The luck of the draw - Thousands waiting to get in the hunt for big bucks at Chaparral

Written by Bill Miller

Thursday, 24 January 2008

David Synatzske has tried for 23 years to hunt deer on the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area in South Texas. Each year he is among at least 3,000 applicants for the 60 permits in the Quality Hunt program at the 15,200-acre property, known for its 150-class bucks. Which just shows that even the manager of a WMA — in this case, Synatzske — has to take his chances in the draw, just like everyone else. “We never have a surplus of permits, especially on the deer hunts,” Synatzske said. “We do have a standby program if someone doesn’t show up the morning of the hunt. “But it’s not unusual to have 100 people standing around waiting for a card. And the vast majority of them may have traveled more than 100 miles one way to get here.” Big deer are the big attraction, said hunter Darrell Lux of Lake Jackson, who on Jan. 5 was still hoping to bag a wall-hanger near the end of his five-day hunt. “I took my gun off safe this morning,” he said during a phone interview at the WMA office, “but the buck looked like he had a broken tine, so I let him pass. We’ll go out and try it again after lunch. “It’s good because these are the kind of deer rich people pay to hunt. But I’m a boilermaker at a refinery in Sweeny; I’m not rich.” The “Chap” is a former cattle ranch that spans La Salle and Dimmit counties, about 100 miles southwest of San Antonio. It was bought in 1969 from money raised through the Pittman-Robertson Act to become a research area for the Rio Grande Plains ecological area. But it’s now recognized as a premiere hunting destination, especially for the Quality Hunt program, which allows permit holders to pay a $125 fee to hunt five days. Synatzske, who also manages the James E. Daughtrey WMA near Cotulla, said the Chap is the state’s most popular property for public deer hunts. It frequently attracts the most permit applications, sometimes more than the next two popular WMAs combined, he said. About half of the hunters who draw permits in the Quality Hunt program fill their tags among the mesquite, prickly pear and tall native grasses, Synatzske said. Thick brush, the result of last year’s record rainfall, is where mature bucks can be found, Synatzske said. He noted that the biggest buck yet recorded on the WMA was shot on Jan. 3; the 11-pointer earned a Boone and Crockett score of 158. The WMA also offers about 100 archery deer permits, youth deer hunts, and public hunting for quail, dove, javelinas and coyotes. But whatever the quarry expect a challenge. The only baiting allowed is on some of the youth hunts. The game animals are nourished by what grows naturally there, and nothing else. “We take a holistic approach of management for diversity of wildlife and their habits,” Synatzske said. “We don’t plant and we don’t feed. “It’s a true hunting experience.”

Last Updated ( Thursday, 24 January 2008 )

 

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