I've read some excellent write-ups on properties on this forum and I wanted to share my family's ranch and some of the milestones we have crossed.
Two years ago, my father decided he wanted to purchase a ranch. This was surprising, my father has never showed much interest in anything outdoors related. Hunting has been my passion, my grandfather has always focused on cattle. In preparation for retirement, my father wanted to find a ranch that he could retire on down the road. In the meantime, my grandfather could live on the ranch year round and run some cattle. With grandkids coming sooner than later, my father felt the timing was right.
My family found a 230 acre ranch near New Ulm, Tx outside of Houston. Perfect location for the family. Big enough for our purposes and small enough to be easily managed. We toured the property and knew it would be perfect for what we had planned. 180 acres of fenced pasture and 50 acres of woods. The previous rancher had died and his children had not had cattle or hunted the property in almost a decade.
JM ranch has four ponds, roughly 8 acres of overall water. The property is covered in live oaks and post oaks. Deer, coyotes, bobcats, hogs, and ducks are commonly seen. The ranch has 11 pastures, the cattle are rotated every three days. Each pasture has had massive soil improvements and we annually plant rye, clover, veg, and oats. The first year was spent building cross fences and focusing on soil improvements.
The property is first and foremost a cattle ranch. My grandfather lives on the property and manages the cattle. We currently are focusing on F1 brafords. We lease JD Hudgins brahman bulls and Brite Ranch herefords. We were fortunate enough to get a son and grandson from Elmo this year. The calves we have produced have been spectacular.
For the purposes of TBH, this thread will primarily be about hunting. We have had the property for two years. The first year I was still going to college in Virginia and only had a few opportunities to hunt. The second year I was back in Texas after graduation and I got to hunt more. The property is MLD and we are able to get doe tags. The past two years we have had five doe tags each year. We have had very few hogs which is fantastic. We have not seen any turkeys but I find turkey feathers four or five times a year. We have seen them down the road from us.
After purchasing the property I ran a heavy trail camera survey. Survey showed that there are an insane amount of does, lots of young bucks, and very few mature bucks. The biggest challenge with this property is the hunting pressure around us. Our property is surrounded by 10 acre parcels and every parcel has a feeder and blind, makes for lots of pressure and tough hunting for mature deer.
I know the chances of harvesting a 150+” whitetail in this area are slim. If this property is able to produce an occasional 130” or 140” buck I will be happy.
The first year habitat improvements were food plots and supplemental feeding. This year I have focused on cover and sanctuaries. Hinge cutting select areas and clearing trifoliate orange and other invasives should help. The 180 acres of pasture have seen massive soil improvements. The pastures all have clover, veg, rye, and oats. The deer are fat and healthy with all the natural browse, feed, and food plots. During my latest hog hunt I saw 14 does, like I said earlier, we have alot of does.
Skidsteer and a mulcher will be back at the ranch June 15th. I will post some before and after photos and videos. I am focusing on clearing woods that will be ideal bedding areas. Once that is done I will hang some stands in staging areas and travel corridors. I should be able to get some opportunities as the deer travel to pastures and food plots for the evening and night feeds.
Anyways, if yall want to read along I will post updates and the latest news from JM ranch. If anything, this can be a great way for me to track all the improvements we have done so I can watch the progression overtime.
Two years ago, my father decided he wanted to purchase a ranch. This was surprising, my father has never showed much interest in anything outdoors related. Hunting has been my passion, my grandfather has always focused on cattle. In preparation for retirement, my father wanted to find a ranch that he could retire on down the road. In the meantime, my grandfather could live on the ranch year round and run some cattle. With grandkids coming sooner than later, my father felt the timing was right.
My family found a 230 acre ranch near New Ulm, Tx outside of Houston. Perfect location for the family. Big enough for our purposes and small enough to be easily managed. We toured the property and knew it would be perfect for what we had planned. 180 acres of fenced pasture and 50 acres of woods. The previous rancher had died and his children had not had cattle or hunted the property in almost a decade.
JM ranch has four ponds, roughly 8 acres of overall water. The property is covered in live oaks and post oaks. Deer, coyotes, bobcats, hogs, and ducks are commonly seen. The ranch has 11 pastures, the cattle are rotated every three days. Each pasture has had massive soil improvements and we annually plant rye, clover, veg, and oats. The first year was spent building cross fences and focusing on soil improvements.
The property is first and foremost a cattle ranch. My grandfather lives on the property and manages the cattle. We currently are focusing on F1 brafords. We lease JD Hudgins brahman bulls and Brite Ranch herefords. We were fortunate enough to get a son and grandson from Elmo this year. The calves we have produced have been spectacular.
For the purposes of TBH, this thread will primarily be about hunting. We have had the property for two years. The first year I was still going to college in Virginia and only had a few opportunities to hunt. The second year I was back in Texas after graduation and I got to hunt more. The property is MLD and we are able to get doe tags. The past two years we have had five doe tags each year. We have had very few hogs which is fantastic. We have not seen any turkeys but I find turkey feathers four or five times a year. We have seen them down the road from us.
After purchasing the property I ran a heavy trail camera survey. Survey showed that there are an insane amount of does, lots of young bucks, and very few mature bucks. The biggest challenge with this property is the hunting pressure around us. Our property is surrounded by 10 acre parcels and every parcel has a feeder and blind, makes for lots of pressure and tough hunting for mature deer.
I know the chances of harvesting a 150+” whitetail in this area are slim. If this property is able to produce an occasional 130” or 140” buck I will be happy.
The first year habitat improvements were food plots and supplemental feeding. This year I have focused on cover and sanctuaries. Hinge cutting select areas and clearing trifoliate orange and other invasives should help. The 180 acres of pasture have seen massive soil improvements. The pastures all have clover, veg, rye, and oats. The deer are fat and healthy with all the natural browse, feed, and food plots. During my latest hog hunt I saw 14 does, like I said earlier, we have alot of does.
Skidsteer and a mulcher will be back at the ranch June 15th. I will post some before and after photos and videos. I am focusing on clearing woods that will be ideal bedding areas. Once that is done I will hang some stands in staging areas and travel corridors. I should be able to get some opportunities as the deer travel to pastures and food plots for the evening and night feeds.
Anyways, if yall want to read along I will post updates and the latest news from JM ranch. If anything, this can be a great way for me to track all the improvements we have done so I can watch the progression overtime.
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