|
2009 Home Camp Deer Hunting
Hunt Reports and Photos of All Bucks Taken
Please note: Hunts are posted in reverse order with the most recent hunt at the top of the page.
|
Extra Hunt January 25-30
A while back, Rob Connelly from Montoursville, PA called to find out if we were hunting in January. Yep, sure are. But dad-gum-it, neither of our two dates would work for him. Rob wanted to sandwich a hunt in-between his chemo treatments. Rob is battling leukemia and is fighting the good fight. Moreover, he wanted to bring his amigo, Mark Dennen from Sandy Hook, CT. Rob, having hunted all over the place, including Africa, had never hunted Texas and had always wanted to. Being ever the opportunistic outfitter, I asked Rob to set a date and just come. So, after a couple more phone calls and e-mails, it was a done deal - we agreed on Jan. 26-29. Kyle Ezell, our cook, and David Gonzales, our skinner, signed on for the deal.
Surely all our faithful readers will remember John Newsome, from Shumway, IL. He's been here each month since the season started. When John got wind of yet one more Adobe Lodge hunt in late January, he booked a couple of slots on the date, as well. So presto, we were looking at four extra hunters. Being under-booked for the season, we'll take'em any way we can get'em. John told us he was bringing Myron Woomer, a multi-year veteran who took our Buck of the Year way back in 1996. And Myron was here back in December, too. So we were all set with a group of four hunters. Two vets; two rookies; a balanced list.
But uh-oh. Bad weather plagued the northeast airports and delayed the arrival of Rob and Mark by a half day. John and Myron had arrived a half-day early. John got a jump-start on the hunt when he collected a buck with a spectacular 405 yard shot. Nevermind that John's buck had only five points. Such a technicality is never an issue with John. He is always more interested in "the shot" than "the buck". According to this formula, John had one heck of a hunt. But it quickly got even better.
Before the bad weather set in, John and his guide Charlie Bowers traveled about an hour south of here to a high-fence ranch so John could take - get this - another zebra. His second recently. If that isn't enough, - John took a spectacular elk. A 400+ inch elk. Although all this hunting was done in one day, neither animal was easy. Charlie and his Polaris Ranger were hauling John over many hundreds of acres to try to get him in range for the shots with his .338 Lazzaroni. Long story short - Charlie and John had one heck of an adventure that day in collecting that zebra and a huge bull elk.
Rob and Mark, meanwhile, once they finally arrived in camp, were hot after a whitetail. Guides Snake Allen and Bill Scott sat with them to help "set their sights" on what constitutes "a shooter" in this area. Both hunters wound up seeing lots of bucks, despite the weather, which turned against us about mid-way during the hunt. Most of the bucks they were seeing were on the edge of being good enough. Rob admitted to having his gun off-safety a couple of times. Mark went further and actually cast a shot, but drew neither blood nor hair. Both kept on hunting.
On Thursday, here came the rain. Since we are situated on the edge of the desert, we'll take moisture anytime, any way we can get it, and nevermind how it might affect the deer hunting. That afternoon, Rob found a buck he liked. But the shot did not drop the old boy in his tracks. This season, especially, we've learned that it is much, much wiser to let things be. After a shot late in the day, it is best to institute a search for the buck the following morning. Predictably, it was an anxious night for Rob. And to make things worse, that very night, a cold front hit with snow and freezing rain.
Thankfully, Rob's buck was found the next morning. Covered with grainy snow and stiff as a board but found he was. While this search for Rob's deer was underway, Mark Dennen and his guide Snake Allen were watching a couple of potential shooters near a favored feeder. When the deer disappeared, it looked like the game was over. But as luck would have it, the better one returned and Mark was taking no more chances. He put him on the ground right where he'd stood. With the ranch roads being all but impassable with the rain and snow, Mark and Snake had to wait for Charlie Bowers and his magical Polaris machine to transport the booty back to camp over the muddy roads.
Since it took both Rob and Mark so long to finally collect their bucks, and with an airplane awaiting them down in San Antonio, they took no does. Myron Woomer, on the other hand, was able to collect a couple of big, mature does - just the kind we like. So the final tally shows that four hunters collected four bucks, two does, one zebra and one elk. Not bad. Not bad.
But the best part of all was seeing Rob Connelly and John Newsome, both of whom are battling major health issues, doing what they love to do - HUNTING. What an inspiration to the rest of us.
And what a way to finally, finally end the season.
|
Hunt F January 11-15
When our final hunt of the season puts a buck into the Home Camp's Top Ten list, we know the season's buck harvest was not overdone. More good news: other bucks of similar quality were seen. So the carryover for next year is encouraging.
All six hunters on this date were Adobe Lodge veterans. In fact, John Newsome Sr. was here for the fourth time this very season making it a Grand Slam of hunting. He was here in October, November, December, and now - January. His son, John Jr. made all of those trips except the December one. For this January hunt, they were accompanied by John's son-in-law Brian Burke who has similarly hunted here numerous times over the years. All three are from Illinois, although Brian was born and reared in Texas and is a dedicated fan of the Dallas Cowboys. Good for him. As a matter of interest, back in 2005, Brian collected a whopper which now sits at about the 30th place on our All Time Buck list. Come to think of it, that same year John Sr. put a buck on that same list, now holding down the No. 12 slot. And that buck was similarly taken on the final hunt that year.
The other three hunters were Pennsylvanians. Howard Seigfreid (Berwick) and Dave Schalles (Shamokin) first hunted with us way back in 1996. They have returned numerous times since then, both for deer in the fall and turkeys in the spring. Last year, Howard brought his beautiful wife, Judy, to take her first-ever buck. Since they returned so quickly, it is safe to say that Judy, like Howard and Dave, now has developed a similar addiction to Adobe Lodge hunting. And it's no wonder why. Once again this year, Judy and Howard collected mighty nice bucks. Just wait till you see their photos below. Judy's second-ever buck was almost a twin to Howard's, and as it so happened, they were collected within about ten minutes of each other.
Now Bro. Dave Schalles is another story. In prior years, Dave just can't keep from shooting the first buck he sees. If it has horns, he likes him and size really doesn't matter. But this year, Judy Seigfried, notwithstanding the fact that she is a rank rookie in the sport, cleverly designed a way to keep Dave's finger off the trigger. She bet him $20 that her buck would beat his buck. Well now. You should have seen the competition. Judy spotted a monster six pointer - ever bit of 24" wide, but with only a main beam, one G-2 and a modest eye guard. She called Howard on her cell phone to get his analysis on this buck's chances of winning the contest with Dave. Howard advised her to let him walk. Which she did.
So back and forth it went. Neither wanted to commit until the other had done so. When Judy finally found the one she liked, the pressure was on Dave. But wouldn't you know it - from then on, Dave saw nothing but young, very, very small bucks. Nothing that would even come close. On that fateful final afternoon, with rain predicted the next day, Dave had resigned himself to take "just a buck", and drew a bead on a very modest individual. As he was applying pressure to that trigger, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one that had a darn good chance to beat Judy's buck. He wasted no time in getting that one on the ground. To say Dave was excited when he and his guide Larry Meeks arrived back in camp would be the understatement of the season. Dave's buck, however, as good as he was, was a hair shy of beating Judy's. Mainly because both eye guards were "broke clean off". Charlie Bowers had a solution to this shortcoming (as you will see in the photos below), but Judy was having none of it. Because he came so close, Dave gladly paid off on the bet and ended the hunt as one happy camper. Judy, now $20 richer, was similarly estatic. A win/win all the way around.
John Newsome, Sr. finally got it done. On almost every trip down here all fall, John's goal had been to harvest a zebra off a nearby exotic ranch. His daughter had plans for a nice zebra rug, and who could ever deny such a request from a loving offspring? But try as he might, John and his guide, Charlie Bowers couldn't quite get the job done. Until now. This time, John collected his zebra with a fine 300 yard shot, according to Charlie. And furthermore, John took a buck from his all-time favorite blind back at the Home Camp. John admits that this buck wasn't quite what he first appeared to be. But he says he got a glimpse of one, out about 200 yards and moving through the cedars, that would easily make Buck of the Year. Oh well. That's hunting.
Here at the tail-end of the season, our running inventory of bucks showed a small surplus of bucks so at the kick-off meeting, we told the assembled group of Adobe Lodge veterans that second-bucks could be taken. John Newsome Jr. was tickled pink with his first one - a big, heavy 18 1/4" eight pointer. As it so happened, on that first buck, John's shot was a wee-bit far back of where we now recommend shooting, and the buck wasn't found until the next morning. John's guide, Albert Zapata said that the search party found no blood at all for the first 40-50 yards of the trail. (Maybe because the bullet didn't exit?) Dutifully, they kept looking. Finally, they found a teeny speck here, and a smaller speck up there and a pencil-point piece of blood over there. After 150 agonizing yards of this ordeal, thankfully they came to the buck's carcass. And he was a good one, as you will see in the photo below.
But then, John Jr. found an even better ten pointer and this time, he put him down right there. This second buck will wind up being # 7 in this season's Home Camp list, but if that left eye guard wasn't broken, he would have been Number 5. As was said earlier, finding a buck of this caliber on the last hunt of the season is encouraging news.
Doe hunting went well as three of the six hunters took three does each. Altogether, the six hunters took seven bucks and ten does. What a way to end the season. And the best news of all was that on that final morning when only Dave Schalles elected to go out hunting, rain was falling and the countryside was getting some beneficial moisture. Indeed, the end-of-the-season conditions are much, much, much improved over this same time one year ago. So therefore, for all you deer hunting fanatics out there, the outlook for our 2010 season is absolutely outstanding. If you ever thought about coming to West Texas, now is the time to get your date nailed down.
|
Hunt E January 6 - 10
Thank goodness all four hunters on Hunt E are used to hunting in frigid conditions. Not only did they survive, but they all thrived in our coldest weather of the season so far. Northerners can take that cold weather much better than us Texicans.
James and Jim Mousseau, back for their fourth January hunt with us, have enjoyed hunting in our milder West Texas winter weather. But mercy. This year, they might have wondered if somehow they were back home. Jim Jr., born and reared in Michigan, now makes his home in Conifer, CO, back up in the mountains west of Denver. So neither Mousseau is a stranger to cold-weather hunting.
When the hunt commenced at noon on Wednesday, it was as warm as it was going to get. The arctic front which blew in on Wednesday night was a dry one. For two days, the temperature never rose above freezing and of course, the wind chill was brutal. Or at least, we Texans thought so. The other two hunters in camp - Dale Lane from Penn Yan, NY and Dean Slaney from Cornwall, Ontario - saw nothing unusual at all about this turn of events. And, come to think of it, the use of one of those little butane heaters inside one of our deer blinds is just the trick to keeping a hunter comfortable. You can't collect a buck if you are hanging out by the old wood stove back at the lodge.
Indeed, all four hunters saw plenty of deer out and about. Bucks dominated the activity around the feeders, although someone saw a small herd of does one afternoon. Most unusual. This time of year, our hunters normally see way-yonder more bucks than does. Deer movement during the middle of the day was very active. Maybe it had something to do with the weather. Maybe it was the arrival of the final quarter of the moon. Who knows? Normally, mid-day deer sightings are scarce.
Jim (Snake) Allen located a couple of good bucks at a particular feeder and wanted Dale Lane to get a look at them. After hunting there twice, Dale reported seeing plenty of turkeys, in several droves, and numerous small bucks, but no shooters. Kind of like what happens when we are trying to get someone on a javelina. You think you know where they are because they've been seen, but that is no guarantee they will ever be seen again. So are deer creatures of habit? Not when you are after a specific animal.
But finally, one by one, all four hunters collected nice bucks. Dean took three does; Jim Jr. took two, and all were just the kind we like. Big and old. This season, both bucks and does, unlike this same time a year ago, are in mighty good shape. They are all finding plenty to eat. No protruding backbones such as were being felt on the bucks twelve months ago. The final tally to be recorded in our history book was as follows: four hunters took four bucks and five does.
One other interesting note about current conditions: there aren't nearly as many broken antlers this year. Oh sure, there are some, but not nearly so many as some of the years we can remember. Take Jim Jr.'s buck, for example. Those incredibly long G-2's are a sight to behold, and who would have thought he'd still be wearing those beauties in January?
For those who might want to collect either an axis deer or a blackbuck antelope, we have been steering them to the 4 N Ranch, about fifteen miles from the Home Camp. Dale and Dean hunted there for two whole days before starting their deer hunt and collected neither specie. When Dean finally got his whitetail with us, he ventured back to that other ranch, and this time, he got'er done. He and the guide, Tommy McCormick put a stalk on a blackbuck, getting finally to within a 160 yards or so of the old boy. Dean could see the antelope's horns, but his body was hidden behind a clump of prickly-pear cactus. Judging the cactus to be not likely to deflect a bullet, he touched one off and got him. Just like he planned. After their whitetail hunt with us concluded, both Dale and Dean returned for yet one more try for an axis. And it worked. Sometimes, there are story-book endings after all. Photos of Dean's blackbuck and axis are posted below.
Before they left camp, Jim Sr. and Jr. booked the same hunt date next season. Jim Jr. has sent photos of some of the bucks he saw during the four days, which are posted elsewhere on this site. Just go to "Latest News→Trail Camera" to see Jim's collection. Yeah, yeah. We know. His photos weren't taken with a trail camera, but that slot seems to be the best place to put them.
We had thought that our final hunt of the season was to run January 11-15. But now, we've added one more date: January 26-29. If your addiction to deer hunting means you just can't wait till next fall, give us a holler and maybe you could get here for it. But then, after that, we'll put a lid on the 2009 season and call her done. The Fat Lady ain't yet singing, but we can hear her warming up.
|
Hunt 10 December 27 - 31
Buck's antlers on Hunt 10 averaged higher than any hunt so far this season. Get this: Average spread = 19.5 inches. Average # of points = 9.5. All that is the good news.
The bad news: we only had three hunters in camp. And only two bucks were put on our tally board. The third buck was a DNF (did not find) although the dude was later seen twice.
Our between-Christmas-and-New Year hunt date is almost always booked full every year. In fact, this date is already booked for 2010. Dads and school-age kids usually predominate. This year, there were only three hunters here for the big event. All were multi-year veterans.
Bob and Robbie Booth first hunted with us back in 2003 when Robbie, then about 14, was on his Christmas break. They have returned faithfully every year on this date. Mickey Koster, Robbie's granddad, had health problems and couldn't make it this year.
The third hunter, Steve McMahon now from Elizabethtown, PA, first hunted with us a few times, both for turkeys and for deer, way back in mid-1990's. Back then, he lived at Flourtown, on the edge of Philly. Steve is a cattle manager, and we always have a lot to talk about. I even got a tour of the Flourtown facility several years ago.
At each kick-off meeting all season long, hunters have been advised to be prepared to take a good buck even on the first afternoon of the four-day hunt. The reason: the 2009 crop of bucks has been "pretty" good , but the "depth of quality" has been somewhat lacking. In other words, because of the bad drought last winter and spring, hunters are just not that likely to see large numbers of exceptional bucks. So, for this season, when you see one that "melts your butter", you might ought to think long and hard about passing him up in hopes of finding a better one later on.
Bob Booth took this speech to heart. That first afternoon, hunting a blind where a good'un had been seen (and passed-on) back on Hunt 6, Bob collected for himself a sho-nuff dandy. He's somewhere in the mid-130's with nineteen inches and eleven points. And, to confirm my kickoff speech, Bob allowed that, indeed, this first-afternoon buck was the best one he saw during this 2009 hunt.
But now before we brag too much about Bob's buck, we have to pull his string just a little bit. Yep, ole Bob made a major screw-up. There he was one day, sitting in his blind - alert and eager - when here comes a nice bobcat, right toward him. We'll never know how close the cat would finally have come because Bob couldn't stand it. He waited for maybe a whole two seconds before touching one off toward the approaching cat. It was still "out there a piece" (whatever that means). And not wanting to shoot said cat in the head (understandable), Bob aimed at the only other target presented to him by the feline - his chest. Which, at that distance, ain't very big.
Yep, you guess it. He missed. The startled cat bolted, but then did something that is quite rare: he stopped to look back at that spot where dirt and gravel had exploded off the ground right underneath him. No - don't tell me. Yep, Bob missed again. Now thoroughly shook-up, Bob was lucky his second shot was close enough to even scare the kitty-cat one more time. No one likes to miss a shot, but Bob was good-humored about it and laughed at himself and his nervous shooting.
On the second night of the hunt, and with snow predicted the next day, Robbie Booth found a buck he liked and tried to take him down while filming the event with his camcorder. Long-story-short - we never found the buck. Neither that night nor during the search the following morning. Multiple replays of the video were inconclusive about if/where the buck was hit.
The snow never arrived, but moisture fell - helping the tracking party not one bit. Never one to give up, the Booth's guide, Snake Allen, prevailed on fellow guide Tillman Lawdermilk to reconnoiter the area one more time the next afternoon. Both guides were carrying guns, just in case. At separate times, both guides saw the wounded buck but neither was able to establish his firm identity (the buck's left front leg was a-flopping) until it was too late to shoot. So the dreaded DNF was entered onto the tally board next to Robbie's name. We'll leave things to settle a few days in that area before trying to ambush him again with volunteer sharp-shooters. If we get him, he'll have Robbie's name on him for sure.
Steve McManon finally, on the final night in camp, found one he liked. And who wouldn't? The 20 inch wide eight pointer weighed 160 pounds. This is one remarkable weight this far into our season. By now, it is hard enough to find one over 140, much less over 150. No telling what Steve's buck might have weighed back in October before he was overcome with that "romance-on-the-brain" disease which afflicts all whitetail bucks in late November.
Early in the hunt, and with the early morning temperatures being down in the teens, deer movement was as strong as it has been all season. Of course, the days warm to near 50 this time of year. Maybe that moisture curtailed deer movement somewhat. Over the four days of hunting the corn feeders, the three hunters reported seeing mostly small bucks. Does were more scarce. And, indeed, since doe hunting was not a priority for any of the three, no does were taken. So the final tally would be three hunters/two bucks/one DNF buck/ and no does. Oh, and don't forget that bobcat. Who doesn't know how close he came to finding a permanent home on Bob's wall back home in Seaford, DE. The lucky rascal.
The day after the rain (which wasn't much - maybe a quarter of an inch), Tillman and Steve found some interesting tracks while walking. Steve just happended to have his camera to show the rest of us what they saw. With claws clearly seen on the toes of the track, conventional wisdom has it that the track belongs to a canine, not a feline. But what one heck of a dog it must be. Does a coyote make a track that big?
Only two more hunts are scheduled: Jan. 6-10 and Jan. 11-15. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion to the season. We are indebted to Steve McMahon for sharing several more photos he took while here - all shown at the beginning of the collection below.
|
Hunt 9 December 17 - 21
For only the second time this season, the entire Home Camp was booked by one group of hunters. And every single hunter was a new face to us. Lots of new names to learn, and we always look forward to getting to know new hunters. And here's the best part: for new hunters, we can use all our old jokes and stories. We love first-timers.
On Hunt # 9, we were pleased to host a most interesting bunch from down on the Gulf Coast, all of whom are somehow related to the shrimp and seafood business. There were four from Texas, two each from Mississippi and Alabama, and one from Louisiana. An old tune kept playing in my head: "Shrimp boats are a-coming, their sails are in sight."
Trey Pearson, associated with JBS Packaging of Port Arthur, TX and the man-in-charge, elected for all to hunt under our Trophy Option price. Six of the nine took bucks. There were nine does harvested plus an additional doe which was never recovered.
Having hunted the San Angelo area for many, many years now, the JBS hunters are quite familiar with what a good buck looks like in these parts. And each hunter was content to wait for a butter-melter. Unfortunately, several had to cut their hunt short to get back home to take care of last-minute business details before Christmas. Several missed the entire final quarter of the hunt and who knows if the harvest totals would have been different if they had been here for the full term?
In leaving early, Trey Pearson admitted regret at not getting another go at a particularly big buck he had seen that morning. Trey had a good look at the old boy's antlers and had plenty of time to mentally summarize the number of inches he was watching. Estimating maybe a mid-150's buck, Trey just never could find a decent shot through all that brush. Of course we'll never know, but Trey, who has plenty of experience hunting big bucks, had a heart-thumper of a time with that whopper.
Clinton Jones luckily found a keeper early in the hunt - on the first night, in fact - a mature ten-pointer. Clinton, who hails from Irvington, AL, went on to add a couple of does to his collection.
The next morning, the second buck of the hunt was taken by Blake Hemmenway from Groves, Texas. (Groves is right next to Port Arthur and is about as far southeast as one can go in our Great State.) This dude was a super-impressive nine pointer, about 20 1/2" wide. Just wait till you see his photo below. At 152 lbs, he was also the heaviest buck taken - one impressive weight for after-the-rut.
Once these first two bucks were processed, a lull descended on the buck harvest. No more were brought into camp until the third morning when three bucks competed for space in our photo studio next to the skinning shed. Jens Sunde, from Irvington, AL and Don Savely, from Lafayette, LA, collected a pair of eight pointers each. The other buck that productive morning, a 15" nine pointer, was taken by Mike Cichowski from Port Arthur.
On that last night in camp, we had two buck hunters afield (Jimi and Lance Stringfellow from Moss Point, MS) plus Mike Cichowski who was trying to tag a doe. As it turned out, Jimi took an 18" six-pointer; Lance took a huge doe - one of the largest of the hunt at 111 lbs, but Mike returned empty.
Don Savely had taken the afternoon off to sleep and rest in anticipation of being tagged with the driving duties when that final party left after supper.
With all those early departures, thank goodness the cook, Kyle Ezell, had elected to serve his legendary rib eyes on the third night of the hunt. No one missed out on this classic Adobe Lodge treat. And speaking of eating, the arriving guests presented us with boxes and boxes of shrimp. Kyle served shrimp in a variety of ways, but the most creative and unusual was his breakfast burritos make with shrimp. Mighty tasty.
The rut is pretty much over by now, but even so, there were scattered reports of bucks seen running does. And who says that our hunting can't be any good post-rut? Not us. Just refer once again to that buck taken by Blake Hemmenway. And don't forget that monster seen by Trey on that final morning he was here. Historically, late-season hunting has been as productive as any other time our our year. In fact, our "Buck of the Year" has been taken a couple of times on a season's final hunt.
The weather on this last hunt before the Christmas break could hardly have been more typical of this time of the year. With the new moon coming on the day before the hunt began, the temperatures were mostly in the mid-20's before daylight but warmed to almost 70 degrees by early afternoon. In other words you will run your heater and defroster early in the day and you'll switch to your air-conditioner after lunch. Yep, we must be in Texas, all right.
Our next hunt runs December 27-31. Then, two more hunts are scheduled in January: Jan 6-10 and Jan. 11-15. There is a long-shot possibility we might be offering one final hunt sometime toward the end of the month. The good news is that we have open slots on all these dates. The bad news is that time is short. If you might like to come, we can make things happen fast, fast, fast on this end. Just holler anytime.
Our next report probably won't be posted until NEXT YEAR - January 1. So until then, Merry Christmas.
|
Hunt 8 December 12 - 16
This far into the season, and since we are now into the post-rut time, you'd think we would already have:
(1) run out of good bucks, and
(2) run out of interesting things to talk about.
Wrong on both counts. Hunt # 8 hunters, all Adobe Lodge veterans by the way, collected some mighty fine bucks from among the dozens that they saw.
Re/# 1: Did anyone get "the big one"? Nope, but they saw him a couple of times and hunted him hard. So he's still out there somewhere. But remember this: when a hunter sees an "exceptional" buck (in the truest sense of the word) early in the hunt, the hunter's standards often get cranked up to unrealistic and unachievable levels. After seeing such a critter, hardly any "ordinary" buck will ever be satisfactory. This factor played a role in Hunt 8. We'll leave that tale of the legendary buck to those who saw him.
But meanwhile, the top story of Hunt 8 came from our guide Bill Scott who was working his final hunt of the season.
With nary a photo to prove the following tale, you're just going to have to take Bill's word for things. But being a retired game warden from the Great State of Illinois, (home of some of the world's most credible politicians????), Bill has never yet, in two seasons of guiding our hunters, ever stretched the truth even a little bit. A fact which might disqualify him from ever being a True Texan, but that's another story.
Early one morning on this Hunt #8, Bill was guiding two bucked-out hunters, Scott Bradbury and Jim Shipley. Both were trying to get a shot at a doe somewhere. Bill knew of a likely blind. His standard operating procedure has been to sweeten the corn feeder by adding an additional contribution from his on-board supply of corn he keeps in his truck. Leaving the two hunters near the blind in the dark, he walked the hundred-or-so yards down to the area of the feeder to do this very thing. He commenced to scatter the yellow kernels hither and yon around the feeder.
The little light on the bill of his cap (is there a hunter/guide anywhere who doesn't yet have one of these handy toys?), picked up a set of eyes on the far side of the feeder. Varmint maybe? Nope, it turned out to be a 2 1/2 year old buck with four points on one side and not a sign of an antler on the other. The buck took an instant dislike to Bill. Just like a bull at the rodeo, he came a-charging with his one horn in fighting position. Bill deftly sidestepped the attack and turned to watch the buck disappear into the darkness. But that didn't happen.
The little fellow did an abrupt 180 and eyed his potential victim once again. Bill felt like a matador at the bull ring. He dealt with this second charge by once again dodging those antlers at the last second. He realized that he was using up lots of luck here, and if something didn't happen quick, the buck was sure to score if he continued the attack. Both times, Bill had been within four feet of the passing buck. And that one antler, with its four points, looked ominous.
The third charge missed him by only two feet. Bill had, by now, resolved to break the buck's neck somehow if they finally got into a tangle. Thankfully, this third time was the charm, and the buck abandoned his quest of sticking that one horn into his adversary. In his entire career as a game warden, Bill said that was the closest he had ever come to a deer in the wild.
Back at camp, when Bill gave an account of his adventure with the bantam-weigh fighter, predictably, the jokes started:
---"Bill -did the top come unscrewed on that 'Doe In Estrus' bottle you carry in your hip pocket?"
---"Hey Bill - isn't it about time you washed those clothes you've been guiding in the past couple of weeks?"
---"Hey, matador - where's your cape?"
---etc. etc.
H.B. Lantz, Jr and Warren Widmyer, both retired educators from middle Virginia, have hunted with us countless times. Both took good bucks this season but we were totally unable to put Warren on a turkey of any kind. Just like those rascal javelinas, we can never find a turkey when we absolutely, positively have to have one. It wasn't for lack of trying. Buryl Williams, who has guided the Virginia pair their past several trips to Adobe Lodge, was getting mighty frustrated with those Rio Grande birds. Everywhere they went, they saw nothing but bucks. At the conclusion of the four days, H.B. estimated that during the four days, he'd seen at least sixty antlered deer. But we'll try again next year. Warren (who collected our "Buck of the Year" back in 1999) and H.B. re-booked for the same hunt in 2010 before they left camp.
Jim Shipley, as a party of one, has hunted with us a couple of times. From Akron, OH, Jim is recently retired and plans to get in plenty of long-overdue hunting. We are honored that he had us at the top of his list of destinations. Jim collected a buck and three does on this trip.
David Charles with his son, Randy, and son-in-law Mike Black, together with their amigo, Scott Bradbury, have hunted with us several times over the years, the most recent time being back in 2007. This year the party of four collected three bucks and a doe apiece. Mike said that he saw a couple of good ones, but unfortunately, neither gave him any chance at a shot. As they say, "That's Hunting", but it's somehow more fun when the bucks aren't so elusive. David Charles admitted to missing a bobcat on the final morning, and dadgum the luck anyway.
Speaking of bobcats, and remembering the buck back on Hunt Six which was covered up with grass, our skinner David Gonzales took a couple of deer carcasses up to a likely spot in the hills near the camp just to see if any cats might show an interest. Boy-Howdy, did they. After less that twelve hours, both carcasses were mostly consumed, and, as a dead-give-away, were covered with grass. In thinking about this turn of events, such baiting with a deer's remains would be a good set-up to get a sight on a cat - if you just knew when the feline would come. You might just have to sit there for hours and hours. Or worse yet, you might have to sit there throughout the entire night.
So to wrap-up this Hunt # 8, the seven hunters took six bucks and ten does. Several of the bucked-out hunters on the final afternoon in camp went doe hunting at one particular ranch in our group which had a need of such services (doe removal). Amazingly, for the five blood-thirsty hunters, their afternoon's harvest was one, lone doe. Everyone saw nothing but bucks near the corn feeders. The few does seen were much too far to shoot. Murphy's Law is alive and well in the West Texas deer wars.
|
Hunt 7 December 7 - 11
Our most frequently asked question: what will the weather be? On Hunt 7, heck-fire - the weatherman didn't even get it right. So how in the world can any accurate prediction ever be made?
Hunt 7 started at noon on Monday and it was supposed to be in the 50's and sunny. Wrong. Drizzle fell all day and the temperature never got out of the 30's. Same thing the next morning. Then, uh-oh - Tuesday afternoon, here comes your classic windstorm out of the west - the kind that makes your tilt-sign light up. Wednesday, it was cold all day. Thursday morning saw the thermometer in the low 20's till late morning but absolutely beautiful and crisp that afternoon. The final Friday morning was "chilly" but not cold.
So what does this weather report have to do with the events on Hunt 7? Just this - it is as impossible to predict hunters and what they will do as it is to predict the weather. With five veterans and three newcomers in camp, I would have predicted the vets to be super-selective with the rookies to quickly pull the trigger. It didn't quite happen that way. Most all the vets, except one, tagged out early. The newcomers were very, very selective. But it became abundantly clear: although they were rookies to the Adobe Lodge, they certainly weren't whitetail rookies.
The first-timers, all from Virginia, were Denny Behrensen, David Turner and Mark Tiller. They were led by John Sars who hunted with us twice last season and couldn't wait to introduce these amigos to Adobe Lodge-style deer hunting. David was the first to tag a buck - a tall and wide eight pointer. Denny confessed to taking the safety off on a couple of bucks but talked himself out of it after a powerful debate. Having a 190"+ on his wall back home, Denny's selectivity-factor was admittedly racing along in high gear. So Denny went home buck-less. But he said he liked our Texas-style whitetail hunting and will be bringing a party of four in 2010. Can't beat news like that.
Mark, on the other hand, passed-on one heck of a good buck on the first afternoon. Even that first night back in camp, he began to have misgivings. And then he kicked himself the rest of the hunt because he just never saw anything to equal that first one. Mark's "last-day" buck wasn't at all bad - in fact, he's pretty darn good, but Mark was having none of it and was wanting to roll back the clock. It's like we've always said: "Your challenge here is deciding when am I looking at the biggest buck I will see?" If ever there was an impossible question, this is it. Just wait until one melts your butter.
John Sars is on the other end of the spectrum. He has no trouble in finding one he likes. In fact, he likes them all. On both hunts last season, John elected to take two bucks. Suspecting that he would want to do something similar this year, we arranged for Mr. Sars to hunt with a neighbor of ours since second-bucks aren't being offered this year at the Home Camp. But John got off to a bad start when he missed, he admitted, a huge feral hog. Dadgummit, John, you are supposed to kill every one of those rascals you see. We don't want them to get started here. And there you go missing one. Ahhhh!!!!
But John redeemed himself somewhat when he took his first buck - a thirteen pointer. Ok; ok. So he was a main-frame twelve with a tiny kicker on a G-2, but he was one heck of a good buck and never mind how many points he had. So now he's ready for that second-buck. The neighbor, Glyn Jameson was called and John hunted with him all day. He took a nice turkey while waiting for a buck. He found him - in fact, he found two he liked. When he shot, both bucks ran off and since it was fast growing dark, and remembering the recent events reported elsewhere on this website about losing and finding bucks, I insisted the search for John's buck be postponed till the next morning. John wasn't at all happy about the turn of events but grudgingly went along with the plan. It worked. The buck was found by the search party the next morning. He left not one single drop of blood. He went at least 150 yards. If pushed last night, would he have run farther? To some unrecoverable distance? Who knows? The main thing is that he was found. And we got a good photo of the happy hunter, too.
Jason Stone, from deep in the heart of Cajun Country at Lafayette, LA, and back for his second hunt with us found just the one he liked on the first afternoon. A big, mature eight point, and a handsome one he is. Jason really wanted a javelina, too, but although we took him to all their favorite spots, we could just never get him in front of one. But Jason collected a couple of does along the way so he went home with plenty of deer meat for the winter.
John Newsome and Bob Huey, both multi, multi year Adobe Lodge veterans, similarly found dandy bucks early in the hunt. Both men have a wealth of hunting experiences and it is a treat to hear of their adventures around the world. At our kickoff meeting which precedes every hunt, it is truly humbling to hear John Newsome tell the assembled hunters that having hunted in Europe, Asia and Africa, the Adobe Lodge is his favorite place of all to hunt. Gosh - thanks, John.
Myron Woomer, who accompanies John on most of his hunts, took a nice buck on the last afternoon, but he was most excited about collecting a bobcat. He's getting the 13 lb female mounted, and she will be a nice addition to his collection of trophies. Myron took our "Buck of the Year" way back in 1996. Just to reflect a minute on what a special prize a bobcat is, when we calculate how many hunters we have afield for x-number of hours each year, and then list the few bobcats that are even seen, much less taken, then we can realize what a big deal it is to collect one of these felines. And here's a prediction for you: someday, one of our hunters will be taking a mountain lion. Yeah, yeah - the odds are against it, but it is going to happen. It is the "when" that is uncertain. And the "who".
Three of the four guides on this hunt believe the rut is pretty well over and done. Charlie Fleming was the lone holdout saying that, indeed, he saw some rutting activity but admitted it was nothing like he's seen on the hunt he worked back on # 4. So now, no doubt the best hunting will be near the corn feeders. The bucks, having had their rigorous fall fling, will be most interested in replenishing their fat layers.
Hunt 7 statistics were pretty darn good, considering the doggoned weather. Eight hunters took seven first-bucks and one second-buck. They collected 11 does. One turkey and one bobcat were taken. Hunter's accounts of what they are seeing continues to be encouraging. There is a multitude of young eight pointers - our future crop of big bucks in the coming year or two.
|
Hunt 6 December 2 - 6
Let's see now. Seven of the eight hunters on this date have been here numerous times. How can we make things exciting for them once again? Here's how: Throw in a nice snow storm, just to make the hunters feel at home. (Seven of the eight are from the northeast and are used to such hardships). Next, be lucky enough to find a wounded buck the next morning which had been partially eaten by a cat of some kind. Then, put up a new leader for top buck honors. And, finally, let all those veterans spread out in our new room, around that huge table, so they can watch several super-exciting football games on the big-screen television we now have. Maybe they can find some measure of excitement in all that. We simply have to keep coming up with new surprises.
But it's tough. When two of the hunters in camp have taken "Buck of the Year" honors and when two other hunters took 144+ and 150+ inch bucks here just last season, you can bet that the "selectivity" factor will be wound up pretty tight.
Proving that indeed, there must be something to genetics after all, Eric Knapp (son of Bill, better known as "The Legend of Adobe Lodge, having taken Buck of the Year honors three times), took a 142" buck that, so far, is in the lead for that title at our Home Camp. Having brought up the subject of "selectivity", it should be noted that factor is embedded in Eric who has failed to take a buck the past two years. Heck - why should he take something less than what he came to find? But this year, Eric said that when he saw this dude (check out his photo below), there was not one moment's hesitation. Those big'uns will do that to you, you know. That's what keeps us hunters out in the field hunting. So we'll just have to see if Eric stays atop the leader board for the rest of the season. For sure, there will be some powerful guns coming after him before the season finally ends in mid-January. (As a matter of interest, we do have some slots available after Christmas and into January. With a quick call or e-mail, we can advise you of all the details).
Of the eight hunters in camp, seven were veterans with many cumulative years of Adobe Lodge experience. The lone newcomer was Ted Cribari from Los Gatos, CA. Perhaps you might remember that it was Ted who won the raffle we held during the summer to benefit Charlie Bowers who lost both his hands in that electrical accident back in May. The all-expense hunt was to include every critter we offer - deer, javelina, turkey, and maybe a bobcat - all mounted and shipped back home to Ted. Well, Ted did find a buck he took a liking to, but despite several efforts in finding one of those rascal porcines or one of those long-bearded gobblers that we brag about all the time, we just could not put Ted in front of anything but deer. He was a good sport about the whole deal though, and he booked to come back for another try in 2010. Ted is an experienced waterfowl hunter and wing shooter. Most of his deer hunting has been for the varieties found in the western states, but Ted took to our Texas style whitetail hunting like a birddog takes to water, and we'll see him next year for sure.
Bill Knapp and Ray Reynolds come every year, regular as can be. Both took big, mature seven pointers this trip, and before you discount the deal, just check out their photos below. Both bucks are mighty high and mighty handsome. Bill and Ray live in Wethersfield, CT (and after getting beat over the head a few times, I've finally learned to spell it).
Since Bill hunted with his son, Eric (to coach him just a little???), Ray Reynolds was paired with Mike Terrace, from Chester, NY about seventy miles north of NYC. On the third night of the hunt, Mike shot a buck which immediately bolted and ran out of sight. Guide Bill Scott arrived on the scene and made a wise judgment call. Just leave things be until morning. It is so, so tempting to start trailing a wounded buck, but it is so, so fraught with the danger of pushing said buck, rendering him finally lost and unrecoverable. Bill has seen this sad scenario more often than he likes, having been a game warden in Illinois for well over two decades. Better to wait and let him bleed. A pushed-buck can go an incredible distance. So they returned to camp, and all the hunters and staff were encouraged to sleep with their fingers crossed all night.
Next morning, the hunting party of three (Mike and Ray, plus guide Bill) found the buck in a matter of minutes after a very short trail. That's the good news. The bad news was that a bobcat had found him first. Ate out a part of his ham, too. Then the criminal covered his new-found treasure with grass to hide him for a future banquet. (Would such a cat give thanks for this unexpected blessing??).
Ray Reynolds, always on the ball and alert to photo-ops, collected a great series of snap shots of the deer showing just how he appeared at the moment they found him. Bill Scott noted that the buck died, not lying on his side, but he succumbed with his feet under him. Had they searched the night before, would he have bolted and been pushed beyond recovery? Kyle Ezell took the official photos of the buck, reporting that the buck was unusually limber for a buck which had been killed (?) the night before. Had he died shortly before being found? The evidence would seem to suggest that fact, but how do you explain the buck's ham being eaten by the cat? Clearly, our forensic team will be studying this case for years to come. Oh - by the way, Mike's buck was a 130" beauty, with eight main-frame points and a kicker on his G-2. Those of you who study deer antlers will agree that a basic eight-pointer with that many inches is one heck of an impressive trophy.
Three hunters in camp were unsuccessful in putting a buck on our tally board. John Rohrer, Lancaster, PA, who took our Home Camp's best fifteen years ago, said he saw one of those "high/wide" kind he had come to put on his wall, but the sly devil just never gave him a shot he could have called "comfortable". John said that buck was cruising and looking for does. In that mode, you rarely see them still (except, of course, behind a bush of some kind), and John wasn't about to cast a risky shot at that constantly moving target. You have to admire that kind of sportsmanship.
Mike and Marvin Rogers (Wakefield, RI and East Hampton, CT respectively), both collected spectacular bucks last season. Marvin turned down a possible 140 incher the first night, only to see nothing that even came close the rest of the four days. The brothers hunted our "Trophy Option" package, and although Mike reported seeing numerous young eight points, he saw none he judged to be worth the trophy fee. For those who, like Mike and Marvin, are after a top-end deer, this T.O. price is the next best thing to a guaranteed hunt.
Now, about that snow storm. It started before daylight on Friday. Since the ground around here isn't frozen, the snow took a while to start sticking. On the hood of a truck, the snow finally got to a depth of 4-5". There was maybe a couple of inches on the ground. The highways and roads were slushy. It was an interesting, and beautiful morning, but the snow was 95% gone by sundown. The hunters reported that any deer visiting a corn feeder left in confusion, unable to find the corn hidden beneath the snow. With seven of the hunters used to hunting in such conditions in the Northeast, they were amused at our Texas deer's lack of skills in snow removal. Northern deer, they said, are adept at pawing through the snow to find things to eat. Not so for these warm-weather deer around here. It's darn lucky that snow left quickly, or our whole herd might have starved to death.
In summary, here are the results of Hunt Six: eight hunters took five bucks and seven does. The rut is still going on, but rattling doesn't seem to be a productive as it was a couple of weeks ago. The recent rain and snow will help a bunch. We'll take it any time we can get it.
|
Hunt 5 November 27 - December 1
For years now, we have been claiming that we can custom-tailor our hunting to fit a particular individual. All hunters are not necessarily looking to hunt in exactly the same manner. Within the parameters of the way we set up the hunts, we try to give each client what he/she wants. Hunt # 5 turned out to be a good example of our policy. As a matter of interest, all the hunters on this date were new faces to us. We were eager to get to know them. And we needed to learn what they wanted from their time with us.
Take Ed Brooks, for example. Ed, from Ft. Worth, TX, loves long shots and likes to hunt where such challenges are possible. His guide, Jerry Watts, set up a target range across one of the plowed fields near the Home Camp. The range finder put the distance at 600 yards, and Ed was able to put two bullets on the edge of a 6" bulls-eye from that distance. So knowing of a particular blind where such a shot was possible, Jerry laid plans to help Ed try his skills on a real-live buck at that distance. Yep, they did it. The range finder marked the shot from Ed's 7 mm Remington Ultra Mag at 625 yards. What was remarkable about the whole event was that Ed's shot plum-took off the buck's shoulder and the rascal still ran over a quarter of a mile leaving only a speck of blood here, and another droplet way over there. Jerry is a pretty good tracker. When the pair came upon the buck, he bolted and ran. But Ed put him on the ground for good that time. Ed likened the entire hunt to mule deer hunting, which is his favorite. He likes to glass and stalk, and that's the way his guide, Jerry Watts, set things up for him.
If, however, you are a dad with a 14 year-old son and you want to sit with him and be a part of his hunt, you can do that very thing on an Adobe Lodge hunt. Consider Joe Pappas and 14 year-old Nick, from SC. They hunted together, always from the same blind, on every outing. Oh sure, they might have doubled their chances of seeing more game if they'd split, but they particularly wanted to hunt right together. Entirely understandable, and we are glad to accommodate such wishes. Now here is the strange part: young Nick, with only a small handful of deer to his lifetime credit, was much more choosy than was his dad who has taken several score more deer in his long career. Nick passed on a buck which Joe was only too happy to take. When the dust settled, both dad and son had collected mighty fine whitetails and they did it their way - hunting together from a blind. They even harvested a couple of good javelinas in a like manner. When a small covey of them appeared, the hunters agreed to do the old "One-Two-Three-Shoot" trick to try to take out a "pair'o'pigs" with one volley. It worked. Both father and son now can claim their first-ever javelinas.
So whether you like to walk and stalk, or to shoot long distances, or whether you are more of a blind hunter, we'll do our best to fix you up. Remember our motto: "We'll treat you so many ways, you're bound to like one of them."
The other father/son pair was from Mt. Dora, FL. Del Potter and son, Tarrant, were first-timers with us, but they have deep roots in Texas. Del's father was reared only about sixty miles east of here, near Salt Gap and Melvin. Del had visited his grandparents many times as a youngster, and he has a particular interest in our West Texas terrain. As things happened, Del harvested a good ten pointer, but Tarrant was the only hunter in camp to go home scoreless. It wasn't for lack of trying. And it wasn't for the lack of seeing some pretty nice bucks. But don't forget - our hunters set their own goals and agenda. Tarrant had his sights set pretty darn high and we were just unable to show him one that he liked. Oh, maybe there was one, according to his guide, Bill Scott, who saw an exceptional buck walk right behind the blind where Tarrant was sitting. Tarrant never saw him, not having eyes in the back of his head or a neck like an owl. But even if he has seen that dude, maybe he would have been passed-over as well. That's the whole idea behind our "Trophy Option" pricing. You don't pay the trophy fee until you find the one that melts your butter.
A couple more single hunters were here. Don White, from Belen, NM was paired with John Eck from Youngtown, AZ. Once again, both came to collect something special, and darned if good fortune didn't finally come to pass late in the final quarter of the hunt. Don declared to his guide that if he couldn't find a really big one, he wanted something very unique. He got him. The left eyeguard on Don's buck, and a long one it is, somehow seems to be a bit misplaced. The photo below hardly does him justice. The buck's antlers are an eye-catcher because of that exceptional G-1.
Late in the hunt, John Eck went to a blind where Don had seen, but passed-on, a possible keeper buck. As things happen, the buck described to John never showed. It's rare when they do. But here's the good news: a better one did come around. John remembered that when he first saw that old boy, there was just no doubt. Pounding heart-beat. Unexplained breathlessness. His butter melted so quickly, it almost boiled over. John's high-horned, eight-point beauty turned out to be the widest buck taken on this hunt at 22 inches. He was also the heaviest, at 149 lbs. With the rut having kicked-in a bit early this fall, the bucks are already getting lighter. They don't weigh what they did a month ago. And a month from now, they will be leaner yet. Their current activity level isn't about to leave any spare weight on their bodies.
Indeed, Ed Brooks was able to video one heck of a buck fight. It was a life and death struggle if there ever was one. Incredibly, the timer on the video showed the combatants were hard at it for well over four minutes. Sadly, most of the battle took place behind a cedar bush. But there was no doubt about what was happening from all the racket the pair made. And surprise, surprise - the sounds those two gladiators made sounded just like an Adobe Lodge guide with his rattling horns. When the victor finally came back to the corn feeder, Ed's video showed he was panting like he's just run a marathon. Which, come to think of it, he had. And he's lost a G-2 in the battle. Mercy - why can't they just all get along with each other?
In summary, then, here's what our Hunt Five hunters put up on the tally board: seven hunters took six bucks, eight does and two javelinas. The weather started out decent enough when the hunt got underway at noon on Friday. Around noontime on Sunday, a cold front hit and put the wind around out of the north. It got colder, but not brutally so. On Tuesday's final morning hunt, rain had begun to fall and the temperature was around/about 35-40. Rain is welcomed anytime here on the edge of the desert, and the moisture will be of great benefit to our winter weeds and oat crop.
|
Hunt 4 November 21-25
Hunt Four kicked off with a couple of "freshmen" (first time Adobe Lodge hunters), a couple of "sophomores", a couple of "seniors" and a couple of guys who would be earning post-graduate degrees, if we offered any such thing. Most all re-uped for next year before they left camp, and the rest promised to do so as soon as they can work out the details. With six "singles" on the roster and only one party of two, you can bet this group gelled into a force to be reckoned with in the deer wars.
Brad Milner, from Atlanta, reminded us that his first visit to our camp was way back in 1997 with his 13 year old son, James. Since then, he has hunted here, both for deer and turkey, countless times. Yep, he'll be back in April to hunt gobblers. So you can figure that we've classified him as "post-graduate". The other hunter so-classified is Lyle Olson from Chapin, SC. Lyle first hunted here years ago when a booked trip to the San Angelo area somehow got cancelled. To keep from totally losing the price of his airline fare, he called to ask if we could accommodate him on a hunt. We could. He did. And has done so ever since. Lyle, now retired from his job in a turkey processing business, will be returning once again next fall. Knowing our drill quite well, both Brad and Lyle collected good bucks this year. Brad, wearing our camp Gillie Suit, somehow got attacked by a swarm of grass burrs on one afternoon's hunt. (You'd have to hear his version of this dramatic event - there is no way to do it justice in this brief report.) And poor Lyle collected his buck on the final afternoon while suffering a major headache. He felt so bad he even forsook his steak on rib eye night. But both of these hunters overcame their respective challenges and "done good". The proof can be found in their photos below.
It was Lyle who introduced us to his buddy, Ed McFarland, from Anderson, SC. This was Ed's fourth visit here (or maybe the fifth since time seems to pass ever more swiftly anymore). In addition to collecting a high-horned buck, Ed also bagged a heavy javelina - a 66 pounder.
The other "senior" was Lynn Patterson, from Odessa, TX (of all places). Lynn hunts exclusively with his bow. Lynn has the habit of passing on numerous bucks which would, no doubt, be taken by other, less discriminating, bow hunters. Lynn has become almost as familiar with the Home Camp's blinds as we are, and he knows how to find all of them in the dark. So his is as close to a self-guided hunt as we do on the home ranch. This year, once again, Lynn failed to take a buck, but we're not holding this against him. Lynn assured us he saw several that softened, but didn't quite melt, his butter. (Lynn's melting temperature is pretty high.) Lynn recounted one incident that might be of interest to other bow hunters. During a morning's hunt near a feeder, the nearby deer wouldn't come close at all. Despite his best efforts in concealment and scent control, the deer still smelled a rat. But the next day, he incorporated into his set-up a turkey dummy on a pedestal which would turn and blow in the wind. The decoy seemed to attract the deer's attention; they never seemed to suspect that Lynn was nearby. Ingenious. Try it sometime. It just might be the trick that works for you.
The "sophomores" were Virginian Frank Kollar and John Romine from Oklahoma City. Last year, both were single first-timers. But they had such a great time hunting with each other and with their guide, Gary Bell, they re-booked for this year, and darned if history hasn't repeated itself and they'll be back next year to do'er all over once again. Mercy. An Adobe Lodge addiction is a hard one to break. John collected a buck and three does. In addition to his buck, Frank put a javelina on the ground (unlike last year when he walked in up amongst them, trustfully taking photos of the little darlings. Mercifully, he lived, intact, to show us the photos, which we put on this site a year ago).
The two "freshmen", who both happened to live in Florida, came as single hunters. Bob Baker, from Pierson, drove. Manny Klimis, from Tarpon Springs, flew. But by the time the dust settled, the driver was transporting the flyer's meat home and they would get together at a later date, thereby beating the airlines out of a little extra-baggage money. (Good for them, and atta-boy). Bob, who had hunted in central Texas years ago, came to "get one for his wall". Not only did he collect a fine ten pointer, Bob also tagged a javelina. Manny, who had never hunted Texas, couldn't believe all the bucks he was able to see in the four days. He almost wore out his video camera. Trouble was, when he'd get on a good buck with the camera, he'd start shaking so bad, it was hard to see the image. And when he would replay it for his enthusiastic audience back at the camp, he'd start shaking all over again. Manny swears he'll be back in 2011. We sure hope so.
So, for the record, here's the numbers: eight hunters took seven bucks and twelve does, plus a couple more DNF does (did not find). There were three javelinas taken, and all were of a good size. The $300 trophy fee on the javelinas is donated to our missionary buddy, Terry Waller, and his "Water For All" ministry. Check out his website at www.waterforallinternational.org.
|
Hunt 3 November 16-20
Fair-chase deer hunting is, if anything, unpredictable. You just never know what's going to happen next. Maybe that's why so many hunters remain dedicated to the sport.
Take Hunt # 3, for example. Who could have predicted that rattling would be effective so soon? It's at least week or two early, seems like. And how can some hunters find numerous "shootable" bucks while others get only fleeting glances, if at all? And shouldn't the first really cold snap increase the whitetail's movements? Our first hard freeze of the season came in right on time, but on that super chilly morning and all that afternoon, deer sightings were mighty slim. Thankfully, the next day, things picked up, but by now it was warmer. It's not supposed to be this way. And why does a rattled-in buck always stop in such a way that you can see every part of him but his antlers? Go figure a whitetail deer.
Three Adobe Lodge first-timers from South Carolina experienced all of the above, together with Tony Wright, who hunted here for the first time last season. Last year, Tony, from Loris, took an exceptional buck late on that hunt, and he coached his amigos to hold out for something special this season. With all four SC hunters taking advantage of our "Trophy Option" price, they weren't about to pull the trigger without carefully studying their victim. Kenny Lewis and son, Kenneth plus Garth Squires, all from Aynor, SC finally got to look at a large number of West Texas bucks, but they saw only a few that they judged to be worth the fee. All are experienced deer hunters and are adept at judging the age of the animals. They waited patiently to see a mature buck but saw mainly the younger variety. And, as mentioned above, the big ones they did finally see didn't reveal their true size until after they had bolted from behind a bush or a tree. You might say the dastardly deer never gave the hunters a sporting chance. What's a hunter to do?
And poor Kenny. Talk about being snake-bit. If it weren't for bad luck, he'd have none at all. It was bad enough that he clean-missed a shot, but a couple of days later when he found another one he liked and again pulled the trigger, that shot hit a wire on a fence. His guide, Buryl Williams, even found pieces of the bullet on the broken wire. Any marksman who intentionally tried to hit that wire would go through a box of bullets before doing so.
The SC team didn't go home scoreless. Kenneth Lewis, on the final morning, took a beautiful main-framed eleven pointer from a blind. And the group all collected three does each. But as a consolation prize, the Carolina boys got to experience some good rattling, albeit most of the rattled-in bucks were immature dudes, spoiling for a fight and eager to "make a name for themselves". It's almost a given: if you can get a good look at a rattled-up buck, he's likely not a shooter. If you can't quite make him out over there hiding behind that bush, he might well be worth taking. But with the $1500 trophy fee riding on the outcome, each hunter wanted to be dead-level certain before pulling the trigger. This is entirely understandable and is one of the reasons we will continue to offer the "Trophy Option" pricing.
The first couple of times Wayne and Roger Schantz hunted with us, they lived east of New York City, out on Long Island. Believe it or not, they are both now Texans for the past couple of years. Granted, they haven't lost their accents yet, but wild horses couldn't drag them back north from Round Rock, Texas, just up I-35 from Austin. Both Schantz's took home good bucks and plenty of doe meat to help make it through the winter. For the first time since he started coming here, Wayne doesn't have to duck under a ceiling fan. In the old room, he got a haircut on every pass-by. Now, in the new room with its high ceiling, there is plenty of room for 6'6" Wayne.
The final two hunters in camp came on short notice. When a couple of cancellations on this hunt date came a few weeks ago, we let John Newsome know. Having been here for our kickoff hunt of the 2009 season, he expressed an interest in returning even before his regularly scheduled hunt in December, so for the second time this season, we were glad to host John Sr. and his son, John Jr. There is no doubt about it - John Newsome is our all-time best client who loves to bring family, employees and friends to the Adobe Lodge. We can credit way over 100 bookings to him, going all the way back to 1994. John always wants to harvest at least two bucks on each trip, and having been such a good client over the years, there is no way we are going to deny him this wish. With the MLD program in place, it is entirely legal for him to do so.
Historically, John is always more interested in "the shot" than in "the trophy". So over the years, with the countless bucks he has taken here, John only has a couple of exceptional Adobe Lodge trophies to his credit. But he "done her up right" on this trip. Especially on his first buck since not only did he make one heck of a shot, the buck was a dandy, too. And horn-wise, the second buck was even better. Wait till you see their photos below.
The super-shot was a carefully measured 290 yards, and that same bullet had plenty of reserve power to take out an unnoticed doe standing behind the buck. Yep, two with one shot. Guide Charlie Bowers couldn't believe his eyes. He estimated that the unlucky doe was at least 30 yards behind the buck. John's Lazzeroni is a .416 Rigby necked down to a 30 caliber that sends a 250 grain bullet out the door at 4000 fps.
When that second big buck was taken on a chilly, humid morning, Charlie said the concussion from John's gun sticking out the window of that blind put a nearby small eight-point buck almost into orbit. But he couldn't be for sure if orbit-speed was attained from all the smoke in the damp air. For a minute there, Charlie thought somehow John had switched to using a muzzleloader. And there is a strong possibility that nearby little buck probably lost his whitetail's keen sense of hearing from the concussion of that canon John shoots.
From a blind, John Jr. collected a 19 1/2" nine point, but he had loads of fun rattling with his guide, Bill Scott and never mind that blister on his heel from all that walking they did. Bill said they covered some miles.
So the final tally for Hunt 3 looks like this: eight hunters brought in six bucks and 19 does. Two hunters, on the few occasions when they saw acceptable bucks, could never quite get the right shot. And we'll chalk up the two missed shots to pure-dee bad luck. But we've learned now that the bucks are coming to rattling horns. The guys are chasing the gals. And someone even reported seeing a doe chasing a buck. Good grief. Has it come to this? What's next? Check back for future reports. We'll do our best to keep you up to date from the front lines here in West Texas.
|
Hunt 2 November 11-15
One of the principles upon which the Adobe Lodge hunting philosophy is based is that each hunter will decide for him/her self what constitutes a "trophy". For sure, all of us see whitetail bucks differently. What is a trophy to one hunter might not necessarily be a trophy to another. (And as was pointed out in an earlier report, a "trophy" is not to be determined solely by horn size. Sometimes it has to do with the way a buck was taken.) On this Hunt Two, a buck which was turned down on the first afternoon of the hunt was eagerly taken by someone else on the last afternoon. And that same buck would have been taken by yet another hunter as a "second-buck", if such an offer was being made in 2009. So he was good enough for some, but not good enough for each and every one.
It takes one heck of a disciplined hunter to pass on buck after buck until that "right one" comes along. Oh sure, someone can be lucky enough to get a crack at the biggest buck of the year on the first afternoon, as has happened here before. But it is for those who are content to wait for that special animal that we created our "Trophy Option" price. Elsewhere on this site there is a discussion of all the issues at play. Please take some time to read all about this very important subject. We think our offer is the next best thing to a guaranteed hunt.
Of the nine hunters on Hunt 2, four of them were hunting under our "Trophy Option". Two were successful; two were not. That's the way the ball bounces. As it so happened, all five of the hunters hunting the "regular price" were successful. Seven of the nine were multi-year veterans; two were rookies. There were two father/son pairs -Craig and Justin Boehler from Amsterdam, NY plus Bruce and Justin Dennington from Florida. The other five were all single hunters. Third year hunters were Matt Shubert, Zionsville, PA and Tony Rocco, Tewksbury, MA. The one second-year hunter was Walt Wilken from Elizabethtown, PA. The two first-timers were John Kerr from Cary, MS and A.J. Duncan from Lovelock, NV. Disclaimer: A.J. is your webmaster's relative, technically a second-cousin, once removed.
Once again, the weather was incredibly steady for the duration of the hunt. Actually, some would call it a bit warm during mid-day. At daybreak, it would barely be light-coat weather. There was some, but not a lot of wind. No doubt about it now, the rut is kicked-off and running. Reports of bucks hot after does were common.
It didn't take Walt Wilken long to find a buck that suited him. On the very first afternoon in camp, Walt brought in a high-horned 9 pt. with a forked G-2 and a near-fork on the opposite antler. In addition to collecting three does, Walt also snapped one heck of a photo (posted below) of the buck finally taken by Craig Boehler. Walt had great luck while wearing his old standard hat, but when he switched to the handsome Adobe Lodge cap he had been given upon his arrival in camp, his luck would change and he's see nothing at all. Walt finally figured out what was working for him. But you know what, he didn't offer to return the cap. He took it home to PA with him - a possible gift for one of his hunting rivals, maybe?
Tony Rocco is a Great American if there ever was one. Last season, it was Tony who was the inspiration for the Adobe Lodge "Song of the Year". Tony kept threatening to withhold any tip from his guide Mike Thomson, who lamented to fellow guides that he was coming down with the "No-Tip Blues". And there lay a dandy song title, quickly fleshed out by Jeff Branon and the rest of the troops. Mike, a part-time minister and musician, sang the song for Tony last year, to the delight of everyone in camp. So you can imagine how the two of them went at it this year.
Adding fuel to the fire, Tony's buck broke off one antler when he hit the ground carrying Tony's bullet. Broke clean off and laying just over there, it did. You can see the convincing evidence in the photo below. So predictably, Tony charged Mike with the crime. Somehow it was all Mike's fault that Tony's concentration had been distracted by "cows mooing" and " the two killer-wasps" in the blind with him. Not to mention his "lying minister guide". Good natured kidding between these two kept us all in stitches for the entire four days. Especially with Tony's thick "Down East" accent completely devoid of the letter "R". Mike could only wonder what Tony had seen when he described a "faaahk-horned dee-ahh". (Forked horn, for those of us in the South). After collecting three does and the buck, Mike was in need of a "cool-laa" to keep his deer meat frozen on the plane ride home. Gosh, with all that luggage to carry, we're hoping Mike didn't "pahk his caah too faah away." Tony re-booked for 2010 before leaving camp and he insists on having Mike guide him once again. For his part, Tony claims he is the only one in camp WITHOUT an accent. (Aren't our regional accents wonderful? This would be such a dull place without them.)
John Kerr and his guide, Bill Scott were terribly confused by the blood trail left by John's buck. That rascal ran off maybe 40 yards from the point of impact, but then and there executed a smooth U-turn to leave a perfectly parallel blood trail right back to where he was shot. If you are the one following the trail, you'd go nuts trying to make sense of the conflicting evidence. Thankfully, the buck was subsequently found, but only after some anxious and quizzical moments. The other hunter in this party, Matt Shubert, watched two does and two small bucks before finally getting a crack at that fine eighteen inch, eight point he took.
With both Tony and Matt now bucked-out, their attention turned to the harvest of javelinas. A.J. Duncan had seen a dozen or so of the wild, desert pigs on his first afternoon's hunt, but when Tony and Matt hunted the exact same blind, you guessed it - zip. And the same failure to find the porcine kept happening over and over, despite hunting blinds from which they had been seen earlier in the season. They never did find them. Pigs, two; hunters zero.
A.J. Duncan has about seven mule deer to his credit, but this was his first-ever whitetail hunt. A.J. is used to riding a horse about twenty miles back up into the mountains on his family's ranch about ninety miles northeast of Reno to do his deer hunting so our Adobe Lodge-style hunting is just a walk in the park to him. Although he finally found a buck he liked while hunting from a blind, he did get to experience rattling-up bucks, thanks to Kyle Ezell, the cook, who was eager to see if he still had "the touch" to call up a buck.
Speaking of rattling, it seems that the fabled "hot time" is upon us. Guide Greg Brawley rattled up maybe a dozen or so for the Boehler pair. The thrill of having a whitetail come charging in, blowing and slobbering, is unforgettable. Justin estimates that some of the bucks came to within 25 feet. If that doesn't make your hormones bubble, you are hopeless. Even inside a blind on the final morning, Justin saw more bucks than any time during the four days. Three of them appeared to be larger than the one he took earlier. Craig, hunting under our "Trophy Option" plan was content to wait for something special. On the last afternoon, he found him. The buck was a 22 3/4 inch, ten point with about 140 inches of headgear. He seems super tall, despite the lack of length in any of his tines. Indeed, the shortness of his tines was why he was passed-on early in the hunt. Once again, a trophy to one hunter is not necessarily a trophy to another. May it ever be thus.
Statistically speaking, here is how the hunt will go down in the camp's record book: nine hunters took seven bucks and eleven does. No javelinas were harvested, despite several attempts to find them. Bruce Dennington had his sights on a huge bobcat, but the rascal bounded away just as he was putting some weight on the trigger (and mentally already calling his taxidermist). Four have already re-booked five slots for next season, so anytime we have a response like that, we call the hunt a roaring success.
We are indebted to Justin Dennington and to Walt Wilken for sharing with us some of the photos they took while here. They are posted below toward the end of the photos collected during Hunt # 2 and they will show you just a bit of what you are likely to see while hunting here.
|
Hunt 1 November 6-10
With the Texas regular deer season beginning on Nov. 7, you could say that finally all is right with the world. It's here. Deer hunting rigs are being seen up and down every highway. Of course we have been hunting for a couple of weeks now under the MLD program. You just have to jump through some hoops to get'er'done - that's all.
Hunt 1 found a father/son pair, Tom and Hunter Biehl from Eastern Pennsylvania in camp. Before the hunt even started, Tom already booked their slots for 2010, noting that next year will be his tenth visit to Adobe Lodge. Hunter has been here at least a half-dozen times, too.
From Western PA, near Monroeville, came a party of three hunters. Although Bryan Chambers, Mike Gallagher and Al Raspotnik are all very experienced deer hunters, this was their first visit to our camp. Mike has hunted exotics in Texas, but never whitetails.
The final party of two were from the Tallahassee area of Florida. Mark Payne had hunted with us a couple of years ago, but this was our first chance to meet his amigo, Curt Trawick. So we had a party of three and two parties of two each with three being Adobe Lodge veterans and four being first-timers.
But remember, all are experienced hunters. As such, they were quite content to wait for the right buck to come along. To hear some of the tales told back around the campfire each evening, some better bucks might have been passed-on earlier in the hunt. And wisely, some risky shots were never fired. The tally board was slow to accumulate many bucks.
After 62 years of hunting, Tom Biehl finally collected a nice bobcat. Beautiful spots, too. Tom said he took to heart the advice he'd heard at the kickoff meeting about checking-out a strange movement with his rifle scope instead of his binoculars. If what you are looking at turns out to be something to shoot, you are already ready. How many times have we heard a hunter saying: "There I was in the blind and I noticed something way out in the brush. I checked it out with my binoculars and saw it was a _________________(bobcat, mountain lion, coyote / fill in the blank here). I then reached for my rifle and by the time I got it out the window, the ______________(bobcat/mountain lion/coyote) was gone." Tom was ready. He had his gun. When he saw it was a cat, he put the feline down with one, good shot. And the best news of all is that he donated the bobcat back to the new addition at the lodge. So we will someday have a fine bobcat on display on our wall. Thanks, Tom - we will remember you everytime we admire that beautiful bobcat.
Tom's 11 point buck didn't go down quite as quickly as did the cat, even though the bullet was well placed. Tom reported that at the sound of the shot, the buck bolted and left not one drop of blood for "quite a way". Thankfully, he was ultimately found, but the interim period will always be a bit tense (an understatement if there ever was one).
Son, Hunter, outdid Dear Old Dad, collecting a dandy eleven-point buck, too, but several inches wider than his father's. Hunter was quick to concede, however. He correctly noted that Tom's three does were all larger than his largest, and besides all those statistics, there was that bobcat, to boot.
Bryan Chambers was the first of the western PA troops to collect a buck, a ten pointer. Al Raspotnik, in addition to his buck, found a 61 lb. javelina. Both Bryan and Mike Gallagher had wanted the wild, desert pigs, too, but alas, wherever the javelinas were being seen, it wasn't where they were hunting. Javelinas move around more than gypsies, and they are as hard to pattern as a bumper car at the carnival. You can never tell when/where one will show up. In fact, when Al got the first pig, the second one hung around for a while. Bryan and his guide were alerted by cell phone, but by the time they arrived on the scene, the remaining porcine had left out for distant places.
Meanwhile, the third member of the threesome, Mike Gallagher, who just happens to be a taxidermist (among his other skills and trades), was seeing a goodly number of bucks in some places but not in others. His butter got soft a time or two but never melted, so to speak. Unfortunately, when a sho-nuff butter-melter did finally show himself by quickly jumping the protective fence around the corn feeder, Mike wisely decided not to risk a shot through all that wire. It would be a shame to lose one like that. And wouldn't you know it? When the buck decided to finally leave, after tormenting poor Mike all that time, he left even quicker than he had arrived. Mike settled for a decent last-day buck on the final morning but allowed as how he'd seen several bucks much, much better. As they say - "That's hunting".
Now to the two Floridians, Mark and Curt, both of whom were hunting under our "Trophy Option". Mark never found the one he judged to be worth the trophy fee. Curt did, but in addition to harvesting one fine buck, Curt made an observation about Texas hunting that might be worth sharing with those of you who have yet to hunt our fair state. Curt remembered that back home, when a buck would be sighted, he would be in view no more than maybe a minute, or two at the most. So you get the "excitment" for only that short amount of time. But here in the mesquite country of West Texas, these old bucks might stick around for twenty minutes. Or more. Maybe much more. Gosh. How much heart-pounding excitement can one stand, for crying-out-loud? Now don't be all that concerned about the cardiovascular condition of either Floridian. During the mid-day break, Mark and Curt would change out of their camo and don their running gear for a quick four mile trek up the main road of the ranch. It is safe to say that they were in plenty-good shape for the sustained heart-pounding action to be seen from our deer blinds.
Hunt One Summary then, looks like this: seven hunters took six bucks, one bobcat, one javelina and ten does. The weather continues to be incredibly steady. Daytime, it was in the 70's. Nights were somewhere about 40-50. We've had no rain and not much wind. Due to the several light frosts on the last hunt, our mesquite trees and the pecan trees along the rivers are changing colors. It is not often we get much fall foliage to look at in these parts, but this is turning out to be a beautiful fall after all.
|
Hunt D November 1-5
The genesis of numerous lifelong-friendships can be traced to Adobe Lodge hunting. Here's an example:
In 2007, North Carolinians Carroll Lineberger Sr. and Jr. who, with some friends, just happened to be on the same hunt with Rick Pierce and Matt Vienne from Shreveport, LA. These four have arranged to hunt the same date each succeeding season, and yep, they have already re-booked altogether for next year. For 2009, the Linebergers introduced us to David Hatfield. Rick and Matt once again were accompanied by Mitch Perdue, but this year, they brought along Todd Davison from Choudrant. LA
With the good news that they'll be back in 2010, we'll have to schedule plenty of rest before and after their stay just to be able to survive the chemistry of this lively group.
Miami hunter Steve Richman, back here for his second-ever deer hunt, was a lone-hunter, as was Andy Young, from Nazareth, PA. Andy reminded us that this was his sixth trip to Adobe Lodge. We have come to know Bro. Andy quite well and we look forward to his visits for many, many reasons. Andy, a virtual cross between Mark Twain and Will Rogers, has an intellectual wit as sharp as a thorn on a Texas mesquite tree. The bad news is that I don't catch all his jokes; the good news is that he has plenty of them to share.
It was entirely predictable that when you put the likes of Andy Young with Carroll Sr. together for the first time, you are in for one belly-laugh right after the other. The good hunting on this date was just icing on the cake. There is simply no way to capture the spirit of the camp with this report or by showing the photos posted below. For example, you have Carroll Sr.'s account of their trip getting here. It seems that Carroll, using a bit of false pretense about "having federal licenses" (pilot licenses), negotiated for a room in Jackson, MS. He revealed something about being on his way to West Texas for "sniper training". When their gun cases in the back of their truck were seen, he was able to beat the poor clerk down to $44 for an entire suite in that motel.
The good hunting was coupled with extraordinarily good weather: daytime temperatures in the 70's and nighttime temperatures in the 40's and no wind. You would want to run your heater before daylight, but by 10 a.m., you'd be switching to the air-conditioner. Some sportsmen are leary of a full moon, but this group of hunters reported seeing lots of deer throughout the entire four days. And some good'uns, too: "Why, that had to be the best whitetail buck I've ever seen" - a statement which was heard more than once around camp. And as happens so often, some of the hunters saw much larger bucks only after they had already put one on our tally board. It is an eternal Adobe Lodge challenge: "When am I looking at the largest buck I will see while I'm here?" So far, the answer to this conundrum has eluded us. The only advice we can offer is "Wait till you see one that 'melts your butter'".
Rick Pierce was the only hunter in camp to fail to take a buck. This is understandable when we remember that (a) Rick hunted under our "Trophy Option Contract" and was content to wait for a super-exceptional buck and (b) having taken our Home Camp "Buck-of-the-Year" last season, Rick knows what a good'un looks like. Rick did, however, see a bobcat. The quick encounter offered no opportunity for a shot. Wouldn't it be nice if the kitties would somehow announce their pending arrival with a roar, or even just a good meow so you could "get ready"?
Rattling is beginning to work. As it should this time of year, despite Global Warming claims to the contrary. No doubt, rattling-up bucks is the most fun way to hunt a whitetail. David Hatfield's buck was collected while guide Greg Brawley was working the horns. As good as that buck was, David said a much bigger one was in the area. Unfortunately, he just never would properly present himself. But David's consolation prize was plenty good, as you will see in the photos below.
If we've said it once, we've said it a hundred times: it's not just the size of a buck's antlers that makes him a trophy. Sometimes, it's the manner in which he was harvested. Take Carroll Sr.'s buck for example. It was Carroll's shot at the running deer that makes that buck a trophy. Hitting a running deer in all this West Texas brush is a feat to be rewarded and commended.
And then there was Andy Young and his hunt wearing our camp Gilly Suit. Andy's guide, Charlie Bowers had his eye on a dandy trophy coming regularly to a particular area of our oat field. Dressing Andy in the get-up, Charlie hauled him to a likely spot overlooking the field but poor Andy just couldn't wait long enough. He cracked down on a decent, but not spectacular victim. Andy, characteristically, had to embellish the story for the webmaster's report. Andy claimed his buck had been harvested in "deep snow" after he had walked "seven miles out into the wildnerness" and he was forced to drag the deer "uphill both ways". Ahhh - the stories we get to hear around the old hunting camp.
So the final tally for the nine hunters was eight bucks and seven does. The hunters are doing a spectacular job of bringing in only big, mature does. And we appreciate it.
With most all this group already scheduled for a return trip next year, we'll be counting the days. We are in for a hoot.
|
Hunt C October 27-31
Can anything be more important and fun than spending time with a bunch of old friends? Especially if some of the friendships are over fifty years old. You could use the Illinois group of hunters on Hunt C as a good example of this.
Gary Weiler heads up the group. Together with his son-in-law, Ron Hofmann, they have been here countless times. Usually they are accompanied by their amigos Frank Allseits and Hans Osterhues, but not this year. Other Adobe Lodge veterans in the group of eight coming on this '09 hunt included Glen Wingeried, Greg Heideman and Meredith Kuehl. Newcomers were Andre Osterhues (nephew of Hans), Pat Kelly, and Tony Alevizos. To be perfectly accurate, Meredith and Andre are from Colorado. But these guys get together on a regular basis, and we are proud of the fact that they choose our camp for their reunions/hunting/visiting.
Our Trophy Option pricing was exploited by four of the hunters. The came to shoot only does and would not have taken a shot at a buck no matter how large he might have been. This cheaper price is tailor-made for those who don't want the extra expense of a buck hunt. So you would have to describe the hunting party as a group of four buck hunters and four doe-only hunters.
Now with this being the case, any pundit could have predicted that the doe hunters would see lots and lots of bucks everywhere they went. And so it was. At the post-hunt de-briefing of the guides, everyone agreed that the bucks are now moving around all over the place. Kind of like they have ants in their pants or something. Could this have to do with the pending rut which will come to pass before long? Buck hunters who might see a potential shooter early in the hunt were not all that successful in getting a second look. An easy-to-identify buck might appear near a corn feeder one day, only to show up a mile or more away at another the next day. Wanderlust, you might call it. Minstrels sing songs about such behavior.
Despite all this, Meredith Kuehl put his tag on the best whitetail of his career - a tall, long-tined rascal with kickers on both G-2's. Wait till you see his photo below. And with about 140 inches of antlers on his handsome head, he is easily the best buck of the season so far. Pat Kelly collected a good ten pointer. Ron Hofmann settled for a last-day kind of buck as a consolation prize after getting a couple of brief glimpses at a much better buck. Doggone those old big ones anyway. They don't stick around long enough sometime. We are encouraged, however, by the fact that they ARE being seen. They're here. We just have to figure out how to get them to stand still a minute, for crying-out-loud.
One of the buck hunters, who shall remain anonymous for obvious reasons, found one he liked a lot, but ----ooops ---he had to open the back door of the blind to answer an urgent call from Mother Nature. She was reminding him of all that coffee he'd drunk at breakfast. In his haste, he forgot to close the front window of his blind. The buck must have spotted him and figured it was high-time to get the heck out of there. Which he did and he wasn't seen again.
Along about this time, the "corn crew", busy filling the near-empty barrels on another nearby ranch, found a 3 1/2 year-old buck standing guard at "his" barrel and would hardly get out of their way as they completed their work. He was no further than twenty yards away the entire time they were there.
The four doe hunters were filing similar reports about all the action around the corn feeders. To their dismay, they discovered that the bucks were bad to run the does away. Apparently, bucks become very possessive of this strange "vending machine" now dispensing treats twice a day. Two of the doe hunters filled their tags with three each (although one here was a DNF - did not find). Another doe hunter took a pair of does but couldn't collect a third doe for all the bucks he was seeing. And then there was the misfortunate one (whose name shall remain unpublished) who missed five shots at five different does. It's easy to get frustrated when this happens.
So the total count for the four buck hunters and the four doe hunters was three bucks and fifteen does plus a DNF doe. They were keeping our skinner, David Gonzales, plenty busy all through the hunt.
Activity around the corn feeders is surprisingly good, given the fact that our West Texas area is in excellent shape. The acorn crop is pretty strong competition, too. We had a light frost during this hunt, but when a good, hard freeze finally gets here, things will begin to change. But the action is plenty good right now. In polling both hunters and guides, most all were seeing good "shooters", even when the weather turned windy and cold about the mid-way point of the hunt.
It is a rare Adobe Lodge hunt that doesn't produce a good story. Here's one that needs to be included in the archives of Hunt C, 2009:
Meredith Kuehl was telling how he was able to take that fine buck he collected. The webmaster was making careful notes for this report, keen on getting all the details of the event. Meredith revealed that he had "whistled" up the buck, following the instructions of his guide, Albert Zapata, who assured him that the buck could be enticed closer with this noise. Meredith whistled and sure enough, the elusive buck raised his head in a quizzical manner and began coming closer.
The webmaster was astounded by the story, sure that he was onto some kind of new hunting technique to be shared with the loyal readers of his reports. Meredith continued describing the activities of the buck in responding to his whistles.
When Meredith said that the approaching buck was "wagging his tail", the poor webmaster finally realized he was the victim of a giant scam. Both the hunter and the guide had a great laugh at expense of your gullible reporter.
|
Hunt B October 22-26
When Hunt A got cancelled due to a schedule conflict, Hunt B became our kickoff hunt of the 2009 season. And what a hunt it was - one heck of a good way to begin the season. All eight hunters took good bucks, and most of the bucks taken had ten or more points. It's hard to top that kind of news.
Finally, the 2009 season is underway. It's been a fast summer. A room was added to front of the lodge. Anyone who has ever been involved in a re-model project can appreciate the demands of having to be finished by a certain date. The arrival of the first hunters of the season was a King Kong of a deadline. Whew. Now maybe we can get a bit of rest. And, faithful readers, that's one of the two reasons there have been no trail camera photos posted. (The other reason is that the Cuddyback camera failed. This is the second one of this brand that quit us, so we'll be looking for another kind.)
For this first date of the season, five veterans and three newcomers made up our list of hunters. Kyle and Win Fields, a son/father pair from Pennsylvania were here for their third and second hunts, respectively. From Illinois came John Newsome Sr and Jr who have both been here numerous times. And then there was their pal, Bill Frese, back here for the third time.
The rookies were all from the southeast. In fact, this was the first professionally guided and outfitted hunt for Chris Patchin, Brent Purvis and Scott Dykes. All live near Columbus, GA, but to be exactly correct (as we strive to be with all these reports), Scott actually lives in Phenix City, AL. So we had a party of two, and two parties of three.
Since two hunters are paired with one guide, John Jr. and Chris Patchin were thrown together for the four days. Upon learning during the hunt's kickoff meeting that Chris was here for the first time, John Jr. graciously gave front seat privileges to Chris for the duration. (Rookies beware: whoever is riding in the front seat of the pickup truck is obligated to open all ranch gates encountered during the day.) With such a jovial beginning, it was a cinch that Hunt B would turn out to be a good'un.
The weather was unseasonably cool, bordering on chilly early in the mornings, almost perfect conditions and way-yonder better than being too hot. In fact, someone reported light frost on the second morning. Thankfully, everyone had bucked out by the final morning when a cold front and rain storm moved through the area.
John Newsome Sr, our most faithful, long-time client (all the way back to 1994) was the first hunter of the '09 season to collect a buck - a dandy nine-pointer. And on the first afternoon at that. We are not offering second-bucks this season, but for any number of reasons, it is easy to make an exception in John's case. So his second buck had 14 points, and a couple more might have been counted, depending on your definition of a point. Check out his photo below. As remarkable as this deer was, John was most excited by what his guide was able to do. John was being guided by Charlie Bowers who lost both hands in that electrical accident back in early May. John, having been guided by Charlie on numerous Adobe Lodge hunts over the years, had been the largest supporter of the raffle we created on Charlie's behalf. John bore witness to the fact that Charlie, all by himself, was able to load that 14-pointer into the back of his Polaris ranger's bed. Yeah, yeah, we know - he had a winch to help him and all that, but still, it was a giant-leap for Charlie's comeback. John could hardly wait to tell of Charlie's accomplishment. He is gaining all kinds of skills with those prosthesis hands of his. And he's only had them for about three months. A year from now, Charlie might well be playing a fiddle in a country band.
The highlight of the hunt was reached on Saturday morning when Brent Purvis' buck was found after having left only a modest blood trail the night before. Brent said he slept not a wink the whole night. Jeff Branon, Brent's guide, had wisely backed-off the trail in the dark. Too many times we've seen wounded deer lost because they were pushed by the searchers. It's always best to wait till the following morning. And this time, thankfully, it worked. The buck had gone only about 50-75 more yards from where the search was abandoned the night before, but who knows what he might have done otherwise. All's well that ends well. And any morning when a buck is found is a great morning, no matter what else happens.
Being as how it is early in the season, and due to the fact that our area in Texas has had super-good conditions since mid-summer, the deer are plenty fat. The heaviest buck weighed, taken by John Jr., put 181 pounds on our super-accurate scale (thanks to Craig and Justin Boehler, Amsterdam, NY). Six of the nine bucks taken topped 160 lbs., important news for our New England amigos who are more interested in a deer's weight than his headgear. The eight hunters took six does and faithfully followed our admonition to be sure to take only big, mature females. Please, please we implored - don't take any button bucks. And they didn't. "Fellows - You Done Good". There is no higher compliment to be paid by a Texan.
So in summary: eight hunters took nine bucks and six does. As we said when we started this report - It was one heck of a good hunt. Our next report ought to be up before noon, Nov. first. Stay tuned all season long - there's just no way of telling what the season might bring.
|
|
