Pauns cactus bucks?

txhunter58 · Aug 17, 2024

Getting tired of chasing regular deer units and wondering what can be expected from the cactus buck hunt. Success rates are 40-60% which is decent, but curious if most of those are smallish or are some decent sized bucks killed? I don’t need a 180” buck to be satisfied. Just a decent cactus buck would be interesting. Or do most people just shoot the first buck in velvet they see?

I have done a search and seen some decent bucks were killed in the past. Is that consistent or has quality gone down over time?

Also success rates were in the 60% range. Now in 40-45% range last couple of years. Is this a real downward trend, or just a couple of down years?

Vanilla · Aug 17, 2024

I think big/giant cactus bucks are the exception, not the rule.

And heaven help us if we have to have a discussion about the “quality” of the cactus buck population and if it’s going down.

txhunter58 · Aug 17, 2024

True that.

I guess I’m just mainly wondering if the numbers are being thinned down over time. Dont want to spend my points on an 25% success hunt. And are essentially all the bucks over yearling stage now being killed each year. Or are they here for evermore?

elkantlers · Aug 17, 2024

I hunted the Paunsagunt a couple years ago and saw several hundred different bucks and only 1 cactus buck.

Vanilla · Aug 17, 2024

I think the pic elkantkers shared is about “the best” you realistically should expect.

But again, this hunt is not about “trophy” cactus bucks.

If I were doing this hunt I would go into it with the mindset of hunting a really cool place and killing a buck strictly for management purposes only. It is way more about where you are hunting than what.

If you’re looking for something different than that, don’t burn your points. You’ll be disappointed.

slamdunk · Aug 18, 2024

It's a tougher hunt than you might expect.
The majority of cactus bucks reside on private lands within Johnson Getting permission is the key.
The PLO's generally have one particular buck on their land but usually already have given someone permission to harvest it.

Personally, I wouldn't waste my time on this hunt again, the size of the bucks aren't worth it.

Bwht4x4 · Aug 18, 2024

elkantlers said:
I hunted the Paunsagunt a couple years ago and saw several hundred different bucks and only 1 cactus buck.

View attachment 154511

Same here. Had the muzzy tag in 2022 and only saw one small cactus buck.

txhunter58 · Aug 18, 2024

Thanks guys. Just frustrated. Will prob look elsewhere

It’s just that Pickens is pretty slim for those with less than 25 points

rmanwill · Aug 18, 2024

I would guess that a good 180 cactus buck would be taken by a handful of general hunters. They wouldn't just let him walk for the cactus buck hunter.

jester · Aug 18, 2024

Every cactus buck I saw over the years on Pauns the were dinks..
Jester

SanPitch · Aug 19, 2024

I have seen plenty of cactus bucks on the pauns, but most of them only grow to be about the size of the one elkantlers posted. Wether they are young or old they just don’t get big, May have a lot of points but often small framed, you would have much better odds finding a 180 buck on the worst LE unit in the state than trying to find a 180 cactus buck. But with that said, there is some cool cactus bucks to be had. Here’s ones of the biggest ones I’ve seen/ has on cam on the pauns. Biggest body I’ve ever seen

Blank · Aug 19, 2024

When I hunted the muzzy hunt a couple years ago, I probably saw well over 100 bucks, but never a cactus buck. Scouted 4 days before, then the entire season.