By Brandon Ray

Rut Reporter Brandon Ray is an expert on the region. Ray was born in Dallas and shot his first deer with a bow in Central Texas at the age of 15. The full-time freelance writer manages his family’s Texas Panhandle ranch, is a licensed New Mexico guide, and last year took a 184 gross P&Y non-typical trophy. States covered: TX, OK, NM.

Dec. 21--Overall Activity Status: As we get closer to the New Year and winter sets in, I’m seeing more deer visiting corn feeders and food plots. In my backyard in the Texas Panhandle, both mule deer and whitetails are regular visitors at two feed troughs I keep filled with corn and alfalfa hay. I monitor both with trail cameras. Most of the older bucks wait till after dark to visit. I feed through the winter, to help the deer when native browse is limited, snow gets deep, temperatures drop, and to help bucks recover from the stress of the rut. It’s also a good time to take inventory and see which bucks are still alive. Gives me a chance to locate a good buck to watch for come next season.

My friend Shawn in western Oklahoma told me just the other day he saw a big 10-point dogging a doe. Seems late for rut activity up there, but he saw what he saw. The pair were only 100 yards from his pickup, darting back and forth like cutting horses, but cared less about the truck. The buck was one Shawn knew well. A big 10-point that would score over 150, but now his rack is busted up. He should be a stud next year.

Rubs: I found one new rub this week, about 100 yards from one of those feed areas. It was a small mesquite tree shredded from top to bottom.
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By Brandon Ray

Rut Reporter Brandon Ray is an expert on the region. Ray was born in Dallas and shot his first deer with a bow in Central Texas at the age of 15. The full-time freelance writer manages his family’s Texas Panhandle ranch, is a licensed New Mexico guide, and last year took a 184 gross P&Y non-typical trophy. States covered: TX, OK, NM.

Dec. 16--Overall Activity Status: This week, I consulted with half a dozen hunting buddies to get a feel for hunting action from north to south in the region. While the hard rut action seems to be winding down in the northern half of Texas, that does not mean the hunting is slow. Cold weather has deer moving good. One friend reported seeing half a dozen decent bucks at a corn feeder. These bucks were regulars there before the rut, but vanished when they started to chase. Now they seem to be back in their old routine, eating corn, to some degree.

In Central Texas, still some good rut action. One friend reports that he’s seeing bucks from his bow stands, but they aren’t going to the feeders. Just trailing does that pass through. Rattling is still a good tactic in that area.

And in deep South Texas, we are just starting prime time. Expect the next two weeks to be best dates for seeing mature bucks in daylight. One friend reported seeing multiple small bucks bird-dogging does in the brush country, but no whoppers in the chase yet. This pre-rut phase would be a good time to try rattling in South Texas counties.
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By Brandon Ray

Rut Reporter Brandon Ray is an expert on the region. Ray was born in Dallas and shot his first deer with a bow in Central Texas at the age of 15. The full-time freelance writer manages his family’s Texas Panhandle ranch, is a licensed New Mexico guide, and last year took a 184 gross P&Y non-typical trophy. States covered: TX, OK, NM.

Dec. 3--Overall Activity Status: From what I’ve seen and heard from other hunters across the region, the rut is at or very near its frenzied peak in Central and North Texas right now. That’s close to the year-to-year average in both regions. Typically, the week before Thanksgiving through the first week in December is prime time to catch bucks moving in daylight, chasing does, trailing does, breeding does or just acting plain goofy!

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By Brandon Ray

Rut Reporter Brandon Ray is an expert on the region. Ray was born in Dallas and shot his first deer with a bow in Central Texas at the age of 15. The full-time freelance writer manages his family’s Texas Panhandle ranch, is a licensed New Mexico guide, and last year took a 184 gross P&Y non-typical trophy. States covered: TX, OK, NM.

Nov. 29: What is a trophy? Is it all about big racks and inches? Does the overall experience factor in? Do the people you shared the hunt with matter more than what wears your tags? It’s an old cliché, but the trophy is truly in the eyes of the beholder.

Every summer, I sit down and set personal goals for my hunting season. One was to shoot a deer with my longbow.

The longbow was built by Mike Brattain in Raton, New Mexico, owner and bowyer at Double BB Bows. It’s a beautiful three-piece, take-down longbow that measures 62-inches. It draws 48 pounds at 28 inches as smooth as any stickbow I own. Coupled with Gold Tip Pro Hunter 35/55 carbon shafts, fletched with three, five inch feathers and tipped with 2-bladed German Kinetics broadheads, it shoots sweet. Total arrow weight is 475 grains. Shooting that bow, I set a personal limitation of 20 yards max for a shot at a deer.
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By Brandon Ray

Rut Reporter Brandon Ray is an expert on the region. Ray was born in Dallas and shot his first deer with a bow in Central Texas at the age of 15. The full-time freelance writer manages his family’s Texas Panhandle ranch, is a licensed New Mexico guide, and last year took a 184 gross P&Y non-typical trophy. States covered: TX, OK, NM.

Overall Activity Status Nov. 18: It’s been cold in the northern half of my region (NM, TX and OK). This morning, Nov 18, it was 28 degrees in Amarillo with frost on the ground. Deer were moving everywhere. I watched one buck cut across a CRP field at daybreak. He looked like a steam engine with clouds of smoke bellowing from his nose and mouth as he chugged across the open grass for some cover in a nearby canyon.

Yesterday morning, below freezing temps also, friend Chad Hammer hammered his best-ever buck in the TX Panhandle. Chad had an elevated view over a creek bottom. The first deer he saw that morning was this heavy-horned 9-point. The buck was alone, but had his nose to the ground in that classic bird dog fashion, either following the scent... [ Read Full Post ]

By Brandon Ray

Rut Reporter Brandon Ray is an expert on the region. Ray was born in Dallas and shot his first deer with a bow in Central Texas at the age of 15. The full-time freelance writer manages his family’s Texas Panhandle ranch, is a licensed New Mexico guide, and last year took a 184 gross P&Y non-typical trophy. States covered: TX, OK, NM.

Overall Activity Status: Apparently, this is the year all of my friends are going to shoot their best-ever bucks! In just the last week, three good friends have shot huge, free-ranging giants. The most recent is a massive buck taken by Kelley Sims. Kelley shot his heavy-horned giant on November 15 early in the morning. The buck was trolling along a Panhandle river bottom, looking for does, when he stopped in an opening by the creek 175 yards away. Kelley was spying on the river bottom’s morning deer movement from a high mesa. Kelley’s .270 Weatherby Magnum put a 140 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet square in the buck’s chest, dropping him instantly. [ Read Full Post ]