2021 Sept_Oct TTHA Issue

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

EDITOR'S LETTER September/October 2021 Volume 46, No. 5 www.ttha.com

It All Starts in September

L

ike thousands of Texas hunters, I always looked forward to September 1 when dove season opened. My friends and I spent hours cleaning our shotguns, making sure the modified choke was screwed into the barrel, putting batteries in the Mo-Jo dove decoys—they really work—and getting the retrievers back to obeying commands after a summer of loafing.

For 20 years, I had two of the finest black Lab retrievers that ever fetched a dove. A good dog makes a good hunt.

A lot of dove hunters around Austin, and friends from farther away, owe Bobby Schmidt a vote of gratitude for furnishing some excellent dove hunting near Creedmoor and Pilot Nob. Each season for the past 25 years, Bobby (PLM No. 149) and his working crew have plowed and planted good-sized fields in milo for the cattle and doves. Just before the season opens, usually thousands of white wings and mourning doves come to the fields. All of this gets done according to state and federal rules about baiting migratory birds.

On opening day, dove hunters from all over converge on Bobby’s dove hunting fields.

For 25 years, I was one of them! Sometimes 30-50 dove hunters with their dogs and stools venture to good shooting spots around the fields, while a few hunters will hang around the headquarters tent and visit with Bobby and Alton Phillips, Bobby’s chief assistant. Alton usually has a Mo-Jo going close by, and he will drop an occasional dove near the visiting group. Food and drink vary, but sometimes, Alton and the crew will bring the BBQ pit. After the shoot, hunting tales and bragging are endless.

Dove hunting is big in Texas. Some 400,000 dove hunters spend a lot of money on licenses, shells, gas, drinks, food, dove hunting fads, and an occasional ATV—all in the name of dove hunting. It’s the first season of the year, and for many hunters, it’s the only time they will shoot at a flying target all year. When it’s all over, the hunters will have shot about 15 million shells and bagged about four to five million birds. The birds will be cooked and eaten in a variety of ways—anything to consume the little darlings that cost the hunters about $10 each! But we love it.

Dove hunting isn’t the only thing that gets the heart beating in September and October. Some of the best bass fishing in the big Texas lakes comes in the fall, and Texas’ most demanding hunt—East Texas gray squirrels—begins October 1. If you think I’m joking about “demanding,” try your luck at getting a few “cat” squirrels. Leave the .22 and 20-gauge at home. Anybody who has hunted gray (cat) squirrels knows to take a full choke 12-gauge with high-velocity No. 6s. Otherwise, you will come home with very few, or no squirrels. The grey squirrel of the East Texas river bottoms is one tough game animal.

I’ll be glad to throw these face masks in the trash. When you’re as old as I am, and you have seen what a 2% virus will do to an entire nation, you begin to think that we have been bamboozled. I wonder. The entire pandemic was poorly handled and a bad time for America.

Considering the population explosion in Texas, our residents have doubled in the last 12 years, but we’re running short of hunters. Hunting license sales are where they were when we had half the population we have now. Where are the new hunters?

Dove and deer hunters make up the majority of Texas hunters, and it looks like we need to find a way for more hunters to get into the act. Meanwhile, we will look forward to September 1 and wish all a happy dove hunt. It takes seven dove breasts to make a pound, so think about this when you’re pulling the trigger.

Horace Gore

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September/October 2021

Official Publication of The Texas Trophy Hunters Association, Ltd.

326 Sterling Browning Rd. San Antonio, TX 78232-1220 210-523-8500 • info@ttha.com

Founder Jerry Johnston Publisher Texas Trophy Hunters Association President and Chief Executive Officer Christina Pittman 210-491-2126 • christina@ttha.com Editor Horace Gore • editor@ttha.com Executive Editor Deborah Keene Associate/Online Editor Martin Malacara South Texas Field Editor Jason Shipman East Texas Field Editor Dr. James C. Kroll Graphic Designers Faith Peña Dust Devil Publishing/Todd & Tracey Woodard Staff Writers Jim Heffelfinger, Will Leschper, Ted Nugent, Brandon Ray, Gary Roberson Contributing Writers John Goodspeed, Art Griepp, Judy Jurek, Lee Leschper, Shawn McDonald, Randy Miller, Sheryl Smith-Rodgers, Eric Stanosheck, Hunter Walden Sales Representative Debra Copeland 210-430-0473 • dcopeland@ttha.com Advertising Production Deborah Keene 210-288-9491 • deborah@ttha.com Membership/Marketing Director Lauren Conklin 210-491-2133 • lauren@ttha.com Administrative Assistant/Event Coordinator Jennifer Beaman Hunters Extravaganza Information Christina Pittman Hunters Extravaganza® is a registered trademark of the Texas Trophy Hunters Association®

To carry our magazine in your store, please call 210-491-2127 • deborah@ttha.com

TTHA protects, promotes and preserves Texas wildlife resources and hunting heritage for future generations. Founded in 1975, TTHA is a membershipbased organization. Its bimonthly magazine, The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters®, is available via membership and newsstands. TTHA hosts the Hunters Extravaganza® outdoor expositions, renowned as the largest whitetail hunting shows in the South. For membership information, please join at www. ttha.com or contact TTHA Membership Services at (877) 261-2541.

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CONTENTS

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

FEATURES 20

Dr. Deer’s Prescription

24

Where Are The Hunters?

38

North Texas Bowhunting

| By Dr. James Kroll

| By Horace Gore

| By Brandon Ray

48 2021-22 Hunting Season Forecast | By Will Leschper

54

38

86

Doves Come First in Texas | By Judy Jurek

58 The Making of America (Part II) | By Horace Gore

76

Riflescope Roundup 2021 | By John Goodspeed

86 Colorado High Country Mulies

| By Eric Stanosheck

101 Texas Trends in Deer Management

| By Jason Shipman

105

Big Coyotes in New Mexico

| By Gary Roberson

110 Deer Management in the Southwest

| By Jim Heffelfinger

101

115 Hunting Alaska’s Giant Moose

| By Lee Leschper

124

Up on a Stump

| By Horace Gore

110

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[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

CONTENTS COLUMNS 10 14 34 62 66 71

Hunting Pioneers Fence Posts Beyond The Hunt Nuge’s Soundboard Must Haves

Jr. Trophy Hunters Corner

94

44

94 Knives in the Outdoors 119 122

The Draw

128 129 131

Blast from the Past

132

Hunt’s End

Texas Women in the Outdoors

122

97 MEMBER STORIES 30

Late Start

44

A New Opportunity

| By Art Griepp

| By Hunter Walden

82

Buffalo with a Bow

| By Shawn McDonald

Kamp Kitchen

Feeding Times/ Moon Phases

ON THE COVER Photo By: Marty Berry

97

Twenty-four Hours to Remember

.

| By Randy Miller

The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters, 1982 ISSN-08941602, is published bimonthly (a total of 6 issues) by The Texas Trophy Hunters Association Ltd., 326 Sterling Browning Rd., San Antonio, TX 78232-1220, Phone (210) 523-8500. All rights reserved. Periodical postage paid in San Antonio, Texas 78232-1220 and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscriptions: $35 per year includes membership in TTHA. Phone (210) 523-8500. Advertising: For information on rates, deadlines, mechanical requirements, etc., call (210) 523-8500.

Insertion of advertising in this publication is a service to the readers and no endorsement or guarantees by the publisher are expressed or implied. Published material reflects the views of individual authors and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the association.

Contributions: should be sent via email to editor@ttha.com, or mailed to the Editor, Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters, 326 Sterling Browning Rd., San Antonio, TX 78232-1220. They must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope or return postage, and the publisher assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to unsolicited materials. Any material accepted is subject to revision as is necessary in our sole discretion to meet the requirements of our publication. The act of mailing a manuscript and/or material shall constitute an express warranty by the contributor that the material is original and in no way an infringement upon the rights of others. Photographs can either be RAW, TIFF, or JPEG formats, and should be high resolution and at least 300 dpi. All photographs submitted for publication in “Hunt’s End” become the sole property of the Texas Trophy Hunters Association Ltd. Moving? Please send notice of address change (new and old address) 6 weeks in advance to Texas Trophy Hunters Association, P.O. Box 3000, Big Sandy, TX 75755-9918. POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters, Texas Trophy Hunters Association, P.O. Box 3000, Big Sandy, TX 75755-9918.

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WE ARE TTHA

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VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

TTHA On The Road The Ducks Unlimited Everything Outdoors Expo, held June 25-27 at the Texas Motor Speedway, had TTHA staff right in the middle of it, promoting hunting and the outdoors and selling memberships and merchandise to the fans. New TTHA Members Justin and Breana Stamps won a gift basket from Rebecca Creek Whiskey and Enchanted Rock Vodka. We worked hard and had lots of fun, making new friends and members.

TTHA Founder Jerry Johnston, TTHA Platinum Life Member Marty Berry and The Journal’s South Texas Field Editor Jason Shipman traveled to Freer, Texas, to attend the Muy Grande 56th Anniversary Awards and celebrate Leonel “Muy” Garza’s 81st birthday. See more details in Jason Shipman’s article on the awards on page 14.

L-R: Shane Greenville, Marty Berry, Leonel “Muy” Garza, Jerry Johnston.

Celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day The rich tradition of hunting, target shooting and fishing will be on full display for National Hunting and Fishing (NHF) Day on September 25, celebrating the conservation efforts of sportsmen and women everywhere. Celebrated on the fourth Saturday of every September, NHF Day is the largest, most effective grassroots movement ever undertaken to promote outdoor sports and conservation.

How will you celebrate the day?

What’s YOUR Trophy Experience?

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September/October 2021 |

7

RALPH WININGHAM

By Horace Gore

Editor's note: This is the twenty-second in a series of pioneers to be recognized for their contributions, past and present, to Texas hunting.

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Ralph Winingham

photos

R

alph Winingham came to Texas at the tender age of 17, joining the U.S. Air Force two weeks after graduating from Louisville High School in Nebraska and jumping at his first opportunity to escape the cold winters of the Midwest. “My first thoughts of getting to Texas as fast as I could popped into my young skull at the age of 14 when I was busting through snow drifts and battling 26-below-zero temperatures hunting pheasants. I remember thinking ‘I’ve got to get to someplace that stays warm in the winter.’”

That warm weather wish was granted as Ralph attended six weeks of basic training under the San Antonio summer sun before being assigned to Laredo AFB. He served at Laredo for two years and was one of the youngest military newspaper editors in the Air Force. He earned the Air Force Commendation Medal for his Laredo duty and the Air Force Commendation Medal, First Oak Leaf Cluster, for his service as a non-commissioned officer in charge of the Air Training Command Public Information office at Randolph AFB in San Antonio.

Ralph got his college degree at North Texas State University in Denton, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in December 1977. He was editor of the North Texas Daily newspaper during his last semester. He became a newspaper writer and photographer at the San Antonio Express-News in January 1978. During his 25-year career at the paper he worked with Outdoor Editor Dan Klepper to hone his outdoor writing skills.

“I knew the moment I walked into the executive editor’s office looking for a job that my goal was to be an outdoor writer.

It took me 20 years to get there, but I did it,’’ he said.

During his last five years at the Express-News, Ralph not only wrote a weekly column in addition to daily outdoor news coverage, he created the long-running “Campfire Chef” feature of easy fish and game recipes, which was a huge success. After

Ralph Winingham is a top-notch wing shooter, outdoor writer, and chef.

retiring, Ralph spent the next 20 years as a freelance outdoor writer and photographer. He earned numerous first place awards from the Texas Outdoor Writers Association (TOWA) for his work. He also served as president, board chairman

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the

Pass

Torch

Do your part to preserve our hunting heritage.

Share your passion with the next generation.

Pass the torch.

World Champion Live Flyer competitor and award-winning author Ralph Winingham and his wife and outdoor companion Dr. Catherine Cook, center, take a break from competing in a charity competition with their teammates Lorraine Lawrence and Joe Brophy.

and newsletter editor of TOWA and was named as the 2018 recipient of the L.A. Wilke Award, which is the highest honor the organization can award to a Texas outdoor writer.

In the wing-shooting arena, Ralph was one of the first U.S. journalists to cover the fledgling competition called sporting clays when the event was first introduced here from its native England in the 1980s. Many of his award-winning articles and photos have been published in The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters, where he was the shotgun and wingshooting columnist and creator of the “Beyond the Hunt” column.

Ralph began his competitive shooting career as a member of the Tiro Al Pichón Association in the late 1970s, winning the 1984 TAPA Live Flyer World Championship held in San Antonio by besting 168 of the finest live bird shooters in the world during the two-day competition.

He is also certified as a National Sporting Clays Association Level II instructor, in addition to his current ranking as a Master Class shooter.

Ralph’s latest work in publishing is “Bustin’ Clays & Cookin’ Game with Old Boots & Bacon Grease II” that masterfully melds together the worlds of wing shooting and outdoor cooking. The unique offering also features masterful illustrations by Texas State Artist Sam Caldwell. “Bustin’ Clays” is the third www.TTHA www.

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installment of Winingham’s scribes, preceded by “The Campfire Chef: Old Boots and Bacon Grease,” and “Revenge of Old Boots and Bacon Grease,” which was the 2006 TOWA Book of the Year.

What else can I say—Ralph Winingham is what a lot of other people would like to be. I’ve known Ralph for many years and have spent a lot of shotgun shells trying to beat him. And I’ve read his “How to” and “I’ve been there” articles, as have a lot of hunters and shooters here in Texas. Ralph is a longtime friend of Texas Trophy Hunters, and we are all proud to recognize him as a pioneer of our hunting heritage.

Travis Hunter’s advice for Passing the Torch: “Hunting, fishing and sports. Keep ’em busy in the outdoors.”

How do you pass the torch? Share your photos with us. Send them to editor@ttha. com. Make sure they’re 1-5 MB in file size.

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[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

HUNTING NEWS

FENCE POSTS

NEWS ABOUT HUNTING, GUN RIGHTS, AND LEGISLATIVE ITEMS

Muy Grande 56th Anniversary Awards After a hectic year, it felt great to get back together at the Muy Grande 56th Anniversary Awards held in June. The oldest deer contest in Texas is still going strong and it was good to be in the company of friends, both old and new.

Leonel “Muy” Garza, who started the Muy Grande Deer Contest in 1965, received a standing ovation upon his arrival, followed by an impromptu birthday celebration. Muy graciously enjoyed the moment as the crowd enthusiastically sang “Happy Birthday” to him before he blew out the candles on his 81st birthday cake. It all started some 56 years ago and arose from a love of hunting and a desire

to sell more tires at a gas station.

Muy Grande co-owners, Kenneth and Imelda Sharber, presented awards to many lucky hunters as well as guests of special honor and distinction. Among those receiving special recognition were the 2021 Muy Grande Hall of Fame Inductees. Each year, a select number of individuals are recognized for their contributions to the Muy Grande Deer Contest. This year’s inductees are Oscar Hasette and David Killam.

Oscar is a third-generation rancher and owner of the Hasette ranch in McMullen County. Ranching is in his blood, and his entire life has been spent working the land in the brush country. In 1971, he killed one of the biggest bucks to be

taken in McMullen County. The buck was a longtime Muy Grande record holder and displayed at Muy’s Circle V Gas Station for many years. His trophy buck is now showcased at Carter’s Country Store in Houston. Oscar’s dream is to pass the legacy of the family ranch on to future generations.

David is the third-generation CEO of the Killam family businesses, consisting of oil and gas, real estate, ranching, banking, and investment operations.

David has served as chairman of the board of The Texas Oil and Gas Association and is a member of the exclusive All-American Wildcatters. Currently he serves as chairman of the board of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. He has received numerous awards including the Lonestar Steward Award, the Texas Leopold Conservation Award, and the National Cattleman’s Beef Association Regional Land Steward Award.

In 2019, the Killam family celebrated its 100th anniversary of business in Texas.

Congratulations are in order for the newest Muy Grande Hall of Fame inductees. Their contributions to the Muy Grande Deer Contest and the hunting industry are honorable and worthy of such a special recognition. Visit muygrandevillage.com/hall-of-fame to see previous inductees.

— Jason Shipman

Abbott Appoints Galo to Parks and Wildlife Commission, Names Aplin Chair Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Anna Benavides Galo to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission for a term set to

Jason Shipman Photo

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2021 Muy Grande Hall of Fame Inductees Oscar Hasette, left, and David Killam, center, received their awards from Muy Grande co-owner Kenneth Sharber, right.

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HUNTING NEWS expire Feb. 1, 2027. Additionally, Abbott has named Arch “Beaver” Aplin as its chair. The commission manages and con-

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VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

serves the natural and cultural resources of Texas and provides hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for

the use and enjoyment of present and future generation.

Galo, of Laredo, is vice president of

COULD CWD BE NOTHING MORE THAN A CLOAKED FORM OF SCRAPIE? TTHA EDITORIAL

by Horace Gore, wildlife biologist I am not a scientist, but I am a longtime deer biologist who knows deer like the back of my hand and can interpret the findings as reported in scientific journals.

Recent research about the similarities of Chronic Wasting Disease and scrapie, an Old-World disease in sheep and goats, warrants a discussion about the origin of CWD. New diseases don’t just blow in on the wind, so could the “New” TSE discovered in 1967 simply be a derivation of the age-old scrapie?

CWD was unknown until 1967, when a mule deer that was penned with elk and sheep in a Colorado research facility developed a condition of weight loss, listlessness, staggering, and failure to eat or drink. The animals were on a crude diet, and the deer later died.

The researchers doing the diet study concluded the deer died from “A Chronic Wasting Condition.”

Later, in the early 1980s, mule deer in Colorado were found to have the same chronic wasting condition, and in time, the malady was reported as “Chronic Wasting Disease.” This “new disease” was unheard of until 1967 and was not identified as a TSE (transmissible spongiform encephalopathy) until 1974. Many questions still need to be answered about CWD: its origin, its effect on cervids, especially white-tailed and mule deer, and its molecular make-up.

Recent research at the US Agricultural Research Service in Ames, Iowa, has revealed that white-tailed deer are readily infected with scrapie by the oral route.

Western Blot tests (WB) and the resultant PrPSc prion showed two distinct molecular profiles: WB on the cerebral cortex has a profile similar to the original scrapie inoculum, whereas WB of the brain stem, cerebellum, or lymph nodes revealed PrPSc with a higher profile resembling CWD and is distinct from the scrapie inocolum. Was the mule deer in the Colorado research pen simply infected with scrapie from the sheep? Does this indicate that CWD is a form of scrapie?

When a large group of TSE positives were obtained from whitetails in Dane County (Mt. Horeb), Wisconsin in 2002, the state went berserk, and the media attention gave CWD a household name all over the deerhunting world. CWD was readily described as a deadly disease that is transmitted in cervids (deer, elk, moose, etc.) and is always fatal.

There were insinuations that humans could get the

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deadly disease, which was false, as shown by the millions of pounds of venison consumed by Americans each year. But apparently, the deer research world was ready for a new disease, especially with the increase in deer breeders, and state wildlife agencies jumped on CWD like a dog on a bone.

The lingering question is: Is CWD a new TSE or is it scrapie? Here in Texas, 83,000 samples of whitetail and mule deer have been obtained since 2012, using the IHC and ELISA testing methods. Some 260-plus wild positives have been identified—with 16 being wild whitetails.

There may be a question about the validity of the 83,000 tests, because the research at Ames reports that the only way to determine whether you have CWD or scrapie is from a Western Blot test, which has never been used in Texas. If CWD is a derivation of scrapie, the entire scenario about the deadly TSE is as worthless as last week’s newspaper.

Deer hunting in Texas is worth $2 billion to the state’s economy. Texans buy over one million hunting licenses, and some 700,000 deer hunters spend millions of days hunting deer, taking well over a half-million annually. Venison is considered by some to be “America’s healthy red meat,” and about 15 million pounds of venison is consumed each year in Texas.

Any malady such as CWD (or scrapie) in deer that is erroneously reported to the public as being harmful to both hunting and eating venison is detrimental to Texas deer hunting. Such reports are a hindrance to license sales, hunting, real estate values, and in time, will de-value rural properties. So, it is important to know if Texas whitetails and mule deer have CWD or scrapie.

There is a vast difference in a “new deadly disease” and one that has been around for 400 years. Also, there are questions on the deadly nature of CWD in wild whitetails. In reality, CWD does not have the properties to affect populations of white-tailed deer. The mortality is far lower than the recruitment of fawns, and Texas deer herds are still expanding.

Texas deer hunters and breeders deserve a review of the testing methods for CWD, and how they are reported. Any erroneous information that is not backed by science or biology could spell the end of two billion-dollar assets to Texas: deer breeding, and more important, deer hunting.

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[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

ANB Cattle Co. and is a co-trustee of her family’s mineral trust. She is a member of the board of directors of the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation and the City of Laredo City Manager’s ad-hoc committee, board member of the Laredo Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs and the Angel of Hope Foundation. She is the past president of the board of directors of the South Texas Food Bank and United Day School, and continues to serve on both boards. She is a former board member of the Laredo Center for the Arts, Border Cultural Promotion Foundation, Webb County Children’s Advocacy Center, and the City of Laredo Historic Preservation Committee. She is a founding member and first treasurer of the Laredo Community College Education Foundation, and she was a board member and local chair of AVANCE. Aplin, of Lake Jackson, is president and CEO of Buc-ee’s. He has served on the Commission since November 2018.

He is a member of the Houston Methodist Hospital President’s Leadership Council, lifetime member of the Coastal Conservation Association and The 100 Club, and a board member of The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M. He is the former board president of the Brazosport Independent School District and a former member of the State of Texas Small Business Council, the Lieutenant Governor’s Transportation Advisory Board, and the Brazosport Center for Arts and Sciences Board of Trustees. —courtesy Governor’s Office

TWA’s CEO Resigns David Yeates announced his resignation as CEO from the Texas Wildlife Association effective July 18, 2021. In a note to TWA staff, Executive Committee, and Texas Wildlife Association Foundation Trustees, Yeates stated, “It has been an immense honor and privilege to serve as CEO for Texas Wildlife Association and its Foundation for the last seven years.” Yeates led TWA to many successes during his tenure as CEO, including most recently the opening of the new headquarters building, wins at the legislature including passing clean Sunset bills and 16 |

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HUNTING NEWS

eminent domain reform, and successfully navigating TWA through the trials of the pandemic. “I and the Texas Wildlife Association thank David Yeates for his good service to this organization,” said TWA President Tom Vandiver. “He has advanced TWA and its mission over the last seven years in many noteworthy ways.

We wish him the best with his future endeavors. This departure is a significant change for TWA, but our organization remains strong and will continue its good work without interruption.”

“I thank David Yeates for seven great years at the helm of TWA,” said TWAF President Steve Lewis. “David will be sorely missed by me and his many friends at TWA. I wish him only the very best in his future endeavors.”

TWA has formed a committee to find Yeates’ replacement and is still searching for qualified candidates. —courtesy TWA

Outdoor Writer’s New Cookbook Delightful Former Journal writer Ralph Winningham’s new book, “Bustin’ Clays & Cookin’ Game with Old Boots and Bacon Grease II,” is chockfull of shotgun shooting tips and recipes for all manner of wild game. Ralph is an old friend of mine and Texas Trophy Hunters, having written for us for many years. I have had the pleasure of shooting with Ralph on several occasions, and he has my vote as being one of the top shotgun shooters around our part of the country. Personally, I think it’s all natural because Ralph has been a good shot all his life, and a good chef and writer, too.

I’m not in Ralph’s league with a shotgun, but I have shot about a jillion rounds— that’s 10 times a trillion—at quail, doves, ducks and skeet, and when I read Ralph’s tips for handling a shotgun and shooting moving targets, I thought, “If they will just follow Ralph’s suggestions.”

The book is filled with

tips on how to shoot better at game and clay targets, and Ralph has some excellent recipes for Texas favorites such as quail, dove, duck, squirrel and rabbit. Ralph’s recipes cover everything from the pasture to the coast, including some excellent fish and oyster recipes. It’s a delightful book, with Sam Caldwell’s fine art that puts the final touches on quail covey rises and doves and ducks dodging through the trees and brush. Sam has a way with watercolors and paint that makes his illustrations come alive.

Ralph’s opener in the book tells it all: “We welcome readers to a collection of fun, easy and informative ‘smokepole’ and cooking wisdom from Old Boots and Bacon Grease. In these pages are tips and techniques on how to handle a variety of both clay and live targets, plus tasty outdoor recipes. The wisdom was gathered more than four decades of observing and picking the brains of top shots and camp chef culinary artists across the country.”

TTHA wishes Ralph and Sam much success with the new book and hope it’s as successful as Ralph’s two previous books, “Campfire Chef: Old Boots and Bacon Grease,” and “Revenge of Old Boots and Bacon Grease,” which are still available. —Horace Gore

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Buck Mortality

By Dr. James C. Kroll

I

n the early 1970s, I began presenting seminars in response to the growing demand for information about managing white-tailed deer. By today’s standards these talks were pretty generic, covering the usual age, nutrition and genetics components to management. It was my opinion the greatest challenge was getting bucks past their first year of life.

“Can I safely say, every Boone and Crockett buck once was a yearling?” was my favorite question. To my surprise, the most common response was, “If I don’t shoot him, someone else will!” I would come back with, “Well, if you let a yearling buck walk, his chances were certainly higher than if you shot him!”

That is indeed true, but at that time we had no idea what the true survival rate was for bucks. In Texas, we tend to have opinions on deer management colored by what I call the South Texas mindset. That is, deer management takes place on large properties. In the “real world,” however, folks are trying to manage for better bucks on 40-acre and 80-acre tracks. After 50 years, we now have more data on factors affecting buck

survival, so this column is about what we know.

I just finished an exhaustive investigation on the state of knowledge about buck mortality factors, rates and survival.

It is an understatement to say the literature is very confusing on these subjects. There are a host of variables influencing mortality, ranging from climatic conditions to hunting pressure to social norms for hunters. In “natural herds,” buck morality takes a “U-shaped” form, with highest death rates in the early and late periods of life.

In general, most studies agree the highest mortality of bucks and does is from birth to about one month of age. There is a reason why does have two fawns. It’s the magic number needed to produce at least one fawn each year. The primary causes, in order, for fawn mortality are starvation, predation, and disease.

Under poor nutrition, does cannot produce enough milk to feed both fawns, leaving one or both to die. Fawn survival in 2020 for much of South Texas was quite low, due to very dry conditions, which translated to poor quality and quantity of forages.

Author photo

According to author, the principal mortality agents for bucks has been disease, fighting and accidents. In 2020-21, he lost two mature bucks to accidents where he conducts deer research.

This buck died during the February “snowmageddon” when the deer tried to walk between two trees, got his hips caught, and froze to death.

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In other areas of the country, fawn survival was very high due to abundant rainfall during the nursing period.

Predation is a hot topic today, and it should be! Predators are increasing at alarming levels—especially the larger predators such as lions and bears—creating an “additive” impact on survival. Bears can take as much as 50% of the fawn crop, because they are highly adapted to finding fawns, even in thick cover.

It is reported that sheep and goat ranching in the Texas Hill Country allowed the coyote to cross the Edwards Plateau and invade the southeastern and eastern portions of the U.S. Coyotes have moved farther and farther north in the last two decades, creating concern among biologists who once asserted that coyotes were not a real problem. Disease can be a significant problem, especially in conjunction with poor nutrition.

Bacterial and viral diseases are common killers of fawns, followed by parasites such as pinworms.

The second highest natural mortality period, especially bucks, is the first year after weaning. However, mortality is not uniform among bucks and does. The reason being that yearling bucks tend to relocate, exposing them to strange places and increased mortality. That is one reason young bucks tend to “pal up” with another buck one year older, in a tight relationship lasting as long as both survive. Most of the scientific studies have focused on mortality of younger bucks, frankly because in many states there are no mature bucks to study.

After a buck reaches his second year, natural mortality is quite low, sometimes less than 5-10%, and I often have said that after 21⁄2 years, a buck is pretty much immortal until 61⁄2 years and older. In fact, an Oklahoma study concluded “… males >3.5 years old tended to die from non-human causes (e.g., fighting, predation) more frequently than did younger deer.” (Ditchkoff, et al. 2001). The key word here is “natural,” because in most of the whitetail’s range, the number one mortality agent after the first year is hunters. Many areas exist where hunters annually take as much as 50% of the yearling bucks.

That trend has lessened in recent years, primarily due to the education of hunters by media such as this magazine, conservation organizations such as the Quality Deer Management Association—now the National Deer Alliance—and outdoor programming. According to QDMA, yearling buck harvest has dropped from a high of about 60% in 1989 to 30% in 2018.

Even so, states such as Wisconsin, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Illinois harvested 40-50% of their yearling bucks in 2018. It is interesting that Wisconsin considers any buck greater than 18 months of age, as an “adult.”

It also is a state which considers yearling bucks with spikes less than 5 inches in length. When we consider just bucks, hunters in many areas are indeed the primary mortality agent.

Yet, studies conducted in states with high buck harvest rates tell us little about the question, what is a buck’s potential survival if I do not shoot him as a yearling?

In order to arrive at an answer, we have to look at the handful of studies conducted on either un-hunted populations or ones where age management is deeply ingrained. The five states with the highest percentage of 31⁄2+ year old bucks in the harvest are Mississippi (77%), Louisiana (75%), Arkansas (72%), Oklahoma (66%), and Texas (65%), all states where

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CITED SOURCES Bowman, J. L., H. A. Jacobson, D. S. Coggin, J. R. Heffelfinger, and B. D. Leopold. 2007. Survival and Cause-specific Mortality of Adult Male White-tailed Deer Managed Under the Quality Deer Management Paradigm. Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Fish and Wildl. Agencies 61:76–81 Ditchkoff, S. S., E. R. Welch, Jr., E. R. Lochmiller, R. E. Masters, and W. R. Starry. 2001. Age-specific causes of mortality among male white-tailed deer support mate-competition theory.

J. Wildlife Management 65(3):552-559.

Webb, S. L., D. G. Hewitt, and M. W. Hellickson. 2007.

Survival and Cause-Specific Mortality of Mature Male White-Tailed Deer. J. Wildlife Management 71(2):555558.

Elder, W. H. 1965. Primeval deer hunting pressures revealed by remains from American Indian middens.

J. Wildlife Management 29(2): 366-370.

management is very popular. Texas probably is number five due to there being more dyed-in-the-wool trophy hunters, willing to let even middle-aged bucks walk.

The Oklahoma study referenced earlier reported annual mortality for older bucks to be 0.26-0.38 annually, with most mortality coming from non-hunting factors. Bowman, et al. 2007 reported on a study on managed herds in Mississippi, concluding “… if <2.5-year-old bucks are passed up … will be available for harvest during the next season because these bucks have very little natural mortality.” In South Texas, a study by Hewitt and Hellickson, on an intensively managed ranch, reported, “Average annual survival of the known-aged 1998 cohort was 82% with 52% of [bucks] surviving to 6.5 years of age.”

There is almost nothing known about un-hunted deer herds.

The only information we have about natural deer herds comes from studies on the middens (trash piles) of Native Americans.

According to one study (Elder, 1965), 20-26% of deer killed

by Native Americans were 61⁄2 years or older. For such a high percentage of bucks to reach that age, annual mortality has to be very low.

Finally, at our research facility near Nacogdoches, for 38 years we have harvested only a handful of bucks. In those years, the principal mortality agent for bucks has been disease (hemorrhagic and pneumonia), fighting and accidents.

It is amazing how many accidents deer have. In 2020-21 we lost two mature bucks to accidents, one during the February “snowmageddon,” when it tried to walk between two trees, got its hips caught and froze to death.

The answer to the question about what happens to a young buck if you let him walk, is clear in my mind! He has an acceptable chance of reaching an older age when he will have the largest antlers his genetics will permit. This is true even in areas where landholdings are small. So, there is no excuse for not passing on yearling bucks, provided hunters are willing to do just that. But that is a topic for another column.

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WHERE ARE THE

HUNTERS? Hunting is worth $2 billion to Texas, but hunters are falling behind in the state’s population.

Where are the new hunters?

Jason Shipman

photo

BY HORACE GORE

T

he problem: Texas hunters are not keeping up YEAR TEXAS HUNTING with the increase in the state’s population. A POPULATION LICENSES recent review of the changes in population growth 1970 11.2 million 760,351 and hunting licenses sold shows that Texas hunters 1975* 12.5 million 853,250 are remaining constant, while the state’s population is 1980 14.3 million 939,267 skyrocketing. During the last 50 years, hunting license 1990 13.5 million 1,138,001 sales have increased by 58% while population growth has 2000 17.0 million 983,485 jumped by 159%. Prospective new hunters in Texas need 2010 25.2 million 1,020,779 a place to hunt.

2020 29.0 million **1,200,000 The table at the right shows certified hunting license *Jerry started TTHA. **Estimated. sales compared to population in 10-year increments.

Since 1970, the Texas population has increased by 17,800,000, and hunting license sales have gone up 439,649. Where are all the prospective new hunters? Well, posonly 3 million (10.3%) live in rural areas where hunting is more sibly they are in urban area apartments and do not participate in accessible. outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing, and never have.

Annual increases in the Texas population during the last half A recent survey showed out of the 29 million Texas residents, century have gone to urban, rather than rural areas of the state.

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will continue to drop, based on present trends. There may be a time when there are more golfers in Texas than hunters. And it won’t be for lack of deer. It will be a lack of access to deer hunting grounds.

Deer management techniques will continue to provide huntable herds of deer on fragmented habitats. The problem with hunter numbers will be space—deer hunters like space, and in the end, the die-hard hunters will pay for the space, and the other hunters will be left to small game and doves. This is the present trend, and it will continue for a long time unless seasons and bag limits are changed. There will be fewer and fewer deer hunters compared to the state’s population.

So, where are the new Texas hunters? In all likelihood, they don’t exist yet. The million or so hunters currently hunting in Texas are the remnants of generations of hunters who had places to hunt or hunted on family land. Half of them hunted for free, and the other half gladly paid the price for hunting. They were few then, and they are fewer now.

The millions of people immigrating to Texas during the last quarter century don’t live in a situation that makes hunting easy.

A few will work hard to find a place to hunt, but the majority of urban millennials will do something else—and many won’t be involved in outdoor activities at all. A recent national survey showed that only 50% of Americans participate in ANY outdoor activity. So, in essence, we can say the 29 million Texas residents

THE PROBLEM GETS BIGGER Hunting, like many other outdoor sports, involves a minority participation. This is true in Texas, where 7% of the population bought a hunting license in the 1970s. Today, that number has dropped to 4%, and www.TTHA www.

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The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

Henry Schmidt Photo

Although new residents living in cities and towns can usually find a place to fish, this is not the case with hunting. Private property and trespass laws prevent people from going hunting without permission, and this alone, prevents urbanites from hunting.

Texas is a private property state that has very little public land or public hunting. Most hunters in Texas must have a relationship with a landowner or a club or organization that has the relationship with one or more landowners. It is not easy for urban hunters new to the state to find a place to hunt. Their best bet, of course, is to contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for available hunting information.

Everyone who hunts in Texas (except feral hog hunting with permission) must have a hunting license, and white-tailed deer and mourning dove hunting has always determined the total number of hunting licenses sold. Of course, dove hunters also deer hunt, and the same is true for duck and squirrel hunters in East Texas and the general run of hunters and fishermen throughout the state. Most deer hunters participate in other kinds of hunting, but the base for hunting licenses comes from deer and dove hunters.

Should Texas have a license-free period when a new hunter can go hunting with a license-holding family member or friend as a way to get new hunters interested and more familiar in ways to find places to hunt? Somebody in the TPWD Wildlife Division should be thinking of ways to get all these new Texas residents into the field for doves, ducks, squirrels, etc. Texas has a five-month deer season that could be adjusted to allow more hunters to participate.

Texas currently has about one million acres of huntable white-tailed deer habitats that will accommodate a static number of both deer and hunters.

It appears by the number of hunting licenses sold annually that the number of deer hunters on the million acres of deer habitat is less than one million.

Deer hunting has changed somewhat during the last 50 years. There was a time when most hunters were on some kind of lease, mostly shared with other hunters. These leases had hunting camps with all the necessities for hunting and camping. Camping and hunting for several days at a time was common, and many of the leases involved families. In the 1970s, there were an estimated 600,000 deer hunters on the 78 million acres of deer habitat in Texas, and half of the deer hunters hunted for FREE! Today, there are still a majority of deer hunters on leases, but package hunts that involve one hunter and a stipulated bag and price are now common in South Texas and a few other places in the state.

Package hunts are close to 100% successful with a hefty price tag and are short—usually 2-5 days. Such hunts are popular with businesspeople who have the money, but not much time to hunt. Such deer hunting usually requires a high fence and controlled deer herds.

In earlier decades, many hunting leases involved families. But since 1970, there has been a loss of 58% in hunters compared to population.

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today who don’t hunt, were never Texas hunters. So, where are the original Texas hunters? They are still here!

When Jerry Johnston started Texas Trophy Hunters in 1975, the state population was 12.5 million, and hunting-license sales were 853,250. Since then, the state population has increased by 132%, while hunting license have increased by 41%. This drastic difference in population and hunter participation is a result of limited access for hunting on private lands.

One interesting aspect of this static trend in license sales and hunter participation is that it might be affecting TPWD and federal aid reimbursements. Inflation and the rising cost of doing business has affected TPWD, and now the state agency is charging for permits that were originally initiated to be free for the commitments from landowners. Now that money is getting tight on the federal level, TPWD is charging Texas landowners $300 for MLD permits that should be free in exchange for habitat enhancements.

Baby Boomers have been big in hunting, fishing and other outdoor sports. The last of the Boomers are now 57 years old.

Research has shown that hunters start hanging up their guns at about 65 years of age. The last of the Boomers will “hang ’em up” by 2030, and this will affect hunting license sales even more.

There is reasonable cause for the failure of hunters to keep up with population increase in Texas. When adults can’t find a place to hunt, they find something else to do, and do not take their children hunting. Over two or three generations, this lack of recruitment of young people into hunting takes its toll. The result is what we see today—a loss of 58% in hunters compared to population since 1970. If you look at the total picture, four out of 100 people hunt in Texas, a figure that is continually going down every year.

A PROPOSED SOLUTION Is there a solution to bringing back a larger portion of Texas’ 26 |

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Author Photo

Dove hunting is big in Texas and accounts for a significant number of hunting licenses. Today’s dove hunters amount to about the same number as 20 years ago. Where are the new dove hunters?

population into the hunting world? Yes. The solution involves changing age-old deer seasons and bag limits to accommodate the increase in potential deer hunters in Texas. We must consider that there are 100 million acres of deer habitat that carry some four million-plus whitetails. The present seasons and bag limits promote few hunters with liberal bag limits. One solution would be to set seasons and bag limits where more hunters take a shorter bag limit. Total harvest would be unchanged when the bag limit is reduced to accommodate more hunters. This may be the only way to double the number of licensed hunters on a static 100 million acres of deer habitat.

Texas has one of the longest deer seasons in the nation. Today, deer hunters can hunt from October to February on a single hunting license. Deer hunters like space, which amounts to about 100 acres for the average hunter. What this comes down to is one million deer hunters taking up five months of deer hunting on the static 100 million acres of deer habitat. When Texas had a 12-15 million population, this was permissible, but not desirable. Now, it is intolerable.

Today, with 29 million people, the old seasons and bag limits are not satisfying the demands for deer hunting in Texas. A solution to this would be to split the five-month season into two seasons, with a hunting license that stipulates either the first or second season. All hunting licenses would permit hunting for Texas game animals but would stipulate which of the two deer seasons the hunter wished to hunt. If the hunter wanted to hunt both deer seasons, they would have to buy two licenses. Bag limits would be adjusted to accommodate two seasons.

The problem has a simple solution. The Texas population has overreached present deer hunting seasons and bag limits set to accommodate the population numbers of 50 years ago. If the new hunters are to be accommodated, seasons and bag limits will need to be changed to allow a doubling of hunters on the static 100 million acres of deer habitat.

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The Double Drop Ranch offers the new owner a completely turnkey South Texas hunting property with outstanding whitetail. Conveniently located just a short drive from Uvalde, this high fenced game ranch boasts a herd of over 400 genetically superior whitetail deer with an estimated ratio of 1 to 1. A gorgeous lodge, separate hunters’ cabins, barns and breeder pens this ranch has it all. LISTED FOR $3,750,000

An amazing “Turn Key” ranch bordered by the North San Gabriel River. A magnificent custom home, a barndominium for guests, multiple barns and outbuildings, game proof boundary fence and a seven acre lake - there is nothing left undone. LISTED FOR $3,650,000

This quintessential Hill Country ranch has all the desirable characteristics for the ultimate retreat. Nearly five miles of creek bottom including both Blowout and Rocky Creeks. A concrete dam creates an inviting swimming hole to enjoy on those hot Summer days. Rolling terrain with elevation changes of over two hundred feet offer incredible views of the surrounding countryside. The pastures are studded with hard wood trees such as Live Oak, Post Oak, Walnut, Pecan, Elm, Mesquite and Cedar. A wide variety of woody plants and brush are present on the ranch providing food for the wildlife.

Improvements include a newly constructed game fence, two water wells and electricity to the central part of the ranch. This property is the perfect blank canvas for the next owner to develop to the extent of their wishes - the possibilities are endless!

The ranch is very private, yet less than 15 minutes from town. Travel time to Austin 1.5 hours and the DFW Metroplex 2.5 hours. Price on Request.

A beautiful Hill Country Ranch with a stunning concrete dam on a spring fed creek creating an inviting oasis. The rolling terrain looks down on the fertile bottomland along the creek, ideal for food plots. Part of a larger high fenced ranch that has been managed for many years, the Whitetail genetics top 200” and there are ample numbers of Axis and Blackbuck to round out the wildlife offering. An easy ten minute drive to Lampasas, a little over an hour to Austin and under three hours from the Metroplex this property is a blank canvas ready for the next owner to develop as they wish. Listed for $1,295,250

Author Photos

As long as you have the desire, it's never too late to take your first buck.

Just ask Art.

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I

grew up in the middle-class suburbs of Houston, Texas, but my father was born in rural South Dakota. Dad, growing up on a farm during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl years made for a meager existence, although he never saw himself as poor. By farming, ranching and the grace of God, the family of 11 was provided with all their needs.

Leisure time was a luxury, and hunting was more about provisioning than it was a hobby.

By the time I came around in 1968, the youngest of five children, the subsistence experience of his formative years was well in his past. He never expressed much desire for hunting in his adult years. And now, living so far removed from the open spaces of his youth, I don’t think he ever intended to pursue it again.

Dad told the story of a time in the early 1960s when he took my older brother gopher hunting on his dad’s farm. As anyone who grazes cattle will tell you, gophers need to be shot to prevent livestock from breaking their legs in gopher holes. As a young lad, my brother didn’t have that perspective. Seeing Dad put an end to one of the little critters, my brother turned to him and said, “I guess God doesn’t love gophers, does He, Daddy?” As a caring father and an ordained minister, that struck him hard, and ended their hunt.

Despite not growing up in a hunting family, I was nevertheless captivated with the idea of being a hunter. I think the spark that ignited that primal urge happened before the age of 10 one particular Sunday afternoon. The home of a deacon of the church where my father pastored was surrounded by a patch of woods, just the sort of place a young boy could find adventure. He handed me an old wooden-stocked Crosman air rifle and tube of BBs. I don’t think I even got a safety lesson before he sent me out to entertain myself. Those were the days when it was still OK to let kids learn hard lessons from their own stupidity. To his credit, I don’t remember Dad protesting in the least. Mom, on the other hand, had to be convinced I wouldn’t shoot my eye out! Soon after, I managed to convince my folks to buy me a Crosman of my own. I still own it, though the barrel is shot out and it no longer holds air. Besides a rescued beagle mix named “Butch,” that air rifle was my most faithful companion.

Only a few hundred yards from our suburban home was a bayou, and every manner of critter was likely to succumb to my well-practiced aim. Much to the chagrin of my mother, many birds and a few squirrels also fell victim from the second story balcony of that same home. I was a crack shot, though not the most disciplined marksman.

In my early teens I really started becoming aware of my dream to hunt whitetails. But not having friends or family that hunted, and not having access to land, it remained only a dream. Around that time, Dad was invited by a pastor friend to go hunting. I remember thinking it might be the first of many invites that could possibly include me some day.

Instead, my dad was exasperated by the experience. Dad said, “He stuck me up in a tree all day long. That’s not hunting!”

You can imagine that hunting in East Texas and hunting in South Dakota are exactly as similar as their geography, which is to say, not at all similar. And being East Texas in the 1970s, it was no great surprise they didn’t have success.

After much pestering on my part, I succeeded in getting Dad to take my brother and me hunting. Another church mem-

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The author's first buck (left) alongside another trophy buck he shot during a different season.

ber had a cabin in East Texas and agreed to let us use it. We brandished shotguns with buckshot, fanned out, and walked around the big thicket. My brother claimed he saw a deer that apparently didn’t have the good sense to fear for his life, so he chased him off to make sure he didn’t get shot. We had given up on taking a deer that day.

After high school, I attended Sam Houston State University, which is situated close to the national forest. I bought a compound bow and taught myself to shoot it well enough. Not having anyone to pass on to me any of the required skills or knowledge to be a successful hunter, my attempts at hunting on public land amounted to nothing more than a series of pleasant walks through the woods.

Lacking scholarly discipline, I eventually dropped out of college and headed to the Marine recruiter’s office. As it happened, he was out to lunch, but his neighbor, the Navy recruiter, was all too happy to see me coming. After my four years in the service I went back to college and earned my degree in aviation maintenance. I eventually ended up working for a major airline in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I became good friends with George, a mechanic who grew up hunting deer in Utah.

George taught me the basics of hunting and we made several trips to public land to put them into practice. This was the first time someone, besides myself, took an interest in my dream.

Had I stayed in Tulsa for more than that single year, I’m sure I would eventually have found hunting success there. But work brought me back to Texas and the dream began to fade.

Several years and a couple of address changes later, I landed in Mansfield, Texas. Although my aspiration to be a deer hunter remained unrealized, I had accumulated a lot of hunting paraphernalia. When it came time for a garage sale at my new residence, I felt it was time to let it all go. After all, it wasn’t doing me any good. The dream was all but dead, taking a backseat to a career and raising a family.

John, a neighbor I hadn’t yet met, came to my garage sale.

Seeing all the hunting junk, he immediately struck up a con-

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versation on the subject. He was quite a storyteller, and when it was my turn to reciprocate, I admitted to my shame I had never taken a deer. We’d only just met, and he already knew I was a deer hunting failure.

But instead of mockery or derision, the very next words out of his mouth were, “We’re going to fix that this year.” I tried to play it cool, but I could barely contain myself. I was on pins and needles. That next fall couldn’t come fast enough.

The date was set for Thanksgiving weekend. Before I left my houseful of guests for the 4½ hour drive to Medina County where John had a lease, my 4-year-old daughter said, “Get a big one, Daddy.” To this day my deer season doesn’t officially start until I hear that refrain from my now-grown daughter.

She did have her concerns, however. She wanted to be sure I wasn’t going to kill ALL the reindeer. After all, Christmas was just around the corner and Santa still needed a few.

In retrospect, the hunt itself was little more than a formality. But for a grown man fulfilling a lifelong dream, it was pure magic. After setting up camp, John pointed me down a path and told me to follow the power line to the second pole where I’d find a box blind. He painted the picture for me: The author's father, Jim Griepp.

“There is a feeder about 50 yards in front of that,” he said.

“And when the sun starts to get low, the deer will come out to feed.” His parting advice: “Take your first available good shot.” It happened just exactly as he predicted. The first and this trophy of a lifetime. I called John to share the news. He told only deer I saw was a yearling basket rack six that probably me to stay put because every hunter knows the best hunting is weighed 60 pounds, but buck fever still managed to send me that magical last 15 minutes of light. into a panic.

I promptly ignored his order. Loss of camera light wasn’t In my exuberance to grab the .270 Winchester leaning in the going to make me miss out on getting a picture with my deer. corner, I jammed the barrel hard into the roof of the blind. The I climbed out of the blind, lugging the chair with me because I little buck barely noticed the noise and quickly settled back to didn’t have a tripod for my camera. And while a picture is good, grazing a mere 30 yards in front of me. I was certain he would a full shoulder mount is better! see me shaking with adrenaline and bolt for cover, leaving me I could have taken a doe, but I had already determined no once again and forever “deer-less.” I sat as motionless as I could matter what I took, it was destined for the taxidermist. Not all manage until he finally stepped behind a bit of brush before I trophies are measured in inches. Someday, I hope to harvest a got up the nerve to slowly ease the gun out the window. buck worthy to be called a trophy by most hunters’ standards, I waited at least a couple of seconds for the barest bit of his but I have killed a few decent bucks since my first one, and front shoulder to peek out before I pulled the trigger. I believe I managed to put meat in my freezer every year. must have closed my eyes. The next thing that happened, I saw We often hear the refrain, “Take a kid hunting to help grow the buck on the ground, right where he had stood. and preserve this legacy for future generations.” I got started At last, I had done it! I could hardly wait to put my hands on too late to get my own kid immersed in the hunting lifestyle.

But maybe there’s hope for a grandkid hunting buddy someday. I hope dads will take their kids hunting, but don’t overlook that 35-year-old “kid at heart” who might be your new neighbor having a garage sale.

Field photos of the author and his first buck.

The smile says it all.

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photos

Millennium Outdoors

BOWHUNTER

SAFETY B

BY WILL LESCHPER

owhunting has never been more popular, with the pursuit taking the mainstream outdoors world by storm and making big-time celebrities out of those men and women adept at harvesting bone and backstraps with stick and string. It sure seems like everyone who’s anyone in the outdoor space is bowhunting, which is a good thing for helping introduce more folks to the pursuit and to hunting in general, especially here in Texas where archery hunters get a head start on rifle hunters every whitetail season. With so many outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen taking up the archery experience for the first time, it’s vital to highlight the numerous safety angles that should be considered each and every time you spend time outdoors with bow in hand, or crossbow, now that you’re able to use them during earlier deer frameworks here in the Lone Star state except for a handful of counties north of the Metroplex.

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hunters using razor-sharp broadheads and gear capable of storing loads of kinetic energy, there’s one common thread to the most frequent hunting-related incidents each year: falls from elevated positions, which also can affect Texas rifle hunters ascending and descending tall stands of various makes and models.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department keeps detailed reports of all hunting-related fatal and non-fatal incidents dating back to 1966, providing clear insight into the nature of accidents involving outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen pursuing game ranging from deer and doves to hogs and ducks. TPWD logged more than 1.3 million hunting license sales last year – its highest figure ever on record (largely due to COVID-19 lockdowns and folks having plenty of extra time) – with 24 overall hunting accidents, including a single fatal one. That translates to a hunting accident rate of 1.8 per 100,000 licenses sold, which is still among the lowest figures TPWD has ever documented.

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Mandatory hunter education — in effect since 1988 in the Lone Star state — has been the most important factor in the overall reduction of hunting accidents.

In addition to hunting accidents involving the discharge of either a firearm or a bow, TPWD also documents incidents that don’t revolve around weapons, especially falls, which increased last year. The most common of those accidents were falls from elevated stands that led to documented injuries for five hunters. Falls from elevated positions while hunting are the No. 1 hunting accident in North America, TPWD notes, and there undoubtedly are many accidents each fall and winter involving climbing into a deer stand that don’t get documented by the state agency.

While improved safety gear has helped ensure fewer accidents, studies have shown that roughly 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 archery hunters will suffer a fall at some time during their excursions when either ascending or descending a stand, according to TPWD. With that in mind, here is a glimpse at bowhunting safety centering on hunting from treestands and elevated positions, though many of these points can be applied to varying hunting situations for a number of game species: l Wear a full-body harness, also known as a fall arrest system, when you are in a treestand, as well as when climbing into or out of a treestand. Make sure it is worn properly. Treestand harnesses have an expiration date and should be replaced when they expire and/or if a fall occurs. l A safety strap should be attached to the tree to prevent falling more than a foot.

l Follow the three-point rule of treestand safety. Always have three points of contact to the steps or ladder before moving. Be cautious that rain, frost, ice or snow can cause steps to become slippery.

Check the security of a step before placing your weight on it. l Always inspect the safety harness for signs of wear or damage before each use. l Always hunt with a plan and, if possible, a buddy. Before you leave home, let others know your hunting location, when you plan to return and who is with you. l Carry emergency signal devices such as a cellphone, walkietalkie, whistle, signal flare, personal locator device and flashlight on your person and within reach even while you are suspended. Watch for changing weather conditions. In the event of an accident, remain calm and seek help immediately. l Always select the proper tree for use with your treestand. Select a live straight tree that fits within the size limits recommended in your treestand’s instructions. Do not climb or place a treestand against a leaning tree. l Always use a haul line to pull up gear and unloaded firearm or bow to your treestand once you have reached your desired hunting height. Never climb with anything in your hands or on your back.

Prior to descending, lower your equipment on the opposite side of the tree. l Be aware of suspension trauma. A rear attached full-body harness is intended to prevent falls, not to be suspended in. Suspension trauma can happen in less than 20 minutes and can be fatal. Hunters should attach an additional foot strap to the body harness to take the pressure off their upper legs and carry a pocket knife to cut away the harness if a situation turns critical.

DON’T FALL VICTIM TO BECOMING A HUNTING ACCIDENT STATISTIC Here are excerpts from some non-fatal accidents documented by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, which highlight the key aspect involved in most bowhunting-related accidents, as well as some firearm-related ones: • Victim slipped while descending the ladder of her 8-foot box elevated stand. She carried her rifle down with her, holding the railing with her rifle hand. She slipped and fractured her pelvis in two places because of the fall.

• Victim slipped and fell off a 6-foot ground blind while waiting for his hunting companion to pick him up. He suffered a broken leg and cut near his eye.

• Victim slipped and fell 15 feet after installing a treestand and attempting to sit in the seat attachment without a harness or climbing system attached to himself.

• Victim lowered his rifle from a treestand using a haul line then descended using a climbing-style treestand. He had not secured the safety pin to the climber cable prior to descending and was not wearing a harness. He fell 15 feet when the cable dislodged and suffered major injuries to his vertebrae and ribs.

• While descending from a tripod-style elevated stand, victim fell and hooked his leg on the lower rung of the ladder causing injury to his calf and thigh. He had placed his bow on the platform prior to descending so he was hands-free on the way down.

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Author Photos

Brandon with the 19-point non-typical mentioned in the opening paragraphs. The main-frame eight-point had 11 more scoreable points around the bases. He shot the buck in October 2007 in Shackelford County.

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y friends dropped me at the pop-up blind well before dark. Instructions were as follows: “Ray, there’s a big eight-point that comes here. He’s old. I’ve only seen him from a distance, but he’s a good buck. If you see him, shoot him. Don’t shoot the young 10-point.” Taillights vanished into the mesquites and I waited on that October morning.

In the grey gloom just before shooting light, shapes of deer started to appear. One passed close, 10 yards from my blind.

Even in the darkness I could see big antlers against the waking sky. I waited, barely breathing.

Finally, the sun was on the rise. Indeed, a mature eight-point buck stood there with three does. I could see good tine length, long beams and gnarly bases. I assumed this was the buck on the hit list. When he turned broadside at 30 yards, I took the shot.

The arrow was good, but there wasn’t much of a blood trail.

On hands and knees, we searched until we found the buck stone dead in the knee-high broom weeds 200 yards away.

What we thought was a 140-class eight-point turned into something more. The main-framed eight-point had another 11 extra points on his bases and brow tines, making him a 19-pointer!

The mature whitetail ended up with a net non-typical score of 1575⁄8 Pope & Young.

That memorable hunt took place in 2007. The location was North Texas near the town of Albany in Shackelford County.

The same property has produced even bigger bucks. On a neighboring property, one friend killed a typical 10-point that netted over Boone and Crockett’s 170-inch minimum. It’s no longer a secret that big whitetails can come from the northern half of the state.

Two similar, but slightly different ecological regions make up this northern-most area of Texas, the Rolling Plains and the High Plains. On average, deer numbers are lower here than say South Texas or the Hill Country. But mature bucks reach impressive size, both in antlers and body size. Here’s a closer look at these two regions.

ing, he shot a giant, 150-class eight-point. The location was brushy mesquite flats in Borden County. The buck had been on a trail camera since early September, one of those rare older bucks that was very visible early in the season. Despite it being opening weekend, the mature buck already had a brow tine broken. Ronnie shot another impressive 140-class buck in a different Texas county later in the season. That makes an impressive 50 Pope & Young whitetails from Texas for Parsons.

A trail camera over a feeder or waterhole can pinpoint when to hunt. If bucks are moving only in the dark, stay out of the area. Be patient. Later in the month, monitor the weather.

When storms come through and the temperature drops, those same bucks might start to move in daylight. That’s the window of opportunity you need. Plan your hunting time around those weather events. Year to year, I have the most encounters with mature bucks the last week in October and early November.

The cooler weather patterns and the urges of the upcoming rut have bucks moving more in daylight.

Look for sign. Rubs will indicate where bucks are traveling.

Last fall, a friend and I monitored a narrow strip of trees that ran down an old fence line in otherwise open terrain. This was just across the Texas border in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The strip of brush connected open fields to a nearby ravine. The deer were bedding in the ravine and CRP fields, then traveling down the fence to feed in the fields after dark. At least a dozen fresh rubs and several scrapes were in that 100-yard-long strip of cover, proof that more than one buck was likely traveling there. A trail camera proved one of the bucks was world-class, but only there in the dark. After several fruitless sits in October, my friend Shawn Hoover stayed out, waiting for the weather to change. On Nov. 2, the wind was right, and the temperature dropped. Shawn waited in his homemade hay bale blind. At sunset, the big, non-typical buck arrived. With one arrow at 20 yards, Shawn hit the buck with a double-lung shot. If not for a broken beam and a couple of broken points, that buck would

ROLLING PLAINS The Rolling Plains is the ecological region roughly west of Fort Worth and going up the eastern counties in the Texas Panhandle. Like its name, the country has rolling hills, rivers that cut small canyons, and average annual rainfall from 20 to 28 inches. Elevations vary from 800 to 3,000 feet above sea level. Mesquites are common with shortgrass prairies and various hardwoods. Crop and livestock production are the major agricultural industries in this region.

Bow season starts in October. While warm weather can keep mature bucks nocturnal, that first and last hour of the day can be productive. The first week of the season, bucks are often still on a predictable summer pattern. Sometimes, bucks are still in summer bachelor herds.

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A mature 10-point mule deer in the Texas Panhandle. Both whitetails and mule deer can overlap in certain parts of the Rolling Plains and High Plains.

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have scored 193 inches non-typical. Trail camera pictures proved the buck’s rack was fully intact just 24 hours earlier!

For peak rut action, North Texas biologists say hunt one week either side of Thanksgiving. Rattling and calling works because buck to doe ratios are often tight in low deer density counties. Last fall, on Nov. 20, I rattled late in the afternoon.

I hid in a short tripod stand overlooking a Panhandle creek.

After a short sequence of meshing two shed antlers together, I let out several grunts on my call. In less than five minutes, a buck came charging to the downwind side. I recognized him from earlier in the year, a middle-aged 10-point, but now he had two tines broken. He got a pass. He paced around at 30 yards looking for the fight, then dashed away.

Get a height advantage, a tripod or treestand if possible, so you can spot incoming bucks when rattling and calling.

Watch the downwind side. Be prepared for a quick shot opportunity. Several years ago, I spotted a distant buck with his nose to the ground, cruising down a creek 200 yards away. Two short grunts on my grunt call perked the buck’s attention, then he came at me on a steady walk. I hesitated, having only one tag for that county, as the buck closed to 25 yards. He was a decent 130-class 10-point, but bigger bucks were around. When he hit the downwind side of me, he snorted and was gone. Calling is an excellent tactic if you spot a distant buck that likely won’t walk past your ambush point otherwise, so keep antlers and a call in your backpack.

The author examining a fresh rub. Notice more rubs in the background. Find a spot like this and bucks are obviously traveling through this patch of brush. A trail camera can tell you if the activity is nighttime or daytime.

mostly irrigated cropland, and the native vegetation includes more mesquite and juniper.

I remember a massive whitetail shed a friend discovered near crops while pheasant hunting. The one side scored 80 inches!

My friends who farm near Dalhart find big bucks in and around crops. It’s difficult terrain to bowhunt, more conducive to spot-and-stalk because the deer are wanderers. Often times the best topography to bowhunt is an isolated creek with some brush and trees far from the crops. A windmill in arid country HIGH PLAINS can also be an effective ambush point. Like whitetails anywhere The High Plains is a relatively level high plateau, separated else in Texas, corn feeders work to keep deer in the area. The from the Rolling Plains by the Caprock Escarpment. It makes absence of trees means ground blinds or short tripod stands up the western-most counties of the lower and upper Texas work best.

Panhandle. Elevations range from 3,000 to 4,500 feet above Last fall, my daughter Emma and I waited in a natural brush sea level. Average annual rainfall is 15 to 22 inches. Although blind built from cedar branches. A scenic creek with tall cothistorically a grassland, mesquite and yucca have invaded parts tonwoods was nearby. It’s rough canyon country where the of the region. Once this region was covered with immense Rolling Plains and the High Plains converge. Deer numbers are herds of bison and pronghorn antelope. Today, the plains are modest, but we usually find a good buck on that creek every year. The early November morning was a cool 48 degrees. A small buck and two does appeared first.

From the south came a bigger buck I’d never seen before. I gave Emma the nod to shoot when he turned.

At 15 yards, Emma’s crossbow put a broadhead right through the buck’s heart. The fine buck had long brow tines and 11 total points. A fine buck for Emma’s first-ever whitetail.

The High Plains is not only home to whitetails, but you also find mule deer. The big-eared bucks are often congregated around crop fields like wheat or milo. Nearby canyons with dense cedars serve as bedding and security cover.

It was back in late October 2007 that bowhunter Jim Finch arrowed a giant non-typical in the northEmma Ray with her first-ever whitetail. She shot the buck with her western Panhandle. That Hartley crossbow in November 2020 on a Panhandle creek. Dad was her guide. This hunt is described in the article.

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antlers headed to a cedar-choked ravine. Binoculars proved it County buck net-scored 2226⁄8 inches. It is still the largest was a mule deer, not a whitetail. A careful stalk put me inside non-typical mule deer from Texas in the Pope & Young Record Book. Panhandle counties that border eastern New Mexico pro- 20 yards of the unsuspecting mulie buck. The arrow found the duce a few whopper mule deer bucks every year. Mule deer can ribs. Thirty minutes later, I found the 5½-year-old 10-point dead 125 yards away at the bottom of the yucca-dotted ravine. also be found on the eastern side of the Panhandle. The largest The handsome, grey-faced buck weighed over 200 pounds. The typical mule deer from Texas entered in the Pope & Young 7 work started from there to get him back to the truck. It was an Record Book is from Cottle County. That 185 ⁄8 -inch buck was taken in 2004 by Johnathan Burpo. Proof that you don’t have to unexpected bonus on a day when scouting for whitetails was my priority. go to the Rocky Mountains to find a good mule deer buck.

It’s not a secret any longer. North Texas is a proven destinaIn some of these top-of-Texas counties, the two deer species tion for big bucks. overlap. Mostly, the whitetails are in thicker, brushier, flatter terrain and the mule deer live in rougher, sometimes more open landscapes, but there are no hard rules on where you might find either one.

I’ve had both species visit the same feeder. In my observations, the whitetails are more aggressive than the mule deer. I’ve seen white-tailed bucks chase and breed mule deer does, but never the reverse. In that area, I’ve seen two fawns I suspect were hybrids. Both fawns looked like a whitetail, but with a mule deer tail. And both had mule deer does as mothers. Ten years ago, I arrowed a fine 140-class whitetail from a ground blind. A week later, out of the same blind, I arrowed a 30-inch mule deer with a drop tine!

Having both deer species on the same property certainly makes things interesting.

A well-concealed ground blind in the eastern One early December afternoon, when both Texas Panhandle. deer species were in season, I spotted bobbing

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Author Photos

The author had to leave his previous lease behind and thought his run as a bowhunter would end. But a friend got him on another lease where he made a new start with this excellent trophy buck.

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t all started in 2007. My stepdad asked if I would like to get on a lease outside San Angelo with him and some friends of ours. Of course, as any hunting fool would do, I jumped at the chance! Over the next 11 years, I made more hunting memories than I ever dreamed possible. I was 12 years old when I got on that lease, so I basically grew up hunting on it.

There were years that were far better hunting-wise than other years, but it didn’t matter to me. Every trip I made out there and back home, all I could think about was getting back to the lease. That lease was very special to me. One of my good friends, Bo Willis, and I bowhunted the place for over 10 years.

In 2014 the landowner’s brother passed away, and he sold his half of the place. I was bummed. It was where my stand was, and where I thought I would hunt forever. Still a little bummed, I just kept telling myself, at least we still have some of the place. That summer I moved to the other half of the ranch that was staying in our landowner’s possession. Going into the spring of the 2018 season, things were slowly falling apart.

We went back and forth trying to come to an agreement, but nothing was ever reached. That was it. In February 2018 we notified them we would come get our stuff. I was disappointed.

It was one of my favorite places on Earth and now I’d never see it again.

If I were to choose, I would have always hunted that ranch. I thought this might be the end of an era for me as a bowhunter.

But looking back now, it’s funny how things worked out.

Going into the 2018 season, I started looking for new places in the area. I actually found a few good places with good people. But life happened. My wife and I were going to have a baby boy. I put the lease search on hold for the 2018 season.

Last spring, Jared Zoch messaged me and said they had an opening in Coke County, not 5 miles from where I had spent so many years hunting. After conversing back and forth about the place, I took the spot. It's in the same area I had hunted all those years, just a little way down the road. It was a huge relief to finally be back hunting in West Texas! I ended up getting my spot set up around the end of February, just in time to start the spring growing season. As the summer progressed, we easily saw we had some very special mature deer on the place.

The dog days of summer dragged by, but with each protein-work weekend that went by, the season inched

closer. Around July or August, we really started pinpointing our bigger-end deer. For me, there were only two deer: a big giant freak of a West Texas buck, and a monster eight-point. That was all I needed to see.

I had made my mind up. I would take one of them, or nothing. I never had the big eight on my feeder, but I did see him at the water trough, just 200 yards or so from my blind. The other deer showed up at my feeder a few times, one time being in good daylight.

I also saw him at the water trough a few times. As September arrived, he was still on our lease fairly frequently. He would frequent a few feeders every so often, especially for rice bran.

This deer was a traveler. He was hitting two different feeders over a mile apart. Going into opening weekend, I told most of the guys it was either him or bust. I had my heart set on hunting him.

The Hunt My dad and I arrived at camp Friday to hot temperatures and some overcast sky. I was fired up. We sat in the blind Saturday morning, messed around camp at midday, then I caught a pretty good nap. My good buddy, Daniel, actu-

As the author took aim at this buck, an eightpoint kept interfering with his shot. The author succeeded after the fourth attempt. www.TTHA www.

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ally woke me up. I guess I had forgotten to set the alarm. I threw my clothes on as quickly as I could and got in the stand between 5:15 and 5:30.

It was hot. I talked to God for a good while, way longer than normal. It was “different” than all the times before. The afternoon had picked up right where the morning had left off. Deer came from every direction. Around 6, I had a pretty good sized eight-point come in and push most everything off the corn. He acted like it was late November and he was ready to go. At 6:15 when the feeder went off, I shut all the windows.

At 7:15 I heard a deer’s legs clip the feed pen around my protein feeder. I couldn’t see the protein feeder, but I didn’t think too much about it when none of the deer in front of me even acknowledged that other deer. I stuck my head to the edge of the blind to look, and there he was. I couldn’t believe it.

A much larger buck stood 20 yards from me and not one single deer even lifted its head. As he made his way in, I got my bow and readied myself for the shot. He came between me and the corn line. He was about 14 yards away when he stopped.

I got ready to draw and as I did, the eight-point turned around and postured up to the larger buck. He pinned his ears back and bristled up like he wanted a fight, but the larger buck left. He wanted no part of it and ran to my right, then out behind my feeder 40-50 yards away.

To my surprise the larger buck circled back around and came back to his original spot on the corn. I start getting ready for the shot only to have the eight do it again! The larger buck went out to 50 yards and stood there. He eventually circled back

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around to the same spot on the corn.

The third time was not the charm, because the eight did the same exact thing. He wanted the larger buck to have no part of his feeder. I could not believe what was happening, but the larger buck circled back in for a fourth and final time.

The larger buck was closer this time, and I actually drew before he got to the corn. But the eight came to push him off again! This time the larger buck turned the opposite direction and quartered towards me instead of directly away. I drew back on him and let the arrow fly and saw blood instantly.

He ran out to 20 yards, cut left, and when he did, blood sprayed out. I could see I got what looked to be about a foot of penetration. I thanked God for the opportunity at such an animal, and really started feeling good about the blood I saw.

After 45 minutes or so, I got down from the blind. I instantly found good lung blood. I decided to trail a little bit and just look for the arrow. I followed the blood down into the creek 30 yards or so from the feeder and was actually about to stop and back out, when I rounded the corner and found him.

I could talk for hours trying to explain what I felt at that moment. I thanked God and headed to pick everyone up to enjoy this. I headed to camp to get my dad and some of the guys to go back and get my trophy. There were high fives, hugs and congratulations all around. It was a special night and a special weekend with as good of group of people as you could ask for. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

I thank Jared for the opportunity to join such a great place. This being my first year on the lease, I did not have any prior history with this deer, but the rest of the lease did. They had seen him last year as a 130" 4-year-old. He exploded during the summer.

The buck camp-scored 170" on the dot and had a live weight of 194 pounds. You just can’t beat Texas bowhunting!

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West Texas may not be on par with the Hill Country or South Texas in terms of quantity or quality in many hunters’ minds, but it’s a great place to find good bucks each fall and winter.

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he Lone Star state is second to none in terms of hunting opportunities and this fall and winter will again feature plenty of good seasons for big and small game. Here is the annual hunting forecast for some of our most sought-after species.

White-Tailed Deer Alan Cain, white-tailed deer program leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said the hunting outlook – as usual – is bright for both quantity and quality from the Red River to the Rio Grande. The whitetail population figure has remained stable at more than 5 million animals in recent years and the overall harvest also has been similar the past couple of years.

With good carryover and range conditions, it’s going to be another good year for Texas deer.

“If you look back at last year’s harvest, it’s about 852,000 deer statewide,” he said. “The year before that it was estimated at about 846,000. The overall hunter success rate was 63% statewide last season and was higher in the South Texas plains at 79%. The harvest figure was up which can be attributed some to COVID, but the funny thing is the overall hunter number was actually below the previous year.”

Cain noted that the traditional strongholds of the Hill County and South Texas brush country again led the way in overall harvest figures, and he expects nothing to change this season.

“The overall harvest in the Edwards Plateau was above 255,000 deer with about 124,000 of those being bucks,” he said. “In South Texas, the harvest was about 133,000 and about 70,000 bucks. Those places and the Cross Timbers should fare well again for the obvious reasons that they just have prime habitat and larger population numbers.

“In some counties in South Texas, you’ll find a deer to every 40 acres while in the area around Mason the density is just below a deer to every four acres.”

Timely spring rains, including torrential downpours in South Texas, have set the stage for deer of all sizes to be in good shape this fall and winter, Cain said. That includes what should be a good fawn crop.

“In terms of antler quality, there will be pockets of the state – western South Texas brush country, western edge of the Hill Country and the Trans-Pecos – that didn’t get good moisture, but by and large, areas like the Cross Timbers and Hill Country as a whole especially were green and the animals were healthy,” Cain said.

Cain said that in terms of deer management, we’re living in an unprecedented era, which bodes well not just for this season but for years to come. He said that management has been beneficial to hunters taking better bucks. He noted that the majority of bucks taken is in the 3½- or 4½-year-old age class, but roughly 15% of the overall buck harvest is composed of older deer, ones classified as 5½ years old or older. He also pointed to antler restrictions in place in dozens of counties as being beneficial to letting deer get more age to them.

“Deer hunting has become a year-round pursuit, not just a season that runs a few months,” he said. “Hunters have become more knowledgeable than they ever have been and that’s a good thing for the state. Dry, wet, it doesn’t necessarily matter because folks are more engaged in deer management, so you’ll see plenty of big bucks taken across the state. The bottom line is www.TTHA www.

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The white-winged dove – slightly larger than its mourning dove cousin – has expanded its range to include the entirety of Texas.

this: If you take care of your place, you’re going to have a good season, unless something unforeseen happens like the really bad drought years we’ve had that also have been really hot.”

Doves Texas dove hunting is a rite of passage in introducing youngsters and first-timers, and simply put, we’ve got the best mourning dove and white-winged dove hunting in the country.

The Lone Star state boasts fall dove populations larger than any other state and its roughly 400,000 dove hunters harvest about five million birds annually.

As the kickoff to fall and winter hunting seasons, there’s always huge interest from hunters across the state, and this year will be no different. Hopefully you stocked up on shells before the pandemic stripped the shelves of almost all ammo!

Owen Fitzsimmons, dove program leader for TPWD, said hunting opportunities have never been more readily available to Texans, with public hunting access available near metro areas like San Antonio and Houston that can harbor lots of “urban doves.”

“Based on the rainfall and moisture levels we’ve seen in the spring, that’s a really good indicator of dove production,” he said. “That moisture is beneficial and provides plenty of natural forage for birds. However, that kind of rain in September can make hunting tough.”

Mourning doves will always be an economic driver for hunts in Texas with millions of doves in the breeding population. But the whitewing outlook as a whole, is on the rise, with the state supporting millions of whitewings. Whitewings, traditionally a Rio Grande Valley species in the past, are now found all across Texas, especially near urban centers that support breeding populations.

“There are a lot of hunters around metro areas like the Me-

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troplex and San Antonio that are able to go a couple of minutes outside the city and hit some agricultural fields and they’re seeing some fantastic whitewing hunts,” he said. It’s the same story around Houston.”

One big change to dove season this year is the addition of extra days for hunters in the special whitewing zone in South Texas.

Shaun Oldenburger, small game program director with TPWD, said the agency got approval from U.S. Fish and Wildlife to extend the season slightly in the whitewing hot spot.

“Previously, the early whitewing days were two days apiece on the first weekend of the season and we’ve been allowed to

this year’s count will shine more light onto just how many ducks and geese are coming south, the overall hunting outlook remains good for hunters with access to great habitat, namely water that doesn’t disappear if things get dry.

Kevin Kraai, waterfowl program leader with TPWD, noted that many species have continued to buck the trend in what had been a decline in some different populations.

“From a species standpoint, I’m hearing blue-winged teal did well again, as well as northern pintails and gadwall. It’s those species, as well as shovelers and green-winged teal which nested in the eastern Dakotas, that did very well,” he said. “Some of those species like bluewings, greenwing and shovelers could be near record highs, so those things are all good for traditional waterfowl hot spots like the coast and the Rolling Plains.”

Like the other game listed, waterfowl are heavily dependent on water, which can drive them into new locales, especially if rainfall was lacking through the summer and into early fall.

“Going into the summer, most of the state was looking really good with record moisture and even record flooding in some places,” Kraai said. “However, when we have excessively dry years, we actually record better waterfowl harvests and higher success rates because the birds don’t have as many places to go with less water on the landscape.”

Kraai noted that some traditional goose hunting hot spots have undergone significant changes in recent years, making hunts tougher, especially for Canada geese.

“In the Panhandle, your goose hunts White-tailed deer entered last fall’s hunting seasons in good shape are going to be much closer to town and it’s a good bet they will again this fall, barring any unforeseen as we’ve got concentrations of birds in circumstances. cities. Most cities in the Panhandle and Rolling Plains now have either town lakes or effluent ponds for water and add in the extra days, so you’ll have a Friday-Saturday-Sunday geese heavily key on those areas during dry conditions and stay hunting opportunity those initial weekends (Sept. 3-5 and Sept. there,” he said.

10-12),” Oldenburger said. “That’s going to provide more hunt“In looking at coastal marshes and prairies goose hunting, ing opportunity not just in far South Texas but also places like there has been a massive change in the landscape that has El Campo where whitewings have expanded quickly.” altered locations where waterfowl can roost, as well as the Dove hunters are reminded by TPWD officials that in adamount of food and water available. We don’t detect Canadas dition to a valid hunting license, certification in the Harvest anymore in our surveys there. They’ve almost completely left Information Program is required. HIP certification is offered the coast.” when you buy your license and involves responding to a few As with other species, hunting pressure certainly plays a role simple questions about your migratory game bird harvest in where ducks and geese will go and stay, something hunters during the previous season. TPWD also is conducting ongoshould consider this fall and winter. ing dove banding research and asks hunters to please report “On the coast, we’re seeing strong evidence of redheads leg bands recovered on harvested birds by calling 1-800-327avoiding certain locations due to hunting pressure because BAND. TPWD bands many doves annually across the state. so many people are pursuing them. We’re also seeing duck Hunters also may report banded birds online. numbers in places where they weren’t 10 years ago,” Kraai said.

“Waterfowl are now utilizing non-traditional habitat including Waterfowl locations like stock ponds and other industrial sources that Duck and goose hunting last year faced unprecedented times hold steady water. That bodes well for the ducks and geese, due to COVID-19, which led to cancellations of the joint waterwhich can stay away from hunters.” fowl count conducted each year by the U.S. and Canada. While 50 |

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Notable hunting changes for 2021-22 seasons Hunters will see some changes this fall to our Texas hunting frameworks, including the elimination of the experimental pronghorn season in the northern Panhandle and extension of the general pronghorn season from nine to 16 days statewide.

There also is an addition of two days of hunting opportunity in the Special White-winged Dove Days within the South Dove Zone.

Among notable alterations approved back in the spring by the TPW Commission are: Add crossbow to the definition of lawful archery equipment Remove the prohibition on trailing wounded deer with dogs in Angelina, Hardin, Nacogdoches, Orange, Shelby, and Tyler

counties; In addition, allow the trailing of wounded deer to no more than two dogs on a leash in Jasper, Newton, Sabine and San Augustine counties Modify the muzzleloader definition to clarify only the bullet or projectile and powder must be loaded through the muzzle Align spring and fall wild turkey hunting seasons with consistent North and South Zone boundaries along Highway 90 starting in fall 2021 Allow squirrel hunting statewide by opening the remaining closed counties to a year-round hunting season; the traditional East Texas squirrel season, May 1-31 and Oct. 1-last Sunday in February remains unchanged.

Turkeys

TPWD, said the department continues to seek out new opportunities for hunters who don’t have hunting access on private lands.

“We saw increased license sales across the board and our permits went up, as well as our draw system applications and Big Time Texas Hunts applications. Everything increased substantially from the year before largely due to the pandemic. Folks had the distractions of everyday life somewhat taken away and got back to what’s important, like being in the outdoors.

“In our draw system we’ll continue to have a lot of the same favorites, but we’ve added a number of private lands opportunities, including hunts for quail, turkeys and feral hogs. We’re always looking to add opportunities for the public hunting program, especially with increased demand. We also have added more national wildlife refuge hunts so hunters will start seeing those in the public draw system.”

Turkey hunting remains a great pursuit in Texas, where we’ve got the largest population of the Rio Grande subspecies in the country at roughly a half-million birds in wet years. While the spring outlook will remain to be seen, there are big changes to the overall pursuit across the state.

“We aligned our north and south zone boundaries for the spring and fall seasons, so those times dates are really going to kind of look like our white-tailed deer regulations now,” Oldenburger said. “For years there’s been some disconnect between those frameworks. Depending on what county you were sitting in, you might be in the south zone for the fall and the north zone for the spring, and that never really made much sense. We looked at simplification of the regulations and it’s something we’ve received a number of complaints about in the past decade.”

Oldenburger also noted there is a big change to the state’s “one-gobbler” counties.

“Those south-central counties are moving to mandatory harvest reporting,” he said. “We received little response in those counties (Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Milam and Wharton) in regard to our small-game harvest surveys, so we really had no way to make any management decisions since we didn’t know if the harvest was increasing or decreasing. Folks who are successful in those counties will need to go online or go to the My Texas Hunt Harvest app. It’s the same requirement for those hunters taking antlerless deer in those counties or those who’ve hunted eastern turkeys.”

Public Hunting Justin Dreibelbis, Private Lands and Public Hunting Program Director with

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The mourning dove remains the most harvested game animal or game bird in Texas, with hunters bagging in excess of five million mourning doves every fall and winter.

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DOVES

COME FIRST IN

TEXAS T Water holes are popular places to bust birds. Battery-operated decoys truly help bring doves in closer. Below: Jax Riley, 6, proved to be an eager bird dog for his parents and friends last dove season. He’s hoping to hunt this year with his own .410 shotgun.

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rickles of liquid crept slowly down my ribs. Heavy moisture beaded my face and chest. A rivulet of sweat turned into a flash flood as it raced down my spine. Even my feet were wet inside knee-high leather boots.

Something caught my eye. As I rose, the tripod stool stuck to my butt as if it had been glued. Damp clothes hampered movement. Drenched from head to toe, I wasn’t in a rainstorm. I was dove hunting in September in South Texas. Shouldering my 12-gauge, the dove stopped mid-air. It was slight consolation to enduring intense heat misery.

Why in the world would sane people subject themselves to 100-degree temperatures for a few birds? Why not? When dove action is lively, hunters forget extreme heat for a short while, at least until the next dove comes winging by. On the other hand, few birds flying makes it easy to throw in the wet towel and head for air conditioning.

This particular afternoon was oppressive. No breeze meant gnats were attracted to everyone’s sweat. Armed with shotguns and ammo, plain ol’ water was in high demand. I consumed over one gallon! However, by sunset, the suffering proved worth it, as every hunter limited out.

Ever been party to remarks like these?

“INCOMING LEFT! A whole flight of ‘em!”

“THREE COMIN’ STRAIGHT IN FRONT!” “Farther out. Right there somewhere. Thought you were a good two-legged bird dog!”

“MAN!!! How’d you miss that slow dove? You need lessons!”

“WOW! Where’d that one come from? HA!” “GREAT DOUBLE SHOT! Impressive shooting!”

They’re but a few of what might be non-stop banter, jesting, cajoling, congratulations, and other rude, crude, entertaining comments taking place when dove hunting. If you haven’t heard them, you’re missing out

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big time on tons of fun.

Doves come first as a new round of hunting seasons rolls up on the calendar in September. Hunters and non-hunters can participate in perhaps the liveliest of all hunting adventures. Deer hunters outnumber dove chasers in the Lone Star state, but no one disputes how great dove hunting can be during fall or winter seasons.

Here are a couple of differences between pursuing the two species. Dove hunters can be loud, boisterous, and jovial without worrying if doves smell them because the birds can’t detect odors. Hunters’ quick movement may alter a bird’s flight, but you can walk around and change positions. Deer hunters must be quiet, still or very slowmoving while being conscious of wind direction, which could reveal their scent to the deer.

What makes folks of all ages pursue speeding, darting, dipping, sharp-eyed small birds? It’s fun, age is meaningless, and if you’re lucky, you’ll enjoy fine dining! Doves can be prepared whole or breast only in too many delectable ways to count. One of the festive occasions of dove hunting is a morning brunch after the first day, with dove, gravy and hot biscuits.

Why is dove hunting so popular? First and foremost, many hunters haven’t hunted since the end of the previous deer or spring turkey season. And doves are the only flying targets that some hunters ever shoot at. They’ve possibly gone months without pursuing something to shoot. Others may have chased feral hogs or varmints but aiming a shotgun skyward is a totally different type of shooting.

Don’t be fooled for a minute that hunting doves is like skeet or trap shooting— ’cuz it ain’t! Standing in one spot waiting on clay targets to fly across your view is entirely different because that brightly colored disc is on a predictable path. It may curve a bit or bounce, simulating a rabbit, but it’s still on a predetermined track.

That’s not so with doves. Wearing camouflage clothing, a cap to cover a bald (or red) head, standing or sitting in shade helps conceal the hunter. However, doves have great eyesight and quick ground movement can flare a bird off even while heading right at you! Throwing BBs at these swift aerial acrobats is too pleasurable to put into words.

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Be careful posting on social media.

With a photo like this, it may be hard proving to game wardens your 15-dove limit wasn’t exceeded.

Plastic bottles filled with ice and placed in water bowls help your bird dog from overheating.

requiring lots of expensive, specialized equipment. A hunter needs a hunting license, shotgun, ammo, drinking water, eye and ear protection, and a place to hunt. Optional items include a chair or stool, hat, shooting vest and bag, retriever, snake boots, lip balm, sunscreen, and a few things I’m sure I’ve forgotten.

Dove hunting doesn’t always happen on hot days. Mother Nature often teases with an early cool front, delighting all hunters. Texas is known for September hurricanes and tropical storms that come ashore, messing up potential dove fields and water holes. Doves don’t like getting their little feet muddy, so they quickly vacate saturated areas for drier surroundings.

Who cares how well you shoot? Not me. Regardless of my marksmanship, I

have a grand time. It’s fun to see novice shooters hit their target while never-miss hunters quickly get their limit, so their day is done. Fifteen birds, the daily limit, may require lots of shooting if your skills are less than top notch, but I have way more fun even with a sore shoulder!

The camaraderie of dove hunters is contagious, with strangers turning into friends in no time. If you tire of shooting, perhaps missing like me, or simply need a break, it’s your privilege to stop for however long you desire. Maybe you’re in a hot flight pattern so you allow a less fortunate, or accurate, hunter to take your place. Dove hunters are great folks!

Another fun part is having nonhunters along, too. They can comment on good and bad shooting. Extra eyes always help. Kids love retrieving birds, especially when no canine is available, plus they’ll want to join hunter ranks as soon as they’re able to shoulder a shotgun.

Word of caution: Anyone who hunts doves needs a hunting license. For seniors 65 and older and youth under 17— on date of purchase—hunting licenses cost $7. If you shoot, you need a license.

My unwritten dove hunting rules are: Be respectful of fellow hunters and landowners; don’t litter; pick up your spent hulls and trash; and be extra careful where you shoot! If you get lightly rained on with dove shot, spread out a bit more.

Wearing sunglasses is good for eye protection where there are a lot of hunters.

Many items are optional when dove hunting, but make sure you have plenty of water and consume it. Save alcoholic drinks for the tailgate party. Alcohol dehydrates you, and water is your best friend on hot hunting days. Many of us are couch potatoes and may easily get too hot. Know when to quit, even if the dove action is great.

Be mindful of your canine. Dogs overheat and experience heat stroke like humans. The longer the dog’s tongue hangs, the hotter the dog is getting. Some hunters carry containers to pour water over their retriever’s head and body. Frozen plastic bottles placed in water bowls help your bird dog from overheating, as cold water is good for them.

Plan ahead for yourself and hunting companions two and four legged.

Whether action keeps your gun barrel sizzling or everyone wonders where the birds are, remember doves come first in a new round of hunting seasons.

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THE MAKING OF

AMERICA (PART 2)

Celebrating 245 years of independence

THE TEXAS REVOLUTION Mexico fought Spain from 1810 to 1821, when it gained its independence and a vast amount of land that included Texas and Alta California, which butted up against the Louisiana Territory owned by the United States, and the Oregon Territory owned by Great Britain.

The Louisiana Purchase was being settled, and in some cases, up close to the new lands gained by Mexico after the conquest of Spain.

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Much of the new land gained in the war with Spain lay thousands of miles from Mexico City, and was very sparsely settled by Mexicans.

This was thought to be a problem by the Mexican government, and when Moses Austin asked for two colonies to be established on the Colorado and Brazos rivers in Central Texas, the colonies were approved with rules that all inhabitants join the Catholic Church, add strength and wealth to the colony, and be responsible to the Impresario. These colonies were limited to 300 families each.

Another 300-family colony was approved for Green DeWitt on the Guadalupe River with its main headquarters at Gonzales. As one might expect, immigration was rampant across the Red River to the north, and the Sabine to the east, into the Angelo colonies by travelers who were not in agreement with all the Mexican rules. By 1830, a Mexican census showed 10 Anglos to every Mexican in Texas, which had been joined to the Mexican state of Coahuila to form one big state, Coahuila/Texas for administrative purposes.

The Mexican government was alarmed at the census, and President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna declared military rule and executive orders against immigration or emigration to and from Texas. By 1835, the military rule had gotten out of hand, and several skirmishes between Mexican soldiers and Anglos had developed without gunfire.

A garrison of Mexican troops were stationed in San Antonio de Bexar, and there was much contact between Anglos and soldiers within 100 miles of San Antonio.

One important incident occurred at Gonzales on Oct. 2, 1835, when a company of Mexican troops came from San Antonio to retrieve a small cannon. The cannon had been loaned to the town as a defense against Indian raids, and the military rule in place required the town to give up the cannon, called a saddle cannon. It was small and practically useless, but the Mexicans wanted it back and camped on the Guadalupe River waiting for the town folk to return it.

The entire issue was a mockery to the town of Gonzales. The ladies made a flag labeled “Come and Take It” that was draped over the cannon. The town leaders put the cannon on wheels and pulled it across courtesy of the

as it ever occurred to you just how the United States came about, and the circumstances that had to happen in order for us to enjoy our freedoms today? Some might say, “It just happened.” Not so! The following events had to occur in order for the United States to be formed into a nation.

England was filled with both political and religious strife after Henry VIII and during the reign of George III. Napoleon was in financial collapse with his wars against France’s European neighbors. This accounted for the establishment of 13 Colonies in North America (1607), a rebellion of the Colonies (1776), and the Louisiana Purchase (1803).

Spain ceded Florida to the U.S. in 1819. Mexico was “land poor” after the defeat of Spain in 1821 and made some bad decisions about allowing Anglo colonies to become established in Texas, resulting in the Texas Revolution in 1836, and the Republic of Texas, subsequently the state of Texas in 1845. The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo after the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 gave the United States a vast area of land that reached the Pacific Ocean (the original Treaty of Velasco, and also Alta California).

The British ceded the Oregon Territory to the U.S. in 1846, and so, the entire area between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and Canada and Mexico, became the 48 United States, with the last statehoods of New Mexico and Arizona in 1912. The original 48 states withstood two world wars and added Alaska and Hawaii for the present total of 50 states. In part 1, I discussed the formation of the original 13 Colonies, the subsequent American Revolution, and the Louisiana Purchase. For part II, I’ll discuss Texas’ role in American history.

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BY HORACE GORE

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the river, where they fired a volley of horseshoe nails and other iron plunder at the Mexicans.

History notes that one Mexican soldier was killed, or possibly wounded, but the shot routed the soldiers and they returned to San Antonio. The first shot of the Texas Revolution had been fired, and the rest is history. The cannon was returned to Gonzales and buried in a peach orchard, and is on display at the local museum.

BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO President Santa Anna was also the general of the Mexican army and was determined to bring the rowdy Texans to their knees. He personally headed a large army that defeated the defendants of the Alamo in San Antonio, and sent Susanna Dickinson with her infant daughter to tell Gen. Sam Houston, who was raising an army in Gonzales, that the Mexican army was on its way to destroy the Texian forces This warning to Houston on March 13, 1836, started the rag-tag army of less than 1,000, with civilians following, on its long 250-mile journey ahead of the Mexican army. What is known as the “Runaway Scrape” started with the burning of Gonzales at midnight on March 13 and ended at 4 p.m., April 21,1936, on the grassy plains between Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River. Sam Houston’s army defeated Santa Anna’s Mexican troops in a route that lasted 18 minutes, and Gen. Santa Anna was captured and brought to Sam Houston as a

prisoner of war the next day. Interestingly enough, Santa Anna and his troops were 1,106 miles away from home.

A story has been repeated over and over through the years about a pretty Mulatto girl about 20 years old who was a prisoner of Gen. Santa Anna in his camp. Her name was Emily West—she used the name Emily Morgan—and she was visiting Texas from Connecticut for one year as an indentured servant of Col. James Morgan, who had a plantation at Morgan’s Point on the Texas Coast. The Mexican army had captured her, along with others at Morgan’s Point and brought her to Gen. Santa Anna. The Mexican general liked pretty women, and once suggested they were “the gravy of society.” He took to Emily quickly, and the story goes that he enjoyed her company each day during siesta.

Whatever the story, history reports Gen. Santa Anna had Emily “closeted” at the time Sam Houston and his army attacked the Mexican camp at about 3:45 p.m. Santa Anna came out of his tent in his pantaloons, yelling at his troops, but it was too late. In 18 minutes, the Mexican army was routed and running all over the bayou bottom and the fields, as the Anglo soldiers killed them, one after the other.

Records show that Emily West was in Santa Anna’s camp. Some say she played a pivotal role in the Mexican army’s defeat. The Treaties of Velasco signed by Republic President Burnet and Mexican President Santa Anna after the battle of San Jacinto gave all of Texas south to the

TERRITORIAL EXPANSION 1.

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Original 13 colonies, 1607 Spain cedes Florida, 1821 Expansion of 13 colonies (17 United States, 1783) Louisiana Purchase, 1803

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Texas annexed, 1836 Alta California (Mexican Cession, 1848) Gadsden Purchase (from Mexico, 1853)

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Oregon Territory, 1846 Trade with Canada

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Rio Grande, and west up the Rio Grande to the Republic of Texas. Emily has gone down in history as “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”

The Republic of Texas stayed in power for nine years, under several presidents, the first being Sam Houston. However, the Republic was short of finances, with no way to make money. It was also in constant turmoil, beginning with President Santa Anna’s return to Mexico City and the treaties of Velasco.

MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR The Mexican government would not accept the Treaties of Velasco because President Santa Anna was a prisoner of war at the time he signed the two treaties. Santa Anna also argued that he meant the Nueces River rather than the Rio Grande when he signed the treaties. This left the Nueces Strip, as it was called, and a vast parcel of land running up the Rio Grande almost to the Yellowstone as “disputable land.”

When President Polk’s administration accepted Texas as the 28th state in 1845, one of the President’s first actions was to try to settle the issue of the disputed land between the U.S. and Mexico—the Nueces Strip and western lands up to the Yellowstone. Polk offered Mexico $40 million for the disputed land east of the Rio Grande and all of Alta California, which it got in war with Spain. Mexico refused the offer, and the U.S. military took immediate action to establish a fort on the Rio Grande, Fort Texas, later renamed Fort Brown, near present day Brownsville. Mexico sent in troops, shots were fired, and the United States declared war against Mexico.

TREATY OF GUADALUPE-HIDALGO After two years of fighting, Mexico surrendered, and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed in 1848. By treaty, Mexico would sign off on all disputed lands as agreed in the Treaty of Velasco in 1836. For $15 million, Mexico would cede all of Alta California to the U.S., a sum far less than the $40 million offered earlier. This single acquisition gave President Polk the answer to his idiom, “Manifest Destiny,” which gave the U.S. all of the land to the Pacific Ocean.

Two years earlier, Great Britain had ceded all of the Oregon Territory to the U.S. in a trade, so with the addition of Alta California, the United States owned all the land between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, south of Canada and north of Mexico, which would eventually be divided into the original 48 states. And that is how our nation was made.

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The Kill Crescendo

By Ted Nugent

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ever underestimate the power of the kill. Never compromise the essence of the kill. Never apologize for the duty of the kill. Always celebrate that it is indeed the kill that consummates the hunt and brings healthy, beautiful conservation balance to the flocks and herds while providing hard earned sacred protein for our bellies.

The kill is good. The kill is perfect.

Believe me when I tell you that nobody knows better than me that the kill itself is but a hiccup flash in time, that indeed we don’t hunt just to kill, but it is surely the kill that ultimately wraps up the natural, pure predator instinct and never-ending challenging efforts that drive us to hunt in the first place.

Every breathtaking sunrise and sunset are emblazoned on my soul. Every bird chirp and song rings eternally in my head.

Every whisper of wind in my face has put rosy cheeks on my spirit, and every fascinating, stimulating critter encounter is cherished beyond words, kill or no kill.

But it is the midcourt 3-pointer at the buzzer, the grand slam in the bottom of the 9th, the 90-yard hail-Mary pass as the 4th-quarter clock runs out, the hole-inwww.TTHA. www.

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I get skunked most of the time, but I never give up and never hesitate to get out there and keep trying. I was skunked year in and year out, every year mostly for the first 18 or so years of my life, so something other than the kill was clearly a powerfully driving, inspiring force to reckon with. But when that first pheasant tumbled out of the sky, the first bushytail fell to earth, that first bluegill that ended up in the johnboat, and Lord have mercy, that first whitetail deer held in my arms completely eclipsed every sensation and smile from every other hunt by far. one at the 18th tee and the nose-to-nose photo finish win that titillates and inspires the warrior in all of us that drives the soul of man. We are the man in the arena, and the arena is God’s miraculous renewable creation.

I get skunked most of the time, but I never give up and never hesitate to get out there and keep trying.

I was skunked year in and year out, every year mostly for the first 18 or so years of my life, so something other than the kill was clearly a powerfully driving, inspiring force to reckon with. But when that first pheasant tumbled out of the sky, the first bushytail fell to earth, that first bluegill that ended up in the johnboat, and Lord have mercy, that first whitetail deer held in my arms completely eclipsed every sensation and smile from every other hunt by far.

There is no question that we come back to camp or home after every skunked hunt excited and happy from all the joys associated from each and every outing. And those joys amply sustain us and inspire us aplenty to keep at it and plan for the next try. It can’t possibly be the kill itself that keeps me going, for I hunt primarily with the bow and arrow, and that primitive self-imposed limitation in itself reduces the chances of a kill exponentially. If killing was my goal, I would start up www.TTHA www.

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a chicken farm and kill many chickens each and every day.

I sadly witnessed some of my fellow hunters, and worse, many so-called hunting leaders over the years feebly downplay the joys and importance of the kill in a wimpy, dishonest and desperate attempt to gain favor with the lunatic fringe of ignorant, politically correct anti-hunters. How in God’s name can we chomp down and celebrate the perfection of delicious venison while avoiding the beautiful reality of the kill?

We can’t, and we must not.

Every hunter I know dedicates himself or herself to deadly proficiency with our weapons of choice for the ultimate accomplishment of a quick, clean, humane kill! The hunting of game is perfect. The killing of game is perfect.

We must stand proud as hunters that we joyously participate in the miraculous circle of life, which happens to include, death.

Hunt on, my friends. Kill on, my friends. May your grills and spirit be saturated with singed flesh of hard-earned protein forevermore.

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MUST-HAVES

[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

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1. HuntStand printed maps HuntStand offers the highest quality printed maps at incredibly affordable prices. Their proprietary technology produces unbelievably sharp images, even at large scales. The maps come in a variety of sizes and materials from small, foldable maps to giant 3-x4-foot wall maps. The maps can be infinitely customized once a hunt area is created in the HuntStand app. Features such as blinds, feeders, tanks, trail cameras, roads, structures and more can easily be added. There is simply no better place to get a highly personalized, super sharp and affordable property map.

See page 108 for TTHA member discount information.

2. Thermal optic

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The Incendis, Accufire Technology’s compact thermal optic, delivers superior image quality in a modular package. It can operate as a standalone optic, handheld tracker, and forward mounted. Its specs include: 30mm objective lens; 60 frames per second; 1024x768 display resolution; 384x288 core resolution; 1x, 2x, 4x magnification; white hot, black hot, red accent and green hot heat displays.

Visit accufire.com to learn more.

3. Whitetail Windows

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Whitetail Windows introduces its series of windows for the do-it-yourself blind builder. Targeting three price points, the Big Shot, Sure Shot and Quick Shot models are designed to give builders the option they are looking for.

For more information, please visit whitetailwindows. com or call 662-295-5702.

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VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

4. Buck Hut For deer hunters looking for a ready-to-deploy elevated shooting house rather than trying to construct a DIY version, Millennium’s Q200 Buck Hut offers a great combination of features, quality, and value. The shooting house framework, platform and ladder are constructed of heavy-duty powder-coated steel using Millennium’s SteelTOUGH construction. With a rugged exterior shell made of heavy-duty water-resistant fabric, it provides an exceptional hunting experience for a long time to come.

Visit millennium-outdoors.com/product/ q200-buck-hut-shooting-house/.

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5. Core-Lokt Tipped ammo Remington’s new Core-Lokt Tipped ammo features a big green polymer tip for improved long-range ballistics, in-flight accuracy, and initiate rapid expansion. Its proven Core-Lokt jacket is tuned for optimal performance on big game. Its match-grade accuracy offers a center of gravity adjusted rearward to maximize accuracy.

Visit Remington.com to learn more.

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6. Fish feeder MB Ranch King’s automated fish feeder, the Texas Avenger, is made to keep the fish coming back for more while having zero-maintenance. With a solid steel construction and a base that allows 180-degree horizontal rotation and 45-degree tilt, bolt it anywhere on the dock or bank to get to your ideal fishing hole. It has a hinged lid that will stay open and a feed funnel system that won’t retain feed. Programmable to feed up to six times per day using 12V solar panel system and “The Timer.” Available in 100 lb. and 250 lb. capacities.

Visit ranchkingblinds.com.

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[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

MUST-HAVES 7. Pour-It-On Molasses

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Pour-It-On Molasses combines a nutritional benefit and intense aroma that pulls deer in and keeps them in the area. It’s fortified with organic zinc, copper, magnesium and manganese for maximum nutrition. It works as well by itself as it does when mixed with corn. The mix can be used any time of the year. It makes a great fall attractant but can also be a benefit to herd health during the post-rut and ensuing winter months when deer need vital nutrition.

Visit bigandj.com to learn more.

8. Cooling outerwear

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The most technically advanced warm weather hunting gear ever created, the Tiburon line ranks highest as KUIU’s most breathable garments. While hunting in hot conditions, durability, concealment, and protection from the sun can’t be sacrificed to keep you cool. The lightweight Tiburon features UPF 50+ and UPF 40+ sun protection rating, Makspec odor reducing technology and elastic-free, Dot Air stretch-fabric that has micro-openings to allow the slightest breeze to flow freely through the fabric, cooling your skin.

Visit kuiu.com.

9. Updated Predator Pro app

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The Convergent Hunting App Predator Pro (Version 1.6) is available on iOS and Android. With the latest app update, which works with the Bullet HP Bluetooth Game Call, they have added nine new sounds available as a package with an in-app purchase of $1.99. These include two new bobcat sounds, two new coyote vocals, a coaxer sound, and four raccoon sounds. Simply update the app scroll down to the greyed-out sounds starting with Bobcats Mating and click to complete the purchase process.

Visit convergenthunting.com to learn more and get a 25%-off coupon for their e-calls. Use code “NEWSOUNDS.”

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10. Med kit MyMedic’s MyFAK ultra-compact kit can store over 100 expert-selected first aid items in only 7.5” of space!

It contains over 100 first aid and trauma supplies, including supplies for bleeding, airway, burns, hydration, meds, sprain and fractures, topical, and more. It has a snag resistant zipper. The grab-and-go design features a Velcro tear-away panel and is MOLLE system compatible.

Visit mymedic.com.

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11. Lights for a cause Streamlight Inc.’s line of pink flashlight products includes the Nano Light key chain light, the Siege AA ultra-compact lantern, and the Strion LED tactical light. Each year, Streamlight donates proceeds from sales of these products to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (bcrf.org). All lights come with Streamlight’s limited lifetime warranty. Light your way and help fight breast cancer.

Visit streamlight.com/products/product-types/ lights-for-a-cause.

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12. Healthy snacks Looking for a healthy snack while you’re out hunting? Delectable, healthy seed crackers DO exist, and they’re called Orga Foods Super Crisps. With flavors like Garlic & Onion, Vegan Cheese, Cranberry, Spicy BBQ, Cacao & Coconut and Spirulina, Orga Foods checks the box for every type of flavor preference. Super Crisps are made using only FIVE ingredients: organic chia seeds, organic flax seeds, Himalayan pink salt, organic pumpkin seeds, organic sunflower seeds, and organic unhulled sesame seeds.

Rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and omega fatty acids, the products are certified gluten-free, vegan, organic, non-GMO, kosher, and Paleo and Keto-friendly.

They’re light, they’re crispy, they put regular chips and crackers to shame.

Visit orga-foods.com. www.TTHA www.

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Girls’ Camp

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s we kicked off the 20th summer of the Christian Outdoor Alliance Summer Adventure Camps, we were reminded of who is in control, as the early summer of 2021 decided to dump rain from the heavens, and a lot of it. At one of our favorite camp locations, the Mobley Ranch near Bryan, Texas, we received a flood of water. So, with some quick revamping we moved the girls’ camp to a new location on the South Llano River. All of the parents and kids were super excited to be at camp after the crazy year we had, called COVID 2020. Even though we were able to host camp last summer, it was slightly different than what we were used to, and we are so glad to be back on track.

The girls were looking very forward to time in the water each and every day and lots of hunting on 5,000-plus acres of the beautiful Texas Hill Country.

We would be looking for all the various exotics that roam this area, most of which are axis deer, hogs, and Barbado sheep. All of the girls would get their chance to hunt one of the animals, as well as spend time learning about God’s great outdoors. Each and every day, the girls would spend time hunting, swimming, kayaking, fishing, playing games, learning about hunter education, and most important, diving into the word to learn more about being good people and loving the Lord.

After attending our camps, the girls will be ready to spend more time on the different places around the United States. We all know hunting in Texas does come with a price, but other opportunities also exist throughout various hunting organizations around the state. COA, for instance, will host dozens of youth

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hunts that take place year-round. We offer lots of opportunity for kids to come out with family and

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friends to fill the freezers with some great venison.

On the first day of our girls’ summer camp, we were able to get everyone settled in. After orientation, our venison hamburger dinner with fries was an absolute hit! Shortly after dinner, it was time to get the kids ready for their first hunt. Organizing so many campers with all the safety protocols takes some time to work through, but our staff not only works the camp, but they were also campers for many years before, and have learned the ropes on how we do things.

That helps so much to have a great nucleus of committed people who love what they are doing. The days are super long in the summertime, as we are up at 5:30 a.m. and rarely get to bed before 11 p.m. That is why we run our camps with one week on and one week off during the summer, so we do not burn out our staff with the long, hot days. Where else could you get a job that requires you to hunt and fish everyday while sharing your passions with lots of great kids?

Each of our counselors guides two children in the morning and evening. We typically pair the kids up with a friend, or based on the animals we are hunting. On the first evening hunt, we were after some rams, axis does and hogs, so we paired up each of the kids, loaded the buggies and set off to various areas of the ranch. The evenings can be warm for the first 30 minutes or so, but as the sun starts to drop, the magic starts to happen. The woods come to life and the kids get to see all the wildlife that roam this area of the state.

We get to see lots of different birds, bugs, spiders, and grasshoppers, as well as all the animals that come through the food plots and water holes. On our first evening we were successful on a very nice ram and an axis doe. The girls had multiple chances on hogs, but the hogs gave us the slip a few times, and we had some close misses on a couple others.

We love getting a few of all the critters so we can sample all the tasty meats on our last night with a wild game dinner. The kids do get to sample all the meats throughout the week, as we serve venison pan sausage, lots of different meals with ground venison, and a little bit of fish when we have a few that we can keep. My favorite night is Taco Tuesday, as we used the ground venison for both hardand soft-shelled tacos.

We also spend a lot of time on the water, and we love to fish. With the variety of fish in our Texas rivers, you never know what you might catch. It can be something that stirs a passion or something that the kids play

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water’s edge, and the daily breeze keeps you cool and relaxed. At times we get a little too relaxed, but there is nothing wrong with taking a nice snooze by the river.

With a load of summer yet to come, we are extremely excited to be hosting camp and sharing all of God’s glory with these wonderful children. If you would like to donate to our program to help us get more kids involved, that would be fantastic. We are always looking for resources such as kayaks, ammunition, fishing gear, vehicles, guns, bows, crossbows, meat, freezers, coolers, etc. If it has anything to do with hunting, fishing and the outdoors, we can use it for our kids’ program. May God bless each and every one you and may God bless our country. with for a few minutes and lose interest. That is always the challenge to get a tug on the line so you can build some memories and keep a young mind’s attention. Nevertheless, just spending lots of time around the water in the Texas heat is absolutely wonderful.

We have some spectacular pecan trees that cover the

Michael Marbach is the CEO of the Christian Outdoor Alliance, www.mycoa.org; 210-827-9802.

COA’s mission is to guide youth and outdoorsmen to a relationship with Jesus Christ through experience in God’s great outdoors.

Did you know there are Youth Only hunt- Youth Only hunting seasons occur for ing seasons? Yes, licensed hunters 16 turkeys, squirrels, white-tailed deer, and years of age or younger are eligible to waterfowl. participate in youth seasons, which Special requirements, bag limits, and generally occur before (or directly after) restrictions may apply for Youth Only general hunting seasons. white-tailed deer hunting seasons.

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Riflescope Roundup 2021

BY JOHN GOODSPEED

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ith the increase in long-range hunting and precision shooting, manufacturers are following up with more new riflescopes to fill that niche. One of those features a 5-25 zoom with a whopping 56mm objective. More options also are available in first-focal-plane reticles, which do not change in respect to the power setting of the zoom. Also, 30mm tubes, which allow greater range in elevation and 76 |

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windage adjustments, are becoming more commonplace.

Close-in rimfire shooters are not being forgotten as several new riflescopes are designed for those cartridges. Prices run the gamut, from a budget $149 to $5,499.99 for a thermal riflescope and $2,225 for a high-end, long-range optic.

Some riflescope manufacturers fell by the wayside. Nikon Sport Optics quit mak-

ing riflescopes, while Styrka went out of business in late 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic also had an effect, with some companies such as TRACT Optics having to push back the release of new products until end of the year.

Prices are manufacturers’ suggested retail prices. Retail stores and websites often offer discounts.

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Bushnell Outdoor Products

Cabela’s

l www.bushnell.com l 3-9X40 Illuminated Rimfire Riflescope, $179.95

l www.cabelas.com l Intensity 4-12X40 Riflescope, $149.99

This new model is one of two additions to Bushnell’s lineup of rimfire riflescopes. The other is a 3-9X40 that is not illuminated ($149.95). Both feature DZ22 reticles that are designed for .22LR ballistics with drop points out to 125 yards. Standard features on both scopes include multicoated lenses, improved glass enhancements and a larger exit pupil. Eye relief is 3.6 inches.

Parallax adjustment is fixed at 100 yards. Both models are equipped with EXO Barrier and also can be used with the Bushnell Ballistic App.

The BDC reticle is calibrated for most popular centerfire rifle cartridges while the low-profile windage and elevation knobs are adjustable in ¼-MOA increments. It features four inches of eye relief, a large exit pupil and a fast-focus eyepiece. The lenses are fully multicoated. Other new additions to the budget-priced Intensity line include the 3-9X40RF ($119.99), 3-9X40 ($129.99), 4-12X40RF ($129.99) and 3-9X50 ($149.99). The RF means that the riflescope is optimized for rimfire cartridges.

Carl Zeiss Sports Optics

GPO (German Precision Optics)

l www.zeiss.com/consumer-products/us/hunting.html l Conquest V4 4-16X44, $1,099.99

l www.gpo-usa.com l SPECTRA 6X 3-18X56i, $1,099.99

The Conquest V4 line with a four-power zoom gets updates offering a total of 22 configurations in five models, the mid-level one shown here and four more. All use 30mm tubes and deliver 90% light transmission. This compact scope measures 14 inches long and weighs 22.6 ounces. Eye relief is 3.54 inches. FOV is 28 feet to seven feet. It features Zeiss T coating for high-contrast images, side parallax adjustment, external elevation with Ballistic Stop and five reticle options including three that are illuminated.

The illuminated riflescope here is at the top of the line of six new models that offer a six-power magnification zoom. It is 14.6 inches long and weighs 29.3 ounces. FOV ranges from 34 feet to 6 feet. The GPO BRi reticle provides illuminated holdovers. The proprietary iControl illumination system goes from barely visible for low light to bright for daylight. All in the line feature iControl, a 30mm main tube, capped ballistic turrets, GPObright hightransmission lens coatings, PASSIONdrop hydrophobic exterior lens coatings and a double HD glass objective lens.

Leica Sport Optics

Leupold & Stevens

l https://us.leica-camera.com/sport-optics l Amplus 6 2.5-15X56i Ballistic BDC $1,599

l www.leupold.com l VX-3HD 3.5-10X40 CDS-ZL Duplex, $499.99

This all-around riflescope sits atop the new Amplus 6 line that features a six-power zoom, illuminated reticles and 30mm tubes.

Eye relief of this model is 3½ inches. FOV is 48 feet to 8 feet. It is 14.9 inches long and weighs 28.7 ounces. The second-focalplane BDC reticle can be used with Leica’s ballistics program to calculate tables for distance and click value. The Amplus line of eight models features illuminated dots, 90% light transmission, wide FOV, generous eye relief and exit pupils up to 12mm.

The model shown here sits amid the new VX-3HD line of 14 riflescopes that feature three-power magnification. With a 30mm tube, it is 12.7 inches long and weighs 15.8 ounces. FOV is from 29 feet to 11 feet. The line features an array of magnification ranges, objective lens sizes, tube diameters, elevation adjustment types and illuminated reticles. All include a CDS-ZL dial.

Leupold’s Custom Dial System (CDS) eliminates the need for holdovers on longer shots, while the ZeroLock prevents unintended adjustments and ensures an accurate return to zero.

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Maven Outdoor Equipment

Meopta USA Sport Optics

l www.mavenbuilt.com l RS.5 4-24X50 Riflescope, $1,400

l www.meoptasportsoptics.com/us/ l Optika5 2-10X42 PA, $349.99

Maven’s latest addition was designed in response to customers who wanted a long-range scope that combined features of the company’s top models in a second-focal-plane optical system and allowed for an easy-to-see reticle at all magnifications. It features a six-power zoom, 30mm tube, ED glass, multi-coated lenses, solid-click detents, side parallax adjustment, lockable zero-stop, customizable turrets and a choice of two illuminated reticles.

Light transmission is 90.1%. FOV ranges from 27.8 feet to 4.6 feet.

It is 14.41 inches long and weighs 25.5 ounces.

A five-power zoom, zeroreset turrets and the ability to withstand heavy recoil allow pairing with a wide array of rimfire and centerfire rifles. With a 1-inch tube, light transmission is 91%. Eye relief is 3½ inches.

FOV ranges from 55.8 feet to 11.4 feet. It is 12 inches long and weighs 21.52 ounces. Features include a zoom ring with a multi-position throw lever, rear-facing zoom display, MeoBright anti-reflective lens coatings, MeoShield anti-abrasion lens coating and MeoDrop hydrophobic lens coating that repels rain, dust and grease.

Minox

Primary Arms

l www.minox.com l 5-25X56 Long Range, $2,225

l www.primaryarms.com l GLx 4-16X50FFP, $699

A new illuminated long-range reticle in the first focal plan is rich with elevation and windage stadia for holding or dialing in distant targets. With 1/10 MRAD per click, total adjustment is 12 MRAD for windage and 28 MRAD for elevation. Side parallax adjustment begins at 54.7 yards. FOV ranges from 21.7 feet to 4.8 feet. Eye relief is 3½ inches. Exit pupil is 10.6mm to 2.3mm. Covered by a 10-year warranty, it features a 34mm tube and multicoatings for improved light transmission, contrast and colors.

An addition to Primary Arms’ mid-tier line, this model features an illuminated, first-focal-plane ACSS Apollo 6.5CR/.224V reticle, which is optimized for 6.5 Creedmoor and .224 Valkyrie. ACSS stands for Advanced Combined Sighting System, a Christmas-tree-shaped reticle that allows estimating ranges up to 1,000 yards. Turrets on the 30mm tube feature 0.1 MIL clicks, zero returns and total windage and elevation adjustments of 25 MIL. Eye relief is 3½ inches to 3.6 inches. FOV is 23.7 feet to 6.3 feet. It is 13.8 inches long and weighs 23½ ounces.

Pulsar

Riton Optics

l www.pulsarnv.com l Thermion 2 XP50 2-16X42 Thermal Riflescope, $5,499.99

l www.ritonusa.com l X7 Conquer 3-18X50, $1,499.99

One of three new Thermion 2 models, the other two are the XQ38 2.5-10X38 ($3,929.99) and the XQ50 3.5-14X50 ($4,179.99). The XP50 gets a larger objective lens from the previous model and an upgraded 640x480 microbolometer sensor that detects variations in heat signatures up to 1,968 yards and delivers them on a 1024x768 AMOLED display. It features 10 reticle options, eight color palettes, built-in recording with audio, picture-in-picture mode, 16GB of storage, Wi-Fi connectivity and seven hours of battery life. It is 16.22 inches long, 3.26 inches high and weighs 31.74 ounces.

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With a six-power zoom on a 34mm tube, this new model features a first-focal-plane illuminated reticle with Riton HD/ED glass with 99.5% light transmission, six levels of red illumination, removable throw lever, fast-focus eyepiece, zero-stop exposed turrets and 41 MIL of elevation and windage adjustment. The T3 reticle uses a central dot with subtension hashmarks for elevation and windage. Eye relief is 3.4 inches. Exit pupil ranges from 7.5mm to 2.9mm. It is 13.62 inches long and weighs 31 ounces.

FOV is 35 feet to 6.2 feet.

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Sightmark

Sightron

l www.sightmark.com l Wraith 4K Max 3-24X50 Digital Riflescope, $999.96

l www.sightron.com l SIII PLR 6-24X50, $1,440

In night vision mode, the 4000x3000 CMOS sensor detects objects up to 300 yards and delivers them to a 1280x720 HD full-color display. It comes with a detachable 850nm infra-red illuminator that can enhance viewing. It features a daytime color mode, built-in UHD 4K video recording with audio, 10 reticle options, nine reticle colors and up to eight hours of run time.

It can be recharged internally by a five-volt USB cable. The IR illuminator uses two CR123A batteries. It is 12 inches long, 3 inches high and weighs 34.6 ounces.

Trijicon

The SIII LongRange line expands with the Precision Long-Range riflescope series, the one shown here and the 8-32X56 ($1,440) 10-50X60 ($1,550) and 6-24X50 FFP ($1,440). The scopes get a new zero stop and the Zact-7 Revcoat Plus multi-coatings that improve light transmission, color and clarity. All feature 30mm tubes, oversized tactical knobs, illuminated reticles and ¼-MOA or 0.1-MRAD adjustments. The 6-24X50’s eye relief is 3.6 inches to 3.8 inches. It is 15.4 inches long and weighs 28.2 ounces. FOV is 16.1 feet to 3.9 feet.

Vanguard Sporting Optics

l www.trijicon.com l AccuPoint 3-18X50, $1,799

l www.vanguardworld.com l Endeavor RS IV 2.5-10X50 Riflescope with Illuminated German 4 Reticle, $449.99

The AccuPoint line expands with models designed for long-range precision. Others are the 4-16X50 ($1,399), 4-24x50 ($1,899) and 5-20X50 ($1,399). Reticles include the new MOA and MRAD Ranging. They feature 30mm tubes, exposed elevation knobs with zero stop and increased windage and elevation adjustment ranges. AccuPoints are built around a battery-free fiber-optic and tritium illuminated reticle. The 3-18X50 is 14.81 inches long and weighs 27.1 ounces. Adjustment range is 60 MOA. Eye Relief is 3.4 inches to 4 inches. FOV is 34.7 feet to 5.8 feet.

The new model with a four-power zoom and a 30mm tube also is available with illuminated duplex and Dispatch ballistic reticles. It uses HOYA ED glass and MultiGuard coatings for more light transmission and better color and edgeto-edge clarity. It also features a rapid-focus eyepiece, a zero reset and 60 MOA of elevation and windage adjustment. Eye relief is 4.02 inches to 3.62 inches. Exit pupil is 20mm to 5mm. FOV is 44 feet to 11 feet. It weighs 23.98 ounces.

Vortex Optics

Weaver Optics

l www.VortexOptics l Razor HD LHT 3-15X42, $1,399.99

l www.weaveroptics.com l Classic Series Riflescope, 4-16X44, $287.49

The LHT is similar to the Razor LH, but introduces a locking elevation turret with the RevStop Zero System, push-button illumination, MOA and MRAD HSR-5i and MRAD G4i BDC reticles. It also has a 30mm tube instead of a 1-inch tube. It was designed as a light-weight, long-range hunting optic. It is 13.3 inches long and weighs 19.1 ounces. The HD optical system with XR Plus Lens Coatings improves light transmission and clarity. Eye relief is 3.8 inches. FOV is 35.3 feet to 7 feet.

This new model with a 30mm tube was designed for hunters who want a familiar name and a simple, lightweight optic. The multicoated lens system with the new Elements coating repels water, oil and dust while preventing scratches. Side parallax adjusts from 10 yards to infinity. Knurls provide grip on the eyepiece, magnification and parallax rings and elevation and windage turrets. Eye relief is 3.6 inches.

It is 13.8 inches long and weighs 22.1 ounces. FOV is 23 feet to 6 feet. It is only available at www.natchezss.com.

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Author Photos

STORY

As a kid, Shawn dreamed of hunting for buffalo. He managed to make his dream come true.

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Editor’s note: During archery season, bowhunters look for game that will test their ability. In this story, the author tests his ability on the American bison.

K

illing a buffalo with a bow has been on my bucket list since I was a young child. Between seeing them on TV, old westerns and vacations out West, I grew fond of their history and sheer beauty. The two species of bison are also unique in that they are only native to North America. The Plains bison lived primarily in central North America, while wood bison lived in western Canada and all the way to Alaska and the Yukon. Through over-hunting by early settlers, the bison was nearly wiped out in all of North America. Through conservation by hunters and ranchers, their numbers have reached estimates of 375,000 Plains bison and 6,000 wood bison.

In spring of 2019, I set out to check this hunt off my list.

I knew I wanted to do the hunt out West on a large ranch to simulate as much as possible how our forefathers hunted them.

I contacted the P Cross Bar Ranch and inquired about a hunt during the fall or winter. Unfortunately, I was told they were sold out of hunts for 2019 but could fit me in during the 2020 fall season. I decided to hold off on the hunt, not knowing where my crazy travel schedule would have me at that time. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and I de-

The icy weather waiting for Shawn as he drove from Texas to Wyoming.

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It takes special arrows and points to penetrate thick buffalo hides.

cided to plan on another trip to bow hunt South Africa instead.

Two months later as I sat in my office, I received an email from Pat Fiedor with the P Cross Bar Ranch. He told me they had a cancellation and asked if I was still interested in a hunt for this year, to which I happily replied yes! I booked the hunt that day and set my calendar for a December trip to Wyoming.

I’m fortunate enough to own Salt Fork Ranch in Abilene, Texas, and had taken the whole month of December off to hunt and get ready for my trip. I killed a few does for the freezer and practiced for my rapidly approaching buffalo hunt. The last weekend of December I was finally making the much-anticipated trip to Gillette, Wyoming.

The first morning of the hunt the wind blew 30 mph, with the wind chill well below freezing. The absolute worst weather for bowhunting ever. It was actually a 70-degree difference in temperatures from Texas, with ice and snow in the forecast for the day. My guide Mick and I got lucky and located four bulls, and after glassing and judging, we picked out our target bull.

Mick, who’s also a bowhunter, and I put a plan together and the stalk was on! We crawled up a frozen creek to a draw where we were hoping the bulls would graze. We made a shooting lane and got as comfortable as possible in the zero-degree weather. There was only one tree and zero cover for as far as the eyes could see.

As the animals made their approach, I drew back on my Mathews Havalon bow and stared at all four of them, less than 10 yards away. Having animals that big and close to

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you will turn an atheist into a praying man very quickly. As I set my pin on my bull, the arrow fell off the rest and the small herd scattered. I had blown what was a textbook ambush and had a few choice words to say about myself.

Mick and I quickly regrouped and made another plan of attack.

We quickly located the bulls again and we headed straight for another draw in a frozen creek ahead of their intended direction.

As they inched towards us, I sat up, drew my bow and let the arrow fly.

The bison is an icon of the American West. Almost driven to extinction, Bingo! they've slowly been on the rebound, thanks to conservation efforts.

The arrow hit its mark—a perfect shot. The herd took off again and my bull couldn’t keep up, back and hit him again. Another perfect shot! He ran 100 yards and soon lay down. Mick told me buffalo can take up to 30 and finally lay down for good. minutes to die, even when hit in the vitals. We both agreed that They say every elk hunter hates elk hunting the minute they I should attempt getting another arrow in him, just to be on the begin gutting, quartering and packing one out. With a buffalo, I had no idea! It took three of us 6 hours to gut, skin, and quarter Mick, who’s also a bowhunter, and I put a plan together and the that bull, and that was with the help of a pickup and a front-end stalk was on! We crawled up a frozen creek to a draw where we loader. His estimated weight was were hoping the bulls would graze. We made a shooting lane and close to 2,500 pounds.

Later that night Mick and Pat got as comfortable as possible in the zero-degree weather. There scored my bull at 663⁄8" SCI. It number 18 in the world was only one tree and zero cover for as far as the eyes could see. ranked for archery, and 72nd SCI overall!

I could not have been happier. I had finally killed a buffalo with a safe side. bow, a dream I have had since I was a kid. I thank everyone at I crawled on my hands and knees for a few hundred yards the P Cross Bar and Durham Ranches, the good Lord, and my until I was within 35 yards of my bull. I sat up again, drew wife Jocelyne, who puts up with my bowhunting addiction.

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Author Photos

Eric cashed in his points he earned through the years in order to get a chance at a nonresident tag so he could take this trophy mule deer.

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W

e all owe a lifetime debt to that first person who introduced us to the great outdoors and fueled our passion to pursue big game. My father introduced me to hunting. Beginning with small game and gifting me a .22 Magnum on my 12th birthday and then slowly revealing the stories and mystery of the great taxidermy and other trophies in his man cave. At age 14 I became the proud owner of a Winchester .270, and the fall of 1988 I would punch my tag on my first big game animal, a mule deer. The indelible ink had dried on me, and I became a big game hunter for life.

Sharing that first big game hunt with my dad fed the addiction. Over the years we have shared close to 100 big game hunts from Alaska and Canada down through the continental U.S. and into Mexico. Plenty of trophies were taken over those years and we ate tag soup many times as well. One of Dad’s trophies always amazed me and is my favorite buck in his trophy room, his Eagle County, Colorado, mule deer from 1984. That buck was taken just before my 10th birthday. It’s over 209 inches with double drop tines, incredible mass, and a body that had to be mounted on a medium elk form to come close to fitting the cape. This buck has always been the centerpiece in every house he has lived in, and rightly so.

Playing the points game Colorado, much like most western states, issues many big game tags based on preference points, which you earn ONE each year when you’re unsuccessful in drawing. Unit 44 in Colorado, where my dad took his monster mule deer, was one of those places that took a load of points to acquire, so I made the decision 24 years ago to continue applying until I had that tag. You see, I had heard the stories of that great hunt and others with my uncle so many times, there was no other option in my mind. As a child I would shed hunt and hike those very same mountains and hills with my dad, dreaming of the day I would get to hunt the elusive timber bucks of Eagle County.

Last year I decided it would be time to cash in my points.

The fourth season was still out of reach, requiring more than the 23 points I had. However, the third season was two days longer and still in November, which gave us a chance to hunt during the pre-rut. It was a gamble I was willing to take, and if any type of weather hit the high country, we would be in for a great hunt. An email from Colorado in the summer confirmed my 24 years of waiting were over and I held one of five coveted non-resident tags for Unit 44-third season.

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start at 9,000 feet and go up to 12,000 feet. Like all of us, I know how to drop weight and train for a hunt, but I enlisted Verge Fitness in North Dakota to hold me accountable each day with a specific training and nutrition program, accompanied by many texts and video chats. Aaron and C.J. made sure I dropped 30 pounds and was more than ready physically to tackle whatever the hunt threw at me.

My dad and I met up in Eagle the day before the season. We covered every road, hiked to many places he had marked on topo maps in the 1980s, and overall, got the feel of the entire unit. As we climbed hills, Dad told the stories of his hunts.

“Right past that log I shot my first buck in this unit,” he said.

“This mountain was one of my favorites. It always had a big buck or two. Over there we saw a monster but never caught up to him.”

It was an amazing experience just being here, retracing the steps he had walked decades earlier. It was important for me to have my dad here, not just for his knowledge of the area and to help with the hunt, but if I was fortunate enough to get a buck, it would be my 100th big game animal and 70th taken with a muzzleloader, which were both big, personal milestones.

Opening morning found us in some great high country and we only saw a few deer. We found most of the buck sign still up very high, around 10,500 feet and higher. We put almost 12 miles on our boots that day on a few different mountains, and the best buck we had seen was a young 140-class.

On the second day, we decided to push north and explore some more. We found some great habitat and saw seven bull moose, but the deer sightings were scarce. The deer we saw were young bucks or a few doe/fawn pairs together. We ran into most of the other non-resident tag holders, and they were reporting the same results. Needle in a haystack was truly becoming the reality of the hunt.

Day three started off much the same way, but we knew we

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were in for some weather. With any kind of luck, we would have a few feet of snow drop. In my mind the snow would give us two specific advantages: fresh tracks to follow, and hopefully, push the big old bucks down out of their high-country haunts.

By late afternoon we had been pushed down the mountain due to 16 inches of fresh heavy snow.

There were a few times I was pushing snow with my bumper and honestly plowing the logging roads above 10,000 feet, as we seemed to be the only truck up that high. But we dropped down in elevation and concentrated on the lower hillsides to glass. Still not seeing much we moved down toward the creek where we had seen the moose, because it provided a great vantage point to scour miles of mountainside in search of deer.

Within the last 30 minutes of light, I finally saw a respectable buck.

The distance was about 2 miles and his profile had me pretty excited. But when he faced me, he seemed to instantly shrink.

Even in my spotting scope I just couldn’t decide if he was big enough. He was with three other bucks and a small group of does and he was definitely posturing, showing his obvious dominance. That night we pored over the maps to see how we could get above or close to where we had seen the bucks and hatched a game plan. Dad knew this mountain well, in fact the bench right below where we last saw the bucks was exactly where he had taken his biggest mule deer in 1984, the hillside they stood on was where he took his shot. That night it continued to dump snow to the tune of 16-20 additional inches up high. It seemed like all of the signs were pushing in a singular direction.

Going all in We woke early and were on the mountain well before the first glint of light hit the horizon. We had feet of snow to push through and miles to cover to get to where we last spotted the bucks from the evening before. Hours into our day we rounded a snowy ridge and laid eyes on the same group of deer. At that Eric had a few personal milestones with this hunt.

He took his 100th big game animal, it was his 70th taken with a muzzleloader, and he had his dad with him on the same mountainside where his dad took his biggest mule deer.

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September/October 2021

Eric made sure he got himself into physical shape for this hunt. His efforts paid off.

point I really started breaking down the bigger buck. Once again, I was not sure he was the buck to end my 24-year wait.

His mass was obvious, back forks were deep, spread was narrow and certain looks were honestly not impressive. We waited for them to crest the next ridge and bed in the aspens before we closed the last 500+ yards. Another storm had blown in which dropped temps to 11 degrees and cut visibility to under 100 yards which I used to my advantage on the stalk. I was now 70 yards above the bedded buck who was hidden in the aspen choked bowl with the other 6 deer. I kept the crosshairs focused as I waffled in my decision. My dad was just up the ridge wondering why I was hesitating for a solid 25-30 minutes. As frost nip set in, I saw the matching extra forks in front and knew this was the right buck. I moved just enough so he would see me and stand. As he bolted from his bed, he let out the loudest blow I’ve heard and bounded over dead falls with no shot opportunity. I stayed on him steady and as most mature mule deer do, he stopped and glanced back only to have a .50 caliber bullet already in the air to end our standoff.

As we approached him the body size simply took my breath away, he was enormous. The same unit, on the same mountainside, almost exactly to the day 36 years after my dad took his biggest mule deer, I had just taken my biggest mule deer and my dad was there every step of the way.

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PLATINUM LIFE MEMBERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Mark Herfort........................... Rosenberg, TX Laura Berry........................Corpus Christi, TX Owen West ...........................San Antonio, TX Kirk Templin .......................... Sugar Land, TX Alexander Jumonville ..........Baton Rouge, LA Brian H. Welker ..................... Sugar Land, TX Milton Schultz, Jr. ...................Glen Rose, TX Don Saunders .......................San Antonio, TX Al Brothers ................................. Berclair, TX Jimmy Yarborough .........................Alpine, TX Shelby Fischer .............................Victoria, TX D.H. Braman, III ...........................Refugio, TX Dr. James A Twaite ...................New York, NY Dr. C. Richard Stasney ...............Houston, TX Jack Carmody ............................. Leander, TX Skipper Bettis...............................Remus, MI Jim D. Young............................Redmond, WA Jorge Legrand.......................San Antonio, TX Bob Zaiglin ...................................Uvalde, TX Steve Bedowitz ......................... Carrolton, TX Wes Pinkerton ..................... Ben Wheeler, TX James G. Brooks, Jr. M.D. ..............Dallas, TX Cliff Reiss ............................ Wadsworth, OH Troy Grimes ............................. Cedar Hill, TX Mark J. Belisle ..............................Austin, TX Mike Pennington............................Austin, TX David Low .......................................Ennis, TX Larry Ramming ...........................Houston, TX Willis M. Marburger ....................Houston, TX Greg Williamson ..................... Fort Worth, TX Steven Futch ........................ Bossier City, LA John Wilson ................................ Bullard, TX William Carl Young ............... Georgetown, TX Nolan Ryan ......................................Alvin, TX Jim Christ...................................Houston, TX Mark Bonnet.................................Uvalde, TX Don Myers ............................... Grapevine, TX Christopher Davis ......................Pearland, TX Bryan Hollier ...........................Nederland, TX Guinn Crousen .......................... Arlington, TX

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Garry Isom................................... Ingram, TX Billie Marek, M.D. ....................... Mission, TX Robert James, Jr.........................Houston, TX Gregory B. Edwards ........................Austin, TX Ray Murski ................................Meridian, TX Mike Murski ..................................Dallas, TX Manuel P. Lastra, M.D. ................McAllen, TX Bart Umphrey ..........................Beaumont, TX Roger M. Sutton ......................Sunnyvale, TX Scott Garrett ..............................Houston, TX Elmer E. Lich ..............................Comfort, TX Steve Kotzur ..................................Hondo, TX Steve Skinner ................................Austin, TX Craig Becker ............................ Kingsville, TX Micheal Redmon .......................Kingwood, TX Dr. Larry Redmon ........................ Overton, TX Dr. Alberto “Champi” Nava ............Laredo, TX Horacio “Bacho” Hinojosa .............Laredo, TX Dan Offield .......................................Azle, TX Ron Fash ....................................Houston, TX Tracy Lee Widle ..........................McAllen, TX Tod Fields ...................................... Plano, TX Don Keller ..................................Big Foot, TX Johnny Mack Pursell ...................Refugio, TX Daniel Kutscher ...........................Staples, TX Moe Bergeron ............................ Baytown, TX Dr. James E. Bauerle.............San Antonio, TX Vance W. Johnston, II ...........San Antonio, TX Jonathan W. Delmer .............San Antonio, TX Jimmy Reeves........................... Kirbyville, TX Randall Welsh ...................................Arp, TX Jack Brittingham ..........................Athens, TX Ronnie Howell ........................... Hubbard, TX Randy Garrett ............................Anthony, NM George “Maverick” Wills.... Farmers Branch, TX John D. Sloan, Jr. ..................... Longview, TX Sid Terry .....................................Houston, TX Tommy Hammond ............... Wichita Falls, TX Michael S. Burton ...................Spicewood, TX Petar Bubalo.............................. Franklin, NJ

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Mark Murphy ................................. Plano, TX Dodd L. Hackman........................Houston, TX Clarence Kahlig, II ................San Antonio, TX Alan L. Lee, II................................. Nemo, TX Alan L. Lee ................................Hillsboro, TX Harry Dugas............................New Iberia, LA George Kostohryz, Jr./La Mansion De Sarita ................................ Fort Worth, TX Roger Garcia, J.D. .......................Houston, TX Dickie Tillman ........................... Lakeway, TX Wesley Kyle ............................Pipe Creek, TX Jime Hale Miller ..........................Lometa, TX Gary Rose ...................................Rosanky, TX Ron Snider..................................Rosanky, TX Dan L. Duncan ............................Rosanky, TX Bo Elizondo.............................. Kingsville, TX Robert Scherer ...........................Houston, TX Stewart Frederic .................... Pascagula, MS Carey R. Durst ..................Fredericksburg, TX Willie Hinz, Jr. .....................Missouri City, TX Ricky Ramsey ............................... Louise, TX Bill Glendening ..................... Round Rock, TX Rick Cantu ................................. Bellaire, TX William J. Miller ................. Grand Prairie, TX Robert I. Kelly................................Austin, TX Anthony J. Mihalski ..............San Antonio, TX James P. O’Neill, Jr. .......................Cocoa, FL F.E. Knapp, Jr.........................Brownsville, TX Norma Guzman Kresta ...... New Braunfels, TX Michael Read.......................... Bridgeport, TX Gregory Kimmel ...................... Fort Worth, TX Gus E. Young, Sr. ..................... Fort Worth, TX David Johnson ........................Spicewood, TX Robert Cornish...............................Perrin, TX Danny Hurtt .......................... Duncanville, TX Harold Coates ....................Corpus Christi, TX John W. Valentine, II ....................Coppell, TX Ron Ingram..................................Tuscola, TX Stephen Scott Clayton ................Houston, TX Dr. Juan Cantu Garza Garcia, .............NL, MX

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John Wright..................................Vernon, TX Stan Hickey ...............................Crawford, TX Robert Randal Martin ................. Marquez, TX Jack W. Matthiessen ..........San Antonio, TX Rick Knape ..............................La Grange, TX Rick Payne ....................................Austin, TX Robert J. Villarreal...............Port Aransas, TX Gary Reynolds............................Marshall, TX Jim Shrieve ..................... The Woodlands, TX Carl Beeler .................................Houston, TX Tommy Gillaspie .........................Houston, TX David R. Smith............................... Cuero, TX Paul Yates ........................... Winterhaven, FL Dan Verrips...................................Adkins, TX Larry Grimland...............................Dallas, TX Jim C. Epps ................................Houston, TX C.D. Shackelford ......................... McLean, TX Sidney Baldon, II.........................Houston, TX Jason Montague ............... New Braunfels, TX R. Vern Garling, Jr...........................Ovilla, TX Leonard Philipp .......................... Bastrop, TX Freddie H. Bailey, Sr. ...................Houston, TX Duane E. Dycus...................... Richardson, TX David Z. Mafrige..........................Houston, TX Randy Wyatt .........................San Antonio, TX Micheal Traugott...................San Antonio, TX Andy “Tipps” Gilley ...................... Kilgore, TX Doug Harrison......................... Kennedale, TX Bobby Schmidt ..............................Austin, TX Chuck Davis .................................Killeen, TX Denis Kuchta ......................... Jamesburg, NJ Michael A. Burgess ...............San Antonio, TX Carrol Beene............................. Pittsburg, TX Jason Davenport .........................Houston, TX Phil Lamey .......................................Katy, TX Connard E. Barker ................ Montgomery, TX Ed Kuempel ..................................Sequin, TX George Fore .................................El Paso, TX Robert Saunders ......................La Grange, TX Buck Alambar .................................Waco, TX

NEW PLATINUM LIFE MEMBERS Jose R Gonzalez 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224

Harry Zboril ..............................El Campo, TX Barrett Thorne ........................... Amarillo, TX Clint Croft ............................... Deer Park, TX Terry Owen ...................................Sonora, TX Billy Jack Lloyd .............................Manor, TX Will Clark ...............................Prairieville, LA Casey Harrison ....................... Kennedale, TX Mark Winklemann ......................... Taylor, TX Rob Hall .......................... Carrizo Springs, TX Phillip G. Harrison ......................Houston, TX Mike Lemker ............................ Magnolia, TX Chip Wagner ........................... Fort Worth, TX Cheryl Thompson-Draper ............Houston, TX John Thomas Draper ...................Houston, TX Reid Ryan ........................................Alvin, TX Jim Retz ................................. Fort Worth, TX Ted McKnight............................. Lakeway, TX Jefrey R. Smith ............................. N.R.H., TX Aaron Thomison ..............................Hutto, TX Zeev Nederman .....................San Antonio, TX Walter H. Snider, III ....................Houston, TX Keith Prince................................ Garland, TX Mark Johnson..................................Tolar, TX Don Smelser ......................Clenton Twsp., MI Jerry Y. Alvarez ..............................Hondo, TX Bo Stover .......................................Hutto, TX Rich Lander ..........................San Antonio, TX Marty Berry .......................Corpus Christi, TX Kenneth Ray Everett............... Jourdanton, TX Jeff Scrivener ..........................Jonesville, TX Scott Lemke ...............................Houston, TX Drake McLean.......................San Antonio, TX David Bippert ........................San Antonio, TX Monty Montgomery ................. Lago Vista, TX David Lee Bollmeyer ...................Houston, TX Wade Grimes ..................................Ovilla, TX Rodney J. Dunn......................... Arlington, TX John S. Spencer................................Katy, TX Tom Evans .......................................Alvin, TX Joseph Bandeaux.............................Vidor, TX Steve Boone ...................................Irving, TX Gib Vela-Cuellar ...........................Laredo, TX David L. Merchant ............................Alvin, TX Gene Riser...........................George West, TX Randy Gortney .........................Texarkana, TX Kenneth Lewis ..............................Conroe, TX Edgar G. Pereda ........................Coronado, CA Ivan D. McNab, Jr. ..........Fair Oaks Ranch, TX Mark Chesnutt.........................Beaumont, TX John Holt ................................ Deer Park, TX John M. Decker....................... Fort Worth, TX David Archibald.............................. Mexia, TX Bobby Weaver ..............................Warren, AR Stephanie ............................ Montgomery, TX Jeremy Rutenschroer ............Weatherford, TX Kontomitras..........................Los Angeles, CA Herman Ford .........................San Antonio, TX Philip Robers .............................. Blanket, TX Robert John .........................George West, TX Lt. General Leroy Sisco .................Boerne, TX Ken Ewald ..............................Martindale, TX Larry Tschirhart ......................Castroville, TX Trey Moore.......................College Station, TX

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Rodger Ruiz ......................................APO, AE James Patrick .......................... Rockwall, TX Joe Sakulenski ........................... Mission, TX Ricky Howard ...........................El Campo, TX Fred E. Wiedenfeld ................San Antonio, TX H. D. Houghton .................... Stephenville, TX Larry H. Hipsh, Jr. ..................Gulf Breeze, FL Bryan Berger ..............................Flatonia, TX Eddie Pierce ........................... Fort Worth, TX Jason Moore ............................ Bessemer, AL Christopher Wardlaw ......................Waco, TX Justin Deorsam ............................Uvalde, TX Steve Holland ...............................Conroe, TX Doug Gray.................................Pasadena, TX Brad Hatcher .................................Dallas, TX Randy Lake..............................Lampasas, TX Randy White ........................ Ponchatoula, LA Nick Patronis........................Panama City, FL Warren Montague ............. New Braunfels, TX Temple Ramming ........................Houston, TX Russell Russell ..........................Houston, TX Mark Saxon ..................................Adkins, TX James Rodgers .............................Sunset, TX Juan J. Hernandez .................. Floresville, TX Robert Brett Smith......................Stafford, TX Price D. Chambers ........................... Post, TX Cody Hamilton .................College Station, TX Travis Hamilton................College Station, TX William D. Goglas .....................Kingwood, TX Walter English ......................San Antonio, TX Jerry Lee Villarreal ............Corpus Christi, TX T.J. Wills .................................Pensacola, FL Jimmy Hasslocher ................San Antonio, TX Bill Lyons .............................San Antonio, TX Larry White............................. Fort Worth, TX Ignacio Villarreal ................. Canyon Lake, TX Kevin Mitchell ..........................McKinney, TX James Soefje .......................Wixon Valley, TX Michael Gallagher.......................Houston, TX Jason Gregory..................................Tyler, TX Tom Whitten ............................Texarkana, TX Gary W. Holzhaus ....................Castroville, TX Lamar Strong.............................. Mission, TX Cole Stinson ..............................Pearland, TX Ron Garison .................................Doyline, LA Mike Johnson ....................... Whitehouse, TX Kelly Chancelor ...................... Fort Worth, TX Horace Gore...............................Gonzales, TX Joe Swann ................................. Lubbock, TX Chuck Gregory .................................Tyler, TX Danny Tilson............................. Arlington, TX Randy Cupp ............................... Roanoke, TX Chris Henry........................ Mineral Wells, TX Justin Rogers ................................Dallas, TX Billy Cowsert ........................San Antonio, TX William D. Bineham ..............San Antonio, TX Dr. Leighton Wier ..................San Antonio, TX Randy Costa ........................Missouri City, TX Hunt Allred ....................................Dallas, TX Mark Clark ............................... Theodore, AL Kenneth Crockett ................ Friendswood, TX Claude Sims .........................Dawsonville, GA Donald Cosper ...........................Burleson, TX

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Dwight Conway ..........................Brenham, TX Joe Hausberger........................Highlands, TX Eric Meyers ............................. Corsicana, TX Christopher Centafont .................. Dothan, AL Matthew Skipper .................... Fort Worth, TX Gary Majewski ............................Houston, TX Jerry Majewski ...........................Houston, TX Chuck Walther.............................. Milton, FL Pat Wilson....................................Boerne, TX Debbie Chisholm.................... Pleasanton, TX Tommy Keasling ......................... Humble, TX Marc Manning ..............................Burton, TX Ralph Bullard ............................. Addison, TX Raymond Haselip ................... Garberville, CA CC Bar Whitetails ..................... Redwater, TX J.H. Quinn, III ............................... Elaine, AR Michael McGee ................................Katy, TX Ken Archibald .......................... Rockwall, TX Tina Kahlig ...........................San Antonio, TX Larry A. Mazziotta ................... Slatington, PA Frank Leyendecker ........................Laredo, TX Wil Drash .............................San Antonio, TX Matt Mills .........................Spring Branch, TX Kyle Adkinson............................ Garrison, TX Lucas Bryant ..................................Tioga, TX Daniel Dain........................Corpus Christi, TX Paul Miller .................................Houston, TX Paul Phillips ............................. Arlington, TX Lee Hoffpauir ...........................Lampasas, TX Salim Ahmed ..............................Houston, TX Don Wood .................................... Odessa, TX Vernon Hampton ............................. Buda, TX Leo Butler ........................Fredericksburg, TX Russ Thomsen ............................Mabank, TX James Leininger ...................San Antonio, TX Randy Pretzer ...............................Teague, TX Bill Hollingsworth ........................Carlton, TX Gary Shumate ...........North Richland Hills, TX J.B. Tinney .................................Houston, TX Shawn Lyons ...............................Coppell, TX Edward McDowell ................ Montgomery, TX Christi J. McDowell.............. Montgomery, TX Bubba Catt .......................... Hattiesburg, MS Scott Brown................................Moulton, TX Leonard Busby, III ........................ Laurel, MS Robert Harvey ............................Watuaga, TX Steve Golla ...................................Adkins, TX Mike Masters ........................... Converse, TX Ed Carroll .................................Pasadena, TX Ryan “Rhino” Haecker....... New Braunfels, TX Bill Gray .....................................Bandera, TX Thomas Balke.............................Houston, TX Tommy R. Fogle ..........................Houston, TX Dwayne Jone .............................Kempner, TX Thomas Natusch ...................Weatherford, TX Nick Kerksieck ......................... Arlington, TX Mark Hoard ..................................Killeen, TX Art Mowdy ................................. Oatmeal, TX Peter De La Garza ..................... San Juan, TX Chris Farmer............................ Corsicana, TX Michael Hooser..........................Granbury, TX Derek Hoelscher ........................ Alvarado, TX Larry C. Davis ......................... Fort Worth, TX

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Carroll L. Bagley ...........................Dayton, TX Robert Rountree ...........................Conroe, TX Greg Holmes...................................Waco, TX Dion Alvarez.............................Greenville, TX Teri Alvarez ..............................Greenville, TX Terry Ray ...............................Brownsville, TX Johnny Cavazos ....................San Antonio, TX Andy Wright..................... The Woodlands, TX Larry Santos ..................... New Braunfels, TX H.D. Crissey ...................................Dallas, TX Scott Harris .................................Abilene, TX J. Jones ................................. Fort Worth, TX J. Mark Hicks .............................. Denton, TX Ricardo Munoz ..............................Zapata, TX Willis ..........................................Abilene, TX Eric Lindstrom ..............................Dayton, TX Jesse Beckett .............................. Cotulla, TX Dallas Munroe ............................Houston, TX Waldine Schnautz .......................Pearsall, TX Kelt Gibson................................... Gunter, TX Dan Boren .............................. Muskogee, OK Raymond J Strohmeyer ..................Gretna LA Paul F Montealegre.....................Houston, TX Colton King ......................... Canyon Lake, TX David Scrivener......................... Longview ,TX Stuart C. Stauffacher ....................... Katy, TX Wayne Williams ................... Bay Minnete, AL Sarge Walters........................ Lumberton, NC Charlie Hawn ................................Athens, TX Jason Cross ........................... San Angelo, TX Robert Jordan ............................. Hockley, TX Ryan S. O’Neal........................... Amarillo, TX Paul O’Brien ......................Corpus Christi, TX Murray Touchette ........................Houston, TX Coralina Ranch ...................... San Angelo, TX Ryan Bartula..............................Granbury, TX James Dorsey ...............................Conroe, TX Mario Reyna ...............................Houston, TX Joe Betar..............................San Antonio, TX Scott Kramer ..............................Houston, TX Dwayne Spann ............................La Porte, TX Collin Bosworth .......................... Tomball, TX Gilbert Joines .............................Houston, TX Austin Owens..............................Comfort, TX Tony Bandiera ................................Dallas, TX Frank Stegient ........................ Fort Worth, TX Terry Martin ..............North Richland Hills, TX Howard Pena .......................... Fort Worth, TX Glen Bullard ...................................Aledo, TX Patricia Bullard ..............................Aledo, TX Ronald W. Williamson ..................Coppell, TX Marko Barrett .......................San Antonio, TX Timmy Latiolais .....................Breaux City, LA Misty Schnautz .............................Devine, TX Bob Holig ............................Long Prairie, MN John Hughes, JW Hughes Excavation Inc.. Hico, TX Bradley James Humphries........... Decatur, TX Eddie G. Mann, Jr. ................... Fort Worth, TX Matt Slape ...............................Levelland, TX Bo Faber .....................................Pearland TX Hip Zamora, Jr. .........................El Campo, TX Danny Webb .........................San Antonio, TX Joe Inman ..................................Stafford, TX

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Rocky Foley ................................... Mexia, TX James B. Shrieve ..........................Conroe, TX Carl Smith .................................... Terrell, TX Jon Prather ................................. Manvel, TX Gary Lux .............................. Schulenburg, TX Kyle Poulson........................... Fort Worth, TX Jason Vanderbrink .......................... Nixa, MO Anthony Acitelli ........................... Anoka, MN Matthew Merritt ............................Austin, TX James Alpha.................................Conroe, TX Val Cooper ................................. Lubbock, TX Richard Jonas..............................Helotes, TX Terry Kemp ................................... Haslet, TX Michael Halleron ......................... Anoka, MN Bryan Medve............................Richmond, TX Grayson Gieser...........................Burleson, TX Carter Smith ..................................Austin, TX David Caldwell ........................Fort Smith, AR Ted Allen Trout............................Houston, TX Syd Dyer, M.D ..................... Lake Charles, LA Chris Reynolds............................ Tomball, TX Richard Smith...................................Katy, TX Don Criss...................................Santa Fe, TX Dallas F. Munroe .........................Houston, TX Rick Duff ....................................... Plano, TX Feddie Duke Brooks Jr...................Conroe, TX Danny Darwin ...............................Sanger, TX Jeff Gorski..................................Houston, TX JD Woods .........................................Katy, TX Cita Wardell ...............................Houston, TX Bob Hood ............................... Fort Worth, TX Walter Hill................................... Corinth, TX Archie T. Parker .........................Cleburne, TX Daniel B. Hastings, Jr....................Laredo, TX Donnie Kamp. .........................Lumberton, TX Jack Allen ....................................Burnet, TX Byron Burris ................................Victoria, TX Gardner G. Welch ........................Bandera, TX Duane Ondruch .................... Schulenburg, TX Daryl Allen ................................Pearland, TX Clark Jordan ..............................Pearland, TX Greg B. Vest .................................Dayton, TX Paul Brown ................................. Cypress, TX Rudy Garcia ................................Houston, TX Brett Holden ............................Richmond, TX Billy E. Key ............................Normangee, TX Chris Lillis ..................................Midland, TX Bill McDonald ........................... Magnolia, TX Steve Munz.............................. Wildwood, FL Randy Wilson ..............................Abilene, TX Kash C. Hanson ....................San Antonio, TX Danny Justice ........................... Magnolia, TX Justin Knee ................................Houston, TX Peter Villarreal.. .........................Houston, TX Luke Gorski ............................... Houston, TX Ricky Burnett ..........................Livingston, TX Matthew Allen ............................. Canton, TX AJ Downs .....................................Conroe, TX Robert Taylor ................................Aubrey, TX Randy Willmon ........................Livingston, TX James Sladecek ......................... Holland, TX Travis Buckner ...........................Sherman, TX Ronnie D. Cole ............................. Kilgore, TX Murry Burnham.......................Spicewood, TX Ron Widup......................................Irving, TX PJ Doyle .........................................Llano, TX Howard Schwerdtfeger ................... Marfa, TX Ray Homeyer... .......................Coldspring, TX Dr. James Parsons.. ...................Pearland, TX Matthew Burke ...........................Freeport, TX Chuck Scianna.......................... ... Waller, TX Rick Sargent................................. .Rome, GA Ruthie Wagener.. .......................... Gillett, TX

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James Moore ..........................Port Arthur, TX Elton Hollis III. ....................... .. Baytown, TX Jason Wheeler ........................... Lovelady, TX Ronald Owens.......................Whitewright, TX Carlos Hasette. ..............................Tilden, TX John Lynch. ..........................San Antonio, TX Mike Lynch ...........................San Antonio, TX Thad Steele .................................El Paso, TX Raymond Skelton...................... Magnolia, TX Ronnie Gibson ....................Universal City, TX William Alford ...................Corpus Christi, TX Dr. Robert Gershon....................... Denton, TX James Fahrenthold ...............San Antonio, TX Lawrence Berry ...........................Houston, TX Kagan Bosworth ......................... Tomball, TX Marty Logan ..................................Dallas, TX Timmy Schuelke .................Lake Jackson, TX David Krajca ...................................Ennis, TX Bill George ................................. Garland, TX Booger DeChaume .....................Crawford, TX Randy Bailey............................... Garland, TX Michael McFerrin ......................Kingwood, TX Tom Snyder ..........................San Antonio, TX Ignacio Sauceda .........................Houston, TX Kenneth Courteau ............... Orchard Park, TX Darrell Palmer.. ......................... Houston, TX Hil Stroup. .................................... Austin, TX Gary W. Hall ..............................Bulverde, TX Terry L. Booker .......................Shelbyville, TX Mark Lee.. .................................. . Crosby, TX Jim Whitley ..............................Ledbetter, TX Waylan Langford ............................ Wylie, TX Eddie Lynch ..........................San Antonio, TX Alfredo Guajardo ..................... Fort Worth, TX John P. Gaddis ......................... Galveston, TX Joseph L. Harcrow Sr ............... Cleveland, TX Brad Barone............................. Picayune, MS Jay Treadaway .........................Monahans, TX Robby Winstead ............................Sandia, TX Eric Wieser, MD .............................Dallas, TX Collier Pennington Jr. .................Midland, TX Chris Keese ............................Liberty Hill, TX Clayton Johnson ...............................Inez, TX Joe R. Jones .............................Kingwood, TX Jeff Jones ................................Kingwood, TX Dare Johnson .........................Shreveport, LA Chris Solomon ....................... Cedar Park, TX Kenneth Witt ..............................Midland, TX Robert Bierstedt ..........................Helotes, TX Jeffrey Bearden ............................Conroe, TX Perry Sooter .............................. Perryton, TX Betsy Lechow .........................Liberty Hill, TX Brooks Jordan .............................Silsbee, TX Will Oliver ..................................Houston, TX Mike LaMar ............................... Guymon, OK Rick Shepherd ............................La Porte, TX Rocky Rakocy ............................Loranger, LA David Smith .................................Tomball, TX Morgan S. Nalty .......................... Metarie, LA Cody Lancaster ........................... Tomball, TX Simmie C. DeVille Jr. .................... Spring, TX Shawn Calhoun ............................. Spring, TX Rocky Pavia ............................. Beaumont, TX Les Setters Jr. ......................... Pearland, TX Gray Frye ....................................Bandera, TX Jeremy Boltinghouse ................... Kenedy, TX J.D. Villa ...................................Rockport, TX Philip Frey ........................Fredericksburg, TX Brian Steffek ...........................Colleyville, TX Kris Pavia ................................ Beaumont, TX John R. Survil ................................Argyle, TX David Humphreys .....................Fort Worth, TX Daniel Copp .............................Ewa Beach, HI

Alisa Dean ....................................Sandia, TX Richard Phipps ........................Monahans, TX 573 Thomas Scott ................... New Braunfels, TX 574 Bret Ferguson .........................Castroville, TX 575 Jason Ferguson ..................... Pleasanton, TX 576 Chad J. Jones ........................... Magnolia, TX 577 Adam Mize.................................Cleburne, TX 578 Bruce Champion ......................... Abilene, TX 579 Shelby Stewart ......................... La Vernia, TX 580 Trey Spencer ...............................Midland, TX 581 Riley LeClair ...................................Irving, TX 582 Ashley Nelson............................. Tomball, TX 583 David Podany ........................... Cedar Hill, TX 584 Larry Bartek ................................. Poteet, TX 585 Christopher Garner.....................Longview, TX 586 Timothy James ................................Alice, TX 587 Josh Leininger .................. Spring Branch, TX 588 Russell G. Weatherly ..................Fordyce, AR 589 Shawn Wyatt....................New Braunfels, TX 590 Ryan Wyatt ......................... San Antonio, TX 591 Cody Johnson ................................ Willis, TX 593 Cody Nicholson .................... Montgomery, TX 594 Michael D. Harper Jr. ............San Antonio, TX 595 Josh Harendt ........................ Forth Worth, TX 596 Larry Autrey ................................Brenham, TX 598 AC Ranch........................ Mountain Home, TX 599 William Hardisty ............................. Avoca, IA 600 Ruben Gomez............................ Rockport, TX 601 Jim Masters, Jr. ...................San Antonio, TX 602 Chris Johnson..........................Richmond, TX 603 Dwayne Collier............................Stafford, TX 604 Glenn Carline.........................Morgan City, LA 605 Luis Arce ...............................San Antonio, TX 609 Brandon Grenier.......................... Houston, TX 610 Jackson Craft ............................ Baytown, TX 611 Kevin Wood .................................. Conroe, TX 612 Rex Taylor .................................Cleveland, TX 614 Bob Helms....................... The Woodlands, TX 617 Kathy Countiss ............................Medina, TX 618 Dan Countiss ...............................Medina, TX 619 Trevor Truesdale ....................... La Vernia, TX 620 Garry R. Alexander ................Montgomery, TX 621 Vincent K. Ney .......................San Antonio, TX 623 David Tamplin ........................... Wimberly, TX 624 Daniel S. Mulligan, Sr. ....................Irving, TX 625 Alton Stefan ............................... Tomball, TX 628 Billy Smith ..................................Bastrop, TX 629 Greg Tompkins...............................Boling, TX 630 Britt Barwise ....................... Port Aransas, TX 631 Matthew Gomez .............................Pettus, TX 632 Glen Kusenberger .......................... Cibolo, TX 633 Brittain Griffith ............................Hockley, TX 634 Shawn Scoggins .......North Richland Hills, TX 635 Tracy Shrader ........................... LaGrange, TX 637 Ryan Hunter Jones ....................Kingwood, TX 647 John F. Webre ............................. Bedford, TX 650 John C. Husbands ......................... Conroe, TX 651 Steven Wayne Kocurek, Jr. .....San Antonio, TX 652 Kevin Borowski ............................Hockley, TX 655 David Canfield ..................Fredericksburg, TX 656 William K. Brown .......................... Spring, TX 657 Heath Bures ................................ Ganado, TX 666 Michael Hodgkins ................Lake Charles, LA 669 Troy Lancaster ................... Corpus Christi, TX 670 Dr. James Simpson ........................Spring, TX 675 Charles “Butch” Thurman .......Bridge City, TX 676 Charles “Bubba” Thurman ......... Rockwall, TX 689 Alvin Prause ............................Beaumont, TX 697 Lewis G. Penrod ........................... Warren, TX 700 Brant Hawkins ........................ Bridgeport, TX 701 Jimmy Paul McMahon ............. White Oak, TX 702 Brian Lemley ..................... Mineral Wells, TX 703 Jeff Cook.............................Missouri City, TX 571

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Lance Johnson.................College Station, TX Keith G. Bailey ......................... Deer Park, TX Landon Wright .......................... Magnolia, TX Phil Egbert ................................Kempner, TX Dave Wilcox..........................San Antonio, TX Shawn Gerlach ........................... Mission, TX Tim Masek..................................Flatonia, TX Ryan Murphy .............................Paradise, TX Jim Butcher..........................San Antonio, TX Icehole, LLC.................................Kerville, TX Michael F. Joseph ....................McQueeny, TX Larry Herwig ..................................Dallas, TX James McCoy ...................... Stephenville, TX George Mercer ......................Willow Park, TX Frank Santibanez ............... Mineral Wells, TX Rusty Russell .......................Weatherford, TX Tommy Wilkins ................................Elgin, TX Del Flores ....................................Helotes, TX Rusty Clark .........................Missouri City, TX Harold Greer ...............................Houston, TX Tom Lyne, III .................... College Station, TX James D. Autry ........................... Houston, TX Ross Jackson ...............................Golden, CO Anthony Ghillowe ...............Corpus Christi, TX Tommy Merritt .......................... Longview, TX Michael Wieck ..........................Waupaca, WI Conrad Charles Wilder ..........San Antonio, TX Preston Lee Jones ................San Antonio, TX Paul Armstrong...........................Houston, TX Randall Palmer................... Orange Grove, TX Kevan Fowler .....................Spring Branch, TX Oscar Perez ...........................San Antonio, TX Atlee Parr ..........................Corpus Christi, TX Michael Olien ................................Cibolo, TX Jeffrey Wayne Triplett II .............Pearland, TX Skip Priess ............................ San Angelo, TX JRANCH.............................. Lake Charles, LA Trey Bonner ...........................League City, TX Heith Denney .......................... Fort Worth, TX Travis Hunter ................................Marion, TX Russell Harder.................. New Braunfels, TX Mark Svane ....................................Tioga, TX J.L. Bearden ..........................League City, TX Ronnie Hatfield...................Lake Jackson, TX Keith Jordan .......................... Cedar Park, TX Baker Wardell............................. Houston, TX Brian P. Wood ............................Bulverde, TX Elvin Chamorro ...........................La Porte, TX Javier Olivarez ...........................Edinburg, TX Jerry Burks.......................... Montgomery, TX Joe Taylor ........................... Orange Grove, TX Christopher Charles Clark ................. Taft, TX David L. Rumley .................Corpus Christi, TX David H. Rude, Jr ........................Houston, TX Col. Brad Hildreth .........................Ponder, TX Carter Finnell ..................... Chesterfield, MO Brian Huntley ....................... Buffalo Gap, TX Joshua LaRue ........................... Decatur, TX Mark Wilson ....................Corpus Christi, TX Jeff Huckaby ............................ Humble, TX Brad Hildebrand ........................Houston, TX Edgar I. Cabello ....................Rio Grande, TX Mark E. Starkey ......................... Del Rio, TX Pat Sparks......................................Katy, TX Gary Lott, Jr................................Dayton, TX Jacob Trim ...........................San Antonio, TX Joseph Robbins .......................Ingleside, TX Donald Covarrubio................. New Caney, TX Louis Bazan. ...............................Boerne, TX TSD. ..............................................Mico, TX Marcie Heidrich............. ..New Braunfels, TX Allen Heidrich. .............. ..New Braunfels, TX Gene Johnson. ........................ ..Hockley, TX

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Ryan LeBlanc. ....................Johnson City, TX Clent Rawlinson...................... Magnolia, TX Patrick F. Taylor ........................Houston, TX Bryan K Harlan.............................Dallas, TX Hunter Oglesby ................ Corpus Christi, TX Danny Cantrell ............................ Spring, TX Sean Murphy................................Dallas, TX Charles Floyd............................Houston, TX Larry Garza ...............................Houston, TX Heath Payne .......................San Antonio, TX Bill Carter................................... Spring, TX Robert Romero ....................San Antonio, TX Rick Butcher........................Pflugerville, TX Robert Eugene Stevens, Jr. .......... Crosby, TX Hawk Bennett ...........................Pearsall, TX Fred Johnson .............................. Spring, TX David Pascal Law ................ Washington, TX Eddie Aguilar ......................San Antonio, TX Justin May ......................................Katy, TX Klint Myers .............................Hamshire, TX Javier Jimenez ..........................Houston, TX Jake Leissner............................Houston, TX Ted Hogan.................................. Odessa, TX Nathan Word......................... Colleyville, TX Matthew C. Hagee ......................Boerne, TX Mia Perez............................. Pleasanton, TX Bearett Saffel ................................ Rice, TX Anthony Aaron Alvarado ......San Antonio, TX Chad Allemond ........................ LaVernia, TX Nicholas L. Zinsmeyer ...........Castroville, TX Christopher Whootton ..........League City, TX Darin Hollis ..................................Diana, TX Damon Hills ............................ Longview, TX Gricelda Mendietta................. Robstown, TX Chuck Wilson ........................Livingston, TX William Plauche ......................Sherman, TX Sheyanne Jean Luckman ...... Pleasanton, TX Jordan Symon ...........................Houston, TX Chad Jones .............................Princeton, TX Tommy Simmons....................... Bedford, TX Joshua Hernandez ..................... LaCoste, TX Javiel Mendietta .................... Kingsville, TX Buster Horlen .....................San Antonio, TX Neal A Hahn.......................Chappell Hill, TX Wayne Wagner ................... Canyon Lake, TX Cameron David Hall.................Needville, TX Tyler Daniels..............................El Paso, TX Mike Reynolds ................. El Dorado Hill, CA Chester Loth ...............................Humble,TX Lance Spruiell..................... San Marcos, TX Richard L. Gotshall ........Fort Lauderdale, FL Juan Menchaca...........................Laredo, TX Matt Hancock ...........................Houston, TX Alexander Thurman Blackburn ......Austin, TX Jordan L. Guice, MD MPH ........ La Vernia, TX Cloudy Whitehorn Vail .................Burnet, TX HA Gerold ...............................Pasadena, TX Ryan Minica ........................San Antonio, TX Austin Beckner ...........................Frisco, TX Anthony Rast ......................... Carrolton, TX David Blaylock .......................... Decatur, TX Jeff Southern...............................Lufkin, TX Michael D. Dagenhart..............McKinney, TX Hal Gahm ...........................San Antonio, TX David Trim ...........................San Antonio, TX Sidney B. Baldon, III .....................Crosby, TX Eric Lipar .....................................Spring, TX Ian Cockrell .............................Granbury, TX Strait Allen Clark .............................Taft, TX Randy Gene Rice, II ..................Pearland, TX Jett Cramer ........................ ...Mansfield, TX Richard Delgado, Jr..............San Antonio, TX

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Darell Hoffer ........................... El Campo, TX Mark Beaman ......................San Antonio, TX Bobby Cortez, Jr .....................Rosenburg, TX David Nicholas Newberry......Springtown, TX Atkinson ................................Beaumont, TX David Stoddard .........................Kerrville, TX Bill Bolton ..................................Canton, TX Tex Reginald Horton .............. Arthur City, TX Kathleen Hoffer ......................El Campo, TX Forrest Montealegre..................Houston, TX Derek N. Jacob ............................Austin, TX Jeremy Ballew .........................Granbury, TX David Jose Moya, Jr. ........Corpus Christi, TX J Andrew Venables ...................Brenham, TX Julian Shane Garcia .................... Crosby, TX Mike Flanagan ..............................Wylie, TX Quint Greenville ...................League City, TX Clifton Love ..............................Houston, TX Chris Azure ................................. Presto, PA Jason A. Smith ........................Brenham, TX Dwayne Marcantel .................. Magnolia, TX Matt Hughes ............................ Hillsboro, IL Brian Gilroy.........................San Antonio, TX Kenley Williamson ...................... Mullin, TX Louis P. Robles ..............................Kirby, TX Shawn Strouse..........................Midland, TX Steven Flax...................................Krum, TX Dennis W Robles ..........................Austin, TX Peggy “LB” Davis ................. Cedar Park, TX G.D. Farrell, Sr ........................... Cotulla, TX Kenneth Musgrove ..........................Katy, TX Tom Cusick .................................Boerne, TX Chaise Cooper...................... Springtown, TX Kelsey Carr .............................Kingwood, TX Richard Salinas.........................McAllen, TX Clay Walker ..............................Houston, TX Ricky Meyer ...........................Columbus, TX Brent Beck ...............................Midland, TX Britt Barnard......................... Colleyville, TX Mike Biggs ........................... Fort Worth, TX Lloyd K Perrin ..............................Brady, TX Teresa Boyer ................................. Allen, TX Lance Beckner ........................McKinney, TX Nathan Argueta.........................Houston, TX Brett Matthews .......................... Linden, NC Buck Boyer ................................... Allen, TX M. Brandon Smyrl ...............Friendswood, TX Robert Pittman ....................San Antonio, TX Jorge Luis Alvarez Jr ........... Santa Elena, TX Edgar Tovar ...............................Bandera, TX Clay Pope ................................Sante Fe, TX Brandon Cowart ..........Tennessee Colony, TX Jan Daniec..........................San Antonio, TX Rey Garza....................... Rio Grande City, TX Governor Rick Perry .....................Austin, TX M.Max Yzaguirre...........................Austin, TX Donnie Mordecai ......................... Waller, TX John Hall ......................Fair Oaks Ranch, TX Margaret McDowell ......................... Iola, TX Ovidio Cerda ...............................Bishop, TX Travis Bartniski ........................ Cypress, TX Erik R. Lacy ............................. Oakdale, CA David Williams........................Kingwood, TX Oscar Hernandez .................San Antonio, TX Brad Peterson .......................Brookshire, TX Chad Potts............................ Fort Worth, TX Amos Ross.............................Fort Worth, TX Mike Rizkal................................ Prosper, TX Butch Amlong ........................Jacksboro, TX Randy Councill............................Conroe, TX Alex R. Jasso ...............................Austin, TX Bradley Matthys............................ West, TX Rylan C. Holub .......................... Tomball, TX

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Dan H. Meeker ...................... Fort Worth, TX Dr. Scott D. Kimble ............. Karnes City, TX Luther Bierwirth..............................Katy, TX Stephen Gillaspie .....................Houston, TX Rickey Redmon .....................New Iberia, LA David B. Gill............................... .Godley, TX John R. Rain ............................ Amarillo, TX Michael Seals .................................Katy, TX Reed LeBlanc .......................Port Neches,TX Derek M. Adams ........................Houston,TX Gary Mobley................................. Bryan, TX Mike Bock ......................... Montgomery, TX Rylan Campbell ............................Aledo, TX Tony Williams, Jr ........................ Spring, TX Terry A. Porter......................... Magnolia, TX Cory Kennedy ........................... Poolville, TX Samuel Gillaspie.......................Houston, TX Travis Zatopek..................... Round Rock, TX Dustin R. Haney ................. Montgomery, TX Marvin Thornton ........................ Gilmer, TX Michel P. Wilty ....................Birmingham, AL Brandt Wells.................................Center,TX Cliff O’Rear ............................. Arlington, TX On Target Shooting Outfitters , LLC Mabank, TX Brad Sheffield..........................Marshall, TX John T. Motes .......................... Live Oak, TX David Bell. .............................Splendora, TX Lonie V. Selsor ................ St. Martinville, LA Wayne Phillips ..........................Denison, TX Robert Glynn Underwood ...........Houston, TX Burt Parnell ..................................Aledo, TX Hubert Guillotte .................... Brookshire, TX Mark A. Haney ......................Woodlands, TX Todd Krenek............................. Garwood, TX Walleck Ranch .................... Karnes City, TX John P. Thompson, Jr. ..................Dallas, TX Reno Puente ........................San Antonio, TX Thomas Grant .....................Montgomery, TX Rio Rojo Ranch .........................Bagwell, TX David McLamb .............................Argyle, TX Richard Otto Allerkamp Jr. ..........Seguin, TX Dan W. Mayes, III ........................ Hardin, TX Dale Wofford ............................ Cypress, TX Matt McCallum ....................... Rockwall, TX Jasper Jones ............................Midland, TX Marcus Barrera ................ Corpus Christi, TX Cecil Dalton ................. Highland Village, TX William C. Shiver ....................Pearland, TX Scott W. Kroll .................Corpus Christi, TX Todd Bassett .........................Palestine, TX Mindy Richardson ................... Baytown, TX Keith Hancock, II ............. Grand Prairie, TX David Sanchez, Jr ............Corpus Christi, TX J.P. Hooser ................................Killeen, TX Tyson Johnson ..............College Station, TX Lane Hunter McGaughey ....Hallettsville, TX Merced A Hernandez ..................Laredo, TX David Sommer ........................Brenham, TX Darren Mackie .......................Palestine, TX Roscoe Sparks ...........................Strawn, TX Leonel Hernandez II....................Laredo, TX Stephen Crowley ................Waxahachie, TX Larry P. McDougal, Jr. ............. Fulshear, TX

TTHA Texas A&M Platinum Life Members 0 L. Justin Gayle, M.D. .......College Station, TX 1 Scott W. Bugai, DVM .....................Seguin, TX 2 Jesse Beckett .............................. Cotulla, TX 3 Ronald J. Carroll ...................... Mansfield, TX 4 Galen Pahl.......................College Station, TX 5 Jack Allen ....................................Burnet, TX 6 Robert Moseley ........................Palestine, TX

Allan G. Willis............................Caldwell, TX Jason Fischer ...............................Seguin, TX 9 Michael Nibert .................College Station, TX 10 John Ellisor ..............................Kingwood, TX 11 Mike Gary ...................................Red Oak, TX 12 Joel M. “Ford” Scott ................... Humble, TX 13 Mason E. Hale ............................... Bryan, TX 14 Cody Ulmer ....................................Dallas, TX 15 J.D. Hill ...................................... Garland, TX 16 Jennifer R. Lee .................................Katy, TX 17 Jason Watson ..................College Station, TX 18 Micheal Doering ..............................Anna, TX 19 Gavin Saldivar.................................Chico, TX 20 Margaret M. McDowell ........ Montgomery, TX 21 Manuel “Manny” Sanchez DVM ...Missouri City, TX 22 Holly A. McDowell................ Montgomery, TX 23 Cliff Carroll ................................ Bedford, TX 24 Jared Cochran ............................ Tomball, TX 25 Jarrod Carroll ......................... Fort Worth, TX 26 William Smith ........................ Texarkana, AR 27 Ben Rumbaugh ........................... Tomball, TX 30 Kyle Sells .....................................Adkins, TX 32 Hunter Mc Conathy .........................Aledo, TX 54 W.R. Griffin ................................ Bellaire, TX 63 Scott M. Pierce, DO..................Greenville, TX 71 John C. MacNeill ................... Sugar Land, TX 72 Robert Rogers....................Spring Branch, TX 75 Daniel B. Quinn............................Cypress, TX 79 Jose R Gonzalez .................... San Antonio, TX 81 Dr. J. Manuel Gonzalez, Jr. ............Laredo, TX 88 Charles Brodrick .............Fair Oaks Ranch, TX 89 Blas M. Martinez Jr. ......................Laredo, TX 90 Jerry L. Newcomb ............ The Woodlands, TX 93 Edmund Meier, Jr. DVM .........San Antonio, TX 94 Gus B. Smith ..............................Houston, TX 100 Chad Hale................................... Tomball, TX 1129 Nathan Olien................................Cibolo, TX 1329 Kevin Oates .................................Cibolo, TX 1369 Diamond A Whitetails..................Seguin, TX 1992 Andy Iverson .............................Midland, TX 1994 Susan Meier .......................San Antonio, TX 2010 Abbey Lea McDowell.. ........ Montgomery, TX 2011 David Sakulenzki....................... Mission, TX 2013 Jonathan Sakulenzki ................. Mission, TX 2014 Jeremy Sakulenzki .................... Mission, TX 4444 Robert Simmons ................. Round Rock, TX 8808 Jacob Brice Espinoza.................Houston, TX 9507 Chasen H. Doyal........................ Cypress, TX 51408 Kevin C. Mills .............................. Lucas, TX 7 8

Texas Tech Platinum Life Members 1 Darin Gray ....................................Burnet, TX 2 Larry Anders ..................................Dallas, TX 3 Leland L. Fellows III ................... Lubbock, TX 4 Jason Moorman ............................Snyder, TX 5 Dave Keith ............................San Antonio, TX 11 Mark Russel Mays ..................... Lubbock, TX Sam Houston State Platinum Life Members 1 Michael W. Murray ........................ Spring, TX 2 Philip S. Karasek .................East Bernard, TX 16 Brandon Marcantel .....................Houston, TX Stephen F. Austin Platinum Life Members 1 Sam Permenter Jr ..........................Lufkin, TX 2 Blake Wilcox ....................... Montgomery, TX Texas State Platinum Life Members 1 Aaron Jones ..................................Austin, TX Texas Christian Platinum Life Members 1 Holden Harrison ...................... Fort Worth, TX 2 Giacomo (Jack) Conte ...............Galloway, OH

Need to update your membership information? Please call Lauren at (210) 491-2133 or email at lauren@ttha.com

Specialty Knives Yes, the Swiss make hunting knives, too!

By Martin Malacara

F

or thousands of years, humans have used some sort of cutting tool to make their lives a bit easier. Early cutting devices crafted from sharpened or knapped stones have been used to cut through animal hides and meat to provide much needed sustenance; to cut and shape material to make clothing, and for creating other tools from animal bones.

Eventually, humans learned the art of forging metal, taking it from the earth and smelting it to fashion into useful tools and weapons, such as knives.

Knives are used all over the world and have become highly sought-after collectibles and status symbols.

Early folks appreciated the value of a good knife or tool, but they could only carry so many of them from place

to place. Somewhere along humanity’s timeline, someone thought about creating an all-in-one tool, which could easily fit inside a pouch or pocket. An unknown Roman did just that, and created the world’s first specialty knife, or “multi-tool.”

The Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom displays one of these tools, “The Hunter” knife from Victorinox features a 111mm slide-locking Swiss Army knife blade, a small, curved gutting blade with a serrated edge, as well as the 111mm version of the Combo Tool (can/ bottle opener/screwdriver/ wire stripper), a sawblade, corkscrew, reamer with sewing-eye, with toothpick and tweezers stored inside the grips.

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The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

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In 2017, Victorinox revised the 111mm product line and ceased production of slide-lock models, including The Hunter. It was converted to be a linerlocking model.

possibly left behind by a Roman soldier on one of many military campaigns. The folding tool, made from silver and iron, features a knife, spoon, three-pronged fork, pick and spike.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages swept across the Old World, and shut down any advancement in technology, including the development of the Roman multi-tool. Such a tool wouldn’t resurface until the late 19th century.

Enter Swiss entrepreneur Karl Elsener.

Karl Elsener started his own company in 1884, making medical instruments and knives. Later, he realized that he could take a “stab” at making specialty knives for the Swiss Army. According to company history, his factory—originating in Ibach, Switzerland—produced the first Swiss Army knife in 1891. Elsener’s company, which later became Victorinox, won the contract to produce the Swiss Army’s Modell 1890 knife from the previous German manufacturer, Wester & Co. of Solingen. The knife had a blade, reamer, can opener, screwdriver, and grips made out of dark oak wood, that some say was later partly replaced with ebony wood. The many tools come standard on today’s knives.

In 1893, a rival Swiss cutlery company, Paul Boéchat & Cie, which later became Wenger SA, received its first contract from the Swiss military to produce model 1890 knives. The two companies split the contract for knives from 1908 until Victorinox acquired Wenger—pronounced “Venger”—in 2005.

Elsener renamed his company in 1911 www.TTHA www.

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after his mother, Victoria, who supported him throughout his endeavors. Elsener’s son Carl took over the company in 1918 after his father’s death, and renamed it in 1921 to “Victorinox,” incorporating the abbreviation “inox” for acier inoxydable, the French term for stainless steel, which they started using that year.

Giving birth to a cultural icon of Switzerland, the company’s knife design and its versatility earned worldwide recognition. Victorinox managed to survive during the second World War, and afterwards in 1945, the company’s fortune and brand name began to bloom, by way of U.S. soldiers stationed in Europe purchasing the knives as souvenirs, thereby introducing the knife to a whole new market.

Today, you can find a Victorinox knife at most of the big-box stores, hunting and sporting goods shops, and of course, Amazon. If you do a little hunting online at eBay and other online retailers, you can find older models and custom knives with different grips.

I collect and use Victorinox knives.

A particular model I own, dubbed “The Hunter,” is one that even television’s prolific Victorinox knife-user, MacGyver, never used in the television series to defuse a nuclear bomb or pick a lock.

This Hunter model features a 111mm slide-locking Victorinox Swiss Army knife blade. This model, from the mid 1980s, includes a small, curved gutting blade with a serrated edge, as well as the 111mm version of the Combo Tool (can/ bottle opener/screwdriver/wire stripper), a sawblade, corkscrew, reamer with sewing-eye, with toothpick and tweezers stored inside the grips. The gutting blade and the Combo Tool weren’t very common at the time.

Given that this model loses the regular opener layer, it’s quite light-weight for its capabilities, particularly the slide-lock version, according to online Swiss Army knife encyclopedia SAKWiki.com. The Hunter has been available with various different scale (grip) options—red, green, and camouflage—also a Phillips screwdriver variation. The original version of this model was slide-locking.

In 2017 Victorinox completely revised their 111mm product line and ceased production of slide-lock models.

The Hunter was converted to be liner-locking as part of that change.

Newer Hunter models come with wood or aluminum grips in different colors.

I’ve carried my Hunter while hiking in the Hill Country surrounding San Antonio; along the banks of the Guadalupe River and at Pedernales Falls; from the Texas Coast to Palo Duro Canyon; to the Guadalupe Mountains and Chisos Mountains, with a side trip to Fort Stockton and sleeping under the stars in Seminole Canyon. The only places I haven’t carried it are East Texas and the Rio Grande Valley—but they’re next on my hiking list.

I’ve used the knife to cut fish, fishing line, rope, apples and sandwiches. I’ve used the corkscrew to open some rather savory Texas wine. I’ve used the sawblade to cut twigs and small branches for starting campfires and I’ve used the tweezers for pulling nasty stickers off my shoes and socks.

I’ve also used the screwdriver to open the battery compartment on my Pentax “prosumer” digital camera to swap out the batteries, and to unscrew the camera’s bottom from my tripod. And I’m more than sure the main blade will get the job done on any game animal.

Victorinox might not be a brand that comes to mind when you think about a hunting knife, but you’ll definitely be surprised by its usefulness and versatility. It’s a good companion to have inside a deer blind or in the field. Besides, who wouldn’t want a knife that can do so much more?

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t was the second weekend of the 2019-2020 deer season, and for reasons unbeknownst to me, I had the lease all to myself. I had taken that Friday off as the weatherman promised crisp, cold, and crystal-clear skies for my upcoming long weekend.

On opening weekend, we had already started to see the bucks chasing does a bit, so I was confident this cold front was going to be my ticket to an outstanding weekend. Little did I know just how true those words would prove to be.

This particular weekend, I was hunting with my Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter in .41 Magnum, topped with a red-dot sight and a handloaded 210-grain Speer Deepcurl. I’ve been a dedicated handgun hunter for around 20 years now, and have gravitated to straightwall calibers, out of revolvers. Handgun hunting truly

consumes my thoughts in terms of time spent afield, liken to those who’ve become obsessed with stick and string. The draw for me with this method is a combination of the inherent challenge in getting closer to my game, the simplicity of carrying a much smaller firearm, and most of all, attempting to control raw power by hand. The .41 Magnum is an outstanding, albeit almost forgotten handgun caliber, that falls on the smaller side of the lineup that adorns my safe. For Texas whitetails and hogs, it’s the perfect medicine to aid in stocking the freezer up for another year.

I arrived late Thursday evening with the anxiousness of a 5-year-old on Christmas Eve. My lease is two hours west of San Antonio, between I-10 and Menard, in some of the most scenic Hill-Country land that Texas offers. I remember stepping out of my truck to

Author Photos

STORY

Randy was fortunate during the 2019-20 season to take two bucks with his handgun.

Here's the second buck he took during his hunting trip, a 10-pointer. www.TTHA www.

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open the gate and was greeted with strong and frigid north winds. The kind of cold that immediately makes the hackles on your neck come to full attention. Yes sir, I was finally at deer camp.

This is as good a place as any to mention briefly what happened to me on a weekend the year before. It was a combination of the opening and second weekends. On opening weekend the year before, I had killed a management buck with my Smith & Wesson 460 XVR. My thinking was that since I had a nice management buck down, and meat in the freezer, it would take some pressure off and allow me the next two months to hunt for my trophy. Our county is a two-buck county, so when I was presented with an outstanding— for the Texas Hill Country—11-pointer on weekend number two, well, you can probably see where this is going. I ended up killing that Randy had zero plans to shoot a second buck, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity. nice 11, which was amazing, with no regrets.

I was a doe and hog hunter for the remainder of that season. I was determined to not let that scenario play out again.

After unpacking and getting a few heaters running in the it, few camp house, I settled by a roaring campfire with my favorite would call it luxurious. beverage. There is something extremely therapeutic about a Between the occasional mouse, being adequately warm fire. It really doesn’t matter what kind of day or week stocked with a variety of bugs, and the rare-but-alarming I’ve had – an overbuilt campfire on a cold night will always snakeskin, it’s a true Texas deer camp. The ongoing joke out re-center myself and remind me just how lucky I am to experi- there is that we seem to have found the perfect compromise ence these freedoms. between livable and primitive. Any more livable and we fear The next morning started pretty much like all others at the the wives would start showing up. ranch, drinking steaming hot coffee while trying to warm My blind is about a half-mile from camp, so I’ve always myself next to one of the heaters. Our camp house is a really chosen to walk instead of drive to my blind. The wind had old cinder block cabin, and while it has everything you need in died down overnight, revealing a crisp and clear sky, with a lot of promise. These are mornings I live for.

The morning hunt was nothing short of spectacular. This norther had solidified the rut and turned the antlered creatures into slobbering fools. I counted somewhere around 17 different deer on that hunt. Once the action subsided a bit, I took off for camp to fix a quick breakfast, pack a lunch, and immediately got back on stand. It’s not uncommon for me to sit all day, but it’s rare for me to sit all day with this level of anticipation. I was back in my blind less than an hour after I left it. About 11 a.m., I almost immediately started seeing deer again. It wasn’t the action level I had earlier, but was definitely steady enough to keep me from dozing off.

At about 2 p.m., I saw a doe in the distance being trailed by a nice seven-pointer.

This was a great looking management deer for our place and a sure trophy with a handgun, if I could get a shot. These two played hide-and-seek for a few minutes, and then almost as if the doe was on my Randy with his seven-pointer, the first buck payroll, came in from behind my blind he took during this hunting trip. and passed at no more than 15 yards. The 98 |

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seven-pointer was hot on her trail and also passed really close to me.

By this point I had my six-shooter up and firmly planted on a shooting bag, just waiting for its chance to bark. I cocked the hammer, which in turn, made the buck stop as if he’d been brake-checked. The buck immediately turned to see where the noise came from and paused for a moment too long. With the red dot steadied behind his shoulder, this buck was no more than 35 yards from me when I let the lead fly. He immediately gave the tell-tale hind leg kick and bolted to my left about 40 yards before falling over.

After giving the buck a few minutes for insurance, I filled out my tag, gathered my things and made the short trek to admire this fine buck. We aged this buck at 4½ years, a perfect management deer to remove from the herd.

I walked back to camp, got my truck and gambrel, and then spent the next few hours cleaning and quartering the deer, and then caping the skull out for a DIY European mount. Needless to say, I was riding high that evening, as any animal taken with a handgun is a true trophy in my book.

My plan was to stay in the next morning, cook a big breakfast, sit by the campfire and just enjoy the sunrise. However, an early night turned into an even earlier morning, which in turn led my mind to eventually convince me to go sit for just an hour or two.

This hunt was an almost identical repeat of the morning before. I was really glad I made the decision to go ahead and hunt a bit, as the action was non-stop. I had zero plans of pulling the trigger this morning since I had one deer on the ground, unless of course the hogs showed up. My plan of hunting about an hour turned into a few more and before I knew it, ten o’clock

rolled around before the action started to slow down.

As many can testify, some of the best hunting moments happen when you’ve officially called it quits and started to pack it in. I already had my binoculars in my pack and hearing protection stowed, when one of the most impressive 10-pointers I’d ever seen on this lease, stepped out at 65 yards. He was a “no hesitation” buck for our place, with or without binoculars to examine closer. I did manage to get my hearing protection back on, thank goodness.

Unlike the day before where I used the hammer to stop the buck, this was the complete opposite. The buck was calm, alone, and in a perfect position for a shot. I don’t think I’ve ever cocked that hammer as slowly and smoothly as I did on this deer. As my thumb slowly but deliberately drew the hammer back, I could hear and feel the finely tuned action inside preparing itself for one more call to action, this weekend.

As if on autopilot, the red dot settled high on the shoulder and without any notice, I felt the firm recoil fill my right hand and saw the buck jump straight up. He ran off to my right, which is completely blinded by brush after about the first 15 yards or so. The next 30 minutes were some of the longest of my hunting career. I finally made my way down to where he was standing at the shot as quietly as I could. Instantly, I found “good blood,” indicating a solid, double lung hit.

The blood trail was very easy to follow. This buck made it about 50 yards and appeared to die in mid stride. What lay in front of me was one of the most symmetrical and gorgeous bucks I’d ever killed, and by far, the nicest handgun kill I’d ever recorded on this ranch. Two great bucks, both with a wheel gun, and in less than 24 hours. It was a trip that I’ll never forget.

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Texas Trends in Deer Management

BY JASON SHIPMAN

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ntensive deer management has gained tremendous popularity over the past 20 years. Management practices have evolved over this time in an effort to continue making strides toward achieving desired objectives. The goal of most management programs is to produce trophy quality bucks by increasing overall averages. As the quality of antler growth improves in a deer herd, the average increases, shifting the bell-shaped curve further to the right. This shift signifies improvement in age, nutrition, and

AUTHOR PHOTOS

Helicopters are commonly used for census and deer trapping.

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High-quality bucks benefit from intensive management.

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genetics brought about by the management influence on the herd.

The late ’90s brought about many changes to the hunting and deer management world as we know it today. Public awareness of management practices such as harvest strategy, habitat manipulation, and supplemental feeding became commonplace. Additionally, the proliferation of high fences and the advent of deer breeding facilities made it possible to produce trophy caliber deer in areas where it was once considered to be impossible. New and improved rations of supplemental feeding became available and widely used to help increase the nutritional plane of deer herds. Trail cameras were created and entered the scene, giving users the ability to observe deer 24 hours a day in their natural environment. These were just a few of the many contributing factors that provided landowners and managers the latitude and ability to manage with a higher degree of intensity.

Utilization of the more intensive methods has become an effective way of cutting the time horizon of some management programs in half. Specific goals determine the tools required and the level of management necessary to achieve them. Assuming the more basic management concepts have been addressed, this discussion will take an in-depth look at some of the widely popular tools utilized. Among these are a number of permits available through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Flexibility is afforded with these permits by way of extended seasons, increased bag limits, enhanced breeding and propagation, etc.

The Managed Lands Deer Program (MLD) allows landowners with management programs the opportunity to have extended hunting seasons and bag limits. Since its inception in 1996, the program has gained tremendous popularity and currently over 10,000 properties are enrolled statewide. The MLD program is incentive based and habitat focused, with two levels of participation.

The higher level of participation provides additional flexibility along with added requirements. These requirements include a written wildlife management plan, conducting habitat management practices, and submitting annual survey and harvest data.

Upon MLD enrollment, permits are issued replacing license tags for participating properties, and hunter bag limits and season dates become more flexible depending upon level of issuance.

Harvest flexibility afforded by MLD participation has been important for ranches seeking to implement harvest strategy to help maintain or improve their herds.

The Deer Breeder permit allows users to hold whitetail or mule deer in captivity for the purpose of propagation. Generations of selective breeding practices, including artificial insemination, have produced genetically superior offspring. The deer produced from these facilities often have pedigrees backed by DNA testing.

Rules regarding utilization of the breeder deer permit are extensive. With the proper permits, breeder deer may be released directly into a high fenced ranch or utilized in conjunction with a DMP permit to help build or augment genetics in the pasture.

Foundational genetics are an extremely important part of a successful management program, and breeder deer can be utilized to help expedite results.

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Supplemental feed includes protein and cottonseed.

its acronym, DMP, allows the owner of a high-fenced property to temporarily detain up to 20 does and one buck in an enclosure for breeding purposes. The pen must meet established size and cover requirements. The deer may be caught on the participating ranch, brought in from another ranch with a corresponding Trap, Transport, Transplant Permit (TTT), or obtained from a permitted breeding facility. After breeding season and within the time constraints of the permit, the deer are then released onto the property. Bucks from a breeding facility may be returned to the breeding facility.

The Trap, Transport, Transplant Permit, or TTT, allows excess deer to be captured and removed from a property and released onto another property. The trap site must meet Chronic Wasting Disease testing requirements and the release site must be suitable to support and sustain the additional animals. Prior to permit issuance, trap and release sites must meet approval through TPWD. Landowners and managers routinely use TTT permits to facilitate stocking excess does from well managed ranches with great genetics to properties wanting to improve their herds. TTT does may be caught prior to the breeding season and placed with appropriate permitting into a DMP pen for selective breeding purposes before being released within permitted time constraints.

Bred TTT does may also be caught after the breeding season and released directly into the approved released site.

Implementing a successful management program takes time, money, and a lot of hard work. Professional guidance is strongly encouraged and can help avoid costly mistakes. Rules and paperwork regarding the use of these tools and permits can be extensive. Additionally, associated costs can be prohibitive for many.

However, for those interested in utilizing these tools, the rewards are well worth the time and effort.

The bar continues to be set higher with each passing year, and who could have possibly guessed how much ground we would cover in such a short amount of time. There are more big bucks in the brush now than ever before, and there is literally no telling where we’ll ultimately end up. One thing is certain: This is the golden age of whitetail deer hunting and these are the “good ol’ days!” Whether you derive satisfaction from its implementation, or benefit from its success, deer management is here by popular demand.

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Author Photos

Gary called this coyote out of a herd of cattle that were calving. In the big ranch country, he says to find the cows that are calving and you will find the coyotes.

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hile it cannot be argued that Texas is home to some of the biggest ranches in the country, for its size, New Mexico also has its share. While some of these ranches get a little income from deer or elk hunting, by far, the majority of revenue comes from cattle, which is opposite from Texas. New Mexico coyotes are typically larger than their Texas cousins and the open terrain doesn’t offer as large a food source from rodents and other small game, causing them to depend more upon livestock for survival. For this reason, ranchers in New Mexico are more concerned with coyotes and the need for predator control, which makes it much easier for me to gain access.

Once a hunter gains permission to hunt on a ranch, he or she must produce, or the ranch will find some other means to control the predator populations. I do my best work when the rancher turns me loose and allows me to scout and hunt at my own pace. In order to maximize my efforts, I want to carry the best equipment to increase my chances of making as

many clean kills as possible. This means an accurate, nimble, flat-shooting rifle with clear, bright and rugged optics with bipods or shooting sticks to give me a stable rest. I prefer rapidly expanding bullets that expend all their energy within the predator’s body, making for quick and clean kills. I want camo that blends well with the open landscape, which is typical of most of the large cattle ranches.

Perhaps the most important tool in luring a predator into killing range is the call producing the distress sound. While I am a huge fan of using hand calls, they cause the predator’s attention to be directed to the source of the sound and this can be a problem in this extremely open terrain. For this reason, I believe that having an electronic caller operated remotely from 50 to 75 yards away can be more effective.

Calling in this vast rolling terrain is the almost the opposite of hunting the brush country where I grew up. In South Texas, the greatest challenge was finding a spot large enough to set up where you could kill a coyote. Hiding the pickup was never

Gary prefers to use an accurate, nimble, flat-shooting rifle with clear, bright and rugged optics.

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a problem. In New Mexico, however, you can stand in one spot and see several hundred yards in every direction, but it is almost impossible to hide the truck.

On the very first call my partner and I made on the western New Mexico ranch, a coyote rolled over a low hill 90 degrees to the right.

From where he stood, he could see the pickup parked 100 yards behind the low hill to our back and shied off.

The second call of the morning, I played the “Killer Cottontail” on the Rogue caller for over 10 minutes and when nothing responded, I played a coyote howl and several coyotes answered from about a half-mile to the northwest.

I switched to a pup distress sound and saw a white speck moving on a far ridgeline. I raised my rifle to confirm that it was indeed a coyote and found two more coyotes trotting in my direction. As they rolled off the ridge, two more appeared, making a total of five.

When I set the call out, I felt a slight breeze in my face, so I was not concerned about the coyotes winding me. When the pack was just over 200 yards out, I saw the lead coyote whirl and I knew the wind must have shifted in the 15 minutes since my partner and I began calling.

Though the lead one shied, he didn’t run straight away, but began making a wide loop to my right.

I guess the realistic sounds produced by the Rogue were just too good to totally abandon.

Gary believes the most important tool in luring a predator into killing The pack showed itself off and on as they conrange is the call producing a distress sound. tinued to move around our location. Finally, my partner was able to kill one after they had moved completely behind the hill we sat on. From two stands and call- shied off about 10 steps, but I managed to click the call back ing in six coyotes with only one dead, that isn’t a performance I on, stopping his retreat. am proud of.

It was then I witnessed something I have never seen before.

The next morning the wind died down, but the temperature The coyote began softly barking and then pawing the ground in was 14 degrees, and the sun was breaking clear. I would not an attempt to bluff me. Looking back and forth from the Rogue need as much volume because the sound would be carrying to me, I began to slowly move my rifle to the target. After what much farther than normal. I pulled through a ranch gate where seemed an eternity, I finally had the crosshairs on the coyote I was able to hide my pickup behind a small hill and walked in and squeezed the trigger. a southwesterly direction towards a small juniper to hide the The old coyote easily weighed over 40 pounds and his face camera and Steve to some degree, but nothing to hide an old showed signs of more than one battle. From the wear on his coyote hunter. Since I would be sitting basically naked, I deextremely heavy canines, I would estimate him to be 6-7 years cided that I best set the caller at least 50 yards away and use the of age. A baby calf would be no match for this alpha male. turkey tail feather to draw additional attention to that location.

The next morning started off much the same as the day Five minutes into the call, I heard Steve whisper something before. After the first series, I saw a coyote swinging a little and as I slowly turned, I saw a huge male coyote trotting in as wide at over 500 yards as she made an arching move to the call.

I looked over my right shoulder. With my rifle sitting on my Just before I took a shot at her, a motion to my right at about 25 bipod over 100 degrees away from the target, I knew the coyote steps revealed a male coyote perhaps even larger that the one I had me because I had nothing to hide my move. had killed the day before. Unfortunately, he had already busted When the coyote was 90 degrees to my right and less than me, so I finished off the female standing just beyond the caller.

30 steps away, he saw an old man wearing camo sitting in the I am not sure if it is the big coyotes or the love of hunting on middle of the prairie. Luckily, the sun had just popped over the these big ranches that causes New Mexico to be one of my very horizon and he looked almost directly into it. The big coyote favorite places to hunt coyotes.

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George Andrejko Photo

M

Buck-to-doe ratios are collected more accurately after the hunting seasons and during the rut because bucks and does are together at that time.

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anaging deer in the Southwest differs from other parts of North America in several important ways. Terrain, topography, and vegetation require different ways to survey deer populations and collect harvest data. Surveys can usually be conducted from the air because of the open, less vegetated habitat they occupy. Indeed, this method is preferred over much of the area dominated by rough, rugged terrain with few roads. Because of sparse human populations and long hunting seasons, check stations are normally not feasible and so harvest information generally comes from post-hunt questionnaires.

Proper management of deer populations requires decisions based on specific information collected in a consistent way and not by sporadic observations and general assumptions. Although all information should be considered in management decisions, it is sometimes tempting to place too much emphasis on anecdotal information, like what we saw on our last hunt. Only through a standardized and scientifically designed data collection program can deer managers accumulate useful information.

The basic biology of deer is the same throughout their range, but there are differences in management brought about by the diverse habitats deer occupy.

Likewise, whitetail management differs in some ways from mule deer because of basic ecological and behavioral differences in the species and because they usually live in different environments.

Regardless, deer population management everywhere has three basic foundations that underlie all successful programs: survey data, harvest data, and supporting information.

Survey data is foundational because without some direct measure of a few basic population parameters, it is hard to know what is happening out there.

Helicopter surveys offer the best solution in open country but are expensive. Deer surveys from the ground can be useful, but only if they are done in a standardized way so you know the changes you observe are variations in the population and not in the methodology. The basic information collected on most population surveys is some measure of the trend in deer abundance or density, estimates of sex (bucks to does) and age (fawns to does) ratios, and sometimes an index to age structure (percent spikes).

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Harvest information is valuable in tracking population performance and is probably the easiest to obtain. All that needs to be done is to set up a standardized list of information collected from every animal harvested. Harvest data might be trends in the number of deer harvested, age structure of harvested deer, body weights, antler measurements, or percentage of hunters who were successful. Supportive information can also help supplement survey and harvest data and may be a trend in habitat condition, roadkill trends, or trail cameras.

Although all state agencies in the Southwest base their management on some form of survey and harvest data, there are differences in how they actually collect those data and make hunt recommendations. Some of these differences are justified by ecological variations from one area to another or budTracking the trends of consistently gathered survey data provides for a solid getary constraints in some states. In other basis to make management decisions and chart progress towards goals. cases, differences in methodology simply evolved along parallel paths separated by in the thick South Texas brush, where they have a long hisnothing but a state line. Let's take a closer look at how deer tory of perfecting the methodology there. In the Trans-Pecos management differs among the southwestern states. and Panhandle areas of Texas, mule deer have been surveyed since the 1970s by fixed-wing aircraft and ground surveys, Texas primarily spotlight counts. Desert mule deer populations in With more than 97% of Texas in private ownership, there are the Trans-Pecos hit an all-time high in the mid-1980s, but then some differences in how deer are managed compared to states declined starting with the serious droughts in the late 1980s. with large amounts of public land. Traditionally, deer manageSince about 2001, populations have increased and are now at ment has occurred by county because of the historic control least stabilizing. In 2005, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department each county had in wildlife management. Management data are switched to use helicopters to survey mule deer on long survey still collected and summarized by county, but a more refined lines flown with observers tallying deer seen on both sides of approach for mule deer includes “mule deer monitoring units” the helicopter. that vary in mule deer density. Each county has a game warden Using the length of the survey line and the width of obresponsible for law enforcement, but district biologists may servation allows biologists to calculate the area surveyed and have responsibilities of up to five counties. estimate the number of deer per square mile by county and The survey method of choice for whitetails is by helicopter deer management compartment. These raw densities are underestimates because only 25-75% of the deer are seen. However, a sightability model is Harvest data from hunters is an extremely important used to correct for the underestimates based source of management information. upon past research. Using these standardized methods has reduced variation in survey data and provided a better measure of long-term trends and herd composition (buck to doe and fawn to doe ratios), but it yields less information for individual ranches.

A statewide big game harvest survey is mailed out after the hunting seasons to a random selection of 100,000 licensed hunters in Texas. Also, 25,000 randomly selected hunters are emailed a link to the online version of the survey. This survey allows biologists to estimate the harvest information to help them in making management decisions. The information collected by county and deer management/monitoring units include number of hunters, harvest Larisa Harding Photo (buck and doe), hunter-days, hunter sucwww.TTHA www.

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cess, number of deer harvested per hunter, hunter densities, and number of deer harvested per 1,000 acres.

In addition to the harvest data provided by hunters, biological data are collected by biologists in the field, at meat lockers, check stations, and in hunting camps statewide to sample deer harvested in each management/monitoring unit. Data such as age, number of antler points, inside antler spread, antler base circumference, ranch name, and county of harvest are recorded from all deer handled. The percent of the harvest comprised of yearlings, the proportion of deer older than 3 years, or average age are all useful measures of the age structure of the deer population. By tracking antler growth and body weight annually, biologists not only monitor herd health, but can also obtain information about antler development which is of interest to everyone. These data have also been instrumental in the development of antler restrictions in both white-tailed deer and mule deer.

Deer hunting in Texas is not limited by a lottery-style draw.

As such, the harvest structures and seasons are fairly broadly set by TPWD and not altered much on an annual basis. With the predominance of private land, landowners can control access and permission to use their property to be more restrictive than what is allowed legally by the state. Many landowners have specific herd goals and objectives and work with the local biologist to develop strategies to accomplish those goals.

District biologists enter their survey and harvest data into a database that the white-tailed deer or mule deer program leader accesses for review, data analysis, and assimilation into reports.

These data are used to evaluate the impacts of regulations and management actions on deer and are also used to formulate regulation change proposals. Any regulation change proposal would go through the nine-member commission for approval.

deer populations. Some survey data are collected from ground surveys in some areas, but given the limited road system across the landscape, the vast majority comes from helicopter surveys conducted in December and January to obtain post-hunt buck to doe and fawn to doe ratios. Not every unit is surveyed every year, about 20-25% of the units are flown on a rotation and biologists assume these represent other similar units that are not flown that year.

All big game license holders are required to fill out online harvest reports. If hunters do not submit a harvest report by the deadline, they are unable to apply for big game tags for the following hunting season. Similar to other states, New Mexico asks questions that allow the estimation of harvest, number of hunters, number of hunter-days, hunt success, hunter satisfaction, and harvest rates by weapon type. This information is used to assess whether the tag allocation is appropriate for the game management units. There are no hunter check stations in use for collecting biological data directly from harvested deer, except for those established to collect samples for testing for Chronic Wasting Disease.

Statewide species biologists and the big game program manager work with the four regional biologists to develop hunt recommendations for each unit. Once initial recommendations are developed, the public is invited to provide input through a series of public meetings, emails, the Department website, individual group meetings, and at commission meetings. Biologists then revise the hunt recommendations based on biological sustainability and public preferences. Final recommended changes are submitted to the State Game Commission for review and approval and then remain in place for a four-year cycle.

Arizona

Arizona has 80 game management units (GMU) throughout that state. Almost every GMU has a resident wildlife manager Deer management in New Mexico is based on 59 big game who is a law enforcement officer and holds a bachelor’s degree management units, some of which are divided into sub-units in wildlife management or a related field. Firearm deer harvest for specific management purposes. Surveys focus on collectis controlled in all GMUs by a limited-entry lottery drawing. ing information to monitor abundance and important ratios of Helicopter surveys between Dec. 1 and Feb. 15 account for at least half of the deer observations, with fixed-wing aircraft, vehicle, foot and horseback surveys making up the rest.

Wildlife managers survey areas of each GMU where deer are found in higher concentrations so they can maximize the number of animals seen. The helicopter surveys are conducted in standardized blocks of about 4 square miles each.

These blocks provide managers with a consistent evaluation of population trends because the same area is flown at the same time of year.

Immediately after the hunts, questionnaires are mailed to permit holders to obtain harvest information. This program has remained basically unchanged since the 1960s, providing for a long-term data set of harvest-related information gathered consistently. The information Although shrubs are common on the southwestern landscape, habitats collected includes estimates of harvest, are generally open enough to survey effectively from the air. number of hunters, hunter-days, parGeorge Andrejko Photo

New Mexico

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Surveys should be conducted annually as consistently as possible to maximize the value of the data.

Author Photo

ticipation rate, days per deer harvested, unrecovered deer, weapon-type preference, and hunt success. In addition, a few hunter check stations are operated, and most wildlife managers collect harvest data as they patrol their GMUs during the hunts.

Deer permit adjustments are made in each GMU using all available information, but a set of hunt guidelines define management ranges for three of the most important variables: • Buck to doe ratios: 20-30 bucks per 100 does surveyed.

• Fawn to doe ratios: 40-50 fawns per 100 does surveyed.

• Hunt success: 15-25% of hunters successful in harvesting a deer.

If data from a GMU falls within these ranges for all or most of the three variables, it indicates the permits should stay the same. If survey and harvest data are above or below guidelines, permits are adjusted accordingly. The local wildlife manager makes the recommendations and submits them to the regional office and then to the state office for approval. The final statewide hunt package is then presented to a five-member commission for approval at a public meeting.

Southern California California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) manages deer in 45 management units called “deer zones,” but the scope of this article focuses only on the desert mule deer in the southern portion of the state. Originally each county in the state had its own biologist, but some now cover two counties with a unit biologist in charge of each deer zone. Management strategies and survey methods differ in southern California because their desert mule deer live in such a different environment compared to the northern part of the state.

In the desert areas, low deer densities make aerial survey inefficient. Too few deer are seen to justify the expense of surveying with this method. However, CDFW biologists have found they can survey deer by setting up automatic cameras in the summer when deer are closely associated with the limited water sources. Experience showed that bucks return about every third day, while does may water daily, depending on whether or not they are pregnant. After reviewing the pictures, biologists can evaluate the minimum number of bucks using the waters, the fawn to doe ratio, and buck to doe ratio. www.TTHA www.

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Under California law, all successful deer hunters must return the report card portion of their tags to CDFW with harvest information. This allows the department to estimate the harvest, hunter success, and number of antler points. During the hunts, biologists also collect harvest data while contacting hunters in the field, including general location of harvest, body condition, and the number of bucks, does, and fawns seen by hunters.

Hunt recommendations are developed by deer zone every two years and remain unchanged in the intervening years.

Provisions built into the process allow for emergency changes to a deer zone if warranted. The biologists recommend whether permits should be increased or decreased in each zone based on trends in harvest, hunter success, and other data. The recommendations are submitted to the headquarters office in Sacramento and then forwarded to the State Fish and Wildlife Commission for approval.

Adaptive management Using an adaptive management approach, deer managers: set specific management goals, monitor progress toward those goals, and make necessary adjustments to achieve them. Survey and harvest information represent the foundation of deer management in the Southwest. No single piece of information alone is sufficient. Managers must use all available data together to make informed choices about how many bucks can be harvested, whether herd reduction is needed, if predator control will help, and the relative age structure of the bucks. Managers not only look at the current herd data, but more important, the trends in all surveys. Trend data from buck to doe ratios, fawn to doe ratios, antler size, age structure, and deer abundance are all monitored to measure herd performance against the manager’s goals.

Deer management is more complicated than most people realize. The harsh, arid southwestern environment adds challenges to the deer manager’s task. However, through time, management systems have been developed to successfully collect the information needed to manage deer populations for a diversity of public desires from trophy hunting to putting some meat in the freezer. Hunters are an important component of this management in all southwestern states and work more as conservation partners than beneficiaries of management. We need to continue to all work together to keep our deer herds robust and healthy.

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Author Photos

He might look big, but this bull is not legal in most of Alaska because he's neither 50 inches wide nor has the required three brow tines on either antler.

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Waiting patiently and calling a lot are keys to most successful Alaska moose hunts. Here, Denny Wood uses a fiberglass funnel to magnify the cow calls he's making.

F

COVID restrictions on travel in 2020 and so there was less hunting pressure.

There are still true giant moose killed in Alaska every year, with at least a few pushing 70 inches of spread. Just a few years ago, an Alaska guide killed a bull that’s now number four all-time in the Boone and Crockett Record Book, a bull with a spread of more than 80 inches!

If I were coming to Alaska for my first and maybe only moose hunt, I would either invest in a premium guide with proven moose country and better references, or I’d plan for a couple of years of drop-off hunts, knowing the odds of success are lower.

You legally do not have to hire a guide to hunt moose in Alaska, as non-residents must do to hunt brown bears or sheep. But it sure helps.

Having somebody who has scouted the country, has the right gear, and can get you safely in and out with your game is priceless. However, the going rate for top shelf moose hunts today is about $27,500.

The other very reasonable option is having a good transporter deliver you into good country, where you hunt on your own. You have to camp, cook your own meals, scout, and hunt as you like, and also have to get your game back to the landing strip or riverbank. Expect to spend anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000 for a drop-off hunt by bush plane or boat. I like this kind of hunt.

Moose are a challenge, but the good news is moose hunting is in essence a lazy man’s sport. Getting there is hard, usually by float plane or boat. Getting home with a quarter ton of meat is tougher, but the hunt itself is a waiting game of glassing and calling.

The biggest mistake for new moose hunters is trying to move too far, cover too much ground, and in the process spooking the animal you want. With all those millions of acres of Alaska to hunt, it is hard to slow down. But the penalty for impatience is busting the animal you have come so far to hunt, and when a moose spooks, it doesn’t stop running until it finds a new zip code.

or once, I had absolutely no interest in this bull moose.

I had been following up on a cow moose I intended to shoot for my winter’s meat when this smallish bull stepped out into the narrow clearing along a powerline right of way.

The tag in my pocket was for a cow moose. And a perfectly huge mature cow had moments before been well within range, when the bull’s noisy approach spooked her back into the willows. And while I also had the option of taking a bull with antlers at least 50 inches wide, this “little” guy was not more than 3 feet wide and did not qualify. He was still an awesome sight of jet black with amber antlers against a backdrop of golden birch trees.

I casually snapped a few photos of the approaching bull, pleased to have such a close encounter, but disgusted he had scared off 500 pounds of prime cow meat. Then I noticed he was coming on a beeline, either mistaking me for the cow or for a rival.

At 30 feet, legal or not, he was about to get a snootful of .300 Win. Mag. I yelled, and he sidled sideways, still shaking his head, but finally convinced it was time to move on. Just another day moose hunting in Alaska.

When a 7-foot-tall, 1,200-pound moose attacks, you move fast. Moose have killed numerous people in Alaska, including inside the Anchorage city limits—both rutting bulls and especially protective cows with new-born calves. Any Alaskan will tell you a mama moose can be more dangerous than a grizzly under most circumstances.

I’m looking ahead eagerly to another September chasing these giant Alaska deer. Moose season is the closest thing we have to a state holiday in Alaska. Do not come looking for an Alaskan in September, unless you are prepared to help pack out moose quarters!

Alaska moose season runs Sept. 1-25 and success in that brief window means a winter of steaks and stew, while failure means looking for something else for dinner.

Whether you are looking for meat or a true trophy of a lifetime, today is still a great Here's a bull moose few hunters would pass up—close to time to hunt moose in Alaska. Most guides 60 inches wide and with a forest of antler points. were not able to operate at full capacity with 116 |

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Get into good moose country to a good vantage point, get comfortable and start looking. And waiting. And calling.

Anybody, regardless of physical ability, has a chance to kill a moose, as long as you can get into moose country. You do not have to be able to run a marathon or lift a 100-pound pack to be success. That lifting will come later when Bullwinkle is on the ground. It is a perfect old man’s game.

Some of my friends prefer to use a treestand as a viewing platform and it works very well. Even a few feet of elevation help get you above all that screening brush. A dear friend in Southeast Alaska has killed his moose out of the same tree near Glacier Bay National Park for many years.

For some reason, I find I am most smitten with any game animal that responds to calling, be it ducks, turkey gobblers, whitetail bucks, or moose. Imagine calling to a 1,200-pound turkey gobbler and you are in the hunt. There are two types of calls: the grunt of an amorous bull, to bring out his competitive nature, and the long plaintive moan of a lonely cow.

The cow call is best in most situations. If there is a wrong way to use a cow call, I have never heard it, and if the bull is in the mood, it will not matter.

Whacking brush with a boat paddle or, ideally, an old, dried moose shoulder blade, adds drama to your calls and can sometimes get a hung-up bull to come in. If you are near water, pouring a long stream of water from shoulder high into a lake to imitate the sound of a urinating cow can also work.

A lovesick bull moose will come several miles to a call.

Sometimes there is nothing subtle about their approach, with eyes wide, swaying head and antlers side to side, often

sidling sideways when they get close. It is one of the great experiences in North American hunting. The superpower of Alaska moose is they can be invisible, especially for such a huge animal.

I live with moose every day and many times have stepped outside and then turned back to walk inside my house, only to find a moose just feet away, that I had just walked past.

Like other deer, they are most active early and late in the day and will bed down in thick brush during midday. And vanish. You will glass a broad valley for hours or days, see nothing, and then suddenly a bull appears as if from thin air.

Moose are a combination of black and dark brown hide that is great camouflage especially in low light. When glassing, watch for any white or light tan, which will be sunlight reflecting off those wide antler paddles. In a perfect world, a bull comes in just like that old gobbler, to point blank range. But do not count on it. Be ready, with a stable rest, to shoot at the first reasonable range. If he is open enough that you might be able to make a quick follow up shot, so much the better. Don’t hesitate to put a second bullet into a bull moose!

Rifles for moose vary, and a good .270 or .30-06 with good heavy bullet will take any moose. However, if you are shopping for a moose rifle, you would do well to choose a .300 or .338 Win. Mag. if you can take the recoil. Such calibers give you the advantage of having a rifle capable of staving off a grizzly bent on claiming your dead moose.

I shoot a .300 Win. Mag. that is accurate, and capable of dropping a moose at some distance. If a grizzly shows up, it will take care of him, too.

Giant bulls remain in Alaska, like this huge moose Jim McCormick shot several years ago, after watching the same alder thicket for several days. www.TTHA www.

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Implementing Intensive Deer Management Practices On High & Low Fence Properties • Wildlife Management Plans • Game Surveys & Buck Inventories Helicopter, Spotlight, Trail Camera • Harvest & Habitat Recommendations • Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. Permits MLDP, DMP, TTT, TTP • TTT & DMP Captures • TTT Deer Available • Breeder Pen Certification • Breeder Stocking • Project Planning & Management Fencing, Brush Mgmt, Water, etc.

Commercial Hunts Available Call To Book Your Hunt Today!

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Author Photos

Brandon with the large feral hog sow mentioned in the opening paragraph. One well-placed arrow on the quartering away hog at 24 yards produced a quick kill.

BULL’S-EYE BOWHUNTING Insist on perfect arrows for better shots

By Brandon Ray

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T

he herd of hogs appeared from the creek at sunset. Like a swarm of ants at a picnic, the noisy mob vacuumed up corn kernels. From a short tripod stand buried in a cedar tree, I waited for the biggest in the herd to turn broadside. With daylight fading, the jumbo-sized sow turned slightly quartering away at 24 yards.

The bowstring touched the tip of my nose, my eye was in the peep and the bright green pin was solid behind the hog’s massive shoulder. At the shot, my 450-grain arrow led by a 4-blade Wasp Dart broadhead passed through the big hog’s chest taking out both lungs. A good blood trail by the beam of my headlamp led me to the grizzled-looking pig less than 100 yards away. Lots of practice and top-notch arrows made the shot seem easy.

PERFECT ARROWS I drive a truck with 200,000 miles on it. My sneakers are six years old, and my socks have holes in them, but my arrows are the best you can buy. Why? The arrow and broadhead are the two most important parts of the bowhunter’s kit. Skimp on a cheap stabilizer, but don’t cut corners on the arrow or broadhead.

Start with shafts of the highest straightness tolerance available. Top brands like Easton, Gold Tip and Victory offer their best in a .001" tolerance. It’s worth it. Next, consider skinny shafts. All three top arrow makers offer “skinny” shafts.

The benefits of a 4mm shaft are better penetration compared to a standard shaft diameter and less drift when shooting in a crosswind. Top picks include the Victory VAP, Victory VAP TKO, Easton 4mm FMJ, Easton 4mm Axis Long Range and the Gold Tip Airstrike. I’ve hunted with skinny shafts since 2013.

No doubt I see improved penetration from my modest poundage setups, usually 60 pounds of draw weight, on deer-sized game. For open country game like mule deer and antelope, the skinny shafts drift less so long-range accuracy improves.

I fletch all my own arrows. I use a Bitzenberger jig with a slight offset to each vane. I prefer AAE Max Hunter vanes attached with AAE Max Bond glue. Add a drop of glue on the tip

A close-up of a 100-grain, 4-blade, Iron Will broadhead. Notice the stout 95-grain stainless steel insert/outsert for added strength and front-of-center weight.

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A closer look at the author’s most recent deer arrows.

These were fletched with AAE Max Hunter vanes.

and tail end of each vane. I’ve had good luck with a three-fletch configuration, but I know other expert archers who prefer fourfletch for a more forgiving fletch orientation with broadheads.

When I cut the shafts, I use a G5 Arrow Squaring Device to ensure the insert mounts square. I use AAE Max Impact to install inserts.

Look for nocks that attach snug to the string, but not too tight. Consider aluminum or pin nocks. Right now, my go-to setup includes skinny shafts with an Easton G nock. The G nock snaps the string with just enough pressure, not too tight and not too loose. On the front of the shaft, I prefer heavy, rugged stainless steel, brass or titanium insert/outserts. I’ve tried the lighter aluminum inserts, but over time, they take a hit from either another arrow in a target or some other hard contact and they take a bend. They don’t spin true after prolonged shooting. The heavier steel or titanium insert/outserts stay true longer. Most of these heavier options will weigh 50 to 100 grains. I like that added weight on the front of my arrow. My current rig includes a 95-grain insert/outsert and a 100-grain broadhead. That higher front-of-center (FOC) groups well with broadheads at long distances and improves penetration on animals.

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ARROW WEIGHT AND BROADHEADS

every bowhunter. Mechanical or fixed-blade? Two, three or four blades? An 85-, 100-, 125- or 150-grain weight? I’ve seen all these options work, but I’ve also witnessed some equipment failures. I will share my personal choice after 35-plus years of bowhunting.

I prefer fixed-blade heads for their durability and consistent penetration on game from my modest draw-weight bows. The argument that fixed-blade heads don’t fly good really doesn’t hold water these days. I shoot fist-sized groups out to 60 yards with fixed-blade broadheads. It starts with This broadhead weighed 97.6 grains. It’s OK if the weight is not exactly 100 a top-notch arrow and components and a grains as long as the weight of each head is consistent from one package well-tuned bow. to the next. Very few broadheads weigh exactly as advertised, according to I prefer 4-blade heads for more cutting Brandon. area and better blood trails. The more compact ferrule design of modern broadheads also helps with better accuracy. A few current favorites include the Slick Trick Standard, Wasp Dart, Wac Em, Grim Reaper Micro Hades Pro, Solid Legend and Iron Will. Top picks for a fixed 3-blade would include the Wasp Drone, G5 Striker, G5 Montec, NAP Thunderhead and the Muzzy Trocar.

Broadheads should be scary-sharp and consistent in weight from one to the next.

I weigh every broadhead I shoot on a grain scale. Very few weigh exactly as advertised and some vary widely. Next, I stretch a rubber band tight between two fingers then sistent penetration, but light enough for decent speed. Lighter slide the broadhead across the band to check for sharpness. than 400 grains and I’ve run into deflection issues on bone or The rubber band should cut with ease. When I have a perfect quartering angles. Heavy arrows, 500-600 grains, will penarrow matched with a scary-sharp, true-spinning broadhead, I etrate like a train through smoke, but the arching trajectory on add plumber’s Teflon tape to the threads, then tighten it down longer shots can mean large pin gaps and slow arrow speed. with a broadhead wrench. A small dab of oil keeps my blades When my arrows are finished, I spin each one on a set of sharp and rust-free in my quiver. rollers with the point touching a dot on the wall. Anything My old truck needs a tune-up. I also need new socks and less than a perfect, true spinning arrow gets set to the side for sneakers, but my arrows are perfect. If you are serious about further evaluation. Next, each finished arrow is weighed on bowhunting, don’t settle for anything less than great arrows. a grain scale. (You can buy a compact grain A tight wad of arrows in the target at 20 yards. Inscale at lancasterarchery.com for under $40.) sisting on high-quality, consistent arrows will lead I use a black Sharpie marker to write the to better shots on game. weight on one of the vanes. Ideally, each finished arrow will weigh exactly the same, but a variance of a few grains of arrow weight does not seem to affect my accuracy at my skill level. Still, I keep all my hunt-ready arrows to a weight tolerance of no more than five grains difference. Last year’s batch weighed 445-450 grains.

When selecting shaft size, consider the stiffer of the two options on the arrow chart. For example, if the chart says your draw weight and arrow length hits between a 400 and a 340 spine, go with the stiffer 340 spine. The stiffer shaft will control a broadhead better than the weaker shaft.

Broadhead choice stirs up debate among Arrow weight is a common topic for debate. I’ve tried very light, and I’ve tried very heavy. For the deer-sized animals most of us hunt, big game that weighs 300 pounds or less, I believe a mid-weight shaft is the best choice. Something heavier than 400 grains, but lighter than 500 grains. I’m talking game like pronghorn, whitetails, mule deer, hogs and black bear. My current deer arrows weigh 450 grains. That’s the finished arrow with the point. It’s enough weight for con-

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DIVA WOW: Judy Rhodes

By Sheryl Smith-Rodgers

J

udy Rhodes loves telling success stories about the members of DIVA WOW (Women Outdoors Worldwide), a non-profit women-only outdoor organization that she founded 22 years ago. And, trust me, she has loads to share. Like the one about the Dallas woman who’d never handled a gun before. Five years ago, she attended a DIVA WOW Shotgun Showcase Clinic and learned how to shoot a shotgun. Now she’s an All-American trap shooter.

Oh, then there’s the lady in Florida who was anti-guns before she met Judy. She came on board as a writer hired to cover a DIVA hunt. In the field, the women’s camaraderie amazed her so much that she joined the organization. Now she hunts, trains and shows hunting dogs.

Here’s a good one. A wife in Maryland had never been around firearms either. She joined DIVA WOW and got hooked on shooting handguns at a weekly handgun league. Under her guidance, so did her husband, another newbie to guns. After he shot his first elk, she gave him his first rifle as a Christmas present. Now their home features a new room they had built just to display their trophies.

One after another, Judy’s stories convey the impact that DIVA WOW has made on countless lives.

“Our mission is to introduce women to the great outdoors,” Judy told me over the phone from her Dallas home. “When I first started, women didn’t have a place in the outdoors. They also didn’t have women-friendly teachers or mentors. They just

Judy Rhodes Photos

Judy Rhodes is a native Texan who has shot guns since the age of four. She founded the DIVA WOW (Women Outdoors Worldwide) women-only outdoor organization 22 years ago. Judy says that DIVAs have a zest for life.

“We’re not wall flowers. We’re alpha women. We’re fun and sincere.

We’re not fake women, because you can’t fake love for the outdoors.”

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Judy, at left in this shotgunning quartet, says DIVA WOW has something for every woman who wants to enjoy the outdoors, including bird hunting and fishing trips.

Judy was recently scheduling her ninth Grand Slam turkey-hunting excursion, which included road trips to Florida, Texas and Colorado to hunt four wild-turkey subspecies.

went along with their husbands.”

Judy, a native Texan who’s shot guns since age four, chuckled.

“Now men tell me, ‘Thanks for introducing my wife to shooting. It’s costing me double!’”

Or more. That’s because the outdoor industry caters to women consumers more now than ever before. “Men tend to keep their same shooting bag for years,” Judy said. “We women ask, ‘How many colors does that come in?’ We need different bags for shotguns, rifles, handguns and hunting. We don’t stick with just one item, and the industry finally picked up on that.”

“We women need guns, clothes and boots that fit our bodies,” she continued. “When I joined my husband on hunts, I was thankful that I could wear his hand-me-downs. Today the outdoor industry recognizes women as consumers. Now we can shop in a complete department of women’s clothing, guns, boots and accessories.” But it’s not all about accessories.

“DIVA WOW has something for everybody who wants to be a part of the outdoors,” Judy said. “However, not everyone wants to learn how to shoot a gun. So we also do fly fishing, spin casting and kayaking trips. We’ve even gone on frog hunts, and we go on an annual road trip. I’ve taken lots of women on their first African safari.”

Safaris didn’t happen in 2020, though. Thanks to the pandemic, Judy—a globetrotter who’s gone on 24 African safaris and normally hunts and fishes 250 days a year—had to nix more than 20 hunts. DIVA WOW clinics and other events got cancelled, too.

But not even a worldwide pandemic can slow down Judy, who receives 450 e-mails daily.

When we talked, she was in the midst of prepping for a DIVA WOW spring 2021 clinic in Dallas. She was also scheduling her ninth Grand Slam, which included April road trips to Florida, Texas and Colorado to hunt four wild turkey subspecies: www.TTHA www.

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Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande and Merriam’s. Along the way, she planned to visit other DIVAS, many of whom she knows personally around the world.

Making connections and lasting friendships are part of the DIVA WOW experience.

“We have DIVAS from 27 countries and all 50 states,” she said. “About 85 percent of us are life members, and we retain 88 percent of our membership on an annual basis. Our youngest member ever was one hour old. Now she’s 12. One of our oldest members is my mother. She’s 95.”

“We’re not for everybody, though,” Judy continued. “We DIVAs have a zest for life. We’re not wall flowers. We’re alpha women. We’re fun and sincere. We’re not fake women because you can’t fake love for the outdoors. We teach conservation.

Whenever we host DIVA-sponsored hunts, women can’t go unless they have a hunter’s safety certificate. We’re also an outdoor partner with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. We were the first to develop a Hunting 101 program.”

Oh, just one more story. The weekend before Judy and I talked, a friend introduced her to his sweetheart at the Dallas Gun Club. He’d just gifted her with a 28-gauge shotgun. But the woman was uncomfortable about handling the firearm.

“I asked her why,” Judy said. “She said she was afraid someone would laugh at her. Right away, I told her, ‘Then you have the wrong friends! You need to join DIVA WOW, and we’ll help you to be successful in shooting your new gun. We’re your tribe.’”

“I just love it when I hear women say they’ve met their new tribe,” she added. “That’s DIVA WOW!” For more info, visit www. divawow.org.

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DOGS AND DOVES A good retriever makes dove hunting more memorable

By Horace Gore

D

ove hunting is a major sport in Texas, and on the first day of September—by U.S., Mexico and Canada treaty—about 200,000 nimrods hit the fields and water holes in the North Zone to shoot one of the fastest targets in the hunting world. They are joined by the hordes of dove hunters in the South Zone in mid-September to make up a total dove hunting fraternity of some 400,000 in Texas.

These hunters will burn two million gallons of gas, fire 18 million shotgun shells, drink thousands of Lone Star longnecks, and bring home about seven million doves. They will fry, broil, stew, and barbecue doves to the delight of their guests. And when it’s over, the world of dove hunters will

simply wait for next year.

I began dove hunting in Bowie County when I was about 14 years old. I hunted before then with my .22, but I didn’t get into shotguns until later. East Texas is not the best for doves—not enough crops or wild seed items that doves like, but we had a few come to the weeds at the Hooks City Dump, just three miles North of Hooks on the Gauldin farm. Jerry Barrow and I hunted at the dump for doves, crows, and whatever else was there. I saw my first ever jackrabbit at the dump in about 1947.

After my days in high school, I stayed around Hooks until I joined the Army in 1954, and later, Texarkana Junior College and Texas A&M University. I got into dove hunting in a big

Jason Shipman

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The author believes that a dove hunt is not a hunt without a dog.

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Dogs learn to watch fallen birds if they are trained to do so.

excellent retriever.

I recall an occasion when a high-dollar outfit west of San Antonio invited me out for a weekend of dove hunting and after-hour frolic. I told them I would bring my dog, Belle, and they told me that dogs were not allowed. I sent them word back that I would not attend.

By that time, I had discovered that a dove hunt was not a hunt without my dog.

Both Belle and Lucy were excellent retrievers, but Belle had something extra in the way she could follow a crippled dove for quite a distance and bring it back. On many hunts, she would watch a crippled dove, or duck, as it flew away on the wind, and follow it until it fell.

I’m sure she was watching the bird better than I was, and her nose took her to the bird. She was fantastic at retrieving crippled birds.

Doc Denman and I were hunting geese near Eagle Lake, and we had two dogs. A gaggle of snow geese came over, and we lowered the boom on the flock, knocking out three, but one crippled bird continued to fly about a quarter mile before it fell. The area had an open visibility, and Belle watched the goose all the way as she went with the bird. A while later, she came back dragging the goose by the neck. Doc remarked, “You’ve got a pretty good dog.”

Dogs learn to watch fallen birds if they are trained to do so. I always kept my young dogs on a 10-foot nylon cord, tied to my leg as I sat on the dove stool. I didn’t want the dog to go after the bird until it hit the ground.

When the bird was retrieved, I could bring the dog to me with the cord. As time goes by, the dog will learn to watch the bird and keep an eye on it. That makes a better retriever that can follow a bird that falls some distance away.

All good retrievers are not retrieving breeds. I’ve seen a Doberman that was a good dove dog. I had a friend in Gonzales who had a toy terrier that brought him doves.

I suppose any dog can be trained to retrieve birds, but no dog is so staunch at retrieving as a Labrador retriever.

If you hunt doves and want a good dog, I would recommend a Lab. Your hunts will be much more memorable with a good dog..

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way while attending A&M because the general area had a lot of doves. Then, after graduation and a new job at Mineral Wells and later at Brownwood, dove hunting really got to be a big deal. I hunted at water holes on local ranches at Brownwood, and the sheep country of Mills Horace Gore’s black Lab County has some of the best dove hunting “Belle” was always ready in the state as a result of the close grazing to go. of sheep that produces vast pastures of dove weed and sunflower.

When I was younger, my dogs were all pointers or setters for quail. I didn’t use a retriever for doves until I moved to the Kokernot Ranch in Gonzales County in 1995.

My friend, Dean Davis, who was a teacher in Gonzales, gave me a female black Lab pup.

I trained her to retrieve and trail wounded deer and hogs. “Belle” turned out to be one of the best dogs I ever had. She spoiled me, and today, I wouldn’t hunt doves or ducks without a good dog. After Belle, I had another black Lab female named “Lucy,” and she was also an

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MASKED BANDITS OF THE KOKERNOT ever underestimate the achieving character of the raccoon—the “masked bandit of the brush.” I lived east of Gonzales on the Kokernot Ranch for 22 years and I never did outwit the raccoons with my genius. They raided my barrel corn feeders, my dog feed in a metal garbage can with a lid, and even the 100-year-old ranch house I lived in.

A raccoon can think of more ways to get something to eat than a Louisiana Democrat can vote.

The masked bandit always waits until after midnight to do his ravaging. I have stayed awake night after night waiting for the rattle of the garbage can lid as the bandit took it off and ate my dog feed. There are usually more than one—sometimes three or four, so if you’re lucky and blast one raccoon with the shotgun, more will be back the next night.

One of the strangest occurrences with the corn feeders assured me that keeping a raccoon from food is almost impossible. I had a 55-gallon barrel corn feeder on 8-foot legs in the “Mesquite Pasture.” The barrel had a tight-fitting lid that extended down about 2 inches all around the barrel. I was feeding deer and hogs and depended on the feeder to give me some hog action.

One day, I decided to check the feeder, and when I got to it, the lid was on the ground. I couldn’t understand how the tight-fitting lid got off the barrel. I backed the truck up to the barrel legs, got up on the side of the bed, and peeked inside. There, lying on the half-full barrel of corn was a big boar raccoon, smiling up at me. I got my gun and then the bandit met his demise very soon. That incident took the cake.

The wildest occasion with a big raccoon happened when I returned to the ranch house after being away at Waco for about three months with amputated toes on my right foot from diabetes. The raccoons knew that I was gone and took over. My dog “Lucy” was staying with the Turks about a mile away.

I returned home one evening in June and did not go to the Turks for Lucy. The weather was warm, and I

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left both the living room and the sunroom doors open to the screen doors.

That night, about 2 a.m., I was awakened by a racket in the kitchen. I got up, and with a pistol and flashlight, investigated the noise. As I went through the kitchen door, a big raccoon ran between my legs, up through the house, and out a hole in the living room door screen. He had chewed a hole in the screen and went to the kitchen trash can and turned it over, scattering the trash.

With the flashlight, I went to the barn and retrieved a raccoon trap and set it right at the hole in the screen where the raccoon had escaped. I baited the trap and went back to bed. The next morning, the bandit was in the trap. Needless to say, I sent that raccoon to the Promised Land with my Colt .45. It doesn’t do any good to haul them off because they just come back.

The bandit of the brush is tricky, smart, vengeful, and hard to outwit. You have to live with raccoons to understand how mischievous they can be. There’s an old saying: “What a raccoon don’t tear up, he s..ts on.”

—Horace Gore

Editor’s Note: The farther along we crawl through the 21st century, the more we crave just a little bit of nostalgia. If you would like to share some vintage hunting photos (anything before 1960) with our readers, please send them our way, along with a brief description or story.

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INGREDIENTS

CLEAR FORK BAKED DOVES

• 12 whole doves, cleaned and split • 1 Tablespoon black pepper • 8 oz. mushrooms, finely chopped • 1 cup finely chopped sweet onion • 3 cups flour • 3 cups milk • 2 cups chicken broth • 2 cups vegetable oil Do you have a favorite Wild Game recipe that you would like to share with our readers? If so, please type or print recipe and send to: Texas Trophy Hunters Association ATTN: Editor 326 Sterling Browning Road San Antonio, TX 78232

www.TTHA www.

TTHA.com .com

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add salt and pepper to flour in a dredging pan or plastic bag. Pour milk in a deep bowl large enough to hold six doves. Place doves in milk for 5 to 8 minutes while you’re getting a skillet.

Remove doves from milk and dredge in flour. Fry in medium heat skillet for 2-3 minutes per side, turning dove once. Drain on paper towels.

While first batch of doves is frying, soak the remaining doves in milk. When all doves are cooked, pour chicken broth in a 9x13 baking dish, add mushrooms and onions.

Place birds, split side down, in baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and cook another 15 minutes.

If gravy is too thick, add small amount of water and serve in baking dish. Serves six with hot biscuits and French cut green beans and tart jelly (plum or peach). Note: Recipe can be doubled for 9 to 12 servings by using two 9x13 baking dishes. Double all ingredients except vegetable oil and milk.

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Fish and game move in search of food in cycles relative to the moon’s location to the Earth. The time spans listed are the prime or major period times to start each day and along each time zone meridian of longitude 75° (Eastern), 90° (Central), 105° (Mountain) and 120° (Pacific). To determine the feeding cycle time for fishing and hunting in the area you plan to fish or hunt, advance the sum of 4 minutes for each degree west and back up 4 minutes for each degree east. The next prime feeding cycle (not listed on the calendar) will be approximately 121/2 hours later. There are minor periods that occur between the prime or major periods. The moon’s phases are shown as New, First Quarter (FQ), Full and Last Quarter (LQ). The feeding times are not a cure-all. Weather and other environmental conditions affect wildlife feeding activity.

SE P T E M BER 2 0 2 1 2

7:05A - 12:05P

7:45A - 12:45P

5

7

8

9

11:45A - 4:45P

12:40P - 5:40P

1:40P - 6:40P

14

15

16

6

NEW

10:00A - 3:00P

12

10:50A - 3:50P

13

FQ

4:10A - 9:10A

19

5:10A - 10:10A

20

FULL

9:55A - 2:55P

26

10:40A - 3:40P

27

3:50P - 8:50P

4:10A - 9:10A

6:05A - 11:05A

6:55A - 11:55A

7:40A - 12:40P

21

22

23

11:30A - 4:30P

12:30P - 5:30P

1:15P - 6:15P

28

29

30

5:05A - 10:05A

5:55A - 10:55A

6:40A - 11:40A

LQ

3

4

8:30A - 1:30P

10

9:15A --2:15P

11

2:40P - 7:40P

17

3:40P - 8:40P

18

8:25A - 1:25P

24

9:10A - 2:10P

25

2:05P - 7:05P

3:00P - 8:00P

O C T O BER 2 0 2 1 31

1

7:55A - 12:55P

7:25A - 12:25P

3

8

4

5

6

NEW

7

2 8:10A - 1:10P

9

8:55A - 1:55P

9:35A - 2:35P

10:20A - 3:20P

11:05A - 4:05P

12:05P - 5:05P

1:10P - 6:10P

2:15P - 7:15P

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

3:20P - 8:20P

4:00A - 9:00A

5:05A - 10:05A

6:00A - 11:00A

6:50A - 11:05A

7:35A - 12:35P

8:15A - 1:15P

FQ

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

8:50A - 1:50P

9:25A - 2:25P

10:05A - 3:05P

10:50A - 3:50P

11:40A - 4:40P

12:35P - 5:35P

1:30P - 6:30P

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

2:20P - 7:20P

3:10P - 8:10P

4:05P - 9:05P

4:35A - 9:35A

5:30A - 10:30A

6:20A - 11:20A

7:10A - 12:10P

BEST

GOOD

FULL

LQ

FAIR

POOR

Annual vest pocket books, which show all the major and minor periods, can be ordered by sending a check or money order for $19.95 per book. For shipping and handling, please add $4.95 to an order of 1 to 4 books. Make check or money order payable to Feeding Times. Send to Feeding Times, P.O. Box 2240, Covington, GA 30015. After October 1, please indicate book year in your order. For questions or comments, call 404-373-7151.

www.TTHA www.

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OCTOBER SEPTEMBER

1

The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

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Sep 06 FQ

Sep 13 F

Sep 20 LQ

Sep 28

N

Oct 06 FQ

Oct 12 F

Oct 20 LQ

Oct 28

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WILL BONILLA: whitetail nine-point taken 12/20/20 in Webb county.

GEAR: 6.5 Creedmoor.

OUTFITTER: nephew Drew (family ranch).

WILLIAM MECHLER: mule deer with 29-inch inside spread taken 11/17/20 in Rosebud County, Montana.

GEAR: Ruger .300 Win. Mag., 130-grain Hornady Spire PT ammo, Leupold Vari-X III 3.5-10X scope.

OUTFITTER: self.

PARKER PAYNE: whitetail 13-point (first buck), scoring 181 B&C, taken 1/8/21 in Brown County.

GEAR: Savage 6.5 Creedmoor.

OUTFITTER: Crazy G3 Outfitters (Cody Glasscock).

PRICE PAYNE: whitetail 11-point taken 1/10/21 in Brown County.

GEAR: Weatherby .270 WSM. OUTFITTER: Crazy G3 Outfitters (Cody Glasscock).

The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters — THE VOICE OF TEXAS HUNTING®

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HUNTER BISHOP: whitetail eightpoint (first deer) with 13½-inch inside spread, scoring 105 B&C, taken 1/1/21 in Angelina County.

GEAR: .270 Savage, Hornady ammo, Weaver scope.

OUTFITTER: Dad.

JACKSON BLANK: whitetail 14-point with 22½-inch inside spread, scoring 172 B&C, taken 1/1/21 in Freestone County.

GEAR: Remington .30-06, 150-grain ammo.

OUTFITTER: self (Circle O Ranch).

REED M. SCHABEL: whitetail eight-point (first buck) with 13½-inch inside spread taken 11/7/20 in Anderson County.

GEAR: .243 Federal, Leupold scope.

OUTFITTER: Dad.

WILLIAM DENISON: whitetail doe (first deer) taken 11/28/20 in King County.

GEAR: 7mm STW, Nikon scope.

OUTFITTER: Dad

SEND US YOUR HUNTING PHOTOS! NOTE: Only members of Texas Trophy Hunters Association or immediate family may submit photos. Out of fairness to all members, only one photo of each family member will be accepted each year. Do not paperclip or staple photos as this can damage them. Prints must be no larger than 4x6 inches and printed on photo-quality paper. No photos will be returned. Photos may also be e-mailed to HuntsEnd@ttha. com. If sent by e-mail, please make sure to include all information from the form below and limit your photo size to less than 5MB. Send a separate e-mail for each entry.

NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED UNLESS THIS FORM IS COMPLETED PROPERLY. Hunter’s Name: ___________________________________________________________________ Member’s Name (if different): ________________________________________________________ Email: __________________________________________

Please Circle One:

Youth

Adult

Member ID Number: ___________________________

Species Taken: _______________________________ Number of Points: ________________

Date Taken: __________________________ Inside Spread: _______________________ Net or Gross B&C Score (if known): _______________________ Phone Number: (___________)__________________________________

State or County: _________________________

Projectile: _________________________ Sighting System: _________________________ Weapon: ________________________________________

Outfitter: ___________________________________________ Comments: ___________________________________________________________

Send To: Hunt’s End, 326 Sterling Browning Rd., San Antonio, Texas, 78232-1220

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[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

THE ROUND-UP

Texas Trophy Hunters Association Round-Up ads provide excellent exposure at a minimal cost. For more information on placing your ad in the Round-Up, please contact Debbie Keene at 210-288-9491 or deborah@ttha.com.

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CLASSIFIED

[ THE JOURNAL ]

VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

“MEMBERS ONLY” Benefit!

Don’t forget to use your free classified ad!

It’s once per year and you must have an active membership in good standing. Send to:

TTHA Classified 326 Sterling Browning Road, San Antonio, TX 78232-1220 You may fax your ad to (210) 523-8871, Attn: Debbie Keene or e-mail to Deborah@ttha.com. Send your ad in by September 10 to run in the next issue!

FREE CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING!

Available to current members of Texas Trophy Hunters Association only! Limit 25 words per ad. Each member may run 1 FREE ad in one issue per year. 25 word ads after FREE issue are $40 each. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT OR REFUSE ANY AD.

SM FENCING,Welding and Dozing. Net wire, Barbed wire & Game Fencing.

Contact Shawn Mangham 325-4517120.

YELLOW MOON RANCH, Coleman Co. just 45 min. north of Brady. Trophy whitetail and exotic hunts. Limited number of hunts for 2021 season. You won’t beat our prices!! Call Dane 432413-7600 – Let’s book a hunt you won’t forget. YellowMoonRanch.com.

AOUDAD HUNT! Hunt free-ranging aoudad in Llano County. Hunts begin in late August thru late October, 2021. Nice accommodations. For additional info, email darrellsteffek@gmail.com.

RANCH MAPS - Get the highest quality, fully customizable aerial maps of your property, today! Large Maps, Field Maps, CoolerTop Maps, etc. www.

MapMyRanch.com. 713-302-2028.

ALASKA FLYOUT hunting & fishing.

Guided & Unguided. Kodiak Katmai Lake Clark Bristol Bay. All Species. Call ASTCO 907 491 1025 nushagakburr@ gmail.com.

EXPLORE FAMOUS CADDO Lake in Uncertain, Texas, home to the largest cypress forest in the world. Booking two exclusive archery or gun deer hunts.

Kelly Wells cell 318-349-9768 or www. caddolakelodge.com.

AFRICAN SAFARI $2,995 3 animals in 1 week. Lodging, meals, open bar, guide, airport transfers and trophy fees included!! Call 956-867-4964 for details. www.matorisafaris.com. www.TTHA www.

TTHA.com .com

SENDEROS, TANKS & MORE! Custom dozer work for your land or lease. We clear brush, shred, mulch, even do custom hay baling. Located South Central TX – no job too far! Buch Ranch Services 361-541-9946.

PREDATOR CONTROL Service. 25-yrs.

Experienced. Specialized in removal of Coyotes, Bobcats and Feral Hogs.

Contact Ronnie 830-739-5336.

FOR SALE – RANDOLPH TAXIDERMY. Retiring after 50 years. Building, game processing, coolers and equipment.

Corpus Christi, TX. Serious inquiries Only. 361-853-8296.

4F RANCHES Live Oak County Texas.

Whitetail and exotic hunts. First season open to public, reasonable pricing.

Contact Larry 830-570-3570.

VERY SECLUDED, peaceful 321 acres with rolling terrain in Lipan, TX. Newer 3 BR 2 BA manufactured home and 24x130 covered pavilion. Property has 5 ponds and a wet weather creek. Deer, turkey, hogs, ducks. Perfect retreat 50 min. from Fort Worth. Offered by Bobby Norris Preferred Properties. Jason Jarvis 469-600-7787.

WILDLIFE & HABITAT Consulting.

Commercial hunts available.

Contact Certified Wildlife Biologist Jason Shipman 210-508-8447 or jasonashipman@gmail.com.

TEXAS HUNTER FISH FEEDERS create ‘feeding zones’ that make catching fish fun for the whole family.

Project fish feed up to 45ft. into the

water to feed fish on a regular basis which helps you grow bigger fish faster.

Call 800-969-3337 or www.TexasHunter. com.

28 YR. OUTFITTER in search of more land to outfit and hunt in Central TX. Looking for high fence with deer from 150-200″. We are outgrowing ourselves!

Will also consider So. TX. Call Dale 325-642-7596 SDWhitetails.com.

MEXICO RANCH 8,500 ac. Available for group of 4 or 5 hunters. Trophy Whitetail, hogs, birds. 4 1/2 mi. of flowing river. 4 BR house w/ electricity, blinds, feeders – Hunt Ready! 210-379-7510, email jharlan29@gmail.com.

THE LONE STAR Bowhunters Association. Preserving and Promoting bow hunting in Texas since 1974. Join today at www.lonestarbowhunter.com.

Take a kid hunting.

S & D WHITETAILS – Limited hunts avail. Booking 2021 now. All native S TX deer from 140-230 class. Deer & Dove hunts Central TX. Over 7500 ac. 24-yrs experience. 5 Star rating. 325-642-7596.

HELP FEED THE HOMELESS – donate excess game animals to feed the homeless, orphans, and needy families.

Go to www.trinityoaks.org “contact us” tab.

TEXANS ARCHERY CLUB wants to expand our state’s archery range infrastructure. Looking for local partners/ land to expand our network. www.

TexasArchery.info 501c3.

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[ THE JOURNAL ] VOLUME 46 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

AD INDEX

JOURNAL ADVERTISERS FEATURED ADVERTISERS IN THE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 ISSUE

Atascosa Wildlife Supply..........................18, 19

HuntStand.................................................... 22

Texas Hunter Products....................................27

Berry Whitetails..............................................13

Jason A. Shipman.......................................... 118

Texas State Rifle Association.........................126

Briscoe-Cochina & Catarina Ranches............80

Jerry Johnston................................................ 12

The-Eliminator..............................................134

Bruton Trailers................................................53

Lone Star Ag Credit.........................................60

The-Remote..................................................... 81

Burnham Brothers.........................................134

Lone Star Beer Blind Give-Away.......................3

The-Timer......................................................134

Capital Farm Credit........................................43

Lyssy & Eckel..................................................33

Tina Kahlig & Associates.............................. 114

Carters Country Ranches.............................104

MyPlates........................................................134

TPWD Gear Up for Game Wardens.......80, 134

Case IH Agriculture..................................... 48A

Outback Feeders....................................... 74, 75

Trijicon............................................................85

Charco Marrano Ranch.................................. 41

Paradise Trophy Ranch...................................29

TTHA Gear...............................................36, 37

Christian Outdoor Alliance............................70

Ranch Investments..........................................28

TTHA Jr. Trophy Hunters...............................73

Cuddeback......................................................89

Ranch King Blinds..................................IFC, 57

TTHA Member Discount Program.......108, 109

Dullnig Ranch Sales........................................42

Reata Insurance Group.................................126

TTHA Membership...................................64, 65

Family Tradition Treestands........................... 47

Rebecca Creek Distillery...............................100

TTHA Platinum Life Membership..................90

Full House Ranch........................................... 81

Remington.........................................................5

TTHA PLM Listing.............................91, 92, 93

G2 Ranch................................................... 8, 9

Slow Glow.......................................................96

TTHA Podcast................................................. 17

Grainger Ranch Recruiting.............................80

Sofhold............................................................80

TTHA School Chapters......................... 118, 127

HB Hunting Products.....................................52

South Texas Tripods & Feeders....................134

TTHA Special Membership Offer.....................1

Headwaters Ranch..................................61, 130

Speer Ag..........................................................22

TTHA Write a Story......................................132

Hornady..........................................................23

Tag Safari.......................................................134

West Texas Feeder Supply.....................IBC, BC

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