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Making Progress: getting work done in Coleman county

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    So did this thread die or did he pick it up in a new one?

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      I reckon i will restart this thread. Lots of changes both in the ranch and in my life. I have a new perspective and a new appreciation for all of this.

      I have more free time now, and live at the ranch full time. I high fenced it back in June (i think) of last year. I have since added 5 aoudad, 11 blackbuck, and 4 deer.

      It is amazing how green it is out here currently. All of my tanks are completely full, and even though i have about 40 animals in here they are not hitting the feed very hard. Plentiful groceries for all!

      After i graduated i guided for a few ranches. It burned me out on hunting for a while, but i sure like seeing other people kill critters. This is Brandon, a friend of mine i hadn't seen since 2012. His wife contacted me and said she wanted to get him his first animal with a bow. Last week we made it happen! He was thrilled and (for a sheep) it was a very fun and actually pretty challenging hunt. We stalked them all through the hills and finally set up in a cedar and waited on them to come to us. Perfect shot on a beautiful silver medal dall. We found a nice picture rock on the hill that i hope sees many more smiles and trophies in the future.
      Attached Files

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        Back to my main focus, the deer. I trapped a few native deer when we completed the fence, and made it a point to not attract deer in and then close the fence behind them. I cut off all feeders for a month prior to completion so i didn't "steal" deer from the neighbors. I know it is legal, but it would bother me. Regardless, about 15 native deer were trapped in the fence.

        I purchased 2 bred doe from a fellow , or maybe former, tbher. Wouldn't you know the luck when they threw 3 doe fawns. Oh well, better genetics and we will just have to lay off young doe harvest for a bit.

        Now, i do not want my herd to be "purchased" nor completely native. I want the breeders to bring the native herd up, and the natives to bring the breeders down. That being said, i started strong with some high power genetics out of these two bucks.

        The first is Dozer out of south Tx.

        The second is a northern deer named Megatron (shadow over maxbo's half sister) for any breeder savvy tbhers.

        No i do not really like the look of Megatron, and i don't expect any freaks after crossing his doe fawns with the native bucks.
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          Tagged for reading later

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            Next week everything will come full circle. Lets go back to 2011.

            Just out of high school i arrived at SFA to begin the forest wildlife program. I got in touch with Dr. Kroll and began working at his facility.

            I step up to the chute with no idea what to expect and the instruction to "grab antlers and hold on."

            Well, when the door opened there was a very angry 330" buck making every attempt to get out of the chute. An adrenalin rush later, i was hooked.

            I have kept in touch with Dr. Kroll and every year participate in his research study, which happened to be last month. In talking with them i mentioned i was looking to add a buck to the property to cover the native doe. We made an agreement and next week i will be returning back to that facility were i first developed a passion for growing deer. I don't know that anyone will really understand why or how special this is to me, but it is.

            I will be picking up 3 bucks out of what i hear will be some of the last deer Dr. Kroll will ever produce.These will be coming 2 year olds. Here are a couple sires and grandsires pictured below. Can you say mass? This is not the "look" i am going for, but these will be fantastic additions to the herd.
            Attached Files

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              I will continue this in the next several days. I hope you enjoy, I know i sure do.

              -Michael

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                THANKS for the update! Congrats & Good luck in your endeavor!

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                  Congrats on living the dream!

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                    Looking forward to following sir...

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                      Glad your back

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                        Thanks for the update. Nice to see what you are doing to your place.

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                          I had someone send me a pm about spreading cwd...ect. I will address this for everyone.

                          At this point i have native deer, and deer from a certified herd. I made this decision before cwd was discovered due to the thought of what might have happened if i had deer from a lesser certified facility. As it turns out, 2 months later cwd found and restrictions were put in place. Even though i would be grandfathered in without restrictions because i purchased before the date the restrictions came out, it is good peace of mind to know that my risk of CWD is 0.

                          I am a Class 1 release site meaning i do not have to do any cwd testing. I have purchased 3 more bucks from another certified herd, and do not plan to ever bring in deer that are not certified.

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                            Glad to see you are back. I enjoy reading about your place. It is very insightful. My parents have a place about the same size and me and my brother have been dropping very big hints about high fencing it. I think my dad is coming around real slowly but might get him. Thanks for sharing all the knowledge is appreciated.

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                              Originally posted by stxslayer View Post
                              Glad to see you are back. I enjoy reading about your place. It is very insightful. My parents have a place about the same size and me and my brother have been dropping very big hints about high fencing it. I think my dad is coming around real slowly but might get him. Thanks for sharing all the knowledge is appreciated.
                              Feel free to ask me any questions or concerns you may have. I'd be glad to help.

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                                What type of numbers are you looking at carrying on your place? Buck to doe ratios? Exotics - what and how many?

                                Looking for as much information you are willing to share. I am in the process of putting up a fence on a simular size place near Hico.

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