en-us http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal.aspx?id=80 10 Journals http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1408 I remained in the same pasture during the morning of the 18th. With deer continually tending scrapes along the ranch roads, the rut was about to escalate. The weather was ideal as cloudy, cold conditions prevailed. I saw bucks throughout much of the morning, but never saw a buck with a substantia... 1/3/2012 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1407 On the 10th of December, I parted Uvalde in the rain, traveling south to a 40,000-acre spread on the Rio Grande to do some deer hunting. As I parted the pavement, it was not long before the rain- drenched clay soil presented a challenge in making the eight-mile trek to ranch headquarters. A trip t... 1/2/2012 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1387 While assisting a substantial number of landowners in managing their deer herds, I enjoy the privilege of viewing a large number of deer from a helicopter each fall, and as in years past, I classify the largest racked bucks I see on an annual basis.   Although my top picks are based primari... 11/29/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1373 On the 26 th of August, I headed north up Hwy. 83 177 miles to Cross Oaks Ranch to conduct a spotlight deer survey.   On my way up, deer killed alongside the roadside verified the negative impacts of drought as deer were forced to feed on what surviving plants existed in the bar ditches. ... 8/30/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1371 On the 10 th of August, I parted my home in Uvalde at 6:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. Texas Deer Association Board of Directors meeting in the brand new JW Marriott Hill Country Resort hotel.   Located on the north side of San Antonio, the JW Marriott, one of, if not the largest hotels in the ... 8/15/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1370 On the third of August, I was a guest speaker at the Austin Woods and Waters Club’s monthly meeting. Following my presentation on intensive deer management practices in Texas, I headed northwest to the Texas Panhandle, where I spent several days doing what I enjoy most—filming deer. Over the... 8/9/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1368                With two days remaining on our safari and wonderfully satisfied with the trophies we collected, we simply relaxed and enjoyed the environment.           ... 7/28/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1366               Once a buffalo and a kudu were in the salt, our focus turned to Nan’s desire to collect a warthog, a task that became exceedingly difficult when it became our ultimate goal.   But it added impetus to our excur... 7/26/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1365 On the eighth cold morning, we conducted our daily ritual of checking for buffalo tracks at the various water sites.   Picking up the spoor of three lone bulls we tracked them for an hour before they busted us and dashed off through the Mopani scrub.   Not sure of their horn size, w... 7/25/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1363 Pursuing Cape buffalo, particularly a large one, is tough enough when it’s the sole objective of a safari, but when a leopard is included in the mix, it makes it tough.   For one, much time is spent collecting baits, primarily impala, as well as placing them in the most enticing places ... 7/22/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1360 We came upon the tracks of a large herd of buffalo on our fifth morning and spent over two hours tracking the group of 80-odd animals.   Tracking the herd was easy as they left a wide swath of spoor as they grazed towards their afternoon bedding ground. Pausing occasionally to allow zebra ... 7/20/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1359 On our third cold, crystal clear morning, we tracked a single dagga boy right on the silica-laden river bed, then into the hip-high panicum grass that inundated much of the riparian zone.   For close to an hour, Friday and William remained on the track, but we simply couldn’t catch up to th... 7/19/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1358 The deafening silence within my brush-covered blind was shattered by the words 'shoot him,' 'shoot him,' shoot the cat,' expelled in a commanding whisper by my professional hunter Brent Hein.   Forget the hand signals he had emphatically addressed just two hours beforehand.   Somethin... 7/18/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1338 As an official scorer for the Boone and Crockett Club, I am often called upon to measure uniquely large-antlered animals taken by both avid and lucky hunters and this past year has been nothing less than spectacular. Sometime early in October dedicated archery hunter San Antonio resident Gen... 5/20/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1336 Most families enjoy the traditional Easter egg hunt, but my granddaughters McKenzie and Madison get to enjoy what I refer to as an adult Easter egg hunt along with my wife and I as we spend our annual Easter vacation searching for shed antlers in the thorn scrub of South Texas. ... 5/9/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1104 The Nueces River rises up in Real County not 50 miles north of my home in Uvalde in the Edwards Plateau and empties some 315 miles south into the Gulf of Mexico.  As this river winds through the desert-like region of South Texas, it represents a lifeline for a plethora of birds and mammals.&nbs... 5/3/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1322 Throughout the spring, Tuesdays are spent in the field where my students apply the various wildlife management techniques discussed in the classroom.  On February 14, two college vans occupied by enthusiastic youngsters headed 30 miles south where we intended to conduct a preplanned prescribed ... 3/21/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1310 On the chilly, damp morning of January 15th, I traveled south to the Willmon Ranch located in Zavala County.  Normally, my trips to this portion of the golden triangle are to provide wildlife consulting services, but this time I was invited by ranch owner Howard Willmon to share in a hunt with ... 1/25/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1309 My wife Jan and I flew to Dallas on Friday, the seventh of January, to meet up with my daughter Nan and husband Paul along with my long-time hunting companion and best of friends, David and Angie Shashy from Ocala, Florida.  Our goal was to enjoy a day together at the Dallas Safari Club annual ... 1/14/2011 http://huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=1308 One of the most abundant inhabitants of the brush country is the coyote, acknowledging its predominance over the thorn scrub with incessant howls at dawn and dark. Calling in coyotes, like bugling in a bull elk or calling in a spring gobbler, is not only exciting, it’s challenging.   ... 1/10/2011