The Dove Spread the Love

        As we cruised around the LG2 ranch property Sunday night before the opener one thing was apparent...the dove were here. Droves of morning dove and white wings continually darted in front and behind our vehicle as we headed down the west road pointing and shouting at the groups of winged game we came together to hunt this past Labor Day weekend. Our adrenaline pumping from the anticipation of the morning hunt, we gathered in the newly organized barn to count decoys, put together mojos, and strategize.
        At 7am, the hunters made the short drive to the wheat field and big tank right behind the ranch house. Doug, Dina, Trey and Sadie set up on the wheat field with mojos out front while Mark, Teresa, and I took the west bank of the tank. I had just had my first sip of coffee when Trey called out to Doug "Dad, on your left". Boom! The first shot of the 2014 hunting season had been fired. GG, Chelsie, and Maddox watched the action from the deck as shots and voices rang out all morning. Birds constantly swarmed our mojo decoys in singles, pairs, and huge groups of more than fifteen on the wheat field and on the tank until we finally pulled up the decoys at 9am because we had run out of shells. There were so many birds we could pick and choose our targets, and I even put down the gun to get some video. See the videos below to see Mark sum up the morning hunt and Trey smack a dove.

       All in all, a great day of family, fun, and plenty of shooting. Grandfather was definitely there in spirit, and I am sure he was smiling as he watched us enjoy the sport he instilled in all of us. We honored him with every shot, even the ones that did not connect. The Labor Day morning hunt was truly a reminder of how blessed we really are to have the LG2 ranch where we can enjoy one another, and hopefully a sign of things to come for the 2014-2015 hunting season.

See you at the ranch soon,

Sam G

Big Buck Report: New Year's Eve Fireworks

It gets pretty lonely in a deer stand. Unless you’re with a hunting buddy, you’re left with fuzzy recaps of the day's activity when you get back to camp. You're left to describe everything you saw to the other hunters and huntresses, which let's face it, can house some embellishment — especially if you come back empty-handed. Now thanks to video, you can get a better since of what it's like to deer hunt at the Texas LG2 Ranch.

During the New Year's Eve 2013 evening hunt, I was positioned in Mark's stand on the east side of the property. It wouldn't be long before my guests arrived. I'll let the video set the scene from here. 

*Warning: If you don’t like hunting shows where animals are harvested on camera, this video might not be for you.

The Dawn of a New Ranch Blog Era

As many of you know, we recently said goodbye to the ranch patriarch, Billie G. Though his jovial presence will be dearly missed, his passing helped us better appreciate the many blessings in our lives. The love of our Lord. The bond of family. The fellowship of friends. And a place where we can all hang our hats and laugh at the memories we've made together. This site is merely a placeholder for those moments in Texas LG2 Ranch history.

Since creating this blog back in 2008, there have been plenty of memories added but few design updates. If this was to house our precious moments, the blog needed to get with the times and have a more modern feel. No more stale brown background. I give you the new look of the Texas LG2 Ranch blog. Trumpets blaring. Teresa supplied the background photo — a beautiful landscape portrait of the wheat fields. You'll find more of her excellent photography as well as other ranch photos here. It's a small step toward rekindling the early blog magic. In the future, look for more content, more photos and more video, including footage taken during the hunt. Happy blogging, everyone!