2003 Hunting Trips Reports

12/12/03 – 12/15/03 Pheasant Hunt

Eight hunters and one son (nine participants) had a good time at the first ever FCS Pheasant Hunt held on 12/12/03 – 12/15/03 on the Hart Lions Club leases in the Panhandle.  At least three roosters were taken along with some geese.  The Lions Club advertised that thousands of acres were available, but 90% of the land offered by the farmers was open cultivated fields and most of those were cotton.  The cut corn fields near cover were the best locations but there were only a few of those.  There were a couple of shelter belts that were good.  Thanks to Ron Denison for leading this event.

11/7/03 – 11/8/03 Duck Hunt

Six hunters, including our first female hunter, Kerri Hamilton, had a great time at the 6th Annual Duck hunt, held on 11/7/03 – 11/8/03 with W.S. Sherrill Waterfowl near Wharton.  We limited out with 36 ducks killed and two geese (both shot by Ron Denison).  Ron made a very impressive shot to kill the first goose.  For the first time we hunted from a bench style hunting blind.  We were more concealed behind it but we were also crowded.  Safety was also difficult to maintain with six guns swinging around in such a small area.  The blind was not easy to see over for hunters under 6 feet tall, especially ducks that were coming straight at us.

10/24/03 – 10/26/03 Fall Dove and Quail Hunt (south zone)

One officer, four members, and two youth members (seven total participants) had a great time at a FCS Fall Dove Hunt (south zone) on 10/24/03 through 10/26/03 at Lee Ewald’s ranch near Dilley.  Saturday morning they only found a few dove each.  So they started walking the fields hoping to jump up a few quail (the season started on Saturday) and maybe find a dove or two (David Quijano brought his quail dog, Mussa).  They started busting covey’s of quail.  When they quit for the day, they had around 16 quail.  It was amazing to watch Mussa work the quail.  At 3:00 PM they headed over to the old homestead place (about six miles away).  There was hardly a bird until around 5:30 PM.  Then the birds turned on.  It was better than most opening day hunts.  Three hunters were in the field and two were along the fence row.  They were horse from yelling “to the left, 2 coming in”, “behind you”, and “in front, a whole flock.”  It went on and on.  They couldn’t reload fast enough.  Everyone had a limit of birds well before sunset.  Sunday morning a cold front came in.  It was cold and cloudy with a light mist falling.  They all found a few birds each.  Ron and David found a few more quail.

9/19/03 – 9/21/03 Fall Dove Retreat

Forty participants (24 hunters, three wives, and 13 children) had a great time at the 12th Annual Fall Dove Retreat on 9/19/03 – 9/21/03 on Lee Ewald’s ranches near Dilley.  The opening morning hunt was great with several hunters getting their limits.  Unfortunately around mid-day it started to rain.  It rained for about 20 hours straight and then off and on for the remainder of the retreat.  The remaining hunts were not that great.  Several hunters hunted Saturday afternoon with at best fair results.  Sunday morning was a decent hunt for some and poor for others.  Only my son, Ryan, and I, Randy Rowley, stayed and hunted the Sunday afternoon hunt.  I only got one bird with four shots.  Ryan didn’t get any.  Unfortunately the rain put a damper on the scheduled Bible study.

9/12/03 – 9/14/03 Fall Dove Hunt (central zone)

Four hunters had a great time at the 9/12/03 – 9/14/03 Fall Dove Hunt (central zone) at a ranch near Mason.  The men hunted in a wheat field.  The hunters limited out both days.

9/11/03 – 9/14/03 Fall Dove Hunt (north zone)

Twelve participants (10 hunters) had a great time at the 9/11/03 – 9/14/03 Fall Dove Hunt (north zone) near Woodson.  Ron Denison and Eddy Chance limited out on Saturday.  A lot of birds were flying high and fast, although many were flying at treetop level in the mesquites.

8/31/03 – 9/3/03 Fall Dove Hunt (central zone)

Sixteen hunters had a great time at the 8/31/03 – 9/3/03 Fall Dove Hunt (central zone) at a ranch near Mason.  The men hunted in a wheat field.  Most of the hunters limited out all three days.

8/31/03 – 9/2/03 Fall Dove Hunt (north zone)

Fifteen participants (13 hunters) had a great time at the 8/31/03 – 9/2/03 Fall Dove Hunt (north zone) near Woodson.  Just about everyone limited out on the first day.  Although no limits were taken on the second morning, Larry Dowden (14 birds), Eddy Chance (13 birds), Ron Denison (13 birds), David Quijano (12 birds), and me, Randy Rowley, (12 birds) came close.  I also killed a 3 1/2 foot long rattlesnake that I almost stepped on.  The weather was perfect (high – 78, low – 62) with heavy cloud cover.  We learned from Lance Sullivan (the leasers son) that federal Game Wardens were giving tickets two seasons ago for hunters breaking the invisible vertical plane of the county road.  I researched this and found it on page 65 of the Outdoor Annual.  It is also in Title 9 of the Texas Penal Code (Disorderly Conduct, number 11).

3/7/03 – 3/9/03 Hog and Sheep Hunt

Six hunters had a great time at the 5th Annual Hog and Sheep Hunt held on 3/7/03 – 3/9/03 at the Arrowhead Ranch near Zapata.  All game was killed on the first day.  Warren Hoke shot a boar and David Chalmers shot a sow.  First time guest and new member Tom Geary shot a nice Mouflon Sheep and I, Randy Rowley, shot a large Catalina Goat.  Tim and Isaac Price both missed difficult shots at hogs.  We hunted a 352 acre pasture.  Most of the hunting was done via blinds that were not very sturdy.  The feeders were not working either and we were not told that we needed to bring corn.

We will not return to the Arrowhead Ranch, despite our success, due to the long distance from Austin to Zapata (280 miles) and they increased their prices (hogs went from $180.00 to $225.00 and sheep went from $225.00 to $325.00).

Two unusual events occurred.  The first was David Chalmers missed a head shot on a hog with his .243.  Prior to this hunt David was shooting handloads.  He recently ran out of the handloads and switched to factory loads.  The change in loads probably resulted in the missed shot.  I switched from Hornady Light Magnum 115 grain Soft Point Boat Tails in my .25-06 a few months ago to Winchester Supreme 115 grain Soft Point Boat Tails.  Same bullet type and weight but the Winchesters were grouping 10 inches off to the right, forcing me to re-sight in my rifle.  The moral of the story – if you switch bullets check the accuracy of your rifle.

The second unusual event was it took me six shots to kill my Catalina.  Earlier in the day, when I was exiting the guides truck, I bumped the rear of my scope on the tail gate of the guides truck.  That bump caused my Redfield 4X – 12X scope to shoot about a foot off to the right at 40 yards.  The first shot, using the roof of a truck as a rest, resulted in a miss (the goat was facing to the right).  The second shot, aimed at the goats chest hit his back gut (he was facing to the left).  The third shot missed (facing to the right).  The fourth shot was a repeat of the second shot.  The fifth shot, aimed at the goats neck hit his heart (facing to the left).  The last shot, a neck shot, was from two feet away.  I’ve bumped my scopes before but never had one get out of alignment as a result.

The next day I shot a target from a bench at 20 yards and hit six inches off to the right.  The miss-aligned scope was six inches off at 20 yards and a foot off at 40 yards.  It probably would have been two feet off at 100 yards!  The moral of the story – If you bump your scope check the accuracy of your rifle.

1/2/03 – 1/5/03 Winter Dove Retreat

Seventeen hunters and three sons (20 participants) had a great time at the 10th Annual Winter Dove Retreat on 1/2/03 – 1/5/03 on Lee Ewald’s ranches near Dilley.  The hunting was very good is some spots and poor in others.  Several limits were shot.

Larry Dowden was the only hunter Thursday night and easily shot his limit.

The birds started out real slow on Friday morning but finally started to come in to the mesquites by the tank.

Friday evening was also a good hunt.

Saturday was a little slower, but Larry, Ron Denison, and Tim Price all limited out on the 200 acres across the road.

Sunday morning was very slow due to a heavy fog.  I only got off one shot.

Isaac Price and Ryan Pollock both bagged dove on their first dove hunts.  Derrich Pollock and friends brought a motor home, and we enjoyed watching the College Football National Championship and a NFL wild card football game in it.  We had our usual group breakfasts and had more food than we could eat.