TT's Rocky Top Ranch;Not What it Used to Be

[HeloMed1]

The greatest thing I can say about Thompson's place is that it got me into archery hunting. I went out there as a last minute thing as a rifle hunter. Before this hunt I had never hunted with a bow and never had any inclination to do so. The first night we were there I walked about 20 yards from in front of the trailer and shot a no tag rambo. The next morning I shot a what Thompson calls a Mouflon Type ram from the trophy pen. So I was done for the weekend and ended up going out on a spot and stalk with a buddy just for fun. Watching his girl friend stalk and then shoot her first ram ( a texas dall) with a bow was more fun that shooting my rams with a rifle. Two weeks after we got home I was the proud owner of a new Maxxis 31 and have completely become eaten up with bow hunting.

So all in all Thompon's is what it is and you can make of it what you will, but I will always remember it as catalyst to me becoming a bow hunter.

[sqiggy]

Well squiggy That is really horrible that you had a bad time there,

Well, not really a bad time. I was with a group of great folks. I could have care less if I shot anything at all. But my nephew likes the "long range" shot. And I'm his guide and cameraman. I like to spot'em on a canyon side then find a spot for him to make a shot. What I didn't like was the other group had the top of the Mt for the first morning hunt. Then, some of that group got to walk and stalk the hill in front of the A-frame that morning as well. Didn't leave a whole lot left for our 15+ group to hunt. It did open up more that afternoon. But he was takin hunters to the top around 3:15. No way was I going up that early in 95 degrees. We ended up walking to the top around 6 and hunted till dark.

[alec73065]

Somebody convince me that shooting tame goats is sporting/fun so that I'll get it. !

I thought it was just me , glad to hear someone else is thinking this also .

[Txnrog]

How big is temple's?

[Philip-TX]

A little off topic but,

I'd treat my wife and kids better than that...

...great place for kids @ ladys for a frist hunt...

Why do wife and kids always get the cheap/culls/spike/non-trophy "good enough for them" treatment ??

[Texastaxi]

I thought it was just me , glad to hear someone else is thinking this also .

Someone please convince me that it makes sense to talk smack about something you've never tried!

How big is temple's?

600 surveyed acres, 700 surface acres
It's VERY uneven terrain!

[Montec man]

I went to TT's place a few years back with a group of guys. First and last time I'll ever set foot on the place. We arrived late one afternoon, and upon checking in were shown to our luxurious accommodations in the trailer, overlooking a giant pile of a hundred or more ram corpses. The stench was indescribable. Could have dealt with all that, but when the guys we were sharing camp with (he put 12 of us in that trailer), set up a shooting bench right by the trailer and started shooting rams from the yard, that did it for me. We never even unpacked. Most of them were so tame you could have fed them by hand. He told us there were other sections of the ranch that had "wilder" rams, but the fact that he was allowing tame rams to be shot right from the camp didn't sit too well with me.

[skeeter]

I expected alot because i was paying 600 for a ram. Very nice guy though and beautiful ranch!

you dont have to pay anything til you kill something. I kinda like it like that. Just run a tab. Kill em now, tally up the total when you are done!

Thompson is a nice guy. Very scenic and beautiful ranch. His accommidations need some serious attention. He could have a dang nice place if he would spend a little money. The over booking issue is the reason I stopped going. I hunted there 3 times and he over booked all three times.

Somebody convince me that shooting tame goats is sporting/fun so that I'll get it. !

I thought it was just me , glad to hear someone else is thinking this also .

If you havent been, you have no idea what you are talkin about. Sure, there are a few rams that hang around camp that could be killed with a hammer. Heck, I have whitetail does that hang around my camp in Junction that you can pet. I guess I should stop whitetail huntin, cuz all wt deer are tame on my place, huh? I must not get it.

Most people choose to go over the hill and make it a tuff hunt. It is a good place for kids and first time hunters to go. You see lots of animals and keeps them interested.

[firexd]

I'm not going to go off, like a few folks did when KJO got a bad review, but really, what do you expect for a $100 hunt that INCLUDES lodging?

I haven't found another ranch that can even come close to Thompson's prices.

If he is slipping with his animals, though, you can be sure, I'll give an accurate report when we get back.

www.texas-exotics.com does ram hunts for 190, that includes 2 days lodging. i just got back we took 5 rams, and if the guid is in a good mood you can take a trophy for the same price

[Texastaxi]

www.texas-exotics.com does ram hunts for 190, that includes 2 days lodging. i just got back we took 5 rams, and if the guid is in a good mood you can take a trophy for the same price

Those prices still don't beat Thompson's on the trophy class animals. Where their prices are $195, $395, $595, $795, & $1000+, Thompson is $190, $270, $360, $500, & $650. No guarantee, but I bet for each step up you're going to get an equivalent ram at both places.

[firexd]

good lluck on the hunt, i'd like to order some koozies

[ratterrier]

I went to TT's place a few years back with a group of guys. First and last time I'll ever set foot on the place. We arrived late one afternoon, and upon checking in were shown to our luxurious accommodations in the trailer, overlooking a giant pile of a hundred or more ram corpses. The stench was indescribable. Could have dealt with all that, but when the guys we were sharing camp with (he put 12 of us in that trailer), set up a shooting bench right by the trailer and started shooting rams from the yard, that did it for me. We never even unpacked. Most of them were so tame you could have fed them by hand. He told us there were other sections of the ranch that had "wilder" rams, but the fact that he was allowing tame rams to be shot right from the camp didn't sit too well with me.

Anybody who left 100 corpses is polluting the ground water and is a sorry outfit for sure...

[HeloMed1]

You are correct sir. You have the option of either taking the meat or just caping the animal/cutting its head off then throwing the carcass in the creek on top of the 100s of other carcasses. I was told the goats are nasty and most people don't eat them. I was told there are certain groups of the population that like to eat them, but I personally can't speak to that. I think you are pushing it with the felony animal cruelty business. No one is out there torturing the animals. None of the animals that were killed the weekend I was there were tortured or treated cruelly. What about all the hogs that are killed and left to lay out in the pasture/field?

[MA ELite]

A hunt is what you make of it. I had a blast last time I went. That's why I will return.

x2

[Tom_in_SA]

Thanks to Sqiggy for bringing me back to this forum. I never spent much time here and had to re-register, that worked fine.

It was my fault we got double booked the weekend sqiggy is complaining about. Thompson and I discussed two weekends, he wrote down one and I wrote down another. We didn't catch the error, no one is perfect, until a few days before the hunt, so neither group could be moved to another weekend. We did the best we could and we mention the exact date of every hunt in every phone message now. I'm carrying a calendar in my pocket, I check the calendar for next year now, to get the date right. We set a ranch record for number of animals taken during a hunt there, if you count both groups. Our group set a record for our 12 or 13 group hunts there from the other forum, 20 animals made Records of Exotics. The thread contains a list of what we got, but I'll post it here also, for use on this forum.

Sqiggy, only you and Deb, who likes really symmetrical rams and just enjoys the hunt for them it seems, did not shoot something. I had a blast and I didn't even hunt. If you (1) don't hunt during prime time, if you (2) don't go to a stand farther back offered by the ranch owner, and if you (3) try to bow hunt in the middle of a bunch of gun hunters at the social cliff area, you'll probably reduce the quality of your personal hunting experience at any ranch or hunting area. It may not be the same as your memory from a past hunt, but its still a great place to go, in my opinion, as well as others. As they say, that's why they call it hunting. I invite you to come next time when the group will be small and their will be some private label wine to commemorate our hunt, Sept.17 weekend. By the way, we met the wine maker from the other group. Also, someone from the other group had the tools to make an truck repair of a guy in our group.

Here's a thread at the other forum where people posted stories and pictures of the very hunt sqiggy was on. Why not register your complaint there sqiggy, see what happens?

keithwarren.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17489

Here's a somewhat detailed list of animals from the group sqiggy was in. Bronze, silver, and gold refer to the level they are in for Records of Exotics, which is now published every year and has seperate categories for archery in each exotic species. The asteric (*) by an animal indicates it would be a top 10 animal if it was in the current record book. We have to see how it comes out in the next record book. Thompson covers the $20 entry fee for us when we hunt his ranch, which is very nice of him to include in these economical hunts.

Aoudad Bob 93 Bronze
Aoudad ewe Koni no score
Axis Mike 143 6 Gold This notation is short for 143 and 6/8, which is huge, more like "Oh my God" than gold level.
Axis Nancy 138 3 Gold
Axis doe Dotty no score
Axis doe John no score
Axis doe Mitch no score
Black Hawiian Dotty 80 7 Bronze
Catalina* LeAnna 97 5 Gold
Catalina Ron 76 7 Bronze
Catalina Mike 76 3 Bronze
Catalina Ermy no score
Catalina Logan no score
Corsican Nancy 94 3 Gold
Corsican Grady no score
Four horn Tim 90 Bronze
Fox Bob not exotic
Ibex* Bob 96 2 Gold
Merino* Leon 123 5 Gold
Merino Ron 110 1 Gold
Merino Dave 94 4 Bronze
Mouflon Type* Jerry 102 3 Gold
Painted Desert* Ginny 95 7 Gold
Painted Desert* Ginny 90 3 Silver
Texas Dall* EB 107 4 Gold
Wild Boar Bob 11 Bronze

Counting our new forum member (at the other forum) DInich and his daughter Jackie, who were there independently of us in the other group: (He told me he was scouting for a family reunion type hunt with his dad, who is 80, and all the sons.)

We could claim 20 instead of 18 ROE animals, eh?

They both, the father and daughter hunting pair, got Texas Dalls that were Bronze!!

Some were with pistol, some bow, some crossbow, some rifle and probably another #1 by Jerry with his muzzleloader. Congratulations to everyone, what a super time it was! Thanks to everyone also, what a wonderful group to spend time with. Sqiggy was even fun at the hunt, I bought a hog call from him and his nephew at the hunt.

I'm sure glad you brought your nephew. I'm glad a forum member from the other forum, paid his deposit, I'm glad a forum member here and there (phdan) paid for the rest of his animal and I'm glad a forum member from the other forum is doing the taxidermy for free.
Please thank your nephew for his service in the Marines for our country again!

Thank you sqiggy for the opportunity to say what I think on this hunt at this fine forum.