USA: Rio Grandes At The Rockin G Ranch

[cagkt3]

Congrats!!

 

[gizmo]

Another note on the Rockin G, turkeys are only part of what's going on there. Erik has a high fence area where he has various exotics including sheep, Blackbuck and Scimitar Oryx to name a few. We didn't hunt in that area, but we did take a ride around within it.

In the low fence area there are lots of wild pigs. KJ took Erik's nightvision equipped AR-10 out the last evening and got a shot at one. Short shot and I doubt he missed, but unfortunately the pig was not recovered.

In addition to the creek that runs through year round providing precious water, there are at least two tanks on the ranch. The larger of which is quite sizeable with fish in them. The wind was the only thing keeping me from giving a go at some bass.

The other thing of note is the work that Erik has done on the property. It is a working cattle ranch, but there are fenced off areas to keep cattle out. I can only figure this is to provide food / cover for the wildlife. I know that Erik is working to improve the mule deer herd in his part of Texas. Texas is certainly not the first state that would come to mind for a trophy mulie at least for me. But they do exist there. With a very liberal approach to removing predators and restrictions on what mulie bucks are legal, the effort is underway. There are other variables that are out of anyone's control such as the drought that Texas has experienced. But in time, I think this will bear fruit.

The key part of this is it will take time. In the meantime, the ranch still needs to be profitable. Between the hunting ranch and taxidermy, this is how Erik makes his living. By paying for a hunt there, you are contributing to his living and this conservation effort just as you do in Africa. So if there's something Erik has to offer, please give him consideration for a hunt.

Thank you Phil, we work very hard to do what is best for our wildlife. It’s been a loooong process but we are making headway. Sunday right after y’all left and the wind died down we spent about an hour or so fishing and I caught about 30 bass between 1 and 5 1/2 lbs.

 

[ActionBob]

Congrats Phil, good shootin

 

[lwaters]

Glad to see you got a turkey Phil. I will have to get down there sometime for some hog hunting.

 

[gizmo]

Glad to see you got a turkey Phil. I will have to get down there sometime for some hog hunting.

It was really neat. These birds were both Phil and KJ's first turkeys. It's always awesome to be part of someone's first animal.

 

[Brian Rothhammer]

For whatever reason, I have never killed a turkey. ...

So last Tuesday evening my long time hunting buddy Kevin aka @AZ KJ and I headed northeast for the 800 mile trip to some 11 miles southeast of appropriately named Turkey, TX and the Rockin' G Ranch. Some 13 1/2 hours and several cups of coffee later, we arrived at the ranch gate and let ourselves in. ... Decoys were setup and some turkeys did come to Erik's calling but hung up just a bit far out to shoot.

I have 30 or more wild turkeys in my front yard on most mornings.
The last four or five years has seen quite an increase in local turkey populations. There are several groups of 30 or more that roam the neighborhood here in the Sierra Nevada foothills, with several young ones among them.

I've never shot one, either but have noticed that they seem to vanish every Thanksgiving for a few days. Do you suppose they have calendars?