2007 Hunting Trips Reports

12/26/07 – 12/31/07 Annual Non-Guided Pheasant Hunt

One member and two sons had a great time at the 12/26/07 – 12/31/07 Hart Lions Club Non-Guided Pheasant Hunt.  The Price family bagged 18 geese (16 Canadians and two snows; Tim bagged two and Isaac and Tyler bagged the rest), nine ducks (Tim bagged three and Isaac and Tyler bagged the rest), and three pheasants (all bagged by Isaac).  They also went prairie dog hunting, but the locals had been very effective in poisoning them, so they only saw two prairie dogs.

12/1/07 Guided Upland Bird Hunt

Four members had a great time at the 12/1/07 Upland Bird Hunt at the Spanish Oaks Hunting Club near Thrall with FCS member Joe Schram of Wing and Clay Shooting Sports (five participants).  Nine pheasants and one quail were killed.  David Chalmers made a 60 yard shot on a pheasant.  It was a windy day with drizzle, which made the pheasants run.

10/6/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson)

One member and two sons (three participants) had a good time at the 10/6/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson).  David Hamilton and his sons got eight birds on Saturday.

9/28/07 – 9/30/07 Fall Dove Retreat (Central Zone – Trickham)

Two officers, three members, two guests (including one first time guest), and three sons (10 participants) had a great time at the 9/28/07 – 9/30/07 Annual Fall Dove Retreat on Frank Hamilton’s land near Trickham.  Randy Rowley killed nine birds on Friday afternoon with 15 shots (but couldn’t find two; it was his third best shooting ratio).  Ron Denison bagged eight birds on Saturday.  Isaac and Tim Price bagged five each.  On Sunday Ron bagged four birds and Roy Brigman and Randy got three each.

Randy presented his devotionals on Friday and Saturday on Tying Knots and Keeping our eyes on Jesus.  Frank cooked steak and all the trimmings on Friday; sausage, eggs, and biscuits on Saturday morning, and took the group out to Humphrey Pete’s in Brownwood on Saturday night.  They also shot three cases of clay targets in short order.

This Retreat saw four firsts – the first time that we’ve slept in an air conditioned cabin, the first time that we’ve had salad, the first time that we’ve had biscuits, and the first time that we’ve had homemade vanilla ice cream (courtesy of Buddy Allen)!  They collected $250.00 for the FCS ministry fund.

9/29/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson)

One member had a good time at the 9/29/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson).  Wilson Peters got his limit on Saturday.

9/21/07 – 9/23/07 Annual Fall Dove Hunt (south zone – Dilley)

One officer, two members, two guests (including one first time guest), and one son (six participants) had a great time at the 9/21/07 – 9/23/07 Fall Dove Hunt at Lee Ewald’s ranches near Dilley.  Several hunters got their limits on Friday and Saturday.  Thanks to Ron Denison for leading this hunt.

9/22/07 Fall Blast and Cast (Central Zone – Lometa)

Two officers, three members, and one guest (six participants) had a great time on Joel Kirby’s land. Tim Price got his limit, Randy Rowley got eight, Mark Dillow, Bob Carroll, Bruce Crockett, and Paul Ellis got around four each.  Mark, Tim, and Randy also fished Joel’s large tank.  Tim caught the only bass.  Some of the hunters spooked a large hog at one of the tanks.  Joel and Greg Souther cooked a fine lunch of dove, corn on the cob, rice, and more!

9/22/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson)

One officer and one member (two participants) had a good time at the 9/22/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson).  Ken Hamilton got three birds and his son-in-law got one.

9/15/07 – 9/16/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Buda)

Three officers, two members, one guest, and three sons (nine participants) had a good time at the 9/15/07 – 9/16/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Buda).  The dove were scarce.  Most hunters bagged 1 – 4 doves over by the Taco Stand.

From Eddy Chance: Myself, David Dailey, Hunter, Jordan, Ron Denison and one of his boys along with several other members of the dove lease has a good time.  I killed two dove with my old Browning Sweet 16 which I haven’t shot in many years.  Most of the birds were flying where we weren’t.  However my dog Midnight made some great retrieves.  The first bird of the morning was flying over the tank, and he retrieved it from the middle.  Later in the morning I shot a dove that fell in high grass on the other side of the tank.  Midnight swam the tank and worked his way up the bank into the deep grass.  Within a few minutes he returned with the dove in his mouth, swam the tank again, and brought the bird right to me.  It was a great morning spent in the woods.

9/8/07 – 9/9/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Buda)

Three officers, seven members, one guest, one son, and one youth guest (13 participants) had a good time at the 9/8/07 – 9/9/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Buda).  The dove were much scarcer, but Eddy Chance managed to bag nine doves in the mesquite grove.

9/7/07 – 9/8/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson)

One officer, two members, and one son (four participants) had a good time at the 9/7/07 – 9/8/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson).  A few birds were killed.

9/1/07 – 9/3/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Buda)

Two officers, eight members, one guest, and four sons (15 participants) had a great time at the 9/1/07 – 9/3/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Buda).

Report from Eddy Chance:

Ron Denison and I hunted along with Bruce Crockett opening morning at the Von Quintas field.  There were approximately 25 to 30 hunters that showed up at the field.  This was the first hunt that I was able to use my black lab, Midnight.  I had him trained by Eric Sutton of Soggy Bottom Retrievers.

I highly recommend Eric he is a great guy and worked wonders in my opinion with Midnight.  Midnight made several text book retrieves during the hunt.

I started my hunt up at the front of the property where the trucks usually park.  After day light I shot one bird but there was lots of action on the back of the property near the tree line.  After a while I walked back and found an empty spot away from the other hunters that were already there.  Within a few minutes I had shot several birds.  I called Ron on his cell and told him to come back and help me cover that area of the field.  I shot several more birds while waiting on Ron to drive over from where he had been hunting.  Within 30 minutes I had my limit of birds.  It was a great time working my dog and finally having a dog that could go get my birds for me.

Sunday evening Ron and I hunted with Larry Dowden who missed opening day due to a commitment in Dallas.  We all decided to meet at the Mesquite Grove Sunday evening.  I brought along my girlfriend Kelly, her son Ross (age 15), and my two boys, Hunter and Jordan (both age 14) and of course Midnight.  Ross had never hunted dove, so I gave him my Benelli and stayed close to him giving him pointers.  After several dove had flow over, he made his first kill.  He was very excited to say the least.  Ron offered to loan me his new Benelli so that Kelly could try her hand at hunting as well.  However after the first shot she decided that it just kicked her too much.  We hunted the back tank for some time but noticed that there were lots of birds flying over the front tank, so we made our way back to the front. Larry finally showed up and the hunt was on.  We all shot birds and had a great time.  I think that we finished that hunt with Ross – one bird, Hunter – one, Jordan – one, and me – five.

We all decided to try the Mesquite Field Monday morning.  I picked up Larry and Maggie, his black lab along with Ross, Hunter, and Jordan at 5:30 AM.  We arrived that the field and took over the prime spot at the front tank.  Ron showed up with one of his boys (Jake). The morning started off very slow with only a few birds.  It wasn’t unit around 9:30 AM that we really started seeing some good numbers of birds.  However most of them were flying high.  We did however manage to kill several birds.  We all took our dogs down to the tank to play in the water.  The dogs had a great time cooling off in the tank.  We all had a great time and finished up the day with Ross with one bird, Hunter with two birds, Jordan with two birds, and I took three (I was mainly helping the boys and working the dog).

Kelly’s son Ross is now hooked, and we are planning on getting him his first shotgun this week.  We picked up a heavy duty shoulder pad for Kelly so that she can try her hand at shooting as well.  I’m going to take them to the skeet range this week to work with them even more.

All in all it was a great opening weekend spending time with Kelly, Ross, by boys Hunter and Jordan, and of course my old hunting buddies Ron and Larry.

Report from Ken Miller:

I went to the field near the school yard on opening day and had my limit after 1 1/2 hours.  I then went on Sunday night and had my limit in 1 3/4 hours.  I went Monday morning and had my limit in 4 3/4 hours.  Birds where still flying at 11:30 AM.  I was checked by the game warden as I came off the field.

8/31/07 – 9/3/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson)

One officer and two members (three participants) had a good time at the 8/31/07 – 9/3/07 Fall Dove Hunt (Woodson).  Wilson Peters and Rusty Prince got their limits on Saturday.  Ken Hamilton, who wasn’t feeling well, got seven dove in 2 1/2 days of hunting.  Sunday was very slow and on Monday morning the dove were non-existent.

6/1/07 – 6/3/07 Hog Hunt

One officer and one member (two participants) had a good time of fellowship at the 6/1/07 – 6/3/07 Hog Hunt at the 300 acre Wild Hog Hunting Ranch near Gonzales.  We did not kill any game, but many of the other 10 hunters who were there did, including five hogs in the 250+ pound range.  Hunting during the day was done by stalking.  They pair you up and drop you off at various locations.  Everyone then walks in a gradual clockwise direction.  They are not concerned that anyone will be shot as most shots are at five yards away and the hunters are shooting downward towards the ground.

During our first day of stalking we did not see any pigs (but we did see deer, elk, and buffalo).  We then ate dinner (barbecued beef on baked potatoes) at 8:00 p.m.  We didn’t go to the stands until after dark (if you’re not equipped for night hunting this is not the place for you).  The stand where Jim McGee and I (Randy Rowley) hunted unfortunately had a herd of buffalo guarding our corn.  We were first alerted to the presence of pigs when a buffalo suddenly made a charge!  I initially thought that two buffalo had gotten into a fight but my night vision monocular revealed 14 new and much smaller shapes.  All but one brave little pig ran off after another charge.  We stayed out until a little after 2:00 a.m. and had pigs return about eight times but never could get a shot (the pigs would come out, see the buffalo were still there, and fade back into the brush).  Two pigs around 300 pounds were killed by other hunters that night.

On the second day a father and son were stalking and found a large (250 pound) hog lying under a tree.  The 13 year old boy killed it.  As his father was walking around the tree, he stumbled upon another 250 pound hog that was bedded down and, incredibly, had not moved!  He killed it.  Then the son walked around the other side of the tree and found another 250 pound hog that, even more incredibly, had not moved and killed it.  It was very hot (90 degrees) and muggy and the hogs quickly went to shade after sunrise.  Another hunter had to kick a hog to get it to get up (he didn’t want to shoot one lying down).  My theory is that the hogs stayed put hoping that they wouldn’t be discovered, which seems to go against their instinct.  Jim and I saw a lot more elk, buffalo, red stags, fallow deer, axis deer, and an oryx.  We also saw a few small pigs but none of them were large enough to shoot.  They charge $50 per pig plus a $35 gutting and skinning fee – $85 per pig, so a 30 pound pig with 10 pounds of meat would cost you $8.50/pound (not counting processing).

On the second night the only thing moving were the buffalo (Jim ran them off of our site before we settled in our stand).  We could only handle staying out until midnight because we were pooped and our plans of returning at 4:00 a.m. lost also to fatigue.

It was an interesting place to hunt.  The food was good (we had speckled trout and shrimp on the second night) and the air conditioning was cold.  But I would never return there during May or June and would have to think hard about going there in even April.  The heat and humidity were miserable just sitting still.  Add that with walking around the woods carrying a nine pound gun and it made us want to give up hunting and take up basket weaving.

3/31/07 – 4/1/07 Self-guided Hog Hunt

Three officers, one member, and two sons (six participants) had a good time at the CzC Ranch need Mercury.  Tyler Price killed a hog that had gotten caught in a trap.  We had quite a storm on Saturday night!

2/24/07 Upland Bird Hunt by Kenneth Kidd

In the bird world it might be considered a massacre; seven FCS members (six hunters) armed with a variety of shotguns descended on the Upland Bird Hunting Inc. ranch and caused the untimely demise of 35 Quail, 27 pheasants, and one unlucky chucker (63 birds).

Our second annual Upland Bird hunt was a success, thanks to the crew at Upland Bird Hunting Inc.  Mike, Barney, Glen, our own Joe Schram, and Julie treated us to a fantastic hunting experience.  A hearty THANKS!

We started the day with good fresh coffee and a round of  Five stand  that made you want to give up shotguns and take up knitting.  The wind was steady at about 25 MPH with gusts up to 40 causing both clay birds and shot streams to drift unpredictably.  There were two mini’s screaming to the stratosphere and into the sun, a tower shot that required at least a six to eight foot lead depending on the gusting wind.  Did I mention the dust blowing across the range from the drive way partially obscuring our vision?

After this enlightening and confidence building experience, we were off to the hunt.  Divided into two groups of three with a guide and well trained dogs we trudged off into the tundra in pursuit of our feathered quarry.

Ronnie Ross, Frank Hamilton, and Jere Fletcher were led the first go round by Mike Tyson and his dogs.  They bagged six pheasants and nine quail.

Glen Tyson, Mike’s uncle, led Randy Rowley, Dick Matteson, and I, Kenneth Kidd, on a merry chase resulting in the demise of 13 quail, 10 pheasants, and one unlucky chucker that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Dick’s dog Buck assisted the guide’s dogs and did a marvelous job.

We took a break and had more strong coffee and some snacks.  We also gathered a few rocks to put in our pockets to help keep us from blowing away.  By now the wind was up to a sustained 30 – 35 MPH with gusts to 40 – 45 MPH.  Seriously sometimes it was hard to stand straight up.

It is the custom to switch guides and fields with the groups at the ranch, so our group went off with Mike to the field that had been diligently and thoroughly hunted by Ronnie’s group where we ushered eight pheasants and four quail to their final resting place.

Meanwhile Ronnie’s group bagged three pheasants and nine quail.

Not that there was any completion between the two groups, but Randy’s group must have done something right and it could not have been the superior shooting nor the outstanding dog work (it must have been the wind).  We got a total of 18 pheasants, 17 quail, and one unlucky Chucker (36 birds) while Ronnie’s elite group came in with a total of 18 quail and nine pheasants (27 birds).

Note…if you are curious about the chucker they are, as described by Glen, a quail on steroids, as to why he was unlucky….you had to be there to understand.

Don’t miss this one next year, watching good dogs work a field with good handlers is truly a beautiful site.

President’s note: This was my first pheasant hunt and my first quail hunt with dogs.  I’ve been dove, duck, and goose hunting for 31 years.  This was the second most fun bird hunt that I have experienced, right after the 11/9/01 – 11/10/01 Goose Hunt (where eight of us killed 119 geese).

2/16/07 – 2/17/07 Hog Hunt

Two officers and three members (five participants) had a great time at the 2/16/07 – 2/17/07 Hog Hunt at Mr. Charlie Batts land at the Y.O. Ranch.  Ronnie Ross saw four small pigs as Charlie Batts was putting out corn, but didn’t have a shot because Charlie was between him and the pigs.  Mark Dillow saw five small pigs that were about 80 yards away.  He didn’t have a shot because he had his shotgun loaded with buckshot.  We saw several deer, including two nice bucks, axis deer, fallow deer, blackbuck antelope, and a turkey.  We searched for sheds and found seven axis sheds.  Mark Dillow and I, Randy Rowley, shot my bow and Kevin Wall, Ronnie Ross, and Mark shot a friend of Kevin’s .500 S&W Magnum.  Thanks to Charlie for allowing other FCS members to enjoy his land.

1/26/07 – 1/28/07 Blast and Cast (Duck Hunt and Bay Fishing Trip)

Three officers, one member, and three guests (seven participants) had a great time at the 1/26/07 – 1/28/07 Blast and Cast (Duck Hunt and Bay Fishing Trip).  We arrived, set up camp, and then scouted for ducks.  On the way out the land cut I spotted a large fish on the top of the water.  We turned around and tried to net it, but it dove deep.  On the way back I spotted the same fish again.  This time I was able to net it – a 23″ black drum.  That night it poured down rain but let up by about 5:30 AM.

On Saturday morning four of us hunted and two others fished.  All the hunters saw was redheads.  Most were high, fast passing shots.  We managed to kill seven.  The limit is two each or eight for the four of us, so we did well.  Greg and Joel were skunked on their fishing trip.  That afternoon Ron Denison, Tim Price, and I, Randy Rowley, fished but were also skunked.

A cold front with a steady 25 – 30 MPH wind coming straight from the north hit at about 3:30 AM on Sunday.  There was no way that we could paddle the kayaks into that wind.  Tim had gotten sick and decided that he wasn’t going to hunt, and the majority decided to not risk life and limb, so we slept in.

1/12/07 – 1/13/07 Hog Hunt

One officer and two members (three participants) had a good, but wet time at the 1/12/07 – 1/13/07 Hog Hunt at the CzC Ranch (Wade Cottrell’s Ranch) near Mercury.  Two members could not make it at the last minute.  I, Randy Rowley, killed a 64 lb. sow and about a five lb. piglet.

The festivities started when I hunted out of Tim Price’s stand.  At dusk five hogs came to his feeder.  There were two big ones and three medium sized ones.  It looks like I somehow missed one of the big ones, as it ran off and I could not find any blood.  On the way back to camp to get a lantern I drove up on the feeder by the cow pens.  A large sow ran from the feeder into the woods.  I tried to jump out of my truck while it was running but had to stop and put it in park.  I couldn’t get a shot but saw movement under the feeder.  I looked through my scope and there were about 15 piglets enjoying the half bucket of hog bait that we put there earlier.  I put my crosshairs in the middle of the herd and pulled the trigger.  About 14 of the piglets went running after momma.  The 15th lay where I shot her.  I launched another shot at a running piglet but missed.

Jim McGee, Roy Brigman, and I ate dinner (Randy’s Radioactive Roadkill Chili) and then went and looked for my hog.  After about a half hour we gave up.  We then went and hunted in the stands until 2:30 AM.  Neither Jim or Roy saw any hogs from their stands.

We ate breakfast (more chili and Roy’s Rancid German Sausage, Rice, and Beans; thanks Roy) and about 11:00 AM we went on a group stalk.  Roy kicked up a black hog that ran by Jim and I at Warp 9.  All we got was a glimpse of it.  As we were tracking that hog, I came to a less dense area about an oak field.  I saw movement to my left and saw five blondish hogs running from left to right about 70 yards away.  I threw up my rifle, put my iron sights (I have see-through scope mounts on my rifle) in front of one of the hogs, and squeezed the trigger.  I hit it in its lower neck, redeeming my earlier miss.

We cut our hunt short because we had heard from Wade’s dad that the roads were predicted to ice up.  We didn’t leave early enough, as Roy hit an ice patch on the way back to Abilene and slid into a ditch.  Fortunately a guy came along and pulled him out.

The weather folks really missed the forecast.  They were predicting a low of 52 degrees on Friday night.  It reached 28.  My toes got a little cold because I left my cold weather boots at home.

Unfortunately, Wade’s lake, which was about 5 – 6 acres in 2005 is now completely dried up, so we couldn’t fish (and probably won’t be able to for quite some time).

One unique thing about this hunt was all three hunters hunted with Remington semi-automatic rifles (Roy and I with Remington 7400’s and Jim with a Remington 742, the predecessor to the 7400).

12/27/06 – 1/1/07 Winter Dove Hunt (central zone – Buda)

One officer and two members (three total participants) participated in the 12/27/06 – 1/1/07 Winter Dove Hunt (central zone) on Louis and Gary Drott’s season leases in the Buda, Mustang Ridge and Creedmoor areas.

Ken Miller went to the School Yard on 12/27/06.  He saw a dozen or so birds but said there were probably more that he didn’t see.  He wasn’t able to hunt much, because when he pulled off the FM road onto the dirt road at the School Yard property, he got his van stuck and was busy trying to get unstuck.  He had to rock back and forth to get free.  Despite this he managed to shoot one bird.  It is very soft everywhere and the path between the cotton and grain at the schoolyard had been plowed under.

My brother-in-law, Roy Brigman, and I, Randy Rowley, went to the School Yard on 1/1/07.  It was very muddy, and if I didn’t have four wheel drive, I would have got stuck also.  It was easy to see the spot where Ken got stuck and I should have parked just off the road, but confidence in my four wheel drive and Goodrich ATV’s kept me going.  We arrived 30 minutes after sunrise and didn’t see any dove.  We shot at a few high flying pigeons but didn’t kill any.  Ken was correct – there is no way that you can drive into the field, even with four wheel drive, because it has been plowed.  We then went and fished the front tank on the Turnersville property with crankbaits, but did not get any bites.  We then left for the most enjoyable part of our journey, a visit to Mecca (Cabela’s).