Holman Hunts will be stories from my hunting memory archives. It will also be articles about wildlife and livestock management. This endeavor is the brainchild of my daughter, Kate. Her encouragement prods me to sit in front of a keyboard when I would rather be doing work outside.
A little background may help. I was born in ‘53 and lucky to be born into a family that lived in a small Southeast Texas town and double lucky enough to have a grandfather who purchased some ranches in the 1930’s. Hunting and a natural curiosity of nature was in my genes. I was also fortunate that I had a daddy that encouraged me. His method was to give me a few basic pointers, make sure my rifle was safe, dish out a hand full of 22 shells that slid nicely into my pockets (I loved how they got shiny from rubbing on the fabric after a few days) and then point me to the woods and allow me to explore and experiment to my heart’s content. It probably helped that I eventually grew fond of reading and spent many hours digesting outdoor magazines and hunting books. This reading later graduated to technical papers as I majored in Wildlife Science at Texas A&M University in College Station.
I killed my first buck when I was seven years old. Everyone remembers their first deer. I could not be more proud of that animal if it had been a Yukon moose. I used a Savage Model 340 in 222 Remington. Open sight. It was perfectly broadside and I hit the little 3 point buck square in the shoulder at about 75 yards. I was sitting on my dad’s lap on some 2×6 boards nailed into a platform in an old post oak tree. The deer took one big rabbit hop into the brush and I found it laying but looking back over its shoulder on an old cow trail about 15 yards inside the woods. I knelt down shakily and finished it with a neck shot. That did it. I was like a tiger cub that got its first sniff of blood. There was no stopping me now! I have taken bucks on our family ranch every year since then. Let’s see, that gives me 55 years of deer hunting experience.
Along the way I broadened my white tail hunting with opportunities in South Texas, the Texas Hill Country, and the Texas Big Bend. During all of this time I was not only hunting personally but guiding as well. I have hunted desert mule deer near Presidio, Ft. Davis, Sierra Blanca and Langtry in West TX. I have hunted Rocky Mountain Mule Deer near Raton, New Mexico, Monticello, Utah and near Cortez, Colbran, and Rifle Colorado .I have hunted elk in Colorado on three occasions.
The last 20-25 years, game regulations in Texas have given landowners quite of bit of flexibility regarding harvesting excessive animals from ranches. I hate to guess but I am certain that over two hundred and fifty deer have fallen while viewed through my scope. I have taken only one doe with an arrow. I simply like guns.
As you may guess, with this background, I have become pretty opinionated regarding rifles, rifle calibers, scopes, bullets, shot placement and game cleaning. All of those topics will eventually be written about. One can only hunt with a rifle a few months each year. The rest of the time we can think about wildlife and discuss what makes wildlife click. Buck/doe ratio, fawn crops, spikes, buck culling, food plots, supplemental feeding, native habitat discussions and other topics will be hit on. An equally big part of my background has been working with livestock on our family’s ranches. Wildlife and livestock go hand and hand. I will write about cattle, grazing systems, cattle breeds, cattle husbandry, and breeding strategies.
Along the way, I encourage your opinions and comments. Heck, who knows what else will pop out of my head. It ought to be fun.
JH
