Whitetail Outlook

Opening day of Texas’ 2023-24 general deer season is still more than two months out, but the excitement is already building among the state’s 800,000plus whitetail junkies.

Traffic is picking up at archery pro shops in anticipation of the Archery Only opener on Sept. 30.

Feed stores and other dealers are peddling plenty of corn, rice bran and other attractants.

Hunters are beginning to stir around camp.

And Internet forums are gradually coming alive with chatter about the prospects for the coming year. Since mid-July, Facebook pages have been lighting up with game camera photos of some really nice bucks with their noses buried in piles of corn or crammed into mineral feeder dispenser tubes.

A game camera is an electronic device strapped to a tree or post that detects movement and automatically records digital images or video of everything that passes in front of it. Deer hunters rely on game cameras to scout potential stand sites, ground scrapes, crossings, trails and other points of interest. Some cameras are capable of sending images to cellular phones via text.

Most of the buck photos circulating now depict animals with antlers that are wrapped in velvet.

Velvet is the word often used to describe the thin layer of hairy skin that covers the antlers throughout the growing process, which begins in early spring. The soft skin is lined with tiny blood vessels to fuel fast growth of the cartilage until it calcifies into hardened antlers. Antlers are the fastest growing bone in the world.

Bucks typically begin shedding velvet by the end of August or early September. That’s when testosterone begins to flow and the blood supply to the velvet ceases, causing it to dry and peel away from hardened bone. The animals help things along by rubbing on trees and bushes to polish their new antlers ahead of the fall breeding season.

A picture of a buck whitetail in velvet can be somewhat deceiving because it makes the antlers appear significantly larger than they really are. Regardless, it offers a pretty good hint of what to expect once the antlers are fully developed and polished.

Antler

Quality Up

Alan Cain of Pleasanton has seen his share of game camera images in recent weeks. Cain is the Big Game Program Director with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. His job brings him in close contact with deer hunters, land managers and wildlife biologists in all areas of the state.

Cain is liking what he is seeing and hearing from constituents and colleagues thus far. In fact, he thinks a banner season could be in the works, despite the ongoing drought and blazing temperatures that have gripped most of the state since early June.

With a total deer herd estimated at around 5.4 million animals — more than any other state — just about every Texas deer season is a good one. Cain believes this season could turn out to be a busy one for taxidermists and deer processors, alike.

“I’ve been seeing pictures and hearing about some really nice bucks all around the state this summer,” Cain said. “Antler quality is up statewide. My guess is hunters are going to be pleasantly surprised at what they see in the field this year.”

Cain added that hunters can expect to see more mature bucks in the field this season due to an uptick in carry over from last year and a significant reduction in overall harvest compared to previous seasons. Texas hunters shot about 681,000 deer last year compared to 828,000 the season year before — a drop of nearly 18%.

The reason for the decrease? The biologist says antler quality was down statewide last year. Plus, deer movements were stifled by an early fall green up and one of the best acorn crops in years. He thinks some hunters passed on “shooter” bucks that probably may have gotten shot in a normal year.

Joey Waggonner of Lufkin believes Cain’s assessment about antler quality for the upcoming season is right on target. Waggonner is a member of two East Texas hunting clubs, where the free ranging herds are managed for producing quality bucks. Members are encouraged not to pull the trigger on bucks until they reach 5 1/2 years of age.

Waggonner has collected some game camera images of some outstanding bucks this summer. He says the antler quality he is seeing is the best in the last eight to 10 years.

“Everything starts with age,” Waggonner said. “A lot of leases want big, trophy caliber deer bucks, but they just won’t let them grow. The most important factors in deer management are age, genetics and diet.”

Good Fawn

Production

Fawn production is another bright spot in the upcoming season outlook, according to Cain. He said there are plenty of fawns on the ground statewide with some of the best success coming on well managed properties. In South Texas, land managers have reported production rates as high as 50%.

“I talked to one of our biologists in Medina County who was out doing quail counts and saw what looked to be 100% fawn production — every doe he saw was with a fawn or had twins,” Cain said. “Overall, I’m looking for the fawn crop to be about average statewide.

Excellent Range

Conditions Early

Dry and hot has been the mantra among weather watchers all summer long. What lots of folks are forgetting about are the mild winter and wet spring that preceded it. Cain says range conditions were in tip-top shape during early stages of antler growth and for much of the late spring fawning season.

“Everybody in the state had a good spring and early summer,” he said. “Rains came at different times for some folks and vegetation conditions were really good into June. It started to get hot around June 10 with 100 degree days that continued through July, and now into August. But we still had such good conditions early — and a decent winter — that it set a good foundation for bucks to grow antlers. Antler quality is looking really good.”

Cain says the early moisture produced a wealth of succulent forbes for deer to eat and plenty of critical ground cover for fawning. Though most of the lush ground cover has since withered away with the drought, the biologist is optimistic the animals had enough of a jump start to carry them through.

In South Texas, many land managers are seeing a surge in mesquite bean production, Cain said. He says the nutritious goodies are so abundant in some areas that some deer managers are seeing a drop off in activity around protein feeders.

“They are really hitting the mesquite beans in some areas,” he said.

Heat Hard on Fawns

Adult whitetails are resilient creatures. They know how to make a living off the land. When one food source plays out, they will find something else.

Fawns are a different story. Like kids, fawns are heavily dependent on their mothers for food. Extended periods of extreme heat and drought can create a challenging environment for young deer, Cain said.

“At this point my biggest concern is heat stress on the fawns, and that they are finding enough food and water to produce milk to finish weaning them out,” Cain said. “Good ground cover is essential when it’s 105 to 110 degrees,” he said. “Those fawns need to be able to find shade to cool down. That could be a problem on unmanaged properties that have been overgrazed by cattle.”

Matt Williams is a freelance outdoors writer based in Nacogdoches, Tx. He can be reached by email, mattwillwrite4u@ yahoo.com.