hunted, strange for sure to a Californian used to climbing mountains in a usually unproductive hunt.
Texas has little public land open to hunting. One either buys the shooting rights to hunt on private land or, if he knows someone, gets invited to enjoy the hospitality and shooting the unselfish landowner offers. Fortunate to receive one of those special invitations from our friends and hosts, David Mueller and Stefanie and Jake Howard, my brother-in-law Dale and I recently spent a few days in Texas heaven at David's ranch near Oak Creek Lake, assisting in the controlled depredation of both overpopulated hogs and deer.
There's always controversy over the way deer hunting is done in the south. Animals are legally drawn to feeders and then shot from blinds, creating in some peoples' minds a no-fair-chase atmosphere more akin to wholesale slaughter. Never before experiencing that type of hunting, I, too, felt unsure about the method, but it didn't take long for me to appreciate and enjoy that brand of Texas hunting.
Whitetail deer are effectively managed down there, something the California Department of Fish and Game would like to do but has no effective means due to the migratory nature of our mule deer. Texas whitetails are homebodies, living their lives in a rather limited area, and are therefore easier to control. Because the land is blanketed by millions of acres of dense cedar forests intermingled with oak, visibility remains limited to a few yards at best.
Since whitetails are creatures of heavy cover, much like quail are, they are nearly impossible to approach by even skilled hunters. Clearing areas of trees and then attracting the animals to the area remains the preferred and most effective way to harvest, shoot, or manage, if you will, the huge populations of otherwise untouched game animals.
Killing deer in Texas is not wholesale slaughter. Under careful scrutiny of the land owner and state biologists, animals are permitted to live out their lives to their fullest potential, and then harvested as trophies or for meat in the twilight of their years. Rather than die a slow and ignominious so-called natural death, the deer are quickly dispatched in a humane manner, i.e. with a rifle or archery equipment, which also provides outstanding sport for lucky nimrods.
But enough about Texas hunting; that's the way it's done, and no amount of interference from anti-hunters will change their methods. The deer are better off, live longer, and are in better shape than ever under the watchful eyes of landowners and state biologists. For us, the hunting and shooting were both good and the atmosphere perfect, culminating in what we like to refer as the hunt of a lifetime.
Texas deer hunting is serious business for the human population. Nearly every person down there hunts the four-legged creatures, it seems, but we discovered something else that made the trip both worthwhile and humbling.
While the hunts stood important, the mingling and camaraderie of the gracious folks that made it possible far outdistanced the time spent hunting. The harvest, though important to the landowner and hunters, really meant little without the rest of the human interaction we enjoyed.
Texans raise their kids right. When they speak to you it's "Yes, Sir" or "No, Sir" and they are very respectful of anyone around them, especially their elders. The word courteous takes on new meaning than what we are used to in California, believe me. And, the food was beyond wonderful, as were the ladies that home-cooked all those fine meals, when they weren't out in the deer blinds with their own high-powered rifles.
Don't miss Sportsman's Night
Only 800 tickets will be sold to the 60th Annual Sportsman's Night set for Tuesday (Oct. 25) at the Kern Fairgrounds. More than 100 adult and kids prizes will be given away, including more than 25 guns. Tickets are $30 and what's left, if any, will be sold at the door. Contact Jim Roberts at 805-5766 for more info.
