11/20/09 – 11/21/09 Guided Duck Hunt

Three members and one son (four total participants) had a great time at the 11/20/09 – 11/21/09 Guided Duck Hunt with Bill Sherrill Waterfowling near Wharton.  The hunters hunted on a pond northeast of town called the Ferguson tract, which was near to the location of 9/12/09 Guided Teal Hunt.  They ended up with 18 ducks, six short of a limit.  The bag was a mixture of mallards, gadwalls, spoonies, wigeon, and teal.  Our guide said that the day before there was an abundance of ducks but the storm system that came through on Friday moved them south.  Thanks to Bruce Crockett for leading this event.

10/2/09 – 10/4/09 Annual Fall Dove Retreat – Trickham

Two officers, eight members, five guests (including three first time guests), and six children (21 total participants) had a great, yet soggy, time at the 18th Annual Fall Dove Retreat on 10/2/09 – 10/4/09 on Frank Hamilton’s land near Trickham.  Some of Frank’s relatives hunted the property on 9/30/09 and reported that they were covered up with birds.  However, we did not experience that.  It appears that the birds felt the squall coming on and migrated prior to our arrival.  Randy Gordon and Jerry Stafford led the way on Friday with four birds each (Jerry got his by walking several hundreds yards through a sunflower field).  On Saturday Tim Price led the way with nine birds.  The rain started during Saturday night/Sunday morning so we didn’t hunt on Sunday morning.  We had our usual fun clay target shoot on Saturday and again went to Humprey Pete’s on Saturday night and watched football as we ate.  Art Barrera led us in a Bible study on Saturday on Acts Chapter 1.  I led us in a Bible study on Saturday on Heaven’s Rain.  We would like to thank Frank for his continued generosity.

9/19/09 Fall Dove Hunt – Dilley

One officer, three members, one guest, and two sons (seven total participants) had a great time at the 9/19/09 Fall Dove Hunt on Lee Ewald’s ranches near Dilley.  Richard Beitel got his limit, Ron Denison got 14, Charles Cutchens got 10, Ken Miller got nine, Art Barrera got a little over half a limit, Jake Denison got eight, and Alex Denison got five.  Ron and company went back to Austin after the morning hunt.  Richard and Art went over to Mr. Ewald’s barn and grilled their lunch during the noon hour.  They also had a short, but good Bible study on the Book of Acts.  They then hunted the evening hunt and then went back to Del Rio.

9/12/09 Blast and Cast (Fall Dove Hunt and Bass Fishing Trip) – Lometa

Three officers and one member (four total participants) had a great time at the 9/12/09 Blast and Cast (Fall Dove Hunt and Bass Fishing Trip) near Lometa on Joel Kirby’s A-OK Ranch on an overcast and drizzly day.  Kevin Wall led the way with nine birds.  I, Randy Rowley, bagged seven, Mark Dillow bagged two, and Ken Miller bagged one.

After we cleaned the dove and put them on ice, we headed to Joel’s spring-fed stock tank.  The bass hit top-water lures with abandon.  I had one bass hit my Heddon Zara Spook Junior at least a dozen times.  He hit it from behind, in front, below, and he jumped out of the water a couple times and hit it from above. I concluded that he was the most inept bass that I had ever seen.

On his second jump he landed on his back on top of the plug, but still managed to not get hooked. But I finally saw why he kept missing his intended prey – one of his eyes was cloudy and white. He was blind in that eye. After he hit the plug the twelfth time without getting hooked, I concluded that his blind eye would continue to prevent him from finding the plug. I gave up on trying to catch him and started to cast elsewhere.

When we called it quits Mark had caught eight bass (at least two with his and Kevin’s fly rods), I caught three, Kevin caught two with his fly rod, and Ken caught one.

9/11/09 – 9/12/09 Guided Teal Hunt

One officer and three members (four total participants) had a great time at the 9/11/09 – 9/12/09 (opening day) Guided Teal Hunt with Bill Sherrill Waterfowling near Wharton.  The hunters limited out in 45 minutes to an hour.

9/1/09 Fall Dove Hunt (San Angelo) report by Larry Dowden

We had a fantastic hunt on the afternoon of September the 1^st and the following day.  On the 1^st we got in the field around 4:30 PM and as soon as we drove on the property we were scrambling to get the guns out and the dogs on the ground.  The birds were everywhere, low and slow.  Most of us had a limit by 5:30 PM and Ron and Ken were picking out the ring necks (dove).  At the end of the evening they had 26 ring necks; Dave, Don, and I had around four each.  It was one of the best hunts I had had in many years.  Lots of “bonus” birds with the ring necks (which have no limit).

The following morning we got out in the field real early trying to get a spot we wanted.  It turned out to be a waste of time.  The birds were not flying well so we went to breakfast, checked out of the hotel and went back to the field.  We sat around with only a few shots all day until around 4:00 in the afternoon and they turned on again.  The ring necks were back and we had a good selection of them to practice our shooting skills on; it was a blast once again.  When we were not shooting ring necks, we were knocking down the white wings; we had very few morning doves.  We all limited out, cleaned birds and headed back to Austin.

It was a wonderful hunt with a great group of guys.  The down time was very enjoyable just hanging out having a good meal and fellowship.  The attendees were Larry Dowden, Ron Denison, Alex “long-shot” Denison, Jake “dead-eye” Denison, David Dailey, Ken Miller, and Don Hardison (one officer, three members, one guest, and two sons – seven participants).

We had more spots and lots more birds than hunters so we need to add some more guys to next year’s trip. Happiness is a heavy bird bag.

President’s note: the hunters hunted with Steve Hoelscher of “White-Wings Galore Dove Hunts.”  As promised, Steve limited the number of people per field.  The hunters hunted over sorghum and sunflower fields.

5/1/09 – 5/3/09 Self-guided Hog Hunt

One officer and three members (four total participants) enjoyed an overcast and cool (for May) weekend hog hunt at the CZC Ranch near Mercury on 5/1/09 – 5/3/09.

I, Randy Rowley, arrived first and set up camp.  After Jim Gault arrived we put out three buckets of hog slop and four bags of corn at four feeders.

My son, Ryan, and nephew, Leroy Brigman, arrived around 7:15 PM and we then went to our respective stands.  Ryan, Leroy, and I returned around midnight, after Leroy missed a hog that came out of the woods near the feeder.  Jim spent the night in Tim Price’s stand.  We were treated to a thunderstorm that night but it didn’t rain.

The next morning Jim and I fished the lake, but were skunked.  I think that long billed cranes have been ambushing all the bass.  We then came back to camp and I cooked wild hog sausage, potato, egg, and cheese tacos for brunch.  I led us in a Bible Study on Overdue.

We then put out more slop and corn, followed by toes up meditation and chew the fat time.  We then cooked ribeye steaks, corn on the cob, new potatoes, and Texas garlic toast for dinner.

We headed to our stands around 6:30 PM.  At 7:15 PM, an hour and fifteen minutes before dark, Jim had a herd of six adult hogs and two piglets come into Tim’s feeder.  This was the earliest that we have ever had hogs come into a feeder at the CZC.  Jim shot one, which caused the rest of the herd to run.  He then shot another 100 yards away on the run!  They went about 80 and 50 lbs.

The herd of now four hogs and two piglets showed up at Leroy’s (the trap door) stand a few minutes later.  When he saw them they were standing in front of his truck, so he didn’t have a shot.  They were not interested in the corn of hog slop at this point.  Ryan, Leroy, and I stayed out again until midnight and Jim stayed out again all night.  On the way back to camp, Ryan and I had a Gray Fox run in front of my truck (the first fox that we have seen at the CzC.  We were treated to a thunderstorm that night with off and on rain.

On Sunday morning Ryan, Leroy, and I made a group stalk (Jim went home before the stalk) but were skunked.

We heard gobblers but didn’t see any and I was unsuccessful in getting any to come to my call.

3/27/09 – 3/29/09 Self-guided Hog Hunt

Two officers and four members (six total participants) enjoyed a cold and windy weekend hog hunt at the CZC Ranch near Mercury on 3/27/09 – 3/29/09.

Upon arrival at the ranch we were greeted by 25 mph winds.  After camp was set, I, Randy Rowley, showed the hunters the stands, filled up my feeder, and put out five snares, 2 ½ buckets of hog slop, and several bags of corn.  At my feeder was a gobbler that was strutting for about four or five hens.

We then went to our respective stands around 7:00.  While we were hunting we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets that we’ve ever seen.  The moon was only a sliver, so it made seeing game difficult.  We saw deer and raccoons, but no hogs.  The wind was relentless and not much was moving.  It was 35 degrees when we went to bed.  With the strong wind, sleeping in the tents that night was akin to sleeping on the beach.

The next morning was cold but not as windy.  Grady Van Heuverswyn’s glasses were knocked off his face the night before as he took off his facemask so we went to look for them in my truck.  On the way to Grady’s stand Jim McGee spotted what looked like a dark hog.  I back up and he confirmed there was a pig looking at us.  I shut off my truck, and Ken Miller and I grabbed our rifles but Jim and Grady had brought only handguns.  We then went after the hog.  I walked up on some 3’ tall grass.  About 20 yards away I saw the grass sway in several directions.  I then looked beyond the grass and saw a medium-size pig.  I shot it in the head and it dropped like a rock.  When I fired around seven to eight piglets, which is what caused the grass to sway, ran in all directions.  Two stopped in front of me and I shot a Dalmatian colored one.  Jim missed one with his revolver.

I dropped the guys off at the lake, which had been saved from drying up by four inches of rain a couple of weeks before, while I went back to camp and cleaned the hogs.  Grady landed three bass, Jim caught two, and Ken and Edward Terry caught one each.

We then put out the rest of the slop and corn, filled up Tim Price’s feeder and replaced its battery.  We headed to our stands around 6:45 PM.  It wasn’t as windy but it got cold fast after dark.  We saw more deer and raccoons.  Jim shot a ring-tailed cat out of a tree.

On Sunday morning, we awoke to a balmy 27 degrees.  Roy Brigman came in from Abilene.  His wife and he were visiting their daughter and family in Brownwood, so he was able to join us for the group stalk.

We started the stalk but didn’t go far before a black hog bolted.  Ken got off three shots with his shotgun and Grady fired two.  Grady hit it with buckshot at 50 yards.  He found blood and we followed the drops until it ended at the fence.  The hog had run through a hole in the fence onto the neighbor’s property.

We resumed the stalk.  As we got close to the trap door stand, I walked into a heavily wooded area that was filled with hog poop.  I counted at least 15 piles, many of them fresh, and radioed that fact to the others.  I then took a couple of steps forward and heard movement in the heavy brush to my right.  I radioed that there was probably a hog to my right and circled the brush, going to the left.  Ken came towards the brush.  As he approached, three hogs bolted in single file across my bow, about 25 yards away.  I shot once at all three of them with my semi-automatic Remington Model 7400 .30-06.  I hit the second one in the head, killing it.  It was red in color.

After the guys convened at the hog, I went and showed them the hog outhouse.  As we were talking, I spotted two hogs in the heavy brush where the others had emerged.  I shot at a blond one standing still just 15 yards away, but my bullet must have hit a branch and deflected.  The other one didn’t move.  I tried to get another one of the guys to join me in the fun but it scurried deeper into the brush (I should have shot it while it was standing still).

Again, I went to the left and Ken came in from the right.  I saw the hog coming out of the brush and at first it looked like it was going to run right at me, but when it saw me it ran across my bow only five yards away.  Somehow I missed it with all three shots remaining in my magazine.  Jim also got off a shot at what he thought was a hog, but it was only a shadow.

We then finished the stalk and picked up my boar.  I dropped the guys off at the far end of the smaller section of woods for another stalk while I went to clean my pig.  He weighed 51 pounds (my first pig weighed about 80 lbs. but I didn’t figure out why the digital scale wasn’t working until after I cleaned the hog).  The other guys returned, not having seen anything.  Roy, Ken Miller, and I went to replace a section of fence that was mangled when a 270 lb. hog was caught in two snares there during the 2/6/09 – 2/8/09 hog hunt.  Jim, Grady, and Edward packed up camp.

In all we fired 15 shots at hogs, a new record, and bagged three hogs, which tied our second best outing at the CZC.

Between hunts I led us in a devotional called Practice and Jim led us on a devotional on walking by faith and the importance of personal discipleship.

2/6/09 – 2/8/09 Self-guided Hog Hunt (report by Mark Dillow and Randy Rowley)

Three officers and two members (five total participants) enjoyed a windy weekend hog hunt at the CzC Ranch near Mercury on 2/6/09 – 2/8/09.

The trip began uneventfully, but before our caravan of three trucks got beyond Liberty Hill, Randy’s truck experienced a blowout on the front driver’s side tire.  Mark Dillow and David Chalmers stopped to help, as did a friendly DPS officer who provided assistance keeping traffic safely away as we changed the tire.  Discount Tire replaced the tire by the way, even though it had 73,000 miles on it.

With the spare on, we traveled on to Lampasas where we dined on wonderful Storm’s cheeseburgers before resuming our trip to the CzC.

When we arrived at the ranch Randy’s driver side door was sprung when the wind jerked the door handle out of his hands.  We set up camp, which was challenging given the 25 mph winds.

After camp was set, we drove the ranch to fill feeders, check stands, and put out Randy’s magic hog slop.  We came back to camp and went to our respective stands around 5:00, with directions to return to camp by 7:30 for supper…which was perfect t-bone steaks, corn on the cob, and new potatoes.  After supper we returned to the stands to hunt until midnight.  None of us had any hogs come to our feeders that night.  The moon was nearly full, and the wind continued to howl.

Just after midnight Kevin Wall and Ronnie Ross drove into camp.  They were delayed by work and other obligations.  We had a great night’s sleep.  David arose early to hunt the pre-dawn hour, but saw nothing.  We ate a hearty “lumberjack” breakfast (if you have had one of Randy’s skillet breakfasts, you know whereof I speak), then headed out for a repeat of the tour of the ranch from the day before, putting out more slop and allowing Ronnie and Kevin to select stands.  We also put out some of Randy’s snares near holes in the fence in case the hogs tried to run though when the shooting started.

Chores complete, we gathered at the stock tank for some bass fishing.  Kevin and Mark fly fished.  Mark caught six bass, Kevin landed three bass and two perch, and Randy accounted for three bass.  All were released with a prayer for rain, as the tank is drawing down to only about one to two acres due to the drought.

Saturday evening we ate supper (fajitas) then headed to our stands around 5:00.  The winds were calmer, and the moon was bright.  At 7:30 I heard a single rifle shot.  Kevin had dropped an approximately 135 pound boar that came into his feeder with two smaller pigs.  He got stuck in soft sand trying to get the hog back to camp.  Randy assisted and pulled him out.  The guys processed the hog quickly, and the hunt continued.  No more hogs were seen that evening.  Ronnie radioed in that he would spend the night in Tim Price’s stand.

Sunday morning, David was again out early and heard several shots from Ronnie’s stand, even though we couldn’t hear them in camp. Randy and Kevin drove out to check on him, and found that he had discovered a boar caught in one of Randy’s snares.  More accurately he was caught in two snares.  The boar was caught as it entered the property.  When Ronnie approached, the boar tried to charge him.  Ronnie emptied his .357 magnum on the hog, but didn’t kill him. Randy applied the coup de grace with his .30-06 when he and Kevin drove up in the pickup…which the boar also tried to charge.

Back in camp the guys weighed Ronnie’s boar, and a new FCS record was established.  The boar weighed in at 270 pounds. Congratulations Ronnie!  Thanks to Daryl Shipper for donating a new scale to the Club by the way, although we’re going to have to take it back to Cabela’s due to being broke by too much pork.

David headed for home while we cleaned the boar.  He was then followed by Ronnie and Kevin.  Mark and Randy did a small group stalk but didn’t see any pigs.  Wade Cottrell (the land owner) has done a lot of clearing in his wooded acres.  The bulldozing may have encouraged the hogs to move to quieter parts.

On Saturday Mark led a devotional on being Ballast and Randy led a Bible study on being Rattled.

Randy finished his unfortunate weekend by hitting a Roadrunner on the way home.

2/7/09 Guided Upland Bird Hunt

One officer, two members, and one grandson (four total participants) had a great time at the 2/7/09 Guided Upland Bird Hunt at the Spanish Oaks Hunting Club near Thrall.  FCS member Joe Schram of Wing and Clay Shooting Sports was the guide.  About 15 quail were killed.  Kenneth Kidd reported that they hunted a field and a wooded area which was really good.  The wooded area had more cover and more birds.  The dogs did a great job and Joe really puts on a good hunt.  Dick Matteson’s grandson Matthew shot his very first quail early in the hunt in the field and later got one or more in the wooded area.

1/23/09 – 1/25/09 Non-Guided/Non-Chartered Blast and Cast (Duck Hunt and Fishing Trip)

Three officers, six members, and four first time guests (a record 13 participants) had a great time at the 1/23/09 – 1/25/09 Coastal Non-Guided/Non-Chartered Blast and Cast (Duck Hunt and Fishing Trip) near Corpus Christi.

For the first time we hunted on a Friday afternoon.  Five redheads were taken.

We had a really good hunt on Saturday, limiting out with a record 14 redheads.  Tim Price also wounded a pintail but it paddled away faster than Ron and his dog Daisy could walk after it.

A cold front hit on Saturday morning and the ducks must have spent the night out of the wind because the hunting on Sunday was not nearly as good (we only got four ducks, but one of them was a pintail that everyone shot).

The fishing shut down on Saturday morning.  Only non-keepers were caught.

There were two bummers.  Ken Miller’s hunting stool and a bag of Roy Brigman’s clothes blew out of Roy’s truck on IH 35 near San Marcos.  Fortunately Roy packed two bags of clothes and Academy had insulated hunting clothes at 50% off.  On Saturday night Roy, Ken, and I went to Academy.  We planned to buy a few things and then go fishing.  While we were shopping someone stole all of our fishing poles out of the bed of Roy’s truck.  I lost two favorite rods & reels (including one with an almost new $80 reel that my wife bought me for my birthday), Ken lost a rod & reel and a rod, and Roy lost a rod & reel.  We were blessed that the thieves left Roy and my tackle boxes, my shrimp shack bait bucket and aerator, my lantern, our chairs, and Roy’s dog Hershey alone.

On Friday night we had a great meal at Castaways in Port Aransas.  On Saturday night, for the first time ever at a coastal trip we had a fish and shrimp fry, with Tim and I doing the cooking (thanks Tim).  We also had great brunches on Saturday and Sunday, with Ron and I doing the cooking (thanks Ron).

I led us in the Bible study Equally Yoked on Saturday night.

1/16/09 – 01/18/09 Father/Child Deer and Hog Hunt

One officer, five members, one guest, and five sons (12 total participants) had a great time at the 1/16/09 – 1/18/09 Father/Child Deer and Hog Hunt at Frank Hamilton’s land near Trickham.  Isaac Price killed a nice doe.  Several men missed deer, one missed a hog, and another missed a coyote.  Several ducks were seen.  The participants also shot .22’s and handguns.  The participants would like to thank Frank for his incredible generosity.

1/10/09 Scholarship Deer Hunt (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter)

One officer, one member, and two boys (four total participants) had a great time at the 1/10/09 Scholarship Deer Hunt (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter) near San Saba.  Buddy Allen and David Smith took Josh Blumhagen and Daniel Reeves to a ranch for an evening hunt.  They had a couple of hours in the truck and had a chance to visit with the boys on their beliefs, share some stories, and talk about hunting, shooting, safety, management, and hunting ethics.  When they got the ranch, Steve had a rifle range set up for us and the boys were able to shoot a little bit, although there wasn’t much need as they both showed they could hit what they shot at.  They went to the stands and Josh was able to take a large doe.  Daniel saw a deer but wasn’t able to get a shot.  Again, this was the first time either of these boys had ever been deer hunting.

1/9/09 Scholarship Deer Hunt (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter)

One officer and one boy (two total participants) had a great time at the 1/9/09 Scholarship Deer Hunt (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter) near Dripping Springs.  David Smith took Blake Kendlick to the ranch.  Blake made a fine shot on a young deer.  This was the first time Blake shot a rifle with a scope and the first time he went deer hunting.

1/4/09 Scholarship Deer Hunt (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter)

One officer, two guests, and two sons (five total participants) had a great time at the 1/4/09 Scholarship Deer Hunt (Sponsored by the Buda Chapter).  The two kids each got a deer.

1/2/09 – 1/3/09 Winter Dove Hunt (Dilley)

One officer, three members, three guests, and one son (eight total participants) had a great time at the 1/2/09 – 1/3/09 Winter Dove Hunt at Lee Ewald’s ranches near Dilley.  Larry Dowden limited out on Friday.  Ian Carnegie came close to limiting out.  Ron Denison got eight birds.  Eddy Chance, Sean Chandler, Art Barrera, and Rich Beitel got a few birds.  Larry said that Friday was a beautiful day.  Ron and Alex Denison did some handgun and .22 rifle shooting in the afternoon.