Need West Texas outfitters names

boot · Jan 28, 2005

Anyone know of a good mule deer outfitter hunting the west Texas area?

george · Jan 28, 2005

LAST EDITED ON Jan-28-05 AT 12:07PM (MST)[p]Don't waste your money, save up and go to Mexico. If you have to have a Texas Mule Deer check out the Palo Duro Canyon area, just outside Amarillo. They are shotting bigger and bigger Mule Deer every year.

BigPig · Jan 28, 2005

I killed a real nice buck off the Palo Duro this last year. Look for it in an upcoming issue of Muley Crazy. PM me for details. By no means is it a waste of time. But if you truly want your best chance at a monster, go to Sonora, Mexico.

boot · Jan 28, 2005

Know of any outfitters in this area.I've heard of some monsters coming out of the chili pepper fields bordering NM.But have the sameproblem,don't know of anyone to contact.Would love to hunt sonora,but can't afford it.---Boot

ICMDEER · Jan 28, 2005

I'm going to take 4 hunters down there this fall. Last month, we took 4 people on a ranch I'm leasing. We got 4 real solid bucks. The best was 28" with a cheater and the next was a solid 26" buck with a cheater as well. The other bucks were 4 points (western), but mature bucks with good mass. It was a good and fun hunt. Nice brush country and from a Wyoming guy, the deer were better than I expected. I don't want to advertise on MM, but if you want some details, shoot me a PM and I'll let you know what I've found out about west Texas, both on what we are doing and some other choices.

Jim

OnTarget · Jan 28, 2005

LAST EDITED ON Jan-28-05 AT 06:30PM (MST)[p]Try Rich Laroco at www.hunts.net
These bucks were taken in West Texas

Justin
www.huntinco.com

hunttx · Jan 30, 2005

I wouldn't say that all Texas mule deer hunting is a waste of time - we've taken some real toads over the past few years, some were posted on here from time to time. The gross scores of the deer I have personally taken the last 7 years are 208" (197" main frame), 205" (201" main frame), 199", 197", 189 7/8", 176" (30",>6" bases, 2 drop tines), 176" (net 172" typical). Some other bucks that a couple of friends of mine hunting the same ranches are 208" (33"),207" (this year, 7" bases), 196", 189" (net 186" typical), several 31"-33" bucks in the 170" class. However, there is only one outfitter in our area and he is rebooked each year by the same guys and will probably remain that way for some time - all of the other land is leased by the landowners directly to the hunters and all that is good is pretty much tied up. There are a few ranches nearby that outfitters pick up each year (for 1 year only), they screw 5 or 6 hunters for big money by showing off pics of bucks we've taken "just down the road", knowing their ranch has no deer - usually not a pretty site (the hunters) after 5 days hunting with no deer seen. Texas mule deer hunting as a whole is improving each year - just take a look at the Texas Big Game Awards website for the past couple of years - also keep in mind that alot of the best bucks each year are not entered to keep down the publicity and prices. Watch out for the pic from the post above also - the big deer in the pic is a bruiser, but 99% of the deer taken in that area are similiar to the small one in the pic. In a nutshell, there are some incredible trophy mule deer in a few hotspots in Texas, there are alot of ranches/outfitters with average deer (150"-170"), and also there are alot of people getting screwed each year for alot of money by guys trying to make a dollar. If they are having to advertise to sell hunts, then it's probably not much good. The best ranches/outfitters have no problem keeping their existing hunters.

george · Jan 30, 2005

Texas mule deer hunting is much like Texas whitetail hunting. There are areas with some of the best hunting in the world, but those areas are typically leased up and are going to remain leased up for years to come. When they do come available and there is not a waiting list the rancher/farmer realizes what he has and knows how much money he can charge. The Texas mule deer season last somewhere around two weeks and I have heard of lease going for 2500/person to 8000/person and this in not even in the prime areas. These lease are betweeen the the towns of Sanderson and go as far west as Fort Hancock. It seems to me that the mule deer out west, like I am speaking of, are of the desert variety. The deer in the panhandle are of a totally different variety. I have come to the realization that for the money you can spend for a yearly lease hunting whitetail or muledeer in Texas it is better to save my money and go out west, either on my own or with a guide, and maybe have an opportunity to shot a real B&C trophy. I understand that many people hunt for the campionship and the bonding that goes on around the deer camp and that is one of the more important reasons to hunt. But in Texas the normal middle class hunter has been driven from the prime hunting areas and relagated to hunting the less than optimal areas and still forced to pay over 1000 per person. The price of hunting in Texas is going to keep going up and up until at some point most hunters are going to be driven form the sport or out of the State. Maybe at that time the price will begin to decrease and we can all enjoy hunting without having to work two jobs to afford it.

Texas_Hunter · Jan 31, 2005

I wouldn't trust Rich LaRocca as far as I could throw him....

We hunted with him last year as well as his consulting business, the lies he told about our hunt on his website are unreal. From the Success rates to the accomodations to what people passed up or for that matter got. There is another person on this website who would say the same. I killed a really good muley on the hunt, but everything about the hunt was a farse (I was just lucky). After seeing all of this and knowing what I know, how he can make certain claims are beyond me.

I would say buyer beware.

OnTarget · Jan 31, 2005

Texas_Hunter..
Sorry to hear you had a bad hunt with Rich. He has sent me a few hunters over the last few years & everyone has had nothing but good thing to say about his service
Justin
www.huntinco.com

boot · Jan 31, 2005

Thanks for the info.Got to put some thought into this.

thunter · Feb 6, 2005

Texas has some great mule deer in certain areas. Supply and demand in these areas and trust me the landowners know what they have and what they are worth.
There are some great deer in the Canyon and some way out West. Most of the good deer that come from way out west are from Hudspeth County. If you are willing to pay the money you may want to focus on areas that border Texas/New Mexico like Marathon, Tx. Get ready to grab you check book. Most trespass hunts run 2000-4000 and guided hunts from 3500-7500.