thinchliff
AH member
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2022
- Messages
- 21
- Reaction score
- 74
- Location
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
- Hunted
- USA: ID, OR, TX, HI, FLA, Italy, Austria, RSA
OX Ranch 50th Birthday hunt Dec 2024
Half our friends/family live in Oregon, half live in Idaho. It was my 50th, and rather than risk hurting any feelings on the party location, the wife and I ditched everyone, and went on a hunt at the OX Ranch, in Uvalde TX. Building on the “combo” vacation/hunting trip idea, this place looked awesome from a hunting point of view, but also bougie enough to make the wife happy. It lived up to all expectations!
We flew Thursday, and stayed the night in San Antonio. Breakfast on the Riverwalk, then off to the OX for lunch time check in.
Trevor was our guide, and he was fantastic. He hung out with us the whole time, not just hunting. Mouflon and Blackbuck were my top 2 exotics I wanted to take. I told him I was not looking for a vehicle based hunt. The first evening, and next AM we drove around glassing. The sheep were pretty wary, the hunt was legit. My wife had a blast. She had never experienced big game hunting, and really enjoyed the chase, total perma-grin. First afternoon, we made a move on some, couldn’t make it happen before dark.
Next AM, couldn’t find the one from last night, so picked Cheryl up after breakfast and went-a-looking for another. We located a good Mouflon, and after a couple hours of cat and mouse, we snuck up an arroyo, and got the shot, about 125 yards. As we started walking up to where we thought it was down, a wild boar jumped up like a pheasant between us all. Trevor yelled “shoot it”, Cheryl screamed, and I shot it! Added excitement!! The ram was beautiful, my favorite horn shape. I couldn’t have been happier. Cheryl had so much fun stalking, and seeing other critters as we did.
Lunch was “togo” since we were late getting back, and we dropped Cheryl off at the spa for a massage, while Trevor and I went out looking for Blackbuck. They are everywhere! We parked the jeep and snuck along the top of a ridge where we could glass a little drainage. It wasn’t long before we saw 3 BB feeding below us, about 150 yards away. Trevor picked the best one, and I took the shot. Mission accomplished.
The skinning shack caped and capped everything so it could fly home with me, and quartered the blackbuck into my soft cooler. They also have a taxidermist there with a quick turnaround.
The last AM, we drove around just taking pictures and relaxing.
I will 100% be back to the OX. You can make the hunt as easy or hard as you want to. If I was hunting some of the super exotics, I might do archery or muzzleloader to make it more challenging. The common exotics are a chase. It’s a gigantic piece of property. There is a ton for non hunters, or more casual hunters to do. The food was great, the facilities were great. Really perfect for a family destination or a boys trip. The upgraded luxury cabins would be awesome for 2 familes to stay in together. It exceeded every expectation I had, and the bar was not set low. Landed home late Sunday night, didn’t even have to take Monday off work.
Trevor really made the hunt. We still keep in touch. I can’t wait to get back again.
Half our friends/family live in Oregon, half live in Idaho. It was my 50th, and rather than risk hurting any feelings on the party location, the wife and I ditched everyone, and went on a hunt at the OX Ranch, in Uvalde TX. Building on the “combo” vacation/hunting trip idea, this place looked awesome from a hunting point of view, but also bougie enough to make the wife happy. It lived up to all expectations!
We flew Thursday, and stayed the night in San Antonio. Breakfast on the Riverwalk, then off to the OX for lunch time check in.
Trevor was our guide, and he was fantastic. He hung out with us the whole time, not just hunting. Mouflon and Blackbuck were my top 2 exotics I wanted to take. I told him I was not looking for a vehicle based hunt. The first evening, and next AM we drove around glassing. The sheep were pretty wary, the hunt was legit. My wife had a blast. She had never experienced big game hunting, and really enjoyed the chase, total perma-grin. First afternoon, we made a move on some, couldn’t make it happen before dark.
Next AM, couldn’t find the one from last night, so picked Cheryl up after breakfast and went-a-looking for another. We located a good Mouflon, and after a couple hours of cat and mouse, we snuck up an arroyo, and got the shot, about 125 yards. As we started walking up to where we thought it was down, a wild boar jumped up like a pheasant between us all. Trevor yelled “shoot it”, Cheryl screamed, and I shot it! Added excitement!! The ram was beautiful, my favorite horn shape. I couldn’t have been happier. Cheryl had so much fun stalking, and seeing other critters as we did.
Lunch was “togo” since we were late getting back, and we dropped Cheryl off at the spa for a massage, while Trevor and I went out looking for Blackbuck. They are everywhere! We parked the jeep and snuck along the top of a ridge where we could glass a little drainage. It wasn’t long before we saw 3 BB feeding below us, about 150 yards away. Trevor picked the best one, and I took the shot. Mission accomplished.
The skinning shack caped and capped everything so it could fly home with me, and quartered the blackbuck into my soft cooler. They also have a taxidermist there with a quick turnaround.
The last AM, we drove around just taking pictures and relaxing.
I will 100% be back to the OX. You can make the hunt as easy or hard as you want to. If I was hunting some of the super exotics, I might do archery or muzzleloader to make it more challenging. The common exotics are a chase. It’s a gigantic piece of property. There is a ton for non hunters, or more casual hunters to do. The food was great, the facilities were great. Really perfect for a family destination or a boys trip. The upgraded luxury cabins would be awesome for 2 familes to stay in together. It exceeded every expectation I had, and the bar was not set low. Landed home late Sunday night, didn’t even have to take Monday off work.
Trevor really made the hunt. We still keep in touch. I can’t wait to get back again.
