So did this thread die or did he pick it up in a new one?
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Making Progress: getting work done in Coleman county
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I reckon i will restart this thread. Lots of changes both in the ranch and in my life. I have a new perspective and a new appreciation for all of this.
I have more free time now, and live at the ranch full time. I high fenced it back in June (i think) of last year. I have since added 5 aoudad, 11 blackbuck, and 4 deer.
It is amazing how green it is out here currently. All of my tanks are completely full, and even though i have about 40 animals in here they are not hitting the feed very hard. Plentiful groceries for all!
After i graduated i guided for a few ranches. It burned me out on hunting for a while, but i sure like seeing other people kill critters. This is Brandon, a friend of mine i hadn't seen since 2012. His wife contacted me and said she wanted to get him his first animal with a bow. Last week we made it happen! He was thrilled and (for a sheep) it was a very fun and actually pretty challenging hunt. We stalked them all through the hills and finally set up in a cedar and waited on them to come to us. Perfect shot on a beautiful silver medal dall. We found a nice picture rock on the hill that i hope sees many more smiles and trophies in the future.
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Back to my main focus, the deer. I trapped a few native deer when we completed the fence, and made it a point to not attract deer in and then close the fence behind them. I cut off all feeders for a month prior to completion so i didn't "steal" deer from the neighbors. I know it is legal, but it would bother me. Regardless, about 15 native deer were trapped in the fence.
I purchased 2 bred doe from a fellow , or maybe former, tbher. Wouldn't you know the luck when they threw 3 doe fawns. Oh well, better genetics and we will just have to lay off young doe harvest for a bit.
Now, i do not want my herd to be "purchased" nor completely native. I want the breeders to bring the native herd up, and the natives to bring the breeders down. That being said, i started strong with some high power genetics out of these two bucks.
The first is Dozer out of south Tx.
The second is a northern deer named Megatron (shadow over maxbo's half sister) for any breeder savvy tbhers.
No i do not really like the look of Megatron, and i don't expect any freaks after crossing his doe fawns with the native bucks.
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Next week everything will come full circle. Lets go back to 2011.
Just out of high school i arrived at SFA to begin the forest wildlife program. I got in touch with Dr. Kroll and began working at his facility.
I step up to the chute with no idea what to expect and the instruction to "grab antlers and hold on."
Well, when the door opened there was a very angry 330" buck making every attempt to get out of the chute. An adrenalin rush later, i was hooked.
I have kept in touch with Dr. Kroll and every year participate in his research study, which happened to be last month. In talking with them i mentioned i was looking to add a buck to the property to cover the native doe. We made an agreement and next week i will be returning back to that facility were i first developed a passion for growing deer. I don't know that anyone will really understand why or how special this is to me, but it is.
I will be picking up 3 bucks out of what i hear will be some of the last deer Dr. Kroll will ever produce.These will be coming 2 year olds. Here are a couple sires and grandsires pictured below. Can you say mass? This is not the "look" i am going for, but these will be fantastic additions to the herd.
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I had someone send me a pm about spreading cwd...ect. I will address this for everyone.
At this point i have native deer, and deer from a certified herd. I made this decision before cwd was discovered due to the thought of what might have happened if i had deer from a lesser certified facility. As it turns out, 2 months later cwd found and restrictions were put in place. Even though i would be grandfathered in without restrictions because i purchased before the date the restrictions came out, it is good peace of mind to know that my risk of CWD is 0.
I am a Class 1 release site meaning i do not have to do any cwd testing. I have purchased 3 more bucks from another certified herd, and do not plan to ever bring in deer that are not certified.
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Glad to see you are back. I enjoy reading about your place. It is very insightful. My parents have a place about the same size and me and my brother have been dropping very big hints about high fencing it. I think my dad is coming around real slowly but might get him. Thanks for sharing all the knowledge is appreciated.
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Originally posted by stxslayer View PostGlad to see you are back. I enjoy reading about your place. It is very insightful. My parents have a place about the same size and me and my brother have been dropping very big hints about high fencing it. I think my dad is coming around real slowly but might get him. Thanks for sharing all the knowledge is appreciated.
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