That alone is why we kill 8’s and below at max of 4.5. Seen an 120” 8pt manhandle a 140” 3.5 10pt before and never got the 10 on camera again.

As far as management goes we let those deer get some age on them to see what kind of potential they might have.

You can’t grow 150-60 class eights when you shoot 120 inch three year olds.


This big eight is from the same location as the ghost deer.



This buck is around four years old. He has super long main beams and great G-3’s.

Just imagine what he will look like at seven years old.

Why would I want 8’s around if I can keep 10’s around? A 3.5yr old 140-150” 10 is what I’m looking to let grow. Seen way more of those than an 8 at that age. As I’ve said before, seen brute 8’s run off young 10’s. May work differently out there on way more acreage.

See exhibit A above.

Take a 160 class ten and put him next to a 60’s eight point and you have your answer.

It’s all about the frame. That is why we want them around.

How many acres are you on and do the deer have to roam where you still have access to hunt them?

We are on a sizeable amount of acreage WB.

A buck that stays in a certain location could be miles away from his core area by the time the rut is in full swing. This makes it difficult to find a specific deer. Lock down adds another level of difficulty when it comes to locating a certain target.

Our deer density is high, but our buck to doe ratio is one to one. The age class of bucks is spread evenly across the board.
The only time we would ever consider shooting a young 3-4 year old is if he was mortally wounded and/or sick.

We normally have a lot of fighting here. Three or four fights in an afternoon on a winter wheat field is not uncommon.
I certainly don’t see older eights rule the fields when the rut gets rolling.

Dominance is relative to age, weight, & temperament. Testosterone turns up the attitude volume to ten.

A bad hombre is that way regardless of his headgear.

Here is a better look at the ghost buck.

He is sticking to his routine like he's punching a time clock on the night shift.



The newly planted winter wheat fields along with the upcoming rut will certainly put a new spin on the situation.

It is amazing what you can see and learn about deer behavior when those green fields come alive in the evening especially around the rut. If I remember rightly the rut heats up right about Christmas. Texas was by far my favorite state to hunt. Always something to hunt from exotics to whitetail. Axis were by far my favorite.

You Betcha” SK!

Green fields are where all the interaction occurs. They become war zones as the rut approaches.

Bucks that don’t normally cross paths find themselves face to face on the field of honor.

Unfortunately several bucks die every year from injuries sustained on the battlefield.

There are a lot of ears back as of late. It will get more serious in the days to come.

That's my line

We’ve killed a lot of big pigs this year.

I thought the 270 pound sow would hold the record for years to come.

Gordon Whitefoot didn’t get to keep the title of Top Sow very long.


The Heavyweight Champion Sow Belt now belongs to Big Bertha.

Big Bertha weighed in at 302 pounds at 5’ 3”.



That puts her at the number two spot behind Big Red at 417.

I bet you could get some bacon off of that one

That is a big ole sow. Looks like she is piggy?

Looks like your ranch is growing some super hogs James.

Be good to get that one off the feed bill

Biggest one I have ever killed was a 309# sow that had 9 full term piglets in her (days from being born)

I would pull the backstraps off of that one and throw them on the smoker

I think the pig population here depends on greatly what the ranches do around us.

If our neighbors don’t feed as much as we do the sounders end up here in short order.

They can cover a lot of ground in a short period of time when in search of an all you can eat buffet.

If the properties around us don’t trap and gun hogs then the population spills over to our acreage in the blink of an eye.

I would bet the constant supply of protein has a lot to do with the size and weight increase over the years.


Here is another big sow than is still on the payroll.

The ranch I hunted in Florida gives you an ataboy for killing a piggy sow. They kill about 500 head a year and I think they should be killing a 1000 .
James how many are you taking off that property every year ?

I wish we had kept a running total from the start GB.

It's not the number of pigs, but the number of big breeders that has made us sit up and take notice.

We put a lot of them out of commission, but as you know it's a war of attrition.

We'll continue to terminate with extreme prejudice.

Good Sunday Morning T-Man Crew!

Getting ready to head out to the deer stand.