Dudleys Diary

of our hunting trip. We had a fantastic time hunting in one of the most beautiful areas of the great state of Texas. We left early Friday morning and went by and picked up Jeff and headed south. On the way we stopped and got some Rabkes jerky and then headed over to the Willow City Loop. When we got to Kerrville, we checked in to the Y.O. Ranch Resort and Conference Center. We got up early Saturday morning and went to McDonald's for breakfast and then got on the Interstate and headed west. We went about fifteen miles and took an exit and headed south to the ranch. We met the ranch owner at the gate and he took us to the camp house and we loaded our gear into his brand new Suburban and started our hunt. This was the nicest mobile deer stand Dudley has ever hunted out of. In Texas it is legal to hunt and or shoot out of a vehicle if you are on private property. We let Franks buddy Jeff sit up front and we took off looking for a whitetail buck for him to shoot. This was a management hunt for two whitetail bucks. We were looking for younger bucks with six or seven points. We began to see deer right off of the bat. There was some rutting activity going on from the secondary rut and we saw several groups of deer back in the brush with one or two does and multiple bucks. A lot of the bucks we saw were bigger than what we were looking for but it was fun to watch them through the binoculars chasing does. About 8:45 we were driving through the woods and saw a group of deer back in the brush. We stopped and the deer were up on a hill on Jeff's side of the vehicle. The owner said the buck on the right was a six point and gave Jeff the go ahead to shoot. Jeff aimed his model 700 in 30.06 caliber out the window and put the cross hairs on the bucks shoulder and boom, the buck fell in his tracks! Jeff had just bagged his first whitetail buck and we were excited to say the least. After taking some pictures, Jeff and Frank dragged his buck down to the road. Walter called one of his ranch hands and told him where the buck was so they could drive out on the Polaris four wheeler and pick up the buck and field dress him and take him and put him in the cooler. We continued with our hunt looking for a buck for Frank to shoot. We hunted the rest of the morning and then took a break for lunch. We went to town and ate and then went back out to the ranch. We met up with one of the ranch hands who took us out for Frank and Jeff to shoot an exotic doe. We drove until we came up on some exotic deer bedded down in the brush. Frank picked out a Fallow doe and made a perfect neck shot dropping her where she lay. The guide loaded her up and Frank and Jeff switched places and we then went looking for a Sika doe for Jeff. We were driving down the road and spotted a Sika buck running a Sika doe. Jeff got out, put Dudley's model 700 in .243 caliber on the shooting stick and took a shot at the running deer. The doe fell down from a perfect shot through both lungs! He said he led her about one foot and pulled the trigger. The guide was excited as we all were that Jeff had made such a difficult shot on a running deer. The guide loaded Jeff's deer and we went back to the camp house. They field dressed the does and hung them in the cooler. We then got in Walters Suburban and went back out looking for a whitetail buck for Frank. We saw a lot of deer but the bucks we saw had too many or too few points. We continued driving the ranch roads and we saw a six point buck way across a pasture. Frank ranged the deer with Dudley's binoculars and it was 285 yards away and Frank said he did not want to shoot that far so we kept driving and looking. Right before dark we were rounding a bend and saw a group of deer out in a field. Walter said the buck on the right was a seven point and was a shooter. Frank put the gun out the window and the buck turned and all you could see was the deers ass end and head about 75 yards away. Frank put the cross hairs just above the deers back and aimed for the center of the back of the deers neck and pulled the trigger. The buck fell in his tracks from a perfect neck shot! When he ground checked the buck, Frank was surprised to find out the buck was an eight point. Frank and Jeff dragged the deer over for pictures and Walter called one of his ranch hands to come out and pick up the buck and take him back to the camp house. After field dressing, the deer were loaded up into Dudley's truck. We said our goodbye's and headed back to town and dropped off the deer at the processors. Frank and Jeff decided to get European mounts of their bucks. It was a great hunt and one that we all will remember as long as life lasts. Dudley is really glad he decided to take Jeff on this trip and let the young men do all of the shooting. Dudley had no pressure on him at all. Dudley really enjoyed this trip just taking in all of the scenery and watching the deer. Getting to see your son take his tenth whitetail deer and his buddy take his first whitetail buck, man it does not get any better than that!