I moved out here about 3 months ago for work and was wanting to get back into some bird/deer hunting. Any advice as far as where to go/who to talk to would be much obliged. Thanks

That's going to be a little difficult to break into, but not impossible. Start with the folks you work with, see if they are on a bird lease and ask if they have a spot for another gun. Dove and blue quail hunting out here is serious business. There are plenty of guys who live for bird hunting and will pay top dollar for large tracts of land. They have to have large properties to hunt blue quail using the "Midland Loop" or circle style hunting. It is a fun way to hunt. There are some places where you can day hunt for dove. K Bar Ranch south of Odessa and Dove Acres in Midland come to mind. These places usually advertise in the Thrifty Nickel. Deer hunting locally has really grown lately. The deer are relatively sparse because there just is not a whole lot of food and water. I know K Bar does some deer and exotic hunts, but other than that, you are looking at driving to Glasscock, Sterling, Reagan, Upton or Crockett Counties for white tail. Gains and Andrews Counties have tremendous muley's and have been getting big demand and big money lately for them. You might find a mule deer lease in Reeves or Pecos Counties. Check the news papers, Thrifty Nickel and feed store bulletin boards. Check out the West Texas Safari Club.

By the way, if you wound up in Midland or Odessa there is a good chance that you work in an oil or gas related job. This could lead to some contact with land owners. Do you mind if I ask where you work?

[This message has been edited by 89FordAg (edited 5/11/2010 5:29p).]

Man I appreciate the very detailed information. I started on with Key Energy 3 months ago. You in the oil field business?

I'm an oil & gas lawyer with a solo practice. What do you do for Key? If you have an excuse to join the Permian Basin Landman Association, it is a really good place to meet some folks. They do some fun stuff and have a really good sporting clays shoot. That brings to mind a few other places you should check out: Midland Shooters Association (rifle & pistol range), Windwalker Farms and Jake's Clays (sporting clays). Check the bulletin boards in those places.

Sterling City - Robert Lee area has some very good deer hunting and is an easy drive. Focus on that area for deer and you will be happy with what you find.

I was on a lease there and loved it. Bought a great ranch down there and it was a dream place. Lost it in some adverse legal proceedings....

You could find some day leases for dove in the St. Lawrence area (south of Garden City). Try and find some farmer contacts down there to hunt the sunflower patches.