Better late than never!

So here it is, better late than never!  I honestly did not know exactly what to expect from the Texas trip, but to sum it up...AWESOME!!  Having the opportunity to watch these students connect with one another in such a unique way was so rewarding.  There are so many highlights from the trip that it is hard to pick which ones to mention so I will high light...Of course there was the big silver rental truck that I drove (and NEVER let it get stuck!!!), seeing Texas for the first time (an item I got to check off of my bucket list), Twistie donuts

Rowan's Eland

This year I decided to focus on hunting on an exotic rather than the hogs.  The first sit Dave and I were assigned to the old horse trailer that is used as a ground blind.  Thirty minutes in Dave and I see three rams walk by the trailer we are sitting in. About fifteen seconds later the Eland entered the feeder area.  The Eland was joined by an Aoudad.  A skittish Auodad could make getting a good shot on the Eland difficult.  After three long minutes Dave taps my shoulder signaling me to draw back.  I release and the arrow hits. My shot is a good one.  A few minutes later Dave then decides he wants to take an Auodad.  Dave also has a good shot on his animal.  The Eland is large, and it took a team effort to transport back to the camp.

My First Texas Trip

When Dave asked me to go back in October, I thought ...."What an opportunity"......I get to go as a chaperone, a father and a hunter. Reflecting now on the past four days, all I can say is "Wow". What an incredible experience. The repeat archers made us Newbees feel right at home. Cactus Creek Bowhunting camp was great. All the comforts of home. I would like to thank, Mark our guide, and owners  Bob and Vicki for allowing us to use their camp.
This my first trip to Texas and my first time hunting hogs. On our first evening stand, I was fortunate enough to sit with my Son and see some exotic wildlife that I have only read about. I also found out that wild hogs are really quick little buggers. They also scatter at the slightest move or sound....Which was told to us, and it is really true......I was not able to connect with a hog, but I did have opportunities.......the excitement of seeing hogs coming in to range is unmatched.

The five days flew by...great food....awesome company....interesting hunts, and wildlife everywhere.

Unfortunately camp rules require that "what happens in Texas, stays in Texas"....but the memories will always be there.....and there are enough pictures to refresh them.

I would also like to thank Dave Kenney. The preplanning and execution of the trip is an overwhelming  experience. I thank you for your vision and experience. The trip gives our students a great learning experience. Also it is  an opportunity that cannot be compared and I thank you for letting me be a part of it.

Three-peat

Thanks once again to Dave for putting together the trip for a third year in a row.  Thanks to Mark for another great year as our Guide.  And thanks to Bob and Vicki at Cactus Creek Ranch for all they do for the Proctor 3D Archery and Bow Hunting Team.

I didn't get a pig this year, and neither did Linnea which is a bit disappointing.  But, only a very small disappointment.  Saw lots of really cool Nature.  More cardinals that I could count.  A woodpecker that figured out how to break open the individual kernels of feed corn from the feeders.  Watching rams crack horns with each other as they ran under the tower stand I was in.

I'll never get used to Texas mud.  Nothing like the stuff we have in the northeast.  It did make for a fun ride up and down the ranch access road.  I hope Alamo rental cars does not have video surveillance of their vehicles!  The Suburban's all wheel drive managed to get us in and out every time, but I could feel the computer struggling to figure out how to stop the slipping and sliding.  Mostly it failed. Driver of the Week is Maundey, who somehow managed to muscle her two wheel drive rental pick-up out the driveway for our day trip to San Antonio.  She used everything that Dodge Hemi had to give!  Go Maundey!

Speaking of rentals, the adornment on our Suburban was Kyle's handiwork.  To avoid any drama we removed our mascot before we returned the vehicle.  He did make the trip to San Antonio and back on Wednesday.

Thanks to all the kids on the trip this year.  It was a pleasure and a privilege to share the trip.   Great hunting with you!

Carl Liu

It is the second time that I have gone on this trip, and I'm enjoying it even more this time, partly due to the decrease in sulfur odor inside the cabin My time in the stands have been pretty mellow. I'm not too concerned about not having shot anything yet, because going to the Salt Lick BBQ and Rowan shooting an eland has made the trip awesome enough. That thing was a beast, a heavy lift. PR babyyyyy

Talbot 'Burke' Hildner

This for me has been a very different trip than last year. I am yet to have been able to get an animal. This morning I did not see any sort of thing that resembled a living creature besides a few birds. The local Texans down here are telling me that this weather, 50-60 degrees and cloudy, is so cold but I would not leave it for anything. I have not seen grass since November and I am not ready to leave it any time soon.

Alfie

Hunting on the Cactus Creek Ranch has been a blast for the past day in a half. Most hunters have been successful and everyone is exited to fill their quota. Hunting is the main purpose of this trip but we still have lots of fun playing football, shooting our bows and eating fresh hog right off of Burke's open fire grill. Burke slapped some Sweet Baby Rays on those back straps and they tasted delicious. This Texas trip is off to a great start.

Lucas

To day during Hunting I was the only one that saw a group of hogs. They were standing behind a large clump of trees making it impossible to to shoot any one of them. After what seemed like 100 years they finally came in to feed. I drew back my bow aimed down my sites and I fired. The arrow seemed to be in slow motion it I was able to see the arrow through my sites it flew through the air air and skimmed the back of the hog. All of the hogs lead will my arrow landed in the ground. That was the last I saw of the hogs for that hunt. 

Gray MacDonald

Today we had a nice sleep in. We woke to an overcast day but no rain. In the morning we shot practice targets to get warmed up for the hunt in the afternoon. After shooting most of the morning we had a bit of rest before we went out to hunt. At around four in the afternoon we geared to go and finally start hunting. the first hour was slow, but at five the feeders went off. My tree stand partner, Carl Liu, and I waited and waited. But over the course of two and a half hours, we had only seen a baby hog. After a slow hunt, we went back to camp and helped butcher animals others had killed. All around it was a pretty good day.

Oliver Santry: Today was a very successful day on the ranch. We started off with a little sleep in which was nice. I woke up had a wonderful breakfast and was off to the range outside the cabin. We had two broadhead targets set up at 20 yards and just started shooting. It was a nice day with no rain. Dave came back with a hog that he shot. We put it up on the hooks and I helped Mark skin it. After we seperated the meat Burke did a wonderful job cooking lunch. It was delicious. We then kept shooting and stayed in the cabin waiting for the evening hunt. Once it hit four o'clock we packed up the pickup truck and went out to hunt. I got to my stand with Henry and we sat and talked very quietly. We saw a red stag, an eland, and a couple other exotics. Then came the hogs. We sat and waited for the hogs to start eating. I waited for a moment for the perfect shot. Right as my hog separated from the other animals I took a shot and hit it. Being my first kill it was quite emotional. But all around a good day.

On site at Cactus Creek

We are at the ranch for the start of Texas Hunt III.  Arrived yesterday in Austin after an uneventful trip from Logan Airport.  Thank you JetBlue!

After a stop at Cabela's and HEB Plus for provisions we set off for Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood, TX for dinner.  The food was a good as we remembered.

It looks like we will have a few days of alternating clouds and drizzle.  Although it will not be warm and sunny, compared to the last month in New Hampshire, which I believe is now the coldest on record in Concord NH, the temps will be positively balmy.

More from Day 2 later.

Cactus Creek / Nixon TX

Our destination is the Cactus Creek ranch in Nixon, TX.  Cactus Creek has treated us extremely well on our previous visits and we are looking looking forward to Year 3.  The ranch's two bunkhouses will be arranged differently this year as we need a males/females set-up for the first time.  Women get the cool cabin in the foreground.

Below are a few photos of downtown Nixon.  It is located about 1 hour 15 from Austin, pretty much directly south. Nixon was founded when the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was built through the John T. Nixon Ranch in 1906.  Population is close to some of the small towns in New Hampshire (2,000+) where Proctor Academy is located.  We were thrilled to discover discover Nixon has a Dairy Queen and an awesome donut place.  Donuts from Dave's daily run before our morning sits may not be nutritionally optimal, but they taste great.  We'll be laying in plenty of cereal, milk and OJ for our post-sit breakfasts!

Three in a Row!

The blog has been renamed to just Texas Hunts.  Going into Year 3 of the trip it seemed time to change the naming convention.  The student archers will be returning to Proctor Academy this week for the remainder of the Winter Term.  Winter term is reputed to be a long slog of Northeast cold and daylight ending too soon.  For 14 students the reward after exams will be boarding our flight to Austin Texas, where we hope the weather will be a little more friendly in 2015.  No return of the Polar Vortex, please!

This year's group includes some threepeat archers, some for their second outing and a few first-timers.  Stay tuned in the weeks to come for introductions.  Dave is organizing some visits to local indoor facilities so we can start practicing our shots - Northeast cold and short daylight means the team's 3D targets are all safely stored in the shed, but we'll still find places to send some arrows down range!

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