How to Grow Big Bucks Texas Style
How We Judged the Bucks’ Antler Sizes
 Editor’s
Note: Today, the concept of trophy-deer management or
quality-deer management is learned from how deer are
managed in Texas. To raise trophy deer like Texans do
on the land you hunt, you’ll need a lot of money,
plenty of land and numbers of trophy deer. This week,
we’ll take a look at Texas deer management, where
I hunted with Trijicon, a company that provides aiming
solutions for hunters, law enforcement and the military
with its various rifle scopes. Trijicon is supporter
of the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org),
giving a portion of each sale of Trijicon to this organization.
 When
I arrived at the Duval County Ranch in Duval County,
Texas, I wanted to resight-in my Remington .270. Although
I’d sighted it in before I left home, my gun case
had been through three-different airports before arriving
at the ranch. When I shot my rifle, it was still 2-inches
high at 100 yards, which would allow me to hold dead-on
from 0 to 200 yards. Every morning and afternoon that
I hunted with my guide, Douglas Kubetka, we saw plenty
of bucks with antlers that would have scored from 120
to 130 and several bucks that would have scored more
than 145. Every hunter at Duval County Ranch hunts with
a guide because the guide can score the deer in the
field. Unlike deer in other parts of the country, most
of these deer are small, weighing 150 pounds or less,
with the average deer weighing about 120 pounds. So,
when you see a deer with a 130-size rack on a 120-pound
body, his rack looks much bigger. Remember, if you shoot
a buck that scores better than 145 on the Boone &
Crockett scale (B&C), you’ll have to pay $200
an inch for every inch of rack over 145. The guides
are a big help in judging the bucks and preventing hunters
from making a mistake in judging the bucks’ antlers.
On the next-to-the-last day of the hunt, I saw seven
bucks. The biggest buck would have scored about 175
B&C. His rack looked wider than a major interstate,
and each tine appeared to stand up taller than the Statue
of Liberty. Without question, this buck was an awesome
12 point and one of the biggest bucks I’d ever
seen, but my wallet couldn’t afford the asking
price to take that buck. However, I saw an 8-point buck
that would have scored close to 145 that I really wanted
to take. At first, Kubetka said I could take him. Then
as I started to get my rifle up, Kubetka told me to
hold off for one minute. As Kubetka  studied
the buck with my Alpen binoculars, he said, “That
buck may be 147 to 150, John. Unless you’re willing
to open your wallet, don’t shoot that buck.”
I have to admit, my heart kind of sank a little bit.
This was a big, beautiful buck, almost within harvestable
range. However, I didn’t think my wife would understand
me paying $200 an inch for antlers.
 “There’s
another nice buck you can take,” Kubetka said.
“I know he’s within harvestable range.”
I have to admit I wasn’t nearly as excited about
the second 8 point as I was the first 8 point that would
have scored over 145 or the big buck that would have
scored about 175. But I was on the hunt to take a management
buck, and the buck Kubetka picked out for me would be
within the harvest prescription. I waited until the
buck was within 75 yards of my shooting house, aimed
a little low on the buck’s front shoulder with
my Trijicon riflescope and squeezed the trigger. The
buck sat down and fell over backwards. “Put another
round in your chamber, in case the buck decides to get
up,” Kubetka coached. But the buck never got back
up. My hunt was over. Kubetka was very helpful as we
shot photos of not only my buck, but other bucks taken
on the hunt. Every hunter on our hunt bagged a buck
and saw bucks above and below the slot. Feral hogs and
several javelinas (pig-like animals native to the deserts
of the southwestern US) were also taken. The food was
delicious, the accommodations were great, and I made
two new friends – Douglas Kubetka and David Killam,
whose family owns the ranch.
For more information about the Duval County Ranch,
call David Kitner at (361) 394-6313, or visit www.duvalcountyranch.com,
or email DCR@wildblue.net.
To learn more about Trijicon, go to www.trijicon.com.
Tomorrow: How to Judge the Buck’s Age by Studying Him
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