We have been guiding non-stop for the past month and we are very thankful for all our "Magnum Hunters" business. Our hunters were successful on; bongo, roan, springbok, black wildebeest, siberian ibex, nile lechwe, numerous grey fox, javelina, aoudad and gemsbok. Highlights included our "Youth Essay Contest" winner, 17 yr old Leigh Ann Bodenchuk harvesting a 39 inch gemsbok bull. She was a blessing to have in camp as was her father Mike, a biologist and State Director with the USDA Wildlife Services division. Leigh Ann offers many ideas on how hunters and guide/outfitters can boost youth involvement in the outdoors. Another highlight was day before yesterday when Kevin Crown, husband of Barbara Crown Editor/Owner of the Hunting Report, and I were nearly run over by a very angry wounded boar javelina. Kevin spun and fired from the hip knocking the boar down at a distance of 4 feet! Great shot Kevin, "thank you" for backing me!
Melony's mom and long time Magnum cook, Mary Ann Wagner is losing her fight with pancreatic cancer. Hospice and family are with her now. Your prayers and friendship are greatly appreciated at this most difficult time in our lives. Mary Ann wants all her friends to know, "In my Father's house are many mansions, I hope yours is next to mine."
Our spring turkey hunters start arriving this coming Thursday and will continue for the next several weeks. The forecast calls for a good number of 3 yr old gobblers, a good number of jakes with fewer 2 & 4 yr old gobblers. We have received around 4 times our normal winter rainfall so range conditions will be excellent if "old man winter" ever allows spring to come in. Temperatures tomorrow night are forecast to be in the 20's. Once things green up the birds should become very vocal but for now, we are expecting a slower start with mid April being the peak of the gobbling. By then, the Texas landscape will be painted a rich green and dotted with colorful wildflowers. What a great place for turkey hunters to be photographed with their large Rio Grande Gobblers!
Lastly, we recently had a hunter knock down an aoudad ram at 400 yards with a 190 grain Berger bullet fired from a .300 Win Mag. The shot looked good but by the time we hiked 20 minutes down a small canyon and up the other side we found the sheep was gone! There was no blood, hair or meat, just the video tape. The hunter said he thought he hit him low in the shoulder, I thought high towards the spine for he immediately fell to the shot, crawled to his front feet dragging his rear half, then fell over and lay motionless for 7-8 minutes as we loaded up our packs. Either way, the bullet either failed to penetrate or did not expand with the exit wound covered by fatty tissue for there was no blood or hair where the sheep had fallen. The entry side was towards the sky. Has anyone out there had much hunting experience with Berger bullets? I have only seen them used on some of the outdoor TV shows at extremely long ranges. Out of over 7,500 clients we have never had a client use these type bullets before and would like to know more about them.
Our photo gallery should be updated tomorrow so check it out if you have time. Happy Easter and God Bless!
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