From Across the Red
Larry Weishuhn
“Are you really going to try to rattle a buck across the Red River from Oklahoma into Texas?” Asked Dusty Vickrey, manager of Oklahoma’s Choctaw Hunting Lodge as we were discussing the hunt I was headed to after leaving on of my favorite places on Earth.
“Yes Sir, I am going to do my best to do just that!” I replied. That statement set the stage for what followed.
I was fortunate to spend time in northern Texas as a wildlife biologist and hunting in south-central Oklahoma a few miles north of the Red River which forms the border between our two States. I knew there was a really good deer population both north and south of the Red River, just west of Lake Texoma. I had hunted Brett Addison’s ranch years ago just north of the Red River. I took two bucks hunting with Brett. Both grossed over 170 B&C. In the past I had also conducted deer census surveys in Texas just south of Oklahoma. I had seen some outstanding whitetails. Ever since I yearned to hunt adjacent to the Red River on the Texas
Finally, my opportunity came this fall. Luke Clayton, co-host of our weekly “A Sportsman’s Life” CarbonTV.com TV show, introduced me Matt Brown who had decided to lease his land for deer hunting. It took but a couple of calls to reach an agreement. Other lease members include father and son, Paul and Colin Moore, Ricky Ballenger and family members of the Moore family. Paul is the primary owner and innovator of Vineyard Max, the fabulous deer bait made of hammer-milled dried grape skins, rice bran and chopped corn which attracts deer but is also nutritionally good for them. Colin designs deer feeders for Vineyard Max which also markets a variety of quality wildlife products. Ricky Ballenger, along with Kurt English are partners in the Vineyard Max (www.vineyardmax.net).
For years Matt operated an extremely successful bird hunting operation and trained some of the best bird dogs in North America. He also spent years on the professional rodeo circuit. He had restricted deer hunting on his property had for many years to only family and a couple of close friends. His decision to lease his land to deer hunters was not an easy one.
I was thrilled he leased his property to our group of hunters.
The Red River forms the property’s northern boundary. Matt plants his fields for hay and forage for cattle grazing, but deer absolutely loves what he plants. He works continually at improving the wildlife habitat including native grasses and forbs. This combination results in a large resident and part-time population of whitetails.
Beyond the great hunting Paul and his crew also saw the lease as an opportunity to continue field-testing their products, develop new products and to prove the worth of using their Vineyard Max deer attractant in areas where there are no grapes, rice or for that matter corn.
Soon as I arrived I started putting Vineyard Max in areas where there were no existing raided deer stands, what a game warden friend of mine from New Mexico refers to as “outhouses in the sky”. My goal was to draw deer into areas I wanted to hunt while not affecting those who hunted from deer blinds over automatic corn feeders, legal in Texas.
Paul and Colin moved several existing deer blinds and feeders to the Red River from their previous lease in the Texas Hill Country. Colin did a stellar job of placing those blinds where most of the leased property is covered and there is a safe distance between them. In his doing so he also left substantial areas between the “stands”.
Essentially the ranch is divided in several pastures that are laid out with an east and west side to the lease. Raised blinds were set up in the extreme corners of the pasture next to the river, leaving a sizeable area between those two. This is where I put Vineyard Max. I wanted to bait the area for a day or so, then return to rattle. This same technique had served me well in the past.
Previous to my hunt, I spent time asking many questions of the owner about where deer moved, trails they took to the forage fields. Matt graciously answered my questions.
Third day of my hunt I spent all day hunting but about 30-minutes. I would not have returned to camp had it not been I needed to make a business phone calls. There was no cell service where I was hunting.
Before first light morning of November 22nd, I was set up on the ground, my back against a a tree near where I had been putting out Vineyard Max. I expected to see several does as the morning progressed. But, I saw only three does and their five fawns. Also, I did rattle in five bucks, including one missing his entire left antler and most of his of his right, no doubt a serious fighter. A really nice 8-point responded as well. He looked to be a year away from greatness. The other three bucks were relatively young. All had approached to within less than 10-yards.
I briefly saw a 10-point buck chasing a doe at 11:00 am. I saw him just long enough to determine he was a young buck. I settled back against my tree, tripod set up in front of me holding my Mossberg Patriot with it’s custom Thunder Valley Precision (www.thundervalleyprecision.com) Avient Rapid Heat Releasing Barrel Technology system barrel, topped with a Stealth Vision 3-18×44 SVT scope. Chambered in 7mm PRC shooting Hornady’s Precision Hunter 175-grain ELD-X, the combination is superbly accurate from 100 to 1,200-yard. With it I have shot 3-inch outside 5-shot groups at 1,200, as well as essentially same hole accuracy at 100 out to 500-yards. I have shot that rifle/scope/ammo combination a fair amount and know that could kill a deer at beyond 1,000-yards. But that is not what I am about when it comes to hunting. I shoot at those extreme long-ranges so when hunting I crawl to within less than 100-yards of my quarry I know I can precisely place my Hornady bullet into the vitals and quickly and humanely put down the animal. Do not get me wrong, I truly enjoy shooting steel at long range, but when it comes to hunting, I want to get a close as earthly possible before pulling the trigger.
It was almost exactly 12 noon when I picked up “my horns” to rattle. I know they are not true horns, and are antlers! I said a short prayer, then crashed the horns together as loud as possible. Immediately I spotted movement in the river bottom running my way. On the edge of the river bottom briars formed a wall. The buck stopped behind it. I could tell he was mature because of his thick neck and I could see dark hocks, a sure sign of being at least four years of age. I could smell his musky odor. He stared through the maze of briars. I positioned my rifle to shoulder. He turned to walk away. I grunted, he turned and walked back to almost the same spot. I could see he had both antlers, good mass with a 20-inch outside spread. I wanted him! Now only if I could get a clear shot.
Thanks to the quality of my scope I was able to find a small window in the wall of briars to place a bullet through. I took a deep breath, released it, then squeezed the trigger. The buck shuddered, turned and staggered to my left. I cycled the bolt and sent another Hornady 175-grain ELD-X bullet his way through the briars. I bolted in a third round as was about to shoot another time, but he was now behind an impenetrable wall of briars and brush. I watched as he ran about twenty steps farther into the river bottom, then fell.
Before walking toward where he lay I replenished my rifle’s magazine.
I had been filming all the bucks coming in and my hunt for an episode for our weekly “A Sportsman’s Life” show on CarbonTV.com. Unfortunately, my buck had happened so quickly I could not get the camera set up to record. I had a choice to hunt or film…I did not get the buck charging in or the kill shot, just footage of other bucks coming horns, and the recovery of my buck.
At his side I was tremendously pleased I decided to take the buck. His teeth revealed he was a 6-year old, a basic 9-point with an interesting extra point near his brow tine, plus two basal points with a 20-inches outside spread. He weighed 187-pounds intact, a great “real” whitetail buck!
Did my buck cross the Red River from Oklahoma into Texas? I cannot say for certain but he came from the river and his legs were wet up to his brisket. The Red River is the only water in the area. What do you think?
I have long been a firm believer in hunting during mid-day. That said, I know recent research in several states shows deer are diurnal, meaning they move almost exclusively at first and last light and are not affected in any way by the moon. Indeed, they do move early and late in the day…but…many decades of hunting as well as being a professional wildlife biologist with over 50 years of experience and lots of professional observance, I must tell you I have taken most of my biggest antlered, mature bucks during the hours of 10 am till about 2 pm.
Frankly I hope most all deer hunters strongly believe whitetail deer only move early morning and late afternoon and they hunt accordingly, leaving me alone in the deer woods during mid-day!
Our lease is in a Texas county where there is a one buck which must have a 13-inch inside spread, plus a spike buck bag limit. Two does may also be taken. I plan on returning to the Red River lease to take two does during the late antlerless season in January. When I return I will be hunting with my Taurus Raging Hunter handguns loaded with Hornady ammo. While there I’ll spend considerable time doing some more scouting, trying to find areas where I can hunt without disturbing others on the lease who hunt from established blinds.
I can hardly wait to return to the lease for the 2026 Texas whitetail hunting season!