Finally, November!

JUST LEFT THE Hargrove Ranch near Snyder,” I told my wife. “Rattled in a few bucks, mostly youngsters. Shot a really nice buck just before dark this evening. Should be home by four. Will take a quick shower then head to our property for opening morning. I’ll cape and butcher my buck after I finish the morning hunt.”

Before my wife could answer, I continued. “Talked to Lance and Greg today at noon. Bucks at The Buck Scrape have started looking for does. They said too, the scrapes I set up in July with Texas Raised Hunting Products were really active right now. While gone, I had them bury Scrape King canisters in two of them.”

“Whoaaaa!”

I slammed on the brakes barely missing a nice ten-point illuminated in my headlights. Since leaving the Hargrove I had seen several dead bucks on the side of the road. Obviously the whitetail rut had begun in the Texas Hill Country.

I was eager to hunt the place where I had grown up. I now own part of that property just above the Gulf Coast Prairie, and I lease adjoining acreage. For the past two years I had passed bucks in hopes of seeing bigger, older bucks in the future.

Hunting pressure around my property is fairly heavy. Years of antler restrictions have allowed a few bucks to get into older age classes.

My opening morning plan was to be in my ground blind at least an hour before first light. With the rut about to launch I hoped bucks would be checking and working scrapes.

For all but a few days a year, I had kept cattle out of the immediate area I hunted. This had encouraged tremendous browse and cover growth. At least eight does now called the small pasture home.

I had further enhanced the habitat by fertilizing selected oak trees. Their acorns had been falling since late September, but many were still on the tree—same with fertilized persimmon trees.

During summer, I also fertilized selected yaupon bushes, selected stands of green briar and American Beautyberry, as well as a small patch of honeysuckle. These “natural food plots” of highly palatable and nutritious browse kept the does in the immediate area. I knew once the does came into estrus, bucks would come looking.

In the ground blind waiting for first light, my thoughts wandered to numerous other Texas whitetail hunts still to come in November, December and in January. Some involved sitting in blinds, spot and stalk, and of course, rattling horns.

During September and October, I had spent considerable time shooting the three Ruger No. 1 rifles and the .44 Mag Ruger revolver I planned on hunting with this fall. Chambered for.275 Rigby, .280 Remington and.300 PRC respectively, the rifles were each topped with a Trijicon variable and sighted-in with appropriate Hornady ammo.

Shooting 240-grain Hornady XTP and topped with a Trijicon SRO sight, my Ruger Blackhawk revolver is sighted in at 75 yards. I know if I do my part, my firearms would do theirs.

Darkness fades to gray; eastern skies promise daylight. Movement in the tall weeds bordering the creek—could it be…?

 

Email Larry Weishuhn at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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