illinois deer vs texas deer
#11
RE: illinois deer vs texas deer
You were hunting in the Hill Country. The deer are generally quite a bit smaller there. I hunt near Fredericksburg, which is in the same general area as Junction. If it's a good year with plenty of rain, a good sized buck in that area will get to about 150-170 lbs. Does will average about 90-100 lbs. We had couple years of drought in 2005-2006, and deer weights were down 15-20 lbs in those years. We do year round supplemental feeding on our lease, and that seems to help keep them healthy in bad years. Generally speaking though, in addition to the fact that deer seem to have larger bodies further north, there is also a huge difference between deer who live in a desert climate like the Hill Country, and deer who live in a virtual smorgasbord of corn and soybeans...
Deer are much larger in other areas of the state. South Texas bucks will hit about 250 lbs, as will deer in the panhandle area.
Texas8Point: I never heard of Coues deer in Texas, and certainly not as far east as Blanco. I thought the Coues was an Arizona/New Mexico/ Mexico deer.
Deer are much larger in other areas of the state. South Texas bucks will hit about 250 lbs, as will deer in the panhandle area.
Texas8Point: I never heard of Coues deer in Texas, and certainly not as far east as Blanco. I thought the Coues was an Arizona/New Mexico/ Mexico deer.
#12
Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: jackson co. texas
Posts: 61
RE: illinois deer vs texas deer
the deer in the texas hill country tend to be smaller than in most of the state acct nutrition, genetics ect but they also have the highest density persqr mile. you take those same fawns where thenutrition is better and they grow bigger. Texas land owners mostly understand that larger deerequals more lease money so deer are managed as a cash crop and a matter of pride on many ranches.
#13
RE: illinois deer vs texas deer
Kind of wild nowdays to see Illinois being held up as some type of deer Mecca. When i was growing up in the 1970s there weren't even that many of them, especially big ones. But this year there were a bunch of bucks in the 10 to 24 point range taken just within a mile of my land.
#15
RE: illinois deer vs texas deer
ORIGINAL: texas8point
We have the deer with the Looong faces (young and immature deer), then we have the deer with a real heavy head, shorter nose (mature deer), and then we have the Coues deer (shorts face, legs, body) (no we don't)............I've shot all 3 types in Blanco, Texas
We have the deer with the Looong faces (young and immature deer), then we have the deer with a real heavy head, shorter nose (mature deer), and then we have the Coues deer (shorts face, legs, body) (no we don't)............I've shot all 3 types in Blanco, Texas
And we don't have Coues deer in Texas, if you did see and kill one than you were breaking the law.
We have mule deer and whitetails
#16
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location:
Posts: 193
RE: illinois deer vs texas deer
Howdy from an ex-Illinois boy! I grew up in LaSalle county, and we fed-em the best corn and soybeans deer have ever seen! I've seen 200-250 lb. doe's and 300+ lb. bucks come out of LaSalle andBureau counties. I now live in SC, and they grow-em small here too, but as a deer hunter, I appreciate the deer no matter how big or small.Texas/Illinois/SCor wherevever, theirALL smart as heck, and every one of them is a trophy. A realtor friend ofthe familyjust sold a 300 acre farm in Pike county Illinois for 1.6 million to 3 major league baseball players just for whitetail hunting. And to think my brother-in-law sold his 300 acres about five years ago for a song!
#17
Fork Horn
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location:
Posts: 250
RE: illinois deer vs texas deer
ORIGINAL: RockinChair
+1. Bergmann's Rule-- states that body mass of a geographic race is in direct relation to the distance from equator.
ORIGINAL: bugsNbows
You do realize that, as a general scientific rule, species tend to get larger the further North one goes. The winters tend to be worse "up north" and critters need the extra body mass for warmth and survival. Compare the big brusiers of Sask. or Alberta to central and NE U.S. bucks. Same deal.
You do realize that, as a general scientific rule, species tend to get larger the further North one goes. The winters tend to be worse "up north" and critters need the extra body mass for warmth and survival. Compare the big brusiers of Sask. or Alberta to central and NE U.S. bucks. Same deal.
This is very true. You dont see Moose sized animals in South America.
Deer in TX and IL are different types of the same species. For that matter, deer in Zavala County TX and deer in Brazos County, TX are different sub-species. Different antler growth, diffent body mass, color phoses...etc.
The monster deer you see coming out of TX are almost always out of South TX, free ranging ones anyway.
Look at the size of Canadian Whitetail, their body mass is often bigger than Muledeer.
#18
Typical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 575
RE: illinois deer vs texas deer
Well hell, I sure thought it was a coues deer, or at least thats what I was told....(taxidermist, meat guy, normal joe hunter).......I musta shot a freak buck. It was probably 10 years ago and I shot a pretty dern good buck.
AND then i started looking at him.......he had a reaal short head, legs, body.......funny looking. But he was fat and had good horns.........hmmmmmmmm. Any ideas ?
AND then i started looking at him.......he had a reaal short head, legs, body.......funny looking. But he was fat and had good horns.........hmmmmmmmm. Any ideas ?
#19
RE: illinois deer vs texas deer
ORIGINAL: texas8point
Well hell, I sure thought it was a coues deer, or at least thats what I was told....(taxidermist, meat guy, normal joe hunter).......I musta shot a freak buck. It was probably 10 years ago and I shot a pretty dern good buck.
AND then i started looking at him.......he had a reaal short head, legs, body.......funny looking. But he was fat and had good horns.........hmmmmmmmm. Any ideas ?
Well hell, I sure thought it was a coues deer, or at least thats what I was told....(taxidermist, meat guy, normal joe hunter).......I musta shot a freak buck. It was probably 10 years ago and I shot a pretty dern good buck.
AND then i started looking at him.......he had a reaal short head, legs, body.......funny looking. But he was fat and had good horns.........hmmmmmmmm. Any ideas ?
5' 5" - 178 pounds, although my mother says I'm handsome, but all mothers think that of their children!
I guess I got the short stick again, fortunately it's not my horn!