Just received word that the lease I'm on this season is a type 3 MLD lease. Anyone have an idea what this type details?

It means that your lease's harvest is set by TPWD and you will receive buck and doe permits from them for you to take. You use these permits, and not your hunting license tags. Also, your season is, Oct. 3 - Feb. 28, any legal means. This means that, legally, you can hunt with a firearm during the entire season. All deer are loged into a harvest sheet with: age, sex, weight, # pts., date of kill, etc.

Your lease manager or owner should have all information that you will need.

Go to the TPWD website and you can find out more info, but this should help.

As a leasee, MLD level doesnt really matter. The only thing it will potentially effet is your ability to harvest antlerless in counties that have antlerless restrictions. It will also dictate when the open and close of season is for the ranch, and what type tags you use (you still need a valid hunting license). As a leasee MLD level doesnt really matter because typically your hunting restrictions are handed down by the landowner in your contract vs. by the state. Alot of different factros are used to determine MLD level ie size, fencing height, etc.

Thanks for the help

If you dont have anything in your contract about harvesting anterless, I would go run it past your landowner. I know we are typically more than happy to distribute our tags because even after giving many away we still come up short on guns. Cant hurt.

"even after giving many away we still come up short on guns."----That is one of the reasons we had a fair number of properties get knocked back a level (or 2 in some cases). They went for multiple years without getting remotely close to the recommended harvest.

I have heard that too, so we are going to make sure ALL of our deer are harvested. This is my first year on level 3, and I don't want to screw it up.

I know of a couple cases where they simply used it to get around the antler restrictions, then had virtually NO does killed.

I don't know about other districts, but I know in mine the biologists were told to start knocking folks back if they weren't reaching their assorted obligations.

We always ended up harvesting all our tags, our ranch hand just got incredibly sick of shooting doe. He doesnt really enjoy deer hunting, and thus really hates the process of cleaning doe. Has TPWL had alot of buse regarding the permit system?

I can't really think of a biologist off the top of my head that doesn't have a couple/few properties that don't cause some sort of heart ache.

--The best are the guys that take until the last day to submit their, then call begging for an extension. The following day you get 1000+ trail cam photos stuffed in a box with no rhyme or reason.
--Then occasionally you get the guy who's survey data looks exactly like the previous year (can be legit, but looks awfully funny).
--The deer breeders often create unique challenges. They tend to know all the program higher ups, and assorted politicians and love to start dropping names.

August into September is very busy for the biologists. Each biologist will have 5-11 regulatory lines they have to run (we generally help run each others routes (3 biologists/techs/wardens for each survey route), so it's not uncommon to be running surveys 3-4 nights out of the week), analyzing landowner data as it comes in, and helping landowner set up and run their own survey routes for MLD purposes. If you happen to have counties near urban areas, you will also be dealing with the public dove leases.

Now depending on which counties you work, you may have anywhere from 30 to 200+ deer permit properties you have to issue tags for.

I am many giving out this information so yall realize why some of the biologist are more head strong about deadlines than others. In big ranch country, it's not that hard to get things done. But if you live in the land of 100-200 acre ranches, you are dealing with a lot more people/properties.

As a bowhunter keep in mind that with Type 3 they can now harvest with rifles during October. Sometimes an issue with some bowhunters.

Who you gonna call ......

Doe Busters(TM)!
This is an opportunity to improve the property. Whack those old does and sorry old bucks early.

CT, that is exactly why I haven't told our only gun hunter that we can. He really isn't much of a hunter, so he can wait.

ursus do you know Blue Creek Ranch?

Not really. Think I've heard of one near Houston.