A year in the life of a farm

[elgato]

Another good morning on the farm. I bartered with this buddy for a couple of ranch king blinds. His biggest buck to date.6 yr old 164 4/8. 44" mass Good trade for us both.

[Mex. Bowhunter]

Great deer Rusty. congrats to the hunter

[Patton]

Another incredible deer, very impressive as always

[Backwoods101]

What a hoss!

[BillyloMexico]

That second picture he really shines!!! Awesome buck!

[Txdeerhunter243]

Awesome bucks!

[elgato]

That second picture he really shines!!! Awesome buck!

I only included that top photo to show his mass. He had no body fat with spine showing and still weighed 200 lbs.

[TildenHunter]

Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to take us along.

[BIG BONE]

great buck
love that mass

[BolilloLoco]

Crazy mass

[JAGR]

I know this thread is dedicated to your LA farm, but after watching your Rancho El Gato video it's got me wondering how things are going down there?

[BillyloMexico]

I know this thread is dedicated to your LA farm, but after watching your Rancho El Gato video it's got me wondering how things are going down there?

LOL those videos will ruin you!!! I have the whole collection of the last 5 or 6 years! I almost quit hunting Mexico after seeing his deer!! Man he's doing things right.

[elgato]

As mentioned earlier, it was a good day on the farm. I left the barn as the guys were finishing up cleaning the buck. I rounded a corner and this buck was 60 yards away calm as could be. I watched him with binocs for 3 or 4 minutes before he walked off. All along I thought him to be a 190-195 10 pt. After this opportunity to study him I think 195-200 is closer... maybe a bit more. He is a giant.

I have a 195" 10 on my wall and he is every bit as big if not bigger. It's hard to call a straight 10pt 200" but he is a candidate. I think him to be 6 and he gets a pass till next yr.And one last data point thats fun.....he was about 450 yds from my entrance to the farm. I call him Rolling Stone ...to be continued next yr!

[JAGR]

LOL those videos will ruin you!!! I have the whole collection of the last 5 or 6 years! I almost quit hunting Mexico after seeing his deer!! Man he's doing things right.

The nutrition and age structure he has on both his farm/ranch is top notch!

It would be awesome just to take a video camera to Rancho El Gato.

[elgato]

I know this thread is dedicated to your LA farm, but after watching your Rancho El Gato video it's got me wondering how things are going down there?

Actually , I'm not really sure how things are on the ranch this yr. Here is a lesson I'm learning in comparing the two properties. In La. it rains. That opens up tremendous possibilities to enhance nutrition. I can grow quality crops year round complimented with protein pellets in the antler growing season. That coupled with intensive micro management of a herd and the habitat yields the consistent results you are seeing here.

In Mexico the quality of the brush is very high. Unfortunately rains can be very inconsistent and untimely compromising the quality of the forage there. We feed year round but I have learned you can't out feed a drought. True we have tremendous trophies in droughts but it takes a lot more acreage and a lot more pellets. We have a very high quality deer herd there but it's fairly rare when the entire herd fully expresses its potential. I think we can do that most years here in La.

That said here is a teaser of what a good Mexican ranch can produce.I got to run the cameras about a week on a dove hunt and this is what I found

As mentioned I have a video tutorial in nature from the ranch last yr. PM me if interested. Just know I'm about to wrap this thread up for a while and head south of the border.