Big Oak Bowhunting
I had the opportunity to go on one last hunt, before I deploy, this past weekend and I went to Big Oak. I was accompanied by Bisch, LemmeOut, Blacksunshine, and Tuco. Before I decided on where to go I asked around. Buff's name kept coming up in all of the conversations I had. I heard how good a guy he was and how awesome his place was, so I finally chose to book the hunt. Bisch jumped at the opportunity to go, as he had been several times before. Tres, Chris, and James were all anxious for the opportunity. We made the plans to meet up on Friday morning and drive up together. We left at around 10a.m. from Jarrell.
We pulled into the gates at B.O.B. at just a hair past 3p.m. Driving up the road next to the property we saw a ton of animals behind the high fence, including a huge axis buck. I was getting excited to say the least, we all were. Once we parked I was amazed by the beauty of the Main lodge and surrounding home place. When we went into the lodge I was even more amazed by the trophy wall. I mean, Holy smokes, there was everything on those walls
It was a regular smorgasborg of all the animals I have ever thought about shooting in my lifetime
Marty broke up our gawking with introductions and I was impressed with his personable, down to earth style. We had a bunch of questions and he answered all of them in stride. After a few minutes he suggested that we move down to our lodging, sign some paperwork, and get settled in before the evening hunt. The smaller lodge was extremely nice and had an awesome kitchen. We felt comfortable from the get go. Outside the lodge was a 3D shooting range with about 20 targets. I found out later that night that it was also lighted. Once we got settled in, Marty’s Niece, Whitney, offered to give us a tour of the property before we went out. We all loaded up and headed out.
Once inside the high fence we immediately started to see game. We saw Catalina, Corsican, Sika, Fallow, Red Stag, Axis, Blackbuck, etc. It was awesome!! We drove around for a little while and then looked at the clock. It was time to get ready. We got our hunting attire on, shot a few arrows, got our stand assignments (which were based upon what we wanted to hunt), and hopped back in the ranger at 5:15 to head out for the evening. James and I were placed in a ground blind overlooking a draw. He was going to film my hunt. We got settled in and the feeder went off at six. We had Sika and fallow in on us in no time and then came the goats. Once they came in the other animals left. Those things were huge though. Bisch was hunting one of them in particular, but if they would have stayed any longer he might have needed to change his plans.
Finally, the goats left and the feeder went off again at 7. All was quiet until 8:15 when the first pig came out, a huge sow. When I say huge, I mean that she was 200 pounds. I was about to shoot her when I heard more coming. I held off. Next thing you know we are covered up from 8 yards to 23 yards by swine!! A huge boar came in and I was trying to get settled for a shot on him but light was fading fast. He was not cooperating with me at all and finally it was too dark to shoot. Buff pulled up right after it got dark. We headed back to the lodge for dinner.
Other guys had seen stuff, but nobody drew blood that evening. I could have shot 3 or 4 100 pound pigs, but I held off for the big guy. Dinner was awesome. We had homemade Lasagna, soup, bread, salad, and hospitality galore. We all sat around the big table and shared each other’s company. I have to say that we did not pick on Bisch too much, honestly LOL When supper was over we sat and talked until almost 11. The alarm clock goes off rather quickly in the morning, so we called it a night and went to bed in short order. I was stuffed and slept like a rock;-)
The next day we got our assignments and were in the stands by 6:15. The feeders went off at 7 and again at 8. Bisch connected on the Goat he was after and Chris killed a pig. James and I saw all kinds of critters, but none that I wanted to shoot. Lunch was burgers and sausage. I went and helped fill up feeders to work some of those calories off. Mark and I spotted some bedded pigs and grabbed the bow for some piggy drive by action, but the pigs caught wind of what we were up to before an arrow could be loosed.
That evening we went back out and Buff tried to put everyone out where they would have success. Lots of animals were seen and there may have been a miss or two, but we won’t talk about that
Saturday night was Mexican food night at buffs place, to include stuffed jalapenos. Geez, you could have rolled me to my bed at the end of the night. Marty tried to get James and I back on the big Boar by putting out a fluorescent hog light, but we never saw him again.
Sunday morning came too fast and soon we were all back in the stand. At 6:55 we had a pig come in to our set up. James and I were in an elevated box blind in the back pasture. We got settled in and readied for the shot with camera rolling. At 7 the feeder went off and startled the boar a little bit. He pushed out about 4 yards and finally gave me a shot. I let the Grim Reaper eat and the pig ran 100 yards. I called Marty to come get us on the radio and he came right over with his trailing dog. They found the pig in no time. We loaded it up and headed back to the cleaning station. I cleaned my pig while Marty and Mark went to get the other guys. We put the pig into the walk in cooler and had a celebratory beer while waiting.
It turns out that no other shots were taken, but everyone saw plenty of animals. The Sika are absolutely huge on this ranch. I had a Gold Medal Sika feeding at 5 yards on four different occasions. I am saving my money
We all got cleaned up and headed up for breakfast, which we had done every morning as I had forgot to mention. We had eggs with biscuits and gravy. I think I gained five pounds!!
After cleaning up the lodge and packing up we headed up to the Main Lodge to settle our bill. I was happy to pay for what I believe was a great experience. Everyone left with a smile on their face and enough money in their wallet to get home;-)
My overall rating for Big Oak Bowhunting would be a 9, simply because I have never seen a 10 to compare it to. Marty and his family do all they can to get you on animals. They are personable and have the experience to make your time there a memorable one. Animals are plentiful and big animals are really all they have to offer. It is a top notch operation run by people who actually get it.
We pulled into the gates at B.O.B. at just a hair past 3p.m. Driving up the road next to the property we saw a ton of animals behind the high fence, including a huge axis buck. I was getting excited to say the least, we all were. Once we parked I was amazed by the beauty of the Main lodge and surrounding home place. When we went into the lodge I was even more amazed by the trophy wall. I mean, Holy smokes, there was everything on those walls
It was a regular smorgasborg of all the animals I have ever thought about shooting in my lifetimeMarty broke up our gawking with introductions and I was impressed with his personable, down to earth style. We had a bunch of questions and he answered all of them in stride. After a few minutes he suggested that we move down to our lodging, sign some paperwork, and get settled in before the evening hunt. The smaller lodge was extremely nice and had an awesome kitchen. We felt comfortable from the get go. Outside the lodge was a 3D shooting range with about 20 targets. I found out later that night that it was also lighted. Once we got settled in, Marty’s Niece, Whitney, offered to give us a tour of the property before we went out. We all loaded up and headed out.
Once inside the high fence we immediately started to see game. We saw Catalina, Corsican, Sika, Fallow, Red Stag, Axis, Blackbuck, etc. It was awesome!! We drove around for a little while and then looked at the clock. It was time to get ready. We got our hunting attire on, shot a few arrows, got our stand assignments (which were based upon what we wanted to hunt), and hopped back in the ranger at 5:15 to head out for the evening. James and I were placed in a ground blind overlooking a draw. He was going to film my hunt. We got settled in and the feeder went off at six. We had Sika and fallow in on us in no time and then came the goats. Once they came in the other animals left. Those things were huge though. Bisch was hunting one of them in particular, but if they would have stayed any longer he might have needed to change his plans.
Finally, the goats left and the feeder went off again at 7. All was quiet until 8:15 when the first pig came out, a huge sow. When I say huge, I mean that she was 200 pounds. I was about to shoot her when I heard more coming. I held off. Next thing you know we are covered up from 8 yards to 23 yards by swine!! A huge boar came in and I was trying to get settled for a shot on him but light was fading fast. He was not cooperating with me at all and finally it was too dark to shoot. Buff pulled up right after it got dark. We headed back to the lodge for dinner.
Other guys had seen stuff, but nobody drew blood that evening. I could have shot 3 or 4 100 pound pigs, but I held off for the big guy. Dinner was awesome. We had homemade Lasagna, soup, bread, salad, and hospitality galore. We all sat around the big table and shared each other’s company. I have to say that we did not pick on Bisch too much, honestly
LOL When supper was over we sat and talked until almost 11. The alarm clock goes off rather quickly in the morning, so we called it a night and went to bed in short order. I was stuffed and slept like a rock;-)The next day we got our assignments and were in the stands by 6:15. The feeders went off at 7 and again at 8. Bisch connected on the Goat he was after and Chris killed a pig. James and I saw all kinds of critters, but none that I wanted to shoot. Lunch was burgers and sausage. I went and helped fill up feeders to work some of those calories off. Mark and I spotted some bedded pigs and grabbed the bow for some piggy drive by action, but the pigs caught wind of what we were up to before an arrow could be loosed.
That evening we went back out and Buff tried to put everyone out where they would have success. Lots of animals were seen and there may have been a miss or two, but we won’t talk about that
Saturday night was Mexican food night at buffs place, to include stuffed jalapenos. Geez, you could have rolled me to my bed at the end of the night. Marty tried to get James and I back on the big Boar by putting out a fluorescent hog light, but we never saw him again. Sunday morning came too fast and soon we were all back in the stand. At 6:55 we had a pig come in to our set up. James and I were in an elevated box blind in the back pasture. We got settled in and readied for the shot with camera rolling. At 7 the feeder went off and startled the boar a little bit. He pushed out about 4 yards and finally gave me a shot. I let the Grim Reaper eat and the pig ran 100 yards. I called Marty to come get us on the radio and he came right over with his trailing dog. They found the pig in no time. We loaded it up and headed back to the cleaning station. I cleaned my pig while Marty and Mark went to get the other guys. We put the pig into the walk in cooler and had a celebratory beer while waiting.
It turns out that no other shots were taken, but everyone saw plenty of animals. The Sika are absolutely huge on this ranch. I had a Gold Medal Sika feeding at 5 yards on four different occasions. I am saving my money
We all got cleaned up and headed up for breakfast, which we had done every morning as I had forgot to mention. We had eggs with biscuits and gravy. I think I gained five pounds!! After cleaning up the lodge and packing up we headed up to the Main Lodge to settle our bill. I was happy to pay for what I believe was a great experience. Everyone left with a smile on their face and enough money in their wallet to get home;-)
My overall rating for Big Oak Bowhunting would be a 9, simply because I have never seen a 10 to compare it to. Marty and his family do all they can to get you on animals. They are personable and have the experience to make your time there a memorable one. Animals are plentiful and big animals are really all they have to offer. It is a top notch operation run by people who actually get it.
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