The landscape of south Texas is made up of thorny brush, mesquite flats and is an overall harsh and dry environment. The area usually receives less than twenty inches of rain annually. The harsh and dry environment and the genetics create a haven for the whitetail deer to thrive. My son Kyle, a senior at FSU and I made our annual trip to South Texas on December 10, 2009 to hunt with the Casey’s on the El Huisache Ranch. John Casey has been managing the ranch for over thirty years. His son, Todd, a charter fishing captain in South Padre Island during the spring and summer grew up on El Huisache. The ranch is over ten thousand acres of carefully managed deer herd. The ratio of bucks to does is approximately 1:1. They only take thirty or so mature five and a half year old and older bucks each season and a corresponding number of does to maintain the 1:1 ratio. A 1:1 ratio in the deer population creates the ultimate rut scenario and it was just getting started.
We arrived at the ranch around 1:30 pm on Thursday. The weather conditions were perfect for hunting deer. The temperature was in the mid forties and the skies were overcast, a light northeast wind blowing with a light mist falling. We got our gear ready and went over and looked at the pictures that Todd had on his computer from his Stealth Game camera. There were some absolute monster deer at several locations where he put his cameras. One deer in particular got my attention. He was a giant 160”-170” typical racked deer with awesome number and length of tines. He was photographed on another ranch the Casey’s control about ten miles north of El Huisache. I told John I would like an opportunity to take a deer like the one in the picture. We loaded up our gear and drove to La Encantada Ranch. John and I were in the double ground stand by 4:00 pm and we settled in for the afternoon hunt. I enjoy hunting with John. He has a great sense of humor and he has put me on two big bucks. In 2007 he rattled in a great heavy beamed 10 point with eight inch brow tines on the last day of a five day hunt. Last year we decided to go to the far side of the ranch on the first morning and a great 11 point with a nineteen and a half inch inside spread crossed a sendaro five minutes after shooting light. We observed some great young trophy and management bucks but did not see the deer we were looking for. We decided to come back in the morning for another chance to see the giant. Kyle and Todd picked us up and we returned to El Huisache for a great steak cooked over mesquite.
The next morning we were in the stand a half hour before shooting light. Once again we observed some great young bucks. At 8:30 am John suggested we take a ride over to an area where he had seen a couple of really big deer crossing a road. We found the two rut road and parked across it so that I could shoot from the backseat of John’s crew cab truck. I used a six inch piece of half inch foam pipe insulation on the widow for a rest. The road is about two hundred yards from a fence line that separates the La Encantada ranch from the Robert East Ranch. The Robert East is a couple hundred thousand acres and has never been deer hunted. The Casey’s say the biggest deer in all of Texas live in the sanctuary of the Robert East Ranch. We had not been parked long when a doe stepped out and crossed the road. I raised my 7mm-08 rifle on the rest anticipating what may follow her. A few minutes later a really big deer stepped out at about one hundred and fifty yards. He walked away from us not knowing we were there. I was looking through my scope and John was glassing trying to determine what he was. We finally determined he was a big 8 point as he crossed the road at three hundred yards. We decided to cruise the ranch until lunch when we headed back to El Huisache.
The afternoon we chose to stay at the main ranch and hunt. I chose a ground blind stand where Kyle had killed a really big 10 point the year before. We observed some more great young bucks but no shooters that afternoon. Just before last shooting light I received a text message from Kyle saying he had killed a really big 13 point deer. John and I walked back to the truck and headed back to camp. We met Kyle and Todd and celebrated there hunt. A giant 13 point with over a twenty one inch inside spread that scored one hundred sixty one inches. A true South Texas Monster Buck! We continued the celebration over a great Mexican dinner.
Saturday morning we decided to hunt a stand called “Absolutely Nothing”. We observed two really great young bucks that morning. One of the bucks was a three and a half year old 10 point that will be a true trophy if he can survive the harsh environment of south Texas. Around 8:00 am we decided to take a cruise around the ranch to see what is moving. Todd and Kyle were also riding and scouting for deer. At lunch, Todd said he had seen some big bucks feeding along a fence line to the north trap. We decided to set up a couple of tripod stands under a power pole along the fence line. The set up allowed us to see up the fence line for about five hundred yards and over a sendaro that separated two thick areas of brush. We set up the tripods and immediately started to hunt. The deer were moving right away. We did see a mature 130”-140” class 10 point that I chose not to shoot. I really liked the set up we had and we decided to come back in the morning. The cloud cover seemed to be breaking up and the temperature was rising. The weather was going to change.
On Sunday morning John and I were in the tripods under a crystal clear sky. There was no breeze and it was perfectly still. We were ready as daylight broke on the south Texas landscape. We observed a couple of really good bucks along the fence line about five hundred yards away moving towards us. Before we could get a good look at the bucks the combination of rising temperature and dew point created a thick ground fog that reduced visibility to less than seventy five yards. John and I were dejected as we left the stand to cruise the ranch in the fog. We got back to camp around 11:00 am. Todd suggested we try and rattle after the fog began to lift in an area that no one had hunted this season. Kyle, Todd and I got in the truck and decided to give it a go. We turned down a sendaro and spotted a pretty good buck feeding with a doe. We stopped the truck and decided to make a stalk to check out the buck. We got into the brush and made our way towards the buck. Todd stopped and eased out toward the opening. The buck must have sensed our presence or seen us as he eased back into the brush. As Todd was glassing the sendaro when he exclaimed “Monster”. A Huge buck crossed three hundred yards away. Todd said let’s go. We walked down the sendaro and tried to determine where the buck crossed. We got back in the brush and Todd clashed the rattling antlers together. He worked the antlers, raking the brush and the ground simulating an intense buck fight in an attempt to lure the big buck back to us. We did manage to lure in a spike to see the fight. Todd suggested we get out of the area and return this afternoon. We did return to a nearby stand that afternoon, but failed to see a mature buck or the buck Todd had seen this morning. We determined to come back and try again in the morning.
We were back in the blind about thirty minutes before shooting light on Monday morning. We could see several deer on the sendaro before shooting light including a couple of good bucks. Todd is an incredible talent with aging and judging quality whitetail bucks. I was amazed how he could see through the pre-dawn light and tell what the buck rack look like. He said that the big buck had moved back in the brush but he was now looking at a deer that had three splits on his G-2 and seemed to have more kickers and stickers. Todd determined he was a three and a half year old that will be an absolute stud in a couple of years. As we were discussing the buck Todd said “Monster! Don’t Move”. I was facing the opposite direction in the blind and could not help it but I turned my head and took a peek. When I saw the buck my vital signs had to go off the charts. My breathing and heart rate were racing. I do not know what to call it other than buck fever. Todd said the buck was an 8 point but that did not matter. I needed to get my act together and Todd and I needed to change positions in the blind without spooking the buck. We were able to pull off the switch and I settled in and took a rest on the window of the blind. I told myself not to look at the rack as I got my breathing under somewhat control. The crosshairs on my scope found a spot on his shoulder and I squeezed the trigger. I never heard the rifle report or felt any recoil as the buck hit the ground. I quickly chambered another round of 140 grain bullet and was ready to shoot if he as much as twitched. The buck was down and a second shot was not required. Todd and I celebrated the hunt and the big 8 point. He is a true South Texas Monster Buck!
