Founders letter

Dove season is upon us! Hopefully you have been practicing on clays, cleaning your guns, checking your gear, warming up your dogs and treating your spouse with unparalleled love so you can get a kitchen pass to go hunting. But have you secured your place to hunt? Outfitters book up very quickly, especially after the season dates are announced in the spring.

The question on everyone’s mind right now is will we have any dove this year? The weather has been so hot and dry that many farmers have not been able to plant in some regions of the state and grain maturity is behind. Some outfitters are only booking part of their normal customer counts and using half of their land. The birds could be scarce in many parts of the state. But, they may surprise us. One thing that is guaranteed is that there will be 800 more Eurasian collared dove that will be banded and released across the state this month for the Texas Banded Bird Challenge (TBBC). Note that the entry deadline has changed this year. Entries for the 2022 TBBC close at midnight on August 31.

I want to take a moment to pay our respects and to give our utmost and heartfelt sympathies to the people of Uvalde, a community very near and dear to many of our hearts. The town of Uvalde is a special little place. It has and always will be a hunting mecca. People come from all over to hunt in the Uvalde area and the sorrow from the event on May 24, 2022, was felt around the world. But the community itself has been shaken to the core. Please pray for the children, teachers, families, and everyone else who was affected by this horrendous tragedy.

We were privileged to have outdoor writer Larry Weishuhn write an article for this issue on Uvalde and just what a special place it is. I know you’ll enjoy reading it. And if you’ve never had the privilege of hunting in this area, you’ve missed out! Every hotel and motel for miles is a sea of camoflauge on opening day. It’s a sight to be seen!

Take a kid hunting,

Bobby Thornton

MISSION STATEMENT

TEXAS DOVE HUNTERS ASSOCIATION CORPORATE OFFICE

2395 Bulverde Rd., Suite 104 Bulverde, TX 78163 Off: (210) 764-1189 Fax: (866) 233-0507 email: info@txdove.com texasdovehunters.com

FOUNDER Bobby Thornton

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Susan Thornton

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR Myrna Hassfield

PHOTOGRAPHER Jay Schwisow

Maximizing wildlife habitat while creating a multi-generational investment in your land

Contact Tim Soderquist 281-814-5442

JOE ELDER

OUTFITTING IS A FAMILY AFFAIR

By Nate Skinner

Photo by Tammy Blalock

If you’ve ever been dove hunting in the Uvalde area, you’ve probably heard of Elderado. Owned and operated by Joe Elder, this is not your run-of-the-mill bird hunting operation. It boasts a unique atmosphere and experience that has evolved and molded over time, because of the Elder family’s values, passions, and traditions. The story behind this premier wing shooting destination is a special one. Elder grew up in Del Rio, where he began dove hunting with his Dad at age six. “I remember starting out, toting my first BB gun alongside my father and watching him shoot doves with his shotgun,” Elder said. “As I got older, I progressed to a pellet gun, and then my first .410.” Most of the ranchers in the Del Rio area were focused on white-tailed deer and didn’t care much about bird hunting. “If you were willing to shut the gate behind you and pick up your empty shells when you were done, most folks usually wouldn’t have a problem letting you come shoot some birds,” Elder said. ‘Nobody was selling dove hunts at the time.” In addition to dove hunting, Elder grew up deer hunting with his dad. “In my late teens, my dad bought a ranch outside of Del Rio and started running deer hunts on it,” Elder said. “I helped him guide while I was in college, and I brought my college buddies back to the ranch to hunt doves.”

After college, Elder moved back to Del Rio to work on the ranch with his dad. During this time, he met his wife, Laura Jane, at a mutual friend’s wedding. They later ran back into one another and started dating, and the rest was history. Laura Jane is not a hunter, but she loves the outdoors. Elder said that horse riding and horse breeding are huge passions of hers that she passed on to their daughters. During the first several months of their marriage, they lived in Del Rio. “Laura Jane was from Uvalde, and didn’t know too many people in Del Rio,” Elder said. “At the time, she was trying to develop her culinary skills, and my mother was an excellent cook. She spent a lot of time with my mom, going through cookbooks, and learning how to prepare different meals.” Elder said that Laura Jane cooked ornate, gourmet meals regularly during the week, as she worked to improve her skills in the kitchen. His buddies would come over and partake of the delicious food. After about eight months of cooking for Elder and his friends, she told him that she was ready to move back to Uvalde.

“She wanted to move back home where she had more friends,” Elder said. “I was working in the deer breeding industry and had just acquired a deer ranch outside of Uvalde, so we bought a farm to live on and made the move.”

Elder was also working in medical sales at the time. When Laura Jane got pregnant with their first child, he decided to sell the deer ranch and his breeding program to focus on his family and their new farm.

On September 1, 2001, Elder woke to the sound of gunshots going off everywhere. “It sounded like a war zone,” Elder said. “I was trying to figure out what was going on, so I got in my truck and drove to the back part of the farm. Nobody was on our property, but there were dove hunters shooting birds on all the surrounding properties.” “I had never seen anything like it,” Elder said. “Later that evening at a Labor Day party, I started talking to some folks and asked them if they had heard all the shooting earlier that morning. I was new to Uvalde, so I didn’t know anybody really well. These guys just looked at me like I was crazy and said, ‘well duh, it is dove season.’”

The men at the party proceeded to explain to Elder how they sold dove hunts to hunters on their properties, and he was immediately blown away. “Right then and there I told Laura Jane, that we were going to turn the old barn on our farm into a hunting lodge,” Elder said. “She was not a proponent of my idea initially. She had all sorts of concerns about charging locals who she might know to hunt on our property, as well as how meals would work and what we would do to make sure we had plenty of birds. Having so many ties in Uvalde, she didn’t want it to fail.”

Elder shrugged off his wife’s concerns and focused on the lodge, and Elderado was born. In his mind, he had exactly one year to be ready to accommodate hunters.

“Laura Jane fought me tooth and nail throughout the year as we prepared to start this business, but by opening weekend in 2002, we had a lodge with 7 beds,” Elder said. “We basically started doing our own cooking for seven hunters. She ended up getting very involved, especially with the cooking, because she wanted to make sure that the quality of our food and service was up to par with her standards. If her name was going to be attached to it, she had to make sure it would be done right.” Laura Jane was adamant about providing a fine dining experience. “She would not allow us to use paper plates, and if we served steak, we had pair it with a good bottle of wine,” Elder said. “Laura Jane really took the hunting The fine dining atmosphere that Laura Jane created, helped their reputation in the hunting industry grow. With his deer guiding background, Elder was no stranger to the entertainment aspect of being an outfitter, and this, combined with his wife’s classy touch, allowed them to create a one-of-a-kind experience for their hunters.

Some standard menu items at Elderado since the beginning, have been a formal steak dinner and cabrito. In the early years, hunters would go to the Elder’s home to eat dinner in their dining room. This personal touch really made a lasting impression on their customers.

Elder was fortunate enough to tap into corporate business from the very beginning. This has kept weekends throughout the seasons booked and the lodge full of hunters.

“Every year, our clients would express the desire to bring more people, so every year, we have added on to the lodge,” Elder said. “It now sleeps 40 and has its own banquet room for dinner.”

Elder has always enjoyed rustic construction and working with reclaimed wood. His entire lodge is made with reclaimed barn wood.

“From the bunk beds to the walls and serving bars, Elderado is constructed almost entirely from reclaimed wood and rusty tin that I gathered over the years,” Elder said. “It was stuff I found on the side of the road or in other people’s burn piles. It adds a unique, rustic touch to the lodge that you can’t find anywhere else.” Elderado has always been a family affair. In addition to Laura Jane playing a major role in the success of the outfit, Elder’s two daughters, Mattie and Liza, have been a part of the family business for as long as they can remember. From growing up cleaning birds, to serving desserts to hunters at dinner, Elderado and the sport of dove hunting have always been a huge part of their lives. “My daughters love to hunt, and they love horses just like their mother,” Elder said. “Liza recently graduated from high school and is going to rodeo at Texas Tech University, and Mattie attends Texas Christian University, where she plays polo.”

Both girls have fond memories of growing up and being part of the family business. They agree that their childhood experiences at Elderado have taught them so much about life.

“Some of my earliest memories are from when we served dinner in our living room,” said Liza. “Our upstairs bedroom overlooked it, and dad was always strict on us being quiet and out of sight at dinnertime. My sister and I used to sneak a peek of the hunters at dinner. Our parents were always right there in the middle of all of the fun.”

Liza said that some of the hunters have become like funny uncles over the years. “I see them once a year and have known them my whole life,” she said. “Most of their wives keep them on a regimented diet, and they totally cheat with our family’s rich food. They are always quick to remind me of that when I serve them an extra piece of cake. It’s been fun helping my parents, and I look forward to being part of the business for many years to come.” Mattie said that one of the best things about being part of a hunting business has been meeting different people, and seeing them again, season after season.

“During hunting season, my dad has always been focused on trying to make things perfect for our hunters,” Mattie said. “He instilled in me the value of quality customer service and how important repeat customers are in our industry. When I started waitressing with desserts at a young age, it seemed like a simple job to hand off a piece of cake, but my dad wanted me to do it a certain way. I didn’t understand back then, but it all makes sense now. Our reputation is everything, and I am proud of what Elderado has become.” Despite her hesitations more than 20 years ago, Laura Jane admitted that the business has produced a lifetime of wonderful memories.

“We had lots of fun from the very beginning,” she said. “Cooking for hunters with two toddlers under foot is something that I don’t miss, but I’ll never forget those times. I had a backpack on my back and a snuggle wrap for my newborn, and off I went. The friendships we created will last a lifetime, and there are more great memories than we can count.” It’s safe to say that behind every successful man is a hardworking woman and an even stronger family unit. The Elder family and their Elderado, are living proof. Hunters may say that they go to Elderado for the bird hunting, but it’s the fine dining, southern hospitality, unforgettable experiences, and wonderful family atmosphere that keep them coming back, season after season.

DECOYING THE WARY DOVE

By Reis Ladd Photography by MOJO Outdoors

As an adult reflecting on my childhood growing up in the dove field, few scenes bring a sense of nostalgia like the image of a flock of foam dove decoys pinned to the clothes hanger my father always ensured made it into the truck. Upon arriving at the field, it was my job to place the individual decoys along the barbed wire fence or baren tree Daddy deemed fit. Always the skeptic, I was never convinced the seemingly toy, fake birds, could fool the real doves, but I seemed to be proven wrong at some point throughout the afternoon.

The practice of decoying fowl originated within Native American culture and can be traced back to at least 1,000 years prior to European settlement in the Americas. These early Native Americans utilized natural resources within their environment to resemble their quarry and thus lure birds into range of their primitive weapons. Upon European settlement of the Americas, decoying tactics were quickly adopted and evolved over the years into what we see within the market today.

While there is a rich culture and a seemingly integral piece within waterfowl hunting, decoys can be an effective tool for dove hunting as well. Generally, dove decoys are split into two categories, static and spinning wing decoys. Fortunately, dove decoys are on the more affordable end when compared to waterfowl decoys so the barrier to entry is relatively low for a would-be decoying hunter. When using static decoys dove hunters often find success placing decoys in areas doves naturally want to land and are easy to see for passing birds. Places such as barbed wire fences, trees without foliage, and even man-made "decoy trees" either purchased or hand-made.

Tanner Neill, dove and waterfowl guide across the state, says the following, "We use clip on decoys all the time. I put about 8-10 on the top strand of a

barbed wire fence and it is killer! The birds often land right alongside the decoys." While having real birds land in close proximity to your decoys can make for some decoy casualties, I would argue that is a good problem to have for most hunters!

While hunters have been using static decoys for thousands of years, arguably the most influential milestone within dove hunting in recent history has been the advent of the spinning wing decoy. The late 1990s brought to the market the “MOJO Duck”, a spinning wing mallard decoy for duck hunting. Soon after, the spinning wing decoy made its way to the dove field. Motion decoys are common in waterfowl hunting, but the spinning wing dove decoy was the first of its kind to see success with dove hunters. Unlike typical waterfowl motion decoys that attract birds with movement of the entire decoy, spinning wing decoys take advantage of a “strobe effect”.

Terry Denmon, President and CEO of MOJO Outdoors, says, “The spinning wing concept utilizes a different phenomenon than other motion decoys, how it attracts is not through movement, but rather the birds are seeing a type of strobe flash from the white under the decoy’s wing as it spins.” The strobe flash output of the spinning wing decoy is designed to imitate the similar flash given off by the white underwing of flapping doves, the very nature of this action coupled with the dove’s superb eyesight can attract birds from great distances.

The spinning wing decoy has since taken the dove market by storm with a wide variety now on the market and with good reason. Over the years the spinning wing concept has proven to work better on species of birds that have relatively fast wing beats, such as the dove. “The spinning wing dove was a bigger hit than expected and seemingly works better on dove than any other species. Doves have one of, if not the fastest, wing beats of any other game bird making them attracted to the strobe flash of the spin-

ning wing decoy,” says Denmon. Additionally, unlike waterfowl, doves have a relatively short life expectancy and do not become overly educated by the spinning wing decoys as easily. The fast wing beat of the dove coupled with their short life span plays in favor of today’s dove hunter.

Come opening day of dove season one would be hard pressed to visit a dove field and not see at least a few decoys scattered amongst the cut crop. Grant Christopher, with Venatura Excursions near Hondo, states the following, "Decoys are very effective, especially the first week of the season. We run anywhere from 1-6 battery powered spinning wing decoys. After the first week, the birds generally wise up and can flare. We bring the spinning wing decoys back out during the split to pull the high-flying white wings down into range.”

Optimal placement and positioning of decoys will undoubtedly vary from hunt to hunt, but a few tips to keep in mind include setting up within the existing flight pattern a hunter might predetermine from scouting, near water, or between the feed and the roost. In all instances, decoy setup should emulate a natural setting that passing birds can easily see from any distance. Keep in mind the decoy’s purpose is to bring birds within range of your shotgun of choice, hunters should place their furthest decoy accordingly.

Most importantly every hunter should keep in mind their own safety and the safety of others they may be hunting with. Decoying birds can oftentimes come into close range and relatively low to the ground; hunters should choose their setup in a manner that mitigates the odds of firing in the direction of others. The following is a hot tip from Denmon, “When setting up our spinning wing decoy and static decoys they seem to work better as high in the air as possible. We use a 12' tall extension. Birds can see the decoys better and most important, it makes the shots safer since birds are coming in at a higher elevation.”

However ironic, through the thousands of years of evolution and seemingly more sophisticated tactics, the end result of the use of decoys has never changed. Hunters in today's day and age still value the challenge and appreciate the efficacy that is deceiving their quarry into range with the art of decoying. Undoubtedly, a similar foam flock of doves will make it in the truck for my future son to clip on the top strand.

THE JEWEL OF SOUTH TEXAS

By Larry Weishuhn Photography by Larry Weishuhn Outdoors

Uvalde is the gateway to the famed Brush Country, home to the best whitetail deer hunting anywhere, or, the portal to the Hill Country.

It simply depends on whether you leave town going south or north! But then, too, we are a sportsman’s paradise no matter which way you go from Uvalde. To the east are fields providing food for mourning and whitewing doves in numbers rivaling the finest dove hunting in the world. The terrain, vegetation, and climate in the Uvalde area are similar to parts of Africa and Asia. That’s one of the reasons exotics and big game species do so well in our area. Driving no more than fifty miles from the center of Uvalde you can hunt game animals found throughout the world. It’s a pretty special place! It was partly that statement that caused me to move to Uvalde in the early 1980s.

Trips to the Uvalde area starting in 1970, during my early years as a wildlife biologist, allowed me to see and experience the beauty and uniqueness of the region, including its people. Back then, the historic Kincaid Hotel was in full operation. Any morning starting at 6:00 am, ranchers and area characters gathered there, some driving from their ranch headquarters fifty or more miles away. They came to visit and tell stories while enjoying several cups of coffee. In a single morning, I could visit with most of the prominent landowners in that part of South Texas. Stories told included tales of raiding banditos, of King Fisher the famed Texas outlaw, of Pat Garrett who is credited for killing Billy the Kid and lived in Uvalde for a while, and of John Nance Garner who served as the Vice-President of the United States during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. It was Garner who is credited for the statement “Being Vice-President isn’t worth a bucket of warm spit!” There are those who have said he was slightly misquoted! There, too, were tales told of monstrously antlered “muy grande” whitetail bucks, and flights of mourning doves so thick you could not see the sky.

One morning I sat at a table with who I assumed were area ranchers. There was talk of a particularly large antlered whitetail buck taken just north of town. The teller, in his early seventies, like all others in the coffee shop, wore a western felt hat and had a ready smile. He was a great storyteller with obviously lots of “experience.” When he left, the man seated to my right asked, “Know who that was?” I did not, but commented that he surely seemed likable. “That’s Joe Newton of the Newton Boys, the famous bank and train robbers!” I knew the Newton brothers were from the Uvalde area and were credited as history’s the most successful bank and train robbers!

My wife and I lived in Uvalde for 35 years. Our two daughters, Theresa and Beth, attended school and graduated from Uvalde High School. Beth attended and later did her student teaching at Robb Elementary School. She, too, was much involved with the local chamber of commerce and served as a President of the Uvalde Country Club. My wife long worked with Sacred Heart Catholic Church and later volunteered daily at the El Progreso Memorial Library. Our roots are deep in Uvalde, even though we now live considerably east of “the Jewel of South Texas.”

Hunting and fishing the Uvalde area is nothing short of fabulous. The Nueces and Frio Rivers, crystal clear flowing streams, abound with a great variety of native sunfish, catfish and bass. Too, each year north of Uvalde, in the Chalk Bluff stretch of the Nueces, a goodly number of rainbow trout are released. No matter if you are a serious fly fisherman or like using a cane pole and a worm or grasshopper, fishing the Uvalde area is great fun! During my years in Uvalde I got to hunt several species of native game and exotic species, including red sheep on the OX Ranch, and Transcaspian Urial sheep on the world famous FTW Ranch, both north of Uvalde.

Uvalde is on US Highway 90, the line which divides Texas’ Central and South Dove Hunting Zones. This allows for two opening days in the Uvalde area. Each fall many wing shooting enthusiasts spend time pursuing both mourning and whitewing doves. Interesting, there was a time when there were few, if any, whitewing doves in the immediate area. But all that has changed in recent years. The city of Uvalde is home to a huge whitewing “nesting ground.” Not only are mourning and whitewing doves tremendously abundant, but so are hunting opportunities. Numerous reputable outfitters and hunting opportunities are available. If you’re looking to visit Uvalde, the chamber of commerce, visituvalde.com is a good place to start as is texasdovehunters.com.

Uvalde truly is “the Jewel of South Texas!”