A sendero, the Spanish word for trail, is used in Texas and Mexico to indicate long cleared paths through the almost impenetrable native brush of the region. Many of these senderos result from the search for oil performed by geological crews.

Since the majority of the brush is 4' to 8' in height and is extremely thorny and the senderos often run for miles, they have become one of the major access ways for hunters to observe all forms of wildlife. The photograph above illustrates both the height of the brush as well as the length of the sendero as it goes over the hill in the background that is several miles away.

A laguna, the Spanish word for lagoon, is a low flat basin that occasionally will fill with water during extensive rains primarily during the hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico. These lagunas are fairly common to the Mexican region where I have hunted which covers an area about 50 miles south of the Rio Grande between Laredo and Eagle Pass, Texas. The laguna pictured is approximately 1500 acres in size and during the time I hunted on this ranch it never had water in it; however my hunting partners, that had hunted this ranch a few years earlier, saw this laguna when it looked like a place to water ski!

These lagunas are, to a deer hunter, similar to an oat patch or other cultivated food plot. They have very low growing plants (12"-15") in them that are succulant compared to the semi-desert region surrounding them. Deer will come to them from miles away , and they become ideal places to observe bucks during the rut when they will range over the entire laguna checking does for their breeding condition.

I have seen up to 100 deer in a single large laguna with bucks of all sizes constantly moving from one doe group to another. This situation is ideal for the use of the spotting scope to thoroughly evaluate bucks for their trophy caliber. The problem for the hunter is that these bucks can be observed at ranges exceeding a mile; however figuring out how to get within shooting range is very difficult even if you see a trophy that you want to take. This helps explain the development of very accurate long range hunting rifles as in the "Beanfield" and "Sendero" types that are capable in making humane kills on deer sized game to 400 yards. To see my personal choice for long range hunting rifles, click HERE.

Additional photos and comments.