[Silverspoon]

our deer lease in east Texas. When my father remarried in 1986 he was welcomed into a family that also invited him to hunt with them on property they have leased from a couple of different paper companies, most noteably International Paper, since 1978. Soon after he started hunting there in '86, I was offered a spot to hunt there as well. It's not a huge place at 265+/-acres but it is very dense with pines, an east to west creek that runs year round located near the south end and several seasonal wet/dry areas that run north/south which drain into that same creek. There are areas of the property within close proximity of these water areas which are never cut by the paper company. These areas contain quite a few oak trees which provide natural forage for the wildlife. I presume they don't cut because of erosion and if they did, the creek would probably dry up. Well, to make a long story short, there is a guy up there that has an additional 200 huntable acres on the north border of our lease and he has offered it to us for this year! We have been friendly with him for at least the past 7-8 years after seeing him around town and out there tending his cattle. It seems that last years bunch is out of the picture. I thought this might happen a couple of years ago but it never materialized. This almost doubles the size of our lease and I am very excited! Some people don't care for hunting east Texas but I am not one of them. I bow hunt with a Martin recurve and absolutely love to stalk! Having a lease that is as dense as ours is helps with my stalks. I have had deer, unseen to me, jump out at less than 5 yards from me! Let me tell you, that is as exciting a moment as any other. After 5 years of bow hunting I have yet to arrow one with my bow but I am close to closing the deal. I also have a couple of climbing stands that I also hunt from that actually give me an advantage (if you want to call it that) because I am out of the deers line of sight. Looks like I might need a couple more climbers!

 

[Etexhunter]

Congrats !! I live in east Texas as well, and am hunting a small private owned piece of property (110 acres) thats owned by one of my best friends granma. Deer population is adequate, and dang hogs are over running the place..lol Thats okay, that problem will be taken care of eventually I am partially disabled, so this place is an ideal place for me to be.. the price is right for sure Looking forward to putting some venison in the freezer soon, and pork as well.
Good luck in the coming season !!!

 

[big john o]

Me and my dad have been hunting 150 acres in ET near Alto for 12 yrs. Have seen some big deer there and taken several over the years. Tree climbing stands are the way to go because you can easily relocate if the deer arent moving in a particular area or the wind changes direction. This year we lost some big trees do to Ike, and spent last weekend clearing the roads and trails so we can get around. There were a lot of acorns on the ground, and a lot of deer activity.

Good luck this year.