Well, what did you expect after the hottest, driest, longest, and most miserable summer on record?
Many feared this deer season would be a bust. But they were shortsighted.
A quality deer season doesn’t depend upon just one factor. There’s more to it than just summer rain.
Fortunately, other factors affect this season. Alan Cain, my usual source of whitetail prospects, was promoted upward at TPWD. His successor as whitetail program leader, Blaise Korzekwa, provided interesting insight into this season.
Korzekwa reminded me that fawn crops five or six years earlier have major effects on current prospects. The 2023 look-back revealed a large class of fawns. That could indicate more mature bucks this season, depending on survival.
Spring rainfall is needed for antler growth. Much of Texas had adequate rainfall in April, May, and June when it’s needed to encourage forbs production which aids antler development.
Then, if there were a high number of carryover bucks from the past seasons that are a year older in 2023 than they were in 2022, it stacks the deck. That doesn’t happen every year. This year benefits from a reduced deer harvest last season. Korzekwa says on average years, hunters in Texas take almost 750,000 deer to ice. Last year’s estimated harvest was down to 680,671. With roughly 70,000 deer left on the range from 2022, it seems likely that a sizable number of bucks will carryover into 2023.
So, let’s tally up the score. A large fawn crop five and a half years ago indicates that many of them could have survived to maturity by now.
Then spring rainfall came at the right time to bring up the protein-rich forbs needed for antler development. And finally, in 2022, many hunters passed up taking a buck due to the dry conditions. Those surviving bucks are a year older now. And age is one of the major determinates of antler sizes.
That combination of conditions creates a perfect storm for a deer season to remember. Most of Texas received some of those benefits and can expect more mature bucks.
Hill Country. Even with severe drought, rainfall at the right time and plentiful fawn crops earlier, the stage is set for above average bucks in this region containing the most deer and hunters in Texas.
South Texas. Areas along the Rio Grande didn’t receive as much rain as others, but protein-rich vegetation in the region, coupled with large fawn crops five years ago, should provide above average bucks in this big deer region.
Rolling Plains. West Texas traditionally gets less annual rainfall and suffered more than the rest of the state. Still, high quality antlers will be present on well-managed ranches, continuing to rival South Texas for the state’s largest antlered bucks. “Average antlers” here are trophies elsewhere.
Cross Timbers. Dry conditions last year caused hunters to pass on taking bucks. A large carryover resulted. Expect more mature bucks with above-average antlers.
Hunters statewide could be looking at a banner year. Get out and enjoy it!
JJ
