Hunting Season Is Not Over Yet

January is upon us and that means the end of deer season. Most hunters are packing away their gear and getting ready for fishing.  Why? Why only hunt the major seasons?  After deer and waterfowl season there is plenty of hunting left to be done. In most places squirrel season is still going strong. There is nothing like heading into the woods with a good squirrel dog. Watching a well trained pup work the scent and tree is about as enjoyable as anything.

Squirrels are not the only animals that can be chased in the late winter early spring months here in Texas.  Feral hogs are about as plentiful in the Lone Star state as are rats in New York sewers.  The feral hog can be hunted with anything you can legally possess. Archery equipment, air guns, rim fires all the way up to a 50BMG if you so desire.  You can trap them or snare them as well. The options on hunting feral hogs go about as far as your imagination and pocket book allow.

Predator hunting is another very fun and beneficial pass time which far too many hunters do not take part in any longer.  The coyote numbers in Texas have exploded right along with the feral hog numbers.  Predators have found easy pickings with the huge numbers of hogs in Texas but they don’t just eat pork.  Every other species is being hit hard with the predator population increase.  A simple mouth blown call can be used to simulate a wounded rabbit which is hard for a predator to resist.  If you have the means then there are many fine electronic predator calls available.  It literally can be as easy as a $10 mouth call and a 22 rim fire rifle to get started. I have spent thousands of hours hunting predators with an old Marlin semiauto 22 with a $20 scope.  You could fill a dump truck with the yotes and bobs I have taken over the past 40 plus years with that combo.

Don’t stop hunting just because a particular season has passed. If nothing else buy yourself a good digital camera and keep deer hunting with it.  You don’t have to kill something to hunt it.  You may even see some bucks that you want to hunt next season and can compare buck growth from one year to the next. Kind of like we do with trail cameras but where you actually put in the work.

Whatever you do it really is up to you. The key is you can keep hunting.

Jeff Stewart