Challenge Awaits Hunting Season Start

Nov 04, 2009 - 15:38:13 CST.

SIGN OF THE TIMES -- The sight of two white-tailed bucks challenging each other recently in a Gillespie County pasture is enough to get the blood of any Fredericksburg area marksmen pumping, especially with the start of the 2009-2010 rifle hunting season arriving Saturday. An abundant acorn crop and a rain-boosted forbs supply are expected to limit deer movement during the early days of the new season, although increased activity among bucks during the onset of the rut might give hunter successes a little boost. Standard-Radio Post Photo by Yvonne Hartmann

Gillespie County hunters may be looking forward to Saturday’s opening of a new big game rifle season here, but actually seeing a lot of white-tailed deer during the early days of the 2009-2010 schedule may be another matter.

That’s because an early and abundant acorn crop, combined with new growth of native vegetation, is expected to initially cut down on deer movement toward supplemental food sources like automatic corn feeders.

Along with the acorn supply, reports from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department field biologists note that recent rains have also helped generate forb production, adding to the availability of native food sources for deer.

“It’s been at least three years since ground moisture has been this good at this time of year,” said Mike Krueger, TPWD district wildlife biologist in Kerrville. “It looks like springtime in the Edwards Plateau at this time.”

Krueger noted the warm-season plants have put on a final burst of growth and flowers and there is a flush of early growth of cool-season grasses and forbs. That will probably contribute to a slow deer season for hunters, especially early in the season and especially for those hunters that are dependent on hunting over feeders.

“There is an abundance of food sources for deer right now, and deer movements are reduced because they don’t have to move as far or as often to keep their bellies full,” Krueger added. “Deer don’t appear to be coming to feeders as often or as regularly as they would if it were still dry.”

The only consolation is that bucks are becoming more active due to the onset of the rut in the Hill Country, so they’ll be moving around as they typically do during the rut, regardless of the condition of the range.

Although the range conditions are good to excellent right now, the rains came too late to help with this year’s antler growth which is probably no better than average throughout the Edwards Plateau region, or with the fawn production that is also no better than average.

But, if it continues to rain throughout the fall and winter, the stage is being set for better antler growth and fawn production next year.

Meanwhile, whitetail body conditioning -- despite a tough start during drought conditions earlier this year -- has improved in recent weeks, according to TPWD’s Scott Krueger, brother to biologist Mike Krueger, who with fellow Game Warden Sam Harris serves the area around Fredericksburg.

“What we’ve seen so far look to be in pretty good shape,” he said, adding that, overall, the whitetail hunting season outlook is looking “pretty good.”

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