Brown and Down… In Brown, County That Is! - Larry Weishuhn

Tall bluestem hid the buck’s running body.  But it did not hide his rack.  It seemed to float just above the wall of grass.  A mere glimpse was all I needed to know not only was it a buck but one with extremely long browtines.  His “dogcathers” had to be at least eight-inches long, if not longer.  They were so tall, they nearly reached the top his long profiled back points.  Brow tines of that length are rare no matter where one hunts white-tailed deer.  And, I had hunted America’s deer from the far reaches of the provincial forests in northern Canada to the shrub deserts of Mexico. This buck had my attention.

My .270 Win rifle came to shoulder.  I followed the bobbing buck’s head and rack, his body totally obscured by grass.  No way to take a shot.  I took “the no shot time” to study the buck’s rack.  It stood tall above his head and appeared rather massive.  I could eight total points.  That was important.  My agreement with the landowner and his manager who stood at my side was I could shoot any mature 8-point buck we saw, long as I had the manager’s blessing.  As the buck ran I could see from the jowls under his chin the buck was mature, likely at least five-years old. 

Tall browtines on whitetail bucks has long been a “weakness” of mine.  Over the years I have taken a fair share of big antlered bucks in the South Texas Brush Country and rolling hills and plains north of Abilene, as well as in several other states, Mexico and Canada. Always I had searched for a buck with long browtines.  Never in all my hunts had I seen browtines as long as this quickly departing buck wore.

Years earlier as wildlife biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department I worked with Larry Holland in Brown and surrounding counties conducting game surveys, meeting with landowners to help them with their management programs.  This before the turn of the century.  During my time in the area I learned to truly appreciate its wildlife, habitat and the residents.

During the middle 1980’s I met Brownwood resident, Jay Timmins.  Jay back then owned a local beer distributorship, but also a great ranch in Brown County.  Jay among other things helped us when we first started the Texas Wildlife Association (www.texas-wildife.org) back in 1985. I occasionally got to hunt his property in the presence of his wildlife manager, Chuck Dalchau a long time friend and fellow biologist.

Under Chuck’s wildlife leadership we used to tease regarding taking does on the Timmins Ranch to keep the population in check with the available browse and feed, “if it’s brown it’s down in Brown!”  Harvesting the proper number of does each fall, as well as bucks with specific antler styles was a big part of their ongoing management program.  That was how I happened to be hunting with Chuck on Jay’s ranch.  Back then, beyond working as a wildlife management consultant, I also served as a staff writer with many different hunting and shooting publications including “Deer & Deer Hunting”, “Shooting Times” and numerous others.  As such, I was always looking for “material” to write about.

The long-brow tined buck disappeared into heavy cover.  “I know that buck.  He usually shows up in the evening at in the creek bottom food plot. Let’s go drag a few logs together, add some cedar to make a natural ground blind on west side of the food plot.  We’ll have the sun at our back.  If he shows up where I have seen him in the past, you should have about hundred yards shot.  Might want to use your Thompson/Center handgun.  I’ve seen you shoot it in the past!”  I liked how Chuck thought.  I dearly love hunting whitetail deer and back then hunted a lot with various handguns, using handloads with Hornady bullets I could easily shoot less than 2-inch groups at 100-yards.

We were secreted in our comfortable ground blind by three o’clock.  The front log was perfect for a handgun rest, like shooting off of a solid bench.  We had been there about thirty minutes, when Chuck nudged me and pointed to my left. “Big 8-point, has long browtines.  Looking at his body, he’s at least five if not six years old.”  I did not raise by binos to have a better look. I simply pointed my handgun in the direction of the buck, rested it on the log, found the buck in my 2.5x long-eye-relief scope, and started settling crosshairs on the buck’s shoulder.  “That’s one to shoot. If you’ve got a solid shot taken him.” Whispered Chuck.

My crosshairs were solidly on the bucks slightly quartering to shoulder.  I cocked the hammer, took a deep breath, let it all out and started squeezing the trigger. I lost my sight picture when the handgun recoiled.  “He’s hit solidly!” said Chuck.  I quickly broke open the action, removed the spent case and shoved another round in the barrel.  We watched him run toward the tall grass bordering the filed.  “He’s going down in the tall grass. You go find him.  I’ll stay here to point you in the right direction.”

I found my buck twenty-five steps into the chest high grass.  At his side, he indeed had long browtines, later they measured over 9-inches long.  And, he had more than 8 points, which we could not see until up close, including several around his bases and brows.  The buck was truly majestic!  Today the mount occupies a place of honor on my office wall. There it brings back many great memories of when Chuck and I had a “if it’s brown its down in Brown…County” attitude.

Interestingly during the years that followed many ranches throughout Brown and surrounding counties have established and maintain wildlife management programs. And, those are not just for whitetail deer; butterflies, songbirds and other wildlife species small and large have greatly benefited from those efforts.  Even more important, the habitat has benefitted.