|
January 2007 DRSS Hunt - 4 K Ranch, Brady, Texas
|
 |
| Terrain of the 4 K Ranch |
|
|
For the DRSS' first hunt at the 4 K Ranch, the group encountered something unusual for central Texas - snow and ice! The area was hit with a freak snow and ice storm the night before the group was scheduled to arrive into camp. Most of the member were spending the weekend in Dallas attending the Dallas Safari Club Convention (www.biggame.org) and were faced with icy road conditions for the four hour drive to camp on Sunday morning.
Th 4 K Ranch is located near Brady, Texas - close to the geographic center of the great state. The lodge where the group was staying is located approximatley 10 miles east of Brady, on a 1500 +/- high fenced ranch. In addition to the bunk house and social quarters, this part of the ranch holds the exotics that the ranch offers.
|
 |
| Lodging at 4 K Ranch |
|
|
 |
| Bunk House on Left, Living and Dining Area on Right |
|
|
 |
| Inside the 4K Ranch's Living and Dining Area |
|
|
 |
| Snow at Camp |
|
On the evening of the first day in camp, a number of members opted to hunt axis does while everyone was making their way through the ice to get to camp. The evening before the day of arrival, there was freezing rain and snow which prevented a number of members from making the drive to camp. But for those that did make it to the hunt had to endure temperatures that never went above freezing and additional snow and ice that came every day.
Three of the DRSS members successfully bagged four axis does, not before becoming frozen in the process. In addition to the freezing temperatures, the wind was heavy with gusts well over 30 miles per hour.
On Monday morning, the group awoke early, had a warm meal and headed out with the three guides to the main ranch, approximatley 30 minutes away. 4 K has to the west/northwest of the town of Brady over 60,000 continuous acres that is all low fence. Used mostly for cattle, the ranch does have an impressive lot of whitetail deer and an abundance of wild hogs.
The guides dropped the hunters off at various stands across the ranch. A number of hogs were harvested and taken to the skinning shed for cleaning.
After everyone had a chance to warm up, the group went next to the ranch to do some shooting. One of the great things about a DRSS hunt is the number of different double rifles in camp. Many members have more than one double rifle, so there is a lot of firepower in camp. For people who appreciate double rifles, this is heaven. There are fewer places in the world where you can see, hold and shoot many different makes and models of double rifles in a plethora of calibers. For anyone interested in getting a double rifle, this is place to come to see which one is best for them.
|
 |
| The Shooting Range |
|
|
 |
| At the Shooting Range |
|
|
 |
| Katte, DRSS Member and Professional Hunter from South Africa |
|
|
 |
| 400 Nitro Express Shooting One of His Double Rifles |
|
|
 |
| Doc52 Shooting his .577 Nitro Express Double Rifle |
|
|
 |
| Buffalo Targets During Shooting Scenario shot |
|
|
During the time at the shooting range, our safety officer, "Katte", a professional hunter from South Africa, arranged for us to do some shooting scenarios. He brought with him some large cape buffalo targets with him. One at a time, we would start at position one, and fire two shots and two targets to the left. We would run forward while reloading and fire two more times in the center of the range. We would then move to our right and fire one shot a cape buffalo target in the distance. We reloaded the spent chamber and shot two rounds into two cape buffalo targets that were staggered to represent a charge; we had to hit the last cape buffalo target (and the one closest to the shooter) in the brain.
Everyone went through the scenario and had a blast, especially when trees behind the targets started to fall down after the barrage of bullets.
|
 |
| Destroyed Trees Due to Large Caliber Bullets |
|
|
 |
| More Destroyed Trees |
|
|
Over the three day hunt, everyone in camp bagged a wild hog, with numerous people harvesting more than one. Most importantly, our group visited with fellow double rifle enthusiasts from all over the country - and met some new double rifle guys from Africa!
These get togethers are more than just hunting to the members of the DRSS. It is a chance to be in the company of some of the best people who share a common passion and interest!
|
 |
| Admiring Some of the Double Rifles in Camp |
|
|
 |
| The Groups Harvest After the Snow |
|
|
 |
| Wild Hogs and Axis Deer Harvested on the First Day of the Hunt |
|
|
 |
| First Wild Hog Killed with a B. Searcy & Co. .577 Nitro Express |
|
|
 |
| Members with Some of the First Day's Harvest |
|
|
 |
| 289 lb Wild Hog Shot by DRSS "Mississippian" |
|
|
|
|