2009 Deer Season complete

We ended the 2009 deer season with this nice 4x5 whitetail for Tom Bolding. Jeremy and I are looking forward to another great season next year.

Another Record-Breaker

A new ranch record was set for whitetail last night, when Stu Lilly bagged this 178" 8x5. It was only the first day of the hunt, but there was no question this monster was the one, and Stu dropped him with a single shot.

Gone Huntin'

Jeremy drew an archery tag for Colorado mule deer this year so he's been trying to find time to hunt for himself amongst guiding and scouting for customers. This past week we had some free time so we headed over to Colorado to try to find a monster buck. Find him, we did, but it turns out that getting close enough to shoot him with a bow is a lot harder than I thought. We were hunting in canyon country and it was rough. We walked about 10 miles each day and it was either straight up or straight down. Luck wasn't in our favor but we got to see some pretty country so it was worth it even without a trophy to bring home.

To the left is the view I saw most of the time as I had a hard time keeping up with Jeremy's long

stride.

Yes, the rocks were steep, but we unleashed our inner mountain goat and went right up 'em. The one below included.

Pretty Trees

Even though we live on the prairie, we have a lot of beautiful trees near our house. This time of year, each day their leaves are changing color and disappearing. I got a few pictures when they were prettiest. It's views like this that make me feel so blessed to live here. Almost makes up for all the snakes..... almost.

Another 100% Successful Antelope Season

Five trophy antelope in three days. Texas Pronghorn season opened on Saturday Oct. 3. We welcomed four members of the Texas Predator Posse on Friday and three of them shot these nice bucks the next day.

The final hunter of the group took his antelope on Sunday.

Monday we hosted another hunter from Austin, Texas, who shot this big antelope.

The five antelope ranged in scores from 72 7/8 to 82 5/8. Thanks to all our great clients for a very successful pronghorn season and to Jeremy's brother Jerad for all his help guiding.

Next up: pheasant and quail hunts in southwest Kansas.

New Record

Today we set a new record for the largest mule deer shot off the ranch. Dr. Michael Atha, from Texas, dropped this 243" 10 x 11 giant with one shot from 59 yards. It was a textbook stalk in 90-degree weather after a two-day pursuit.

This hunt concludes the early muzzleloader season for us, and we're headed back to Texas for antelope season.

A Great Way to Start the Season

Hunting season is officially here, and we had our first successful harvest of the season today, Sept. 22. Harlan Anderson, a repeat customer from Missouri, shot this nice Mule Deer on the second day of the hunt that scored just shy of 180. This is during the early muzzleloader season and he still had a bit of velvet on. Our next hunter will arrive on Friday for his chance at a big Muley.

Gone Fishin'

August 12-16 Jeremy and I went fishing in the Rocky Mountains near Saguache, Colo. We were invited to go with Jeremy's sister Amanda and her boyfriend Nick Peterson. Nick' s family has been traveling to this area for years and he knew all the good spots. We spent three days, four nights there. The chilly nights made us thankful for Nick's grandparents' camper. The last morning it even frosted! We rode into the mountains each day with lunch and fishing supplies on the pack horse.

We caught a bunch of trout of all types.
It was Jeremy's first trip fly fishing and he really enjoyed it.

It was my first trip riding in the mountains and I loved the beautiful scenery. Nick spotted some elk way up above timberline the last day we were there. This picture is through Jeremy's binoculars. They were a long ways away.

We had a great time and can't wait to go again next year. For all of the pictures click here.

XIT History in Art

For those of you who may not know, Buffalo Springs Ranch is so named because it's centered around a series of natural springs called Buffalo Springs. It is historic because for centuries it has been a gathering place for everyone from indians to cowboys to buffalo hunters. It is rumored Kit Carson camped here. Toward the end of the 19th century it was the first headquarters of the famous XIT Ranch which was once the largest ranch in the world at 3 million acres. You can read more about the XIT Ranch history here.

Here are some pictures of the interesting features around the ranch.
This is a cookhouse. You can see in the front there is one door that swings in and one that swings out. That way cowboys could go in one door and out the other as they were filling their plates.
Here are the old XIT barns and corrals. Kind of falling down now, but you can picture it.
This is the original XIT house.
The house again.

This is a monument erected on the ranch, right next to our house.

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Now, in Dalhart there is an XIT Museum and they commissioned artist M.S. Franco to paint an acrylic picture of Buffalo Springs. Last night we attended the unveiling of the painting at the museum during the XIT Rodeo and Reunion in Dalhart. You can view the picture on Franco's web site here.

It was interesting to be a young couple amongst many old-timers who were excited to see the painting. It reminded me of how lucky we are to live and work on such a historic and beautiful place which is a legendary landmark among older generations around here.

Pronghorn Antelope Season?

Well its hard to believe the summer is almost over and it is that time of the year again, hunting season! We are only about 45 days from our first hunt of the season. We have started scouting for antelope here on the ranch in Texas. The season looks promising with some good horn growth this year. Look for more pics and video as season gets closer.

If anybody would like to join us on a Pronghorn Antelope hunt this year visit our website at www.sagebrushhunts.com for more info.

Jeremy

Unlucky Quatro

We bought a new colt, a yearling we named Quatro, (because he was lot 4) at the Caprock Ranchers’ Sale in Clarendon a couple weeks ago. We bought him from Mikael Nixon of nearby Amistad, N.M. He is by Genuine as Diamonds (118 pts in heading and heeling) and out of a daughter of Lean With Me out of an own daughter of Be Aech Enterprise. He should make a nice horse.

But, we went and picked him up on Sunday and Monday morning he was snake bit. It's quite a problem around here. We have rattlesnakes galore and have already treated two steers for snakebite this summer. We found him quick and got him doctored and he has made a near full recovery. This is why we kill every rattlesnake we see.