From Sixgunner.Com about 21 or 22 Years Ago

by JimT, Texas, Saturday, June 04, 2022, 19:24 (903 days ago)
edited by JimT, Saturday, June 04, 2022, 19:41

HUNTING HOGS AT THE REED RANCH

The first weekend of May found a number of the readers of this site on the Reed Ranch just outside of Kerens, Texas. We had gathered there as part of a hunt initiated by Robert Adams. Rob had hunted the ranch before, shot hogs there, and had approached the owner (known as "Ole Jim" .. though he didn't seem so old) about doing a hunt for the readers of Sixgunner.Com. This was set up as a 2-day affair, arriving Friday and hunting Friday and Saturday in 2 different groups since the number of hunters permitted to hunt at the same time was limited.

The Reed Ranch has been in their family for a number of years. The family moved to Texas from South Carolina around 1893. Grandma Reed was a far-thinking woman and after her husband's untimely death in 1913 she started buying up property and putting the Ranch together. The present Ranch has been held by the family since 1940. Ole Jim is the first single owner, it previously having been held in partnership with various family members.

The Reed Ranch was run as a commercial cow/calf operation and still is in fact. The only hunting done on it was by family until after Ole Jim become sole owner. People began asking about hunts on it and finally in 1998 he formed "Ole Jim's Hunting & Fishing Club" on the Ranch. This club does hunting for Whitetail Deer, wild hogs and ducks, and does river fishing. At the present there are 17 members. Membership is limited to the Annual Deer Surveys done by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Since forming the club and operating by TP&W Dept. standards the Reed Ranch has increased the Buck to Doe percentage and has also lowered the number of fawns who die. (Fawn Mortality Rate)

While membership in Old Jim's Hunting & Fishing Club is limited, the Ranch also offers scheduled Hog Hunts for groups as well as some limited Personal hog hunts. Hog hunting is conducted under the watchful eye of Guide Kevin Ryer ... a nicer gentleman you will not meet. He went out of his way to make us comfortable as possible and to try and get us where the hogs were.

Since the Fall of 1998 107 hogs have been taken off the Reed Ranch. Old Jim guessed that the average weight would be around 140 pounds. The largest hog taken so far weighed in at 272 pounds.

There are a couple small cabins for hunters to bunk in on the Ranch which will sleep 8 to 10 people. There are cooking facilities, water, and a bathroom, but no shower or bathing facilities.

The Guides will pick up the hogs if you shoot any and transport them back to the Ranch. Most people skin and clean their own, but Kevin will do it for you if ask. He has not been charging for this service, but he does accept tips for doing so. If you are not one who wants to skin and clean your own but you want it done, I would expect you to tip him right well for doing that job for you.

There are no butchering facilities on the Ranch so if you are going to keep the meat, come prepared. Bring an ice chest and ice to pack it in. Bring some good knives, a meat/bone saw and if you want to wrap it while doing the cutting, bring butcher paper.

Most of the hog hunting is done at night, though they do allow hunts in the daytime. Night hunts are the most productive since hogs are on the move then, looking for food. Come prepared with night equipment - portable spotlights, flashlights, etc.

There are feeders placed at strategic locations within the Safety Zones established on the Ranch. At the feeders there are stands and "uppers" to hunt from, all set in natural settings and in locations where the hogs frequently move. The ground is basically East Texas wetlands so be prepared for wet conditions, bugs and crawling things.

The Ranch does have No Alcohol/No Beer policy.

I picked up El Cazador at the Tulsa Airport on Wednesday evening and Thursday we drove to Texas. Car troubles on the way plagued us but we made it to Billy Boots place that evening. His mechanic had our car fixed and on the road the next day and it was just a couple hours on to the Reed Ranch from Billy's hacienda. Directions to the Ranch were provided by Rob and got us right to the door with no problems. Hunting licenses were picked up in Kerens, TX. A 5-day special license cost $37.00.

We met everyone there, putting faces with names. I was glad to be able to meet Rob Adams in person finally, as well as The Alsatian, Mcump, Shawn45, and others. Some I had met previously at the Confederate Sixgunners shoot in Mississippi last September and it was good to see them again.

As evening approached we were given a map of the ranch, assigned hunting areas, given radios, and then loaded on a trailer pulled by a 4-wheeler and hauled off into the woods. The stand Caz and I were hunting on was one of the farther ones, about 3 miles from the Ranch headquarters. Sometime after 6PM we reached it, having seen deer and what might have been some hogs in the distance.

Just after dark we heard shooting from several locations which got us excited. As the night wore on and it got darker and darker I started getting sleepy. Sometime late I laid down on the stand and fell asleep while Caz stood watch. Well, he sat watch. Anyhow..... I was awakened around 11:30 by thunder, lightning and rain. And it started to really come down. Figuring this was going to last awhile we took the carpet from the floor of the stand (which was a raised 4' x 8' platform) and put in on the ground under the stand. We hung a poncho over the side of the stand to keep the rain from blowing on us and then we crawled under the stand ... which is where we spent the next 4 1/2 or 5 hours, watching the lightning pop around us an listening to the wind howl.

We had missed the 11 o'clock Radio Check. The next one was at 2AM. By then the temperature had fallen a bit and Caz and I were sitting back to back to try and keep warm. Other than being cramped, the bugs crawling all over us, and trying to sleep sitting up while damp and cold it wasn't too bad. At least we were fairly dry and out of the mud.

We made the Radio Check at 2AM and when asked if we wanted to come in we told them we would be very happy to. The problem was the bottom land gumbo was now wet enough that only a 4-wheeler could get in and out and they had 12 other hunters to pick... 2 at a time ... and we were at the bottom of the list. But we were reassured they would get to us. No problem, we hung on for several hours and by 4:30AM were picked up and transported out. The rain had stopped by then so we did not get wet getting back to the Ranch.

Everyone was in by then, some already asleep! 4 hogs had been taken, the largest by The Alsatian, who used a .45-70 rifle and Garrett Cartridge's heavy load to clobber the porker. He also shot a shoat. Dewayne had taken 2 nice ones also.

I got to bed by 5 AM and was promptly awakened 3 or 4 hours later by everyone else getting up. Oh well.. we were here to have fun! We had a good time visiting and teasing Mcump about his toes leaking out of his shoes. He had tried to dry his wet shoes after coming in from the hunt and had left them near the wood fire... and melted off the front part! Such is the perils of hog hunting. But he did not let it slow him down any. A real trooper, Mcump is... he valiantly endured our teasing and refused my offer to paint his toe black so it would not show.

Rob held a drawing to give away the prizes donated by some of the advertisers and sponsors of Sixgunner.Com. Everyone there won something. There was ammunition donated by Buffalo Bore Ammunition, Black Hills Ammunition, Garrett Cartridges, and Cor-Bon. Cast bullets, a hat and a t-shirt were donated by Cast Performance Bullet Co. There were books by Krause Publications. Grip Maker donated a Certificate good for one set of grips. I don't remember what else was given away now. But we sure do thank all the sponsors who helped out.

At noon we drove to Corsicana and met for lunch at the Sirloin Stockade. There Black Bart, Wilson Dew and the Mattingly's met us for lunch. It was all too brief and went by too fast. It sure was a good time though and I enjoyed meeting everyone.

Back at the Ranch after lunch we did some informal shooting. Everyone started out shooting rocks and cans at a little beyond arms length and I had to stretch them out a bit by getting them to shoot at a rock a little ways up the hill from us. After a little while most everyone was hitting it once in awhile... till Billy Boots showed up. He might have missed it once or twice while using a borrowed gun. Certainly he did not miss it with his own pistol.

By then Caz and I had to get on the road and took our leave. The time went by all too fast. Let me say I sure appreciate Rob setting up the hunt, and Ole Jim for having us. I wish I could have spent more time talking with all you who were there.

From what I heard, Sat. nights hunt was a repeat of Friday's... no.. I guess it was worse as far as the weather goes. But that's hunting. I look forward to doing it again one day.

The Group

Mike Cumpston's shoe

Scott and his pig

Dewayne .. may he rest in peace