Paul Buitron is not your average South Texas Rancher. He was not
raised on the land he owns and operates near Crystal City, Texas.
The property was purchased from a family member after Paul decided
to return to his original hometown of Laredo. Paul was at one time a
fighter who traveled the world competing in kickboxing tournaments
and was very successful, having been ranked at the top of his sport
until an injury forced his retirement. He then pursued cooking as a
profession, having been schooled in France, and opened a restaurant
in Dallas. Now out of the restaurant business,
Paul spends a lot of his time managing his hunting ranch and
mentoring youth fighters. He has a passion for both and it shows in
his enthusiasm to please hunters, both old and young. No, Paul Buitron
is not your typical exotic game ranch owner, and that's just fine
with me.
I spoke with Paul about hunting his Las Auras Ranch for exotics and
hogs this year. He told me about the record class animals that
roamed the ranch and the abundance of wild feral hogs. My interests
in hunting the ranch were simple, I wanted to book a hunt for my
13yr old son, Jake. Jake was to hunt one of the exotic rams, a Black
Hawaiian, Texas Dall, Mouflan or Armenian Red Sheep. Jake has never
taken a big game animal with his bow and this would be a perfect
hunt in which to accomplish his goal. I booked the hunt for early
October and Jake and I couldn't wait to arrive at the ranch and
begin our hunt.
We arrived at the ranch on a Friday
afternoon. Once we unloaded our gear, we spent some time shooting
our bows from different yardages and shot positions.
Jake
was really stacking the arrows into the target nicely. His shooting
made me feel confident that the if given an opportunity to take a
shot on an animal he would take care of business. We then
accompanied Paul as he drove us through the ranch to spread some
corn on the many senderos and roads. This also gave Jake and I a
chance to setup our Double Bull blind on a feeder which was occupied
by several rams and hogs as we drove up. It was a good sign to see
all the game out and browsing around. Jake started to get excited,
especially when he saw a big Black Hawaiian ram near the feeder. He
told me, "I think I would really like to hunt one of those, Dad." We
decided to start our hunt off the next morning in the blind in hopes
that the ram would return again.
Morning arrived with Jake and I in the blind with Paul. Just after
daylight, a pair of rams made their way toward the feeder 20yds in
front of the blind. The slight breeze which was blowing through the
blind would be in our favor if they kept the course they were on to
the feeder. Once they could see the feeder, the Black Hawaiian ram
stopped and sniffed the wind. He then started circling the feeder to
make sure it was safe to approach. I whispered to Jake after he
asked where they went, "They're circling downwind to see if any
danger is near." I was afraid the rams would wind us and continue on
to another part of the ranch, which they did. After several minutes,
Paul suggested we vacate the blind and try to locate them on foot.
This particular big black ram had stricken Jake's fancy and we
decided to try our luck stalking him instead of waiting for another.
It
didn't take us long to catch up to the two rams. Once we spotted
them, the stalk was on. At one point we lost the black ram in the
thick brush along the west property line. Out of nowhere and behind
us, the ram appeared giving Jake a close 17yd shot. Jake drew back
his bow and fired, hitting the ram a little too far back but still a
lethal shot. I felt like we needed to stay with this ram and get
another arrow in him if he gave us the chance. Paul trailed a good
bit behind and stayed on the blood trail. Jake and I found the ram
walking down the road about 200yds from where we took the first
shot. At a bend in the road we cut across the brush and hoped to get
another shot as he cam by us. As luck would have it, he strolled
right into a shooting lane and stopped. I ranged the ram at 26yds
and gave Jake the green light to release another arrow. "GREAT
SHOT!!!", I exclaimed as the arrow hit the ram right through the
onside lung and into the heart. The ram immediately went down for
good and Jake gave me a high five.
Paul arrived and gave Jake a big pat on the back. We were all
excited and appreciative for his help on the hunt. Jake replayed the
whole scene and I could tell he was excited about taking his first
animal with his bow, a feat that not many 13yr olds get a chance to
do. Our morning hunt had taken less than an hour and a half and we
had our main objective accomplished. Next on the bill would be an
afternoon hog hunt, a hunt in which Jake insisted I do the shooting
with my bow. A thoughtful gesture on his part, since this hunt was
supposed to be his...not mine.
After spending some time back at camp, we drove through the ranch
feeding corn in the likely hog hunting spots. Our plan was to draw
the hogs out of the brush for a classic South Texas spot and stalk
hog hunt. It didn't take long for us to see hogs on nearly every
spot we
corned. It told Paul that I wanted a couple of meat hogs, around
100lbs, for the freezer. We parked the truck and started stalking s
large group of around 30 hogs that were feeding along a sendero. As
we crept closer and closer to the group, we passed a large stock
tank. Just past the tank we moved into the edge of the brush and
used it to conceal our movements. I stopped to glass the hogs and
determined they were feeding in my direction. I let some of the
smaller ones pass by, one by no more than 5 feet away, and was
waiting for the larger pigs to come into my shooting lane when one
snorted an alarm sound and all of the hogs crashed into the brush.
Disappointing, but very exciting. Jake couldn't believe how close we
were before we got busted!
As we were walking back to the truck to try our luck on another
bunch of hogs feeding on the next sendero, we passed the stock tank
again. Paul grabbed my arm and said, "Would you look at that hog!" I
tried to locate what he was looking at, scanning the banks of the
tank for a hog. After deciding what he had been looking at was
already in the brush or something, I asked, "Where?" He
explained, "Right there, 30yds in front of us bedded in the edge of
the water." I couldn't believe it. We had walked right pass this
huge hog while stalking towards this other group!
Now,
this was no meat hog but a really big trophy boar sleeping in the
cool shade and mud beneath a willow tree. I quickly hooked my
release to my bowstring and closed the distance on the target. Once
I reached what I thought was 20yds, I drew and released an arrow
aimed at the lungs of this brute. Once hit, the boar rose out of the
water with a roar and took three steps forward, stopped, looked
around for his tormentor and stood still. I grabbed another arrow
out of my quiver and followed the first shot up three inches
forward, aiming at his heart. The shot was a clean pass through and
the huge boar raced up the bank into some heavy cover.
I gave the boar some time to expire and realized he was still very
much alive, to my disbelief. He had not covered 20yds on his exit,
but was still holding on. I placed another arrow where I thought his
heart should be and it was game over for the big guy. Not until I
was sure he was down for good was able to get a truly good look at
this monster. There was no ground shrinkage here, I can assure you.
At least 5 feet long and weighing somewhere between 400-500lbs, this
is by far the largest boar I have ever taken with a bow or any
weapon. Two grown men could not drag him, his body was riddled with
scars from battles fought to protect his water and feeding areas.
One gash on his back ham was four inches wide and two inches deep!
I'd like to run into the hog that inflicted the wounds on this hog,
I'm sure he's a monster too!
What a weekend. Our hunt concluded after spending an hour or more
getting the big hog out of the brush and into the truck. Spending
time hunting with someone you love just doubles the fun. I look
forward to spending as many of these weekends as I can on the
development of Jake's hunting skills. I know he had a great time and
so did I. Paul and his Father, Paul Sr., were a joy to hunt with.
They were gracious hosts and are determined to offer quality hunts
for exotic game of all types and species.
Though our hunt was for a ram and a hog or two, Paul offers other
hunts for sika, axis, fallow, oryx, bison and many other exotics.
His hog hunts are a very good place to take young hunters, as the
targets are endless. While staying at the ranch, hunters are
quartered in a very clean and comfortable lodge with plenty of beds
for larger groups, a covered screened porch, large kitchen and
living room. There's a walk-in cooler to store game, a nice cleaning
rack with water nearby to aid in processing and feeders/blinds in
many good locations. He has many packages to choose from, including
the Texas Ram Slam, a popular way to start working on your exotic
trophy list.
If
you're looking for a ranch that offers a quality hunt for record
class animals, give Paul and the Las Auras Ranch a call at
256-206-0106 or visit their web site at
http://www.texas-hunts.com.
I spoke with Paul about hunting his Las Auras Ranch for exotics and
hogs this year. He told me about the record class animals that
roamed the ranch and the abundance of wild feral hogs. My interests
in hunting the ranch were simple, I wanted to book a hunt for my
13yr old son, Jake. Jake was to hunt one of the exotic rams, a Black
Hawaiian, Texas Dall, Mouflan or Armenian Red Sheep. Jake has never
taken a big game animal with his bow and this would be a perfect
hunt in which to accomplish his goal. I booked the hunt for early
October and Jake and I couldn't wait to arrive at the ranch and
begin our hunt.
Jake
was really stacking the arrows into the target nicely. His shooting
made me feel confident that the if given an opportunity to take a
shot on an animal he would take care of business. We then
accompanied Paul as he drove us through the ranch to spread some
corn on the many senderos and roads. This also gave Jake and I a
chance to setup our Double Bull blind on a feeder which was occupied
by several rams and hogs as we drove up. It was a good sign to see
all the game out and browsing around. Jake started to get excited,
especially when he saw a big Black Hawaiian ram near the feeder. He
told me, "I think I would really like to hunt one of those, Dad." We
decided to start our hunt off the next morning in the blind in hopes
that the ram would return again.
Paul arrived and gave Jake a big pat on the back. We were all
excited and appreciative for his help on the hunt. Jake replayed the
whole scene and I could tell he was excited about taking his first
animal with his bow, a feat that not many 13yr olds get a chance to
do. Our morning hunt had taken less than an hour and a half and we
had our main objective accomplished. Next on the bill would be an
afternoon hog hunt, a hunt in which Jake insisted I do the shooting
with my bow. A thoughtful gesture on his part, since this hunt was
supposed to be his...not mine.
e
corned. It told Paul that I wanted a couple of meat hogs, around
100lbs, for the freezer. We parked the truck and started stalking s
large group of around 30 hogs that were feeding along a sendero. As
we crept closer and closer to the group, we passed a large stock
tank. Just past the tank we moved into the edge of the brush and
used it to conceal our movements. I stopped to glass the hogs and
determined they were feeding in my direction. I let some of the
smaller ones pass by, one by no more than 5 feet away, and was
waiting for the larger pigs to come into my shooting lane when one
snorted an alarm sound and all of the hogs crashed into the brush.
Disappointing, but very exciting. Jake couldn't believe how close we
were before we got busted!
Now,
this was no meat hog but a really big trophy boar sleeping in the
cool shade and mud beneath a willow tree. I quickly hooked my
release to my bowstring and closed the distance on the target. Once
I reached what I thought was 20yds, I drew and released an arrow
aimed at the lungs of this brute. Once hit, the boar rose out of the
water with a roar and took three steps forward, stopped, looked
around for his tormentor and stood still. I grabbed another arrow
out of my quiver and followed the first shot up three inches
forward, aiming at his heart. The shot was a clean pass through and
the huge boar raced up the bank into some heavy cover.
I gave the boar some time to expire and realized he was still very
much alive, to my disbelief. He had not covered 20yds on his exit,
but was still holding on. I placed another arrow where I thought his
heart should be and it was game over for the big guy. Not until I
was sure he was down for good was able to get a truly good look at
this monster. There was no ground shrinkage here, I can assure you.
At least 5 feet long and weighing somewhere between 400-500lbs, this
is by far the largest boar I have ever taken with a bow or any
weapon. Two grown men could not drag him, his body was riddled with
scars from battles fought to protect his water and feeding areas.
One gash on his back ham was four inches wide and two inches deep!
I'd like to run into the hog that inflicted the wounds on this hog,
I'm sure he's a monster too!