October 26, 2021 by Cathy Ledbetter

Your help is needed NOW!

Re: TPWD Proposed Rule Changes related to CWD and Suspension of TTT Permit

The deadline for commenting on the TTT rule change is November 3, 2021 at 5:00 pm.

March 08, 2021 by Arc News

Spring Creek Outdoors, LLC, is a 15-year-old wildlife and habitat consulting company based in Texas. Its offerings include conducting wildlife population assessments, making harvest recommendations, hosting seminars, and doing appraisals, but its true focus is on education. When the company first began employing ArcGIS technology in 2017, for instance, it used the software to create visualizations that helped teach landowners and land managers how to better understand their properties, as well as how to provide the support their lands needed to thrive.

April 18, 2020 by Macy Ledbetter

I receive dozens of calls each fall from concerned hunters from central Texas, more specifically Llano, Gillespie, San Saba, Burnet and Mason counties about seeing or harvesting late season velvet antlered bucks.   The condition is called hypogonadism and it affects male deer primarily in the Central Basin, or Llano Uplift ecological area.   These areas are rich in granite gravel soil types and this condition tends to show up in numbers in these general areas in drier years.  I have seen it outside of this area, such as this mule deer buck I harvested last fall in Jeff Davis County near Fort Davis, but it is very prevalent in male whitetail deer in central Texas.

December 28, 2019 by Macy Ledbetter

Density is defined as “the amount of something per unit of measure”.  The density of cattle and deer on a property are the primary factors influencing the overall production of the ranch.  It is a balancing act to match the animals with the ever-changing food supply of the property.  A progressive manager must react in an efficient manner if continued success is to be realized during the good and bad habitat times.

August 12, 2019 by Macy Ledbetter

Have you ever wondered exactly when the peak of the breeding season occurs on your very own hunting grounds?  Are the hunting magazine articles too general and not specific enough for you?   Have you read the TPWD brochure showing the eco-region peak breeding dates?  All of these offer great information but some folks desire much more specifics for their own ranches.  Continue reading for more information and details to help you determine the peak of the breeding season on your very own ranch.

January 24, 2019 by Macy Ledbetter

Harvest data collection is a real necessity of any deer management program.  It tells you about the current and past health history of your herd.  It helps establish trends in antler and body production.  It gives you averages and percentages.  It allows you to separate out portions of your deer herd for closer scrutiny and evaluation.  It takes out the emotion of the hunt and the eye appeal of the antlers.  It is black and white and it is objective.

April 14, 2018 by Macy Ledbetter

“Back in the day” antlerless harvest was not only unpopular, but also downright illegal in some areas.  Many areas of North America still have permit-only antlerless harvest due to low populations so why all the fuss about why to harvest female deer?

This article is more about the HOW and not the WHY of harvesting antlerless deer.  We know why we harvest females—to help lower the population and keep the herd in balance as best we can; but the how sometimes gets lost or foggy and so perhaps we can clear the muddy waters a bit here.

December 07, 2017 by Macy Ledbetter

Deer hunters hunt for many different reasons, that is understandable and hard to argue with.  What about trying to produce the bucks with the largest racks possible for hunting purposes?

June 15, 2017 by Macy Ledbetter

Who out there can honestly say that deer antlers don’t get them excited?  Whether we manage deer as a profession or a passion, growing bucks with the big antlers is on our minds somewhere down the line.  From the earliest drawings of our ancestors on cave walls, we have always had a fascination with antlers–their size, their shape, their oddities, their growth.  Why else would we get up well before daylight and brave the harsh elements to pursue antlers and their owners?

February 13, 2017 by Macy Ledbetter

Hunters are faced with this dilemma each time a group of deer present themselves for harvest. This article is to help you answer this question once and for all.

January 23, 2017 by Macy Ledbetter

For those choosing spotlight surveys this year, consider the following tips:

September 13, 2016 by Macy Ledbetter

What, exactly, is the rut in whitetail deer and why do hunters enjoy it so much? What causes the normally secretive and elusive mature bucks to temporarily lose their minds and wander out into a wide open field during the hunting season? In this two part series, we will take a deeper look into the science and biology of this incredible, annual, phenomenon hunters call “the rut”.

June 03, 2016 by Macy Ledbetter

Every deer hunter worth his salt knows that hunting during the rut is likely the best time to harvest a mature buck. Last issue, we explored the mechanics and biology behind the rut and why and how it makes mature bucks do the silly things they do and therefore makes them vulnerable to your weapon of choice. This issue, let’s discuss HOW deer managers can use the rut to their benefit to help them manage their deer herd.

May 17, 2016 by Macy Ledbetter

How many times have you heard someone say that they would love to see a pasture full of 180” deer? As a private consulting biologist, I hear it often and usually just nod my head when I hear it. Not that growing 180” deer isn’t possible in your pasture, it is very possible. But what may not be possible is producing the proverbial “pasture full” of them.

January 13, 2016 by Macy Ledbetter

At this time of year, I get many inquiries about what projects there are to help the deer and deer hunting for the fall.  Deer season and growing big antlers happens in a small percentage of the available time and you have to work smart and hard when the time comes. And now is the time.