As many of you know, there has been a special antler restriction placed on whitetails in Brown County as well as some other surrounding counties. You are now able to harvest five deer and no more than two bucks all seasons combined (archery, youth, gun, and special late). The bucks that are considered legal have an inside spread greater than 13” or have at least one unbranched antler. Only one buck with a spread wider than 13” may be harvested, meaning the other has to be a spike or a deer with one unbranched antler.

I do not have a problem with the 13” spread restriction. In general, a buck with a spread less than 13” is a younger more immature deer. Trust me, I know very well that there are some deer out there with a spread less than 13” that need to be harvested due to inferior genetics, but remember TPWD is setting this restriction based on research and data collected at wildlife processing plants. And the reason that this rule is now in effect is because too many immature deer with a narrow spread were being harvested each year.

As those fast flying dove continue to humble even the best of wingshooters, I can’t help but look forward to October! Bow/Crossbow season is just around the corner and I wanted to share some techniques that will improve your chances at harvesting a mature Texas whitetail.

First things first, start putting out the groceries! Within the next few weeks, your wheat, oats, turnips, barley, and Austrian peas need to planted. This type of natural forage will not only improve the health and wintering ability of deer, it will also serve as a seasonal attractant that hunters should capitalize on. If your hunting area is not conducive to food plots, try to create other types of “food plots” (corn or protein feeder sites). A pelleted protein ration will aid in lactation for does, pre rut weight gain, and post rut recovery for bucks. If this is not possible for you, then stick with plain old cracked corn.