It
all started on a Saturday afternoon in mid-November. I had been
working in my yard trying to get everything ready for the winter.
After an exhausting day’s work and a nice, hot shower, I decided
to relax for the evening instead of going out on-the-town.
Now, I usually
don’t watch much television, but I picked up the remote and
clicked on the television. After the news, I clicked on the
Outdoor Channel. I wasn’t paying much attention to it, as I was
also reading a book, drifting off, and reminiscing about the
year’s past hunt. I was also thinking that it was going to be a
long wait until June, when I would be going to hunt bears in
Canada.
I came back to
reality when I heard a host on the television program talking
about hunting exotics in Texas. They also were hunting wild
hogs. At first I didn’t think much about it until the next day.
The thought of hunting in the winter got me thinking, and I
proceeded to get on the internet, searching for Texas hunts.
I found a few
places, so I wrote their numbers down. As the day wore on, I had
to find out more about these hunts, so I made some phone calls.
When I spoke Rusty Moore, at
Raggedy
Creek Ranch, he told me what he would provide and some of the
prices. I could tell by talking with Rusty that I was in for some
good Southern hospitality, so I booked a hunt immediately.
When I arrived
in Crowell, Texas, I met with Rusty, and he drove me to the
hunting lodge. I got settled in, and that afternoon I started my
hunt.
The second day
of the hunt, I shot a Silver-Medal Black Buck. The next evening I
took my first hog. I was right about the Southern hospitality, as
Rusty’s wife, Malinda did all the cooking, and what a great cook
she was! I had such a good time on this hunt that I told Rusty I
would be back the next year.
Well, I couldn’t
wait a full year, so I called Rusty and asked if he had an opening
in November, which brings us to this past hunt. I finished the
Utah and Idaho hunting season the second week in October. Now, it
was time to start thinking about our Texas hunt.
My nine-year old
grandson and I left home on our Texas hunting trip on November 7th.
We arrived at Crowell by noon the next day. We got settled in at
the lodge and relaxed a couple of hours.
At 3:00PM, my
guide, Kyle Range and I left for an area where a portable blind
was set by a feeder. I was going to try to arrow the Mouflan Ram
that eluded me in February. In the meantime, my Grandson and his
guide, Juan also left to try to help him harvest his first hog.
After hunting
Friday night and Saturday morning, and without either of us having
any luck, we went over to the outpost to relax and talk about some
new strategies. Rusty asked if I had ever harvested a
White-Tailed Deer, of course, I replied: “no”.
He said he had
an archery-only area which had some nice bucks on it, and the
chances of me getting one were very good. I pondered this over
while I ate Lunch, and decided to try to take a White-Tail. Kyle
and I went and looked at the area, and after looking at it I
decided we could build a blind by a feeder. We cut the branches
out of the center of a cedar tree, and made a natural blind.
After finishing the blind, we headed back to the lodge until
evening. Around 5:00PM, a doe came in to the cedar and was
suddenly aware of me, of course spooked, and ran off. About a
half-hour later, a buck started walking toward the cedar,
grazing. It seemed like eons (which were really about ten minutes
before he was in range). He had a big body and antlers, and I
knew he was good enough to take. I didn’t count the points as I
was waiting for him to turn and present me the shot I wanted. He
finally turned, and moved his front leg forward. I was all ready
at full draw. I released the arrow and the buck dropped in his
tracks. The arrow kicked off the buck’s shoulder bone, and took
out his spine.
After we got the deer loaded, we called Rusty, who was out with my
grandson. Brandon had just succeeded in harvesting his first
animal ever. Whoever answered the phone told us that Rusty and
Brandon were out in the field trying to load the hog. Two days
later, I got my Mouflan Ram, and my grandson harvested a
Silver-Medal Black Hawaiian Ram. The only thing I regret is that I
have to wait until February before I go back.
Ellis Wall
Utah
