Budget Buck
With a little creativity (and a spare washer and dryer), a new Texan finds a place to hunt.
By Seth Driskell
Photos by Seth Driskell
Finding a place to hunt on private land can be like striking gold — and cost almost as much. When I moved to Texas from my home state of Florida in December 2021, I knew no one. I have always loved hunting, fishing and being in the outdoors, and I assumed nothing would change when we moved to Texas. That assumption turned out to be wrong.
While Florida and Texas have some things in common, I had to get used to the many differences as well. I learned that many of my new friends and co-workers had hunted their whole lives, but never out of a tree stand. I grew up using climber stands to scale pine trees — swaying in the wind at the top of a ladder stand. They had mostly sat in box blinds or tripod stands because pine trees are simply absent from the terrain of mesquites and prickly pears. Instead of hunting on public land, many locals utilized the private property of a friend or family member.
In the time I had been in Texas, I had fallen in love with the state's nature. I visited Copper Breaks, Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyons state parks. We camped under the stars, and I could feel myself becoming part of the landscape. I wanted to see all of it, to know it and to protect it. I think this is where my growing desire to hunt came from.
I had a friend and co-worker who offered me hunting permission on his cow lease. It was about 200 acres, and he was asking a thousand dollars for the year. While many of you may have jumped at this opportunity, my wife and I had just bought a house and were strapped for cash. I told him I couldn't afford it. But I couldn't stop thinking about those 200 acres.
When we moved into our new house, we found that the old owner had left a perfectly good washer and dryer. My wife and I already owned a relatively new washer and dryer, and finding myself with two sets of appliances, I got an idea. I approached my friend with a proposition. I would trade him one set, which was worth about what he wanted for the lease, for a year of hunting access. He agreed, and we shook hands on it the next day.
The small lease turned out to be full of dove and white-tailed deer. We hunted dove on opening day in September, and by November, I was ready for deer. I scouted the property and saw how and when the deer moved across it. The place is pretty thick with mesquite trees, and they offered adequate cover. I sat with my back against several different trees until I found one where I could see everything from a good angle. One evening, a buck came within 150 yards. He looked as though he had been eating well all year. When I took aim, I found that my arms and rifle were under some type of spell. I couldn't get them to hold steady. I was so shaky, I had to forgo the shot. I bought a shooting stick the next day.
I went back to the same place the following morning and I saw a six-point with a narrow inside spread. I let him walk, and I was excited at all the buck activity I was seeing. That evening is when I saw my eight-point. While he was not the most impressive specimen, to me, he was perfect — the symmetry of his antlers, the lean sinewy muscle, the sleek coat. I watched him through my scope for several minutes. He walked behind a mesquite, and I waited patiently for him to come out on the other side. The buck turned completely broadside, and he turned his head and looked right at me.
I made a good shot. The deer went about 10 yards before going down. I got him back to my house and processed him. This was only the second deer I had processed myself and I knew it to be a major undertaking. I tossed a rope over a sturdy tree limb in my backyard and hoisted the deer up with my truck. I used my knife and headlamp to dress the deer, and I separated and packaged all the meat. I didn't have a meat grinder, but my wife had a stand mixer, and I bought a meat grinding attachment for $50. Soon I had a freezer full of backstrap, shoulder roasts, burger meat and tenderloin. We made a venison roast with carrots and potatoes the next day and invited friends over. I cured the skin and made it into an accent rug under a reading chair in our living room. I watched videos on YouTube and made the skull into a European mount.
This whole experience didn't come at great cost to me. I didn't buy any expensive equipment, I didn't pay for a high-end lease, and I didn't plant any food plots. I didn't use a game camera or feeder, and I didn't pay to have the deer processed or taxidermied. If I can do it, anyone can. I did it all with little previous experience. If you are willing to put in the effort, time, research and scouting, you never know what opportunities will open up for you.
If you don't have a spare washer and dryer, there are other ways to find affordable hunting opportunities. Check out our Hunting 101 offerings on the TPWD website to get started.
