The state of Nebraska is well known for big corn-fed bucks, but I doubt Wesley O’Brien expected to harvest a white-tailed buck of record proportions when he left Lexington, Texas, on an invited no-cost deer hunt. Large-bodied bucks produce robust antlers and Nebraska is known for both of them. I’m sure the 24 year old hunter had dreams of big bucks bounding in his head, but could it happen? He wasn’t going to be in Texas anymore, and barely north of Kansas for that matter.

He was, however, on a farm in Richardson County, located in the far southeast corner of Nebraska. On Saturday, November 14, the very first evening of Nebraka’s gun season, the hunter’s aim was true as he squeezed off a round at a monstrous non-typical whitetail buck standing broadside and approximately 100 yards away. Wesley knew the shot was good as he watched the big buck go down. He also knew the buck was good, but determining how good was going to take some work.As Wesley O’Brien can attest, the deer did not suffer from ground shrinkage. In fact, the buck tenatively scored 281 Boone and Crockett inches and is threatening as largest white-tailed buck ever harvested in the state of Nebraska! The antlers will be officially scored after the mandatory 60 day “drying” period as required by Boone and Crockett Club.

Source: “So it remains to be seen if the O’Brien buck will top a famous set of antlers from a deer killed 47 years ago in Hall County by bowhunter Del Austin of Hastings. Commonly called ‘Old Mossy Horns,’ the Austin buck scored 279 7/8 , ranking it not only first in Nebraska, but a world record for a whitetail taken by archery.”

O’Brien admitted that their was some luck involved in taking this bruiser whitetail, which he now refers to as “Too Easy.” He came to Nebraska with a friend who knew a landowner, who in turn allowed them to hunt his farm. Other than a non-resident license, O’Brien paid no fees for deer hunting access. He then shot the buck shortly before sundown not long after stepping out of a truck to stalk a different buck.

Sometimes white-tailed deer hunting is just about being in the right place at the right time. Or from the buck’s perspective, at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The white-tailed deer gun opener was slow in Central and North Central Texas. The second weekend was not much better. However, cooler temperatures and good reports of rutting bucks moving throughout much of the state should make this coming weekend a great time to head out deer hunting! Although much of the state’s abundant acorn crop is now depleted, deer still have a choice between cool season forbs and lush winter food plots (where they exists). Areas that were barren during the summer are now a hodge-podge of high-protein forbs.

Except for the last couple of months, 2009 has been a tough year for most of Texas’ white-tailed deer population. The preceding winter, spring, and summer were dry. Very dry. Extremely dry. But all of that has changed. Deer that were in poor to fair body condition during the summer have gorged on fat-rich acorns are now looking to be in good shape. Although many ranches are reporting that deer body weights are lower this year compared to previous years, rainfall received during September and October have ”saved” the year.

Winter food plots, which are typically the most reliable plots, found themselves high and dry at this time last year. But not this fall. Anyone that stuck a seed in the ground is now the beneficiary of a lush food plot, regardless of what was planted. Recently, however, not all food plots were being hit hard. I suspect that many hunters that were reporting low food plot use by deer up until now should find that cooler temperatures will move more deer onto those plots, and earlier in the day.

More deer is a good thing, especially during the rut! I’ve received reports from throughout much of the state, except South Texas, of bucks following does for the past couple of weeks, but I’ve seen a marked increase in chasing activity over the past four to five days. Central Texas hunters heading to the field over the next week should expect to see good action. If you can find the does you will find the bucks, and deer should be hitting food sources well thanks to cool, brisk weather over much of the state.

As always, make sure to keep the deer population in check with available habitat. On average, the body condition of deer has increased greatly going into the fall thanks to a solid acorn crop and additional forage provided by much-needed precipitation. Antler quality has not improved; lower than average antler growth was a result of the tough winter, spring, and summer we experience through most of Texas. However, keeping proper deer numbers where you hunt is an important component of deer and habitat management.

Too many deer means less food per mouth, and if the rain turns off, next year could be particularly tough since we are still way behind on total rainfall. In short, don’t hesitate to harvest deer where needed. Get out and enjoy the cooler weather and put yourself in posititon to take advantage of increased white-tailed deer rutting activity. And remember, squeeze the trigger!

Growing big bucks is all about age, genetics, and nutrition, but when it comes to producing mature bucks year after year nothing in white-tailed deer management is as important as harvesting bucks at the proper rate. So what is the proper harvest rate for bucks? The general rule of thumb is to harvest no more than 20% of the buck herd throughout all age classes in a given year. This includes young, middle-aged, and old cull bucks as well as mature trophy bucks.

The white-tailed buck pictured above was shot on the evening of November 7, 2009 by bowhunter Joyce Ooten. She was hunting on her 23 acre Grayson County property when she arrowed the 19 point buck standing at 20 yards. Of course, the mature buck did not spend its entire life on Joyce’s 23 acres, but did I mention that her property is next door to the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (NWR)? And Hagerman NWR provides solid white-tailed deer habitat.

Hagerman NWR consists of about 12,000 acres, which is comprised of roughly 3,000 acres of marsh and 8,000 acres of upland and farmland. Not only does this place provide ideal habitat for growing big deer, but deer harvest is limited to bowhunting only. In fact, all of Grayson County is bowhunting only—even during Texas’ General Season. Good habitat combined with proper harvest rates means Hagerman NWR will produce mature bucks on an annual basis.

Source: “A Texoma grandmother says she bagged her biggest deer in Grayson County this weekend, and it may be one of the biggest ever killed in the area by a woman. Joyce Ooten, 60, used her bow to shoot this 19-point-buck over the weekend. Ooten shot the big game on her property, the Refuge Road Archery Range.

Ooten says she and her husband, Donnie, have had a friendly rivalry for some time over who will kill the bigger deer. Now, she says she’s ahead. “He’d been telling me if you’re going to get that deer, you had better get down there and hunt it. I like to hunt in the afternoon, not much on mornings, and he said you better go down there and get it or I’m going to get him. I beat him to it,” Ooten says.

Ooten says she will mount the deer on her wall. We’re still waiting to hear back from Texas Parks and Wildlife to see if this kill breaks any records.”

White-tailed bucks are an interesting lot. Individual bucks run together in bachelor herds during the summer, but become mortal enemies during the fall and winter. Most hunters realize the proper harvest of animals is essential for white-tailed deer population management, but we also hate to see deer die of natural causes, especially when self-inflicted. However, the life of a white-tailed buck can be tough.

In addition to surviving the seasonal stress periods of summer and winter, and sneaking by hunting season after hunting season, bucks also fight for dominance among themselves for the right to breed receptive does in the area. When big white-tailed bucks fight it is a sight to see. I have seen bucks spar for several minutes, although battles of several hours are well documented. I suspect that most encounters are intense, but short in duration (just seconds) with the stronger buck making his point rather quickly. 

However, sometimes bucks will fight to the death. This happens when animals become gored by powerfully swinging points, when animals are pushed or knocked into natural obstructions, or when antlers lock and one or more bucks die from exhaustion and/or starvation. Such was the case last week when Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) responded to a landowner’s call about two bucks locked together in Franklin County, Texas. TPWD does it’s best to manage the Lone Star State’s white-tailed deer population through surveys, hunting regulations, and law enforcement, but they also get hands-on with wildlife when the situation calls.

TPWD: “On October 20 Camp County Game Warden Heath Taylor received a call from a landowner in Franklin County about two bucks that he found on his property that had gotten their antlers locked together and were under a fence on opposite sides from each other. One buck was a 9-point that had already died but the other was a huge 14-point that was still alive but to the point of exhaustion. Warden Taylor notified Franklin County Game Warden Doyle Brown and both wardens met the landowner.

When they arrived, Warden Taylor and the landowner were able to pry the bucks apart and untangle the huge buck from the fence. After laying there for a couple of minutes, the big buck stood up and walked into the brush escaping what would have been certain death. Both the wardens and the landowner stated that it was one of the biggest bucks they had seen in this area.”

Hundreds of thousands of white-tailed deer are killed in Texas each fall and winter, but typically by deer hunters in search of big bucks and those looking to fill their freezers. Automobiles even get a few, but it seems the deer and hunters in Eastland County have something else to look out for now—poison. The Texas Agriculture Extension is advising all area health care providers of a poisoning in Eastland County that occurred approximately two weeks ago.

It seems a ranch south of Carbon, Texas, tried to kill feral hogs by mixing deer corn with a pesticide called Temik, which is a neurotoxin. Apparently, the rancher spread a very large amount of mixed, poisoned corn over their 2,000 acre peanut crop to kill feral hogs, but it turns out that white-tailed deer where also feeding on the same ranch.

BN: “With the opening of deer season this weekend, authorities are asking hunters not to eat ANY venison meat harvested in south Eastland County until further notice. Any deer appearing sick or stumbling should be avoided. Though ingested levels of poisoned corn would have to be high in a deer, waterfowl, and hogs to seriously affect humans, authorities note it is very toxic and possibly fatal.

State and federal investigations are in progress. Further questions and concerns can be directed to Michael Hare with the Texas Agricultural Extension office at 512-475-3305.”

This situation is unfortunate for Eastland County hunters for several reasons. Not only are they just days from the opener of Texas’ General Deer Season, but many non-target animals, including deer, will continue to be exposed to contaminated bait. Not only are hunters warned to not consume venison of harvested animals in the area, but their hunting license fees directly manage for each of the wildlife species impacted by this ignorant action.

It’s unknown how many animals are being directly impacted by the poisoned corn, but it’s even more disturbing to think what some individuals will do without considering the consequences of their actions.

Update: Corn poisoned with Temix and Aldicarb was found in 2 peanut fields and is suspected in 4 more. The location of the 2 confirmed poisoned fields is 9 miles South of Cisco, just West of SH 183, between CR173 on the North and CR170 on the South. The location of the 4 suspected poisoned fields is West of the 2 confirmed poison fields. These 4 fields are near the intersection of SH 206 and CR 218. The poisoned corn is still on the ground in the 2 confirmed poison locations. It is in piles throughout the field.

The dead animals found so far are 3 deer, 6 hogs, 1 red-tailed hawk, and 2 vultures. The poisoned corn was originally found October 7. The investigation has moved slowly because the people responsible have not been cooperative and have withheld information. Investigators are on site today. Several government agencies are involved in this “fluid, on going investigation.” The recommendation is to not eat deer killed in a 5 mile radius of these locations.