As the rut winds down for the North and Central Texas deer hunters, many South
Texas deer hunters are just getting geared up for the exciting part of deer
season. I was blessed to be heading south this December to hunt the
Helm Ranch in Three
Rivers, Texas. The ranch is split by Live Oak and Bee County and consists of
2100 acres. Four hundred acres are high fenced and provide a bowhunter the
opportunity to harvest hogs and exotics. Now this ranch has everything you need
to make your hunt enjoyable.
The bunkhouses can sleep up to 10 hunters, but during deer season they only
allow 5 hunters in camp. This rule was put in place to make certain that the
deer have very little pressure during hunting season. You will also find a
walk-in cooler and a small archery range to make sure your bow is sighted in
properly. The bunkhouses also have nice kitchens to store and cook your food.
Like I said, the ranch has it all.
JJ Reynolds, who has been managing hunting ranches for over 20 years, runs the
ranch. JJ’s goal is to make sure the hunters have a good time. Joining me on
this hunt was Mike Smith of Mesquite, Texas. Mike is a certified International
Bowhunters Education instructor and board member of Mesquite Archery Club.
As Mike and I got closer to exiting off the main interstate, I called JJ to let
him know we would be getting to ranch a little earlier than planned. JJ said no
problem and that if we got there soon enough we could to do a mid-morning hunt
and see what was moving. Well, that certainly got our attention and we met JJ
at the ranch at 8:30AM.
Once all the gear was unpacked JJ took us on a tour of the ranch to show us each
stand location. Because of the terrain, JJ set up tripods and ground blinds
across the ranch. Each stand overlooks a feeder that was located no farther
than twenty yards away. This allows the hunter to feel comfortable taking the
shot. Once the tour was over, we headed back to camp to get ready to hunt.
During our tour of the ranch we told JJ which stands we wanted to hunt, so he
corned around those stands. Since Mike was driving he would drop me off first
and then he would drive to his stand. My stand was a ten-foot tripod buried
behind a medium-sized mesquite tree. Mike would be hunting out of fifteen-foot
tripod brushed into a large oak tree. Once I was situated in my stand, I took
some pictures of my surroundings and then settled down for a long afternoon
hunt.
The midday hunt was slow, but I figured the action should heat up as soon as the
sun started to set. Around three o’clock I could hear a large tractor working
its way through the brush on the neighboring ranch. This went on until front-end
loader drove past me at about 50 yards. As he went past me the feeder went off.
I knew my hunt was over, but I stayed on stand just in case. Once the sun had
set I got down and walked to Mike’s stand. Mike saw four hogs, a coyote, and
huge indigo snake. As we walked back to the truck we both were still excited
and looked forward to our morning hunt. After dinner we checked local weather
forecast and it showed rain shower all around us.
During the night several thunderstorms had rolled by and gave the ranch a good
soaking. When Mike and I got up it was still raining, but not very hard. We
only had to wait about thirty minutes before it quit. Mike dropped me off at a
twelve-foot tripod overlooking a feeder. The wind was perfect and my hopes were
high. Well, that only lasted for about thirty minutes before another
thunderstorm rolled through the area. Luckily, I brought my raincoat, Gore-tex
hat and seat cushion. The thunderstorm moved on within an hour and it was a
nice morning to hunt. About sixty yards in front of me, I saw a little spike
cross the road. It was in a big hurry, so I figured that was the last I would
see of him.
I was looking to my right when I saw the little spike working his way to the
feeder from the downwind side. When he got within bow range three does and one
yearling walked out into the road. That got his attention and he took off. The
does eventually came back to the feeder, but that little spike would not leave
them alone. All the does ran away from this little fellow and he took off like
a fighter jet in hot pursuit. About an hour later, the little spike returned to
the feeder and then slowly walked off into the brush. The rain combined with the
spike put a damper on deer sightings, but I kept my spirits up.
I did not see much of anything else for the next hour so I got down and walked
back to the bunkhouse. Mike arrived about an hour later and he saw five deer
and three turkeys. A shot never presented itself, so Mike ended his hunt
without a shot. After a light lunch and some target practice, it was time to
hunt again. Mike and I decided the hunt the same stands we hunted yesterday.
After Mike dropped me off, I lit two Deer Quest scent stick in hopes of
attracting some deer to the feeder. The sticks last about two hours and when
there were almost gone, several nice hogs came into the feeder. The hogs did
not like the scent stick or the smoke from the scent stick and they retreated
back into the brush. After that, I was entertained by several coveys of quail.
This little birds stayed with me until it got dark. I got down and walked over
to Mike’s stand. Mike did not see anything. We headed back to camp for some
hot food.
After much debate, I decided to hunt that same stand again in the morning and
Mike elected to hunt the same stand he hunted in that morning. The weather was
perfect as we headed out to our stands. I dropped Mike off and then drove to my
stand. It was not long after I got into my stand that I had several hogs come
into the feeder. It was still too early to shoot, but I prayed they would stick
around just a little while longer.
Well, it just was not meant to be; they wandered off again. I was watching them
walk off when a spotted hog appeared close to the feeder. The hog was coming my
way and I prepared myself to take a shot. The hog stopped just short of my
shooting lane and would not move. He rooted around for about fifteen minutes
before heading off to join his buddies. That got my heart pumping and I was
ready for anything. It was not long before a small yearling doe appeared to my
left. She was heading towards the feeder, but I did not see any other deer with
her. Now she was upwind of me, but she stopped just short of feeder and fed.
She fed until she was full, but no other deer were around. Once she was full
she walked back the way she came and I never saw her again. It would be another
hour before I saw anything else. That same spotted hog returned, but this time
he came through the brush behind me. I watched him root around for a few
minutes and then he just bed down eight yards from my stand. He never knew I
was there. When it was time to get down I tried to be quiet, but the hog
 heard
me and ran off. I gathered up my gear and thanked the Lord for another great
hunt.
I drove back to pick up Mike and he saw the same deer and turkey. No shot
presented itself again, but Mike enjoyed the hunt. We got back to the
bunkhouse and loaded up our gear for the ride home. Though the weather had not
helped our hunting, we had a marvelous time at the
Helm. I would like to
thank JJ and Jeff for making this a fun hunt. These two guys did everything
possible to make sure Mike and I had a great time. I will certainly book
another hunt with JJ.
| |
As always |
| |
Be safe |
| |
Be kind |
| |
And God bless. |
| |
|
| |
Timm Getts |
|
