5F Ranch

edward

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5F RANCH

watermark.php


watermark.php


Well, here it is oct, 2011. little over a year ago Deena and i hunted with james and doc at high adventure ranch. had a great time. this year Deena and i hunted with james at the 5F, ranch in texas. we all had a super great time!!!ill let James tell his story, our part can be summed up by saying we got every thing we wanted. Deena wanted a sow meat pig that she got on the first late afternoon, a perfect shot with her scope sighted contender in 35 rem at 104 yards. it was a great hunt. we were guided by the son of the owners, nick. he took us out and stationed Deena at a small tree that over looked the area that the pig had been seen the past two nights. Deena had her duffle bag stuffed in the v of the tree, a perfect rest. how ever she was a little short and really had to stretch to get a good sight pic. during the time we were waiting for the pigs to show we saw quite an assortment of game coming and going. at one point a beautiful axis showed up and i could tell she was thinking about taking him, but she stuck to her pig. nick and i sat there and Deena stood there for about two hours before the pigs started to show up. big black hogs, little squeakers, and a group of sows. Deena had cocked her gun and was standing tall and concentrating on the sows that wouldn't stand still. finely one stood a couple of seconds to long in one spot, that was it, BANG, WOP, AND DEAD!!not even a quiver. one shot, 104 yards. as we started down to the pig i realized i had three rounds of her ammo in my hand, she had only the one round, when i mentioned this, she said, only had time for one shot anyway. she of coarse was right as the pigs vacated the area before the sound of the shot died down . nick had went to retrieve the side by side and pulled up and we took pics and loaded the pig an headed to the skinning area. i mite just mention that these pigs are the wild pigs that are a problem in texas and not the bought at a auction kind. my hunt took place earlier in the morning and Deena and I were guided by lane Lanning, one of the owners of the 5F, ranch. my goal was an african water buck. this was our first day of a three day hunt and we were up early, had coffee and were on our way. we drove in a side by side for a good distance and parked. lane led the way with a flashlight. i was shooting my s&w, pc 12 inch barrel, scope sighted 460 s&w mag with Hornady factory ammo with the 200 gr sst. i was also carrying my new 475, that dixie firearms made for me in case i had a close shot. that was loaded with the Hornady 400 gr xtp at 1300 f.p.s. we walked for quite a ways and then came out in a clearing. we sat down against the trees behind and waited for it to get light. as it got light i could see three feeders out in front of us. nothing was moving. a few moments later and deer started to move around, then some rams, a nice ibex, and more deer. we sat there for close to an hour and then moved to a hunt an stalk method. we walked and walked. down a dry creek bed and up the other side. a few steps and glass, this was repeated over and over. lane was very careful not to make any sudden or noisy moves. soon lane froze and motioned us down. he had found a small group of waterbucks that had the biggest bull with them. i had seen nothing yet, Deena was behind me. he had Deena kneel down buy a tree and had me rest against a large oak tree and he was squatted down low watching the waterbucks advance. i finely saw the females, then the male but they were going down into the dry creek bed. the distance was 92 yards. we waited and waited, only to see a female every now and then. i was trying to get my duffel bag to cling to the side of the tree i was using as a rest but the bag kept slipping down. this gun is big and heavy and i wanted to use the bag to take most of the weight. id put it on the bag and down it would slide, up and down. it was becoming a comedy of errors. the females were getting closer and closer. lane was trying to video the approach with his camera and keep sight of the bull at the same time. all of a sudden a female walks right up the bank and we are all busted, Deena squatted down, lane all cramped up trying not to move and I'm trying to hold the gun on the bag and not let it slide down in front of this female who is starring holes through us. woof, she says and stamps her hoof. nobody moves, woof she says again, stamping her hoof again. by now i want to squat down and put the s&w down and draw my 475 out but i cant move, its eyeball to eyeball. i now have the gun on my thumb sticking out and that is my rest. panic city, the bulls horns are coming up the bank, he's standing right in front of us all, the female woofs again and stomps again and the bull is in full view now, i see lane slowly sticking his finger in his ear, i don't need a tree to fall on me so very slowly i ease back the hammer and get a full scope of water buck and bang, down the bank he goes, the female disappears, the bull staggers over to the opposite side of the creek, another shot behind the shoulder and it is all over in seconds. Deena stands up, lane stands up and every body is trying to rub out the cramps. what a morning. we now go over to the bull, he is beautiful, gorgeous, and very heavy. cant move him so take a few pics where he fell and wait for help. James and his guide show up and we get things going, pics, caping, congrats, etc, etc. i wont go into the skinning and whatever. they do have a practice of celebrating each successful hunt here with a bottle of champagne and what they call the crown of glory which is a hat made out of reeds. Deena and i and james had to wear this hat and drink our bottle of champagne, pics enclosed. that concludes our hunt segment, the rest is what i want to tell you about this beautiful ranch and what they really do in the field of deer breeding. the 200 point whitetail use to be the holy grail but now the 300 point is taking its place. 5F now has three over 300 point bucks for breeding and they have reduced the price of a 200 deer from 20,000.00 to 10,000.00. most all deer ranches through out the USA charge 20, 000. 00 for the 200 point deer. genetics is the name of the game here and they really have them. we had a ball going through their daily procedures for taking care of the different size deer. the feeding of the various size fawns was quite a treat and enjoyment for Deena and me, we got to bottle feed them a couple of times durning our stay. the food and lodging is second to none. they charge for the hunt and not for everything else, meaning an axis deer hunt is the same as all places i checked, 2500. 00. everybody else then charges for lodging, per day, food per day, guide service, per day, skinning and meat prep is extra. at the 5Franch, 3days and nights lodging, 3 meals a day, guide service, capping and deboning meat and vacuum packing is all included in the 2500. 00cost for the hunt!also, if you want a couple of beers or drinks after the daily hunt that is also included in the cost, not extra. the people are great, the place is great, the hunting is great, we will be going back on a regular basis!!!look on their web, www.5franch.com you wont be disappointed.
 
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