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Monday, May 20, 2013
The New Mexico Affair
It was the day before the antelope hunt was to begin. The ranch on which this incident took place is one of the finest places to hunt for B&C caliber bucks in the United States that I know. With close to 100,000 acres, only eight hunters, and three days to make it happen, it’s a trophy antelope hunter’s Nirvana. The success or failure to take a buck on this property is based solely on the hunter’s ability to shoot precisely when the moment arrives. Like so many antelope hunts this one is conducted in wide-open short grass prairie. Even with undulating topography the cover is sparse and the term “doing the belly crawl” takes on an entirely new meaning. Most bucks on this property are taken between 250 and 350 yards. In some pastures there is just no way to get within in range without considerable effort and developing a taste for grass.
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Monday, October 22, 2012
Hunting With Suppressors
Remaining unnoticed by your prey is the obvious key to success in hunting. While advances in technology for hunting products have made astounding leaps forward in helping hunters to go unnoticed while hunting, once a rifle is fired, the quiet morning is shattered by the report. As our sport loses members to video games, state wildlife agencies regulating hunting are becoming more and more accepting of different devices used in hunting. One of the neatest additions is the allowance of suppressors to hunt game. The State of Texas recently passed a law legalizing the use of suppressors to hunt wild game based on their many advantages.
Hearing protection is one of the main advantages as all firearms can cause permanent damage to unprotected hearing. Large caliber rifles are often fitted with a muzzle brake, making them considerably louder. Suppressors are the best form of muzzle break. They increase weight at the end of the barrel resulting in reduced recoil or “kick” and movement during the shot due to excitement. From the reduced recoil comes increased confidence and comfort with shooting resulting in better shots. Hunters remain confident and make better, more ethical shots. Fear of the recoil and loud noise of a rifle causes jerking the trigger, pulling the head away from the gun, or closing their eyes causing poor shooting technique. While a suppressor adds length and weight to a firearm, the rewards are incredible.
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Posted by Cody Zabransky on 10/22 at 03:21 PM
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Monday, September 17, 2012
Sombrerito Ranch, Trophy Bucks of the South Texas Golden Triangle
Nearly 25 years ago I departed the South Texas Brush Country for the first time in a Continental Airlines jet bound for Florida. It was mid-December of 1987. My first hunting adventure in the Golden Triangle of South Texas had ended yielding a massive ancient 8-point management buck that was likely nine plus years old. At that time there was no doubt that this buck was my best and favorite trophy in all my years of hunting whitetails. Little did I know that the conclusion of this 1987 management buck hunt, where bucks often die of old age, was not the grand finale of a lifelong hunting dream. Quite the opposite, this hunt marked the splendid beginning of a hunting dream from which I have yet to awaken. My 1987 introduction to brush country hunting has led to scores of excellent trophies from around the world, countless cherished memories, and most importantly many precious friendships that still thrive today. It was on this hunt that I first met my good friend and hunting partner David Morris at the guesthouse on the famed Piloncillo Ranch.
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Monday, September 10, 2012
My Summer Food Plot System for the Deep South
170! This is the gross score of a buck that every hunter dreams of harvesting in a lifetime. So every year around this time hunters start preparing for the up coming season by hanging stands, fine tuning their bow, shooting their rifle, along with many other things. As hunters, we hope all of these efforts will lead to posing for a picture of that 170-inch whitetail. Preparing for the hunt is always more important than the hunt itself. So I guess the question is, “Have you done all the necessary preparation on your hunting property?”
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Monday, August 13, 2012
Big Sky Black Bear of Flathead Valley
In fading light and during the closing hour of Montana’s 2012 Spring Black Bear Season, David Morris whispered, “Can you take him from here?” It was now or never. At 125 yards the mature burgundy black boar was walking broadside, moving steadily right to left. He plodded along as if he was just passing through with another destination on his mind. David and I knelt beside a tall spruce in the meadow, our last bit of good cover. We had stalked as close as we dare try. My Sako A7 Tecomate .270 WSM was secured with fire in the hole on top of my Bog Pod. I braced my jittery right arm on my thigh and released the safety. David whistled! The big bear stopped and stared. I kissed the 140 grain Winchester Accubond goodbye! Kaaaa-whop! The best black bear I have ever seen in the wild swiftly disappeared into the gloomy Western Montana spruce forest - a thick forest with very limited visibility – a thick forest where grizzlies are more common than we cared for them to be at that moment.
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Monday, August 06, 2012
A NEW METHOD TO SURVEY AND PHOTOGRAPH DEER ON YOUR PROPERTY
Would you like to know how many deer live on the property that you hunt or own? Deer biologists and managers have been surveying deer herds since the 1930’s. The methods used to survey deer have changed and improved a great deal since this time.
A new deer survey method is now available that allows you to determine how many different bucks live on the property you hunt or own. This new method allows you to photograph each of these bucks so that you can later estimate their age and antler score. With this information you can also estimate the number of does and fawns on your property to determine how many total deer are present.
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Monday, July 16, 2012
Approaching 150 and Twenty Years of Turkey Hunting: Part 3
Go West Young Man: Chapter 2
Chapter two starts off right where we left off last time. I had just picked up Chris and his gobbler. After he told his “Crazy” story, we continued the day’s hunt.
Windy Day Gobblers
With the wind still blowing pretty hard we knew the turkeys would be out in the big fields so we drove around to see if we could spot a gobbler. We also wanted to check on the others guys. As we were driving we got a text from Rob telling us he was at the road. So we headed toward Rob’s location glassing fields along the way. We drove by a large pasture and I spotted several turkeys along a fence line next to some patchy woods. I stopped to check them out and my inspection revealed only hens. I was about to leave when Chris said, “Gobbler! He is on the edge of the woods about ten yards to the right of the hens.” After seeing him myself, I pulled down the road a quarter mile just past where the woods started. I got out, grabbed my shot gun, and headed toward him. If the birds would hang around I knew I would have a good chance to get in front of them and should get close enough for a shot with the wind blowing the way it was.
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Monday, July 09, 2012
Sunshine State Trophy Bucks of Summertime
The Sunshine State is not regarded as a mecca for trophy whitetails. Gorgeous beaches, sun, and sand are far more common here. Handsome mature trophy whitetail bucks are more often a dream rather than reality to most hunters in Florida. However, Florida`s trophy buck status has improved by leaps and bounds over the years thanks greatly to Florida sportsman`s employment of highly effective whitetail range management techniques, such as the Tecomate year round food plot system. The application of quality deer management concepts by Florida sportsman has played a vital role in the overall increase in production of both quality and quantity of impressive trophy whitetail racks here in my home state.
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