Chupacabra

What looks like a dog, has a long rat tail, long hind legs, no fur, bluish black skin that shines in the sun, huge ears, large white fangs, and a head that is too large for its body? Guide Sam G and client Chris D do not know either, but this gnarly critter cut them off on the upper wheat field around 10 am on March 17 while the two were doing some preseason turkey scouting. The two ran down what they could only assume is a chupacabra, a popular urban legend down in south Texas. The animal seemed to be resting in a fallen deer blind between the upper and lower wheat fields when the "scouters" startled it while riding on a ATV. The alleged chupacabra then took off toward the western fence line, running about 30 mph. Sam G and Chris D got within 10 yards of the chupacabra while doing 25 mph on the 4 wheeler, but then the animal really kicked it up into high gear. Sam G stopped the ATV and Chris D took about a 100 yard shot with his rifle at the chupacabra while it was streaking across the upper wheat field. A long shot and a fast target equaled a miss, but burned a memory into both guide and client.

Chupacabras are said to be coyotes with a case of very bad mange, but sightings of these animals this far north are rare. Urban legend also labels them as "bloodsuckers", feeding on sheep and other livestock. They are most frequently sighted near the town of Cuervo, in south Texas. Also, the odd, almost alien looking animal seems to have characteristics that a "bald" coyote would not possess, further adding to the mystery of what exactly the animal is.

This is the second sighting of a chupacabra on the LG^2 Ranch. Trey L. had an encounter perhaps with the same animal near the front, 1 acre pond. It approached him one evening while he was dove hunting in late September, 2008.

After the experience, Trey L has two more hunters backing him up that the chupacabra of urban legends is living near the LG^2 Ranch property.

Spring Turkey Outlook

Yesterday was April Fools day, which can only mean one thing at the Texas LG^2 Ranch-that spring turkey season is right around the corner. One would have to be a "fool" to not want to get in on this action.

Guide Sam G and partner Chris D went out to the ranch for a little pre-season scouting in mid March to see if any gobblers were hanging around the 500-acre ranch. Deer hunters went all season this year without seeing a single turkey on the property, but things have heated up since then.

On Monday evening, the two hunters called in two large Toms using an electronic call while sitting in the black tower stand. The birds worked hard and circled the entire area trying to find the "hen" that was making such a commotion. However, they did not gobble once. The two turkeys then flew up to roost about 75 yards directly behind the Black Tower stand. Two more gobblers then flew up into the roost to join the first two, forming a group of three longbeards and a Jake.

Tuesday morning found the two guides at it again, scouting out hunting areas and checking feeders for tracks. There were four separate groups of turkeys responding to the electronic call, but none wanted to come in. The largest of the groups was roosting on the west fence line near the bottom wheat field. This may be the same group that is rumored to have over 20 Toms, Jakes, and hens. Turkey tracks were found in all feeders that were throwing at the time, with the black tower stand being completely covered in turkey tracks.

Gobblers were most responsive during the morning, but seem to be roosting with hens. Midday and afternoon hunting will produce birds wanting to come into turkey calls and decoys, but they tend to "sneak" up and not gobble too much before coming into the setup. If hunting in the morning, make sure you know where the birds are roosting in advance and try to get set within 100 yards of their roost.

The season opens this Saturday, April 4th. Good luck and safe huntin'.

Doug's Big Deer

For Doug, it's the sad tale of the one that got away. He could have fed a small village with this huge deer. To see it on YouTube, click here.

Waterfowl Wrap Up

The 2008-2009 duck season came to a close on Sunday, January 25th, and one could say the numbers were not as impressive as last year.

Two factors may have come in to play to why the season was not as productive as the 2007-2008 duck season. First, the waves of warm air allowed for open water farther to the north to remain unfrozen. Thus, the ducks had never migrated far enough south because there was plenty of water to inhabit in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Second, it was reported that this year had a poor hatch due to not enough rainfall in the Prairie Potholes region that runs along the United States and Canada border.

Or it could just have been bad timing, lousy shooting, and birds flaring off because of poorly made blinds.

Guide Sam G claims that, "...at least ten or so more ducks would have been harvested if my gun would have chambered shells. It was like shooting a single shot 4-10." This was a problem the hunter dealt with all season.

We saw average numbers of ducks throughout the season, but we never got the big push to where we could harvest 23 ducks in just 15 minutes. More ducks should have been harvested this season, but here are the results: 3 green-wing teal, 6 ring-necked ducks, 1 gadwall, and 2 mallards for a total of 12 ducks. Last year, close to 40 ducks were shot over Proffitt Lake.

What did make the waterfowl season quite special was the fact that it was a year of "firsts". The 2008-2009 waterfowl season has claimed the harvest of the first Canadian goose, the first snipe, and the first sandhill crane. Sandhill crane season wraps up Sunday, February the 8th. It is rumored that guide Sam G will be hunting the birds during the final weekend of the season.

First Crane!!!

On January 16th, 2009, Sam G was guiding for client and friend Chris D when the first sandhill crane, a.k.a. "rib eye-in-the-sky", was harvested.

The two hunters watched a large group of sandhill cranes take flight around 7:45 a.m. to the west of where they were hunting. However, the birds were too far away. At 9 a.m., an even larger group of cranes (about a thousand) rose from the north about half a mile away. Sam G began calling and Chris D used the flag to grab about half the flock's attention.

It was quite a spectacle as five hundred trumpeting sandhill cranes passed just 40 yards over the hunters. When the group flew over, Sam G called the shot and both guide and client put six rounds into the air. After the shooting was over, one B-52 bomber sized bird came crashing down into the ground with a "thud", finishing off the bird.

Bird Dog Shines During LG2 Ranch Quail Weekend

If Belle ever wanted the title of "bird dog," she earned it the weekend of Jan. 17. On Saturday, Sam and Phillip, followed by an entourage consisting of Mark, Teresa and Claire, decided to get out of the house and scare up some quail. In a rare move, Princess Belle decided to join in on the hunt. After a brief sweep of the pecan orchard, no quail were found. As the hunters moved north, Belle's instincts kicked in. While near a fire lane, Belle scared up a group from the thick brush and Phillip and Sam pulled a double shot to take one down. The quail went down into the thick, and Belle managed to track it down for the hunters. Score one for Belle.

The following day, it was back to the same area. Sam and Phillip, armed with a couple 20-gauges, stalked the same areas they had the previous day. Sure enough, Sam spotted 15-plus quail on the ground in the same thick brush they had spotted the group the day before. As Sam collected Belle away from harm, Phillip aimed into the group on the ground and fired, knocking down three with one shot. Belle stamped her certification as an official "Bird Dog" when she dove into the wounded, pinning them down and finishing off any survivors. At the end of the day, not even a tennis ball was enough to remove a quail from Belle's mouth.

2008 Whitetail Hunting Results at Texas LG2

The 2008 Whitetail Hunting Season was not only fun but very productive when it came to filling the freezers with chili meat and delicious backstrap. Final numbers were split right down the middle with six bucks and six does. The bucks included one 10 point, two eight points, one six point, and two cull bucks with less than 3 points. Many more opportunities were at hand with one hunter, who will remain nameless, passed on two trophy deer and opted more for the Walt Disney approach. Movies anyone!!!!

When times were a bit slow for the hunters, there were several unfortunate critters meeting their demise including, 8 crows, several corn fed raccoons, and enough "hawgs" to feed a small city. From a numbers standpoint, this whitetail season proved to be the best out of the six hunting seasons since the ranch was bought by the current ownership group.

Now the focus is on filling feeders, plowing seedbeds and food plots, and taking time out of our busy schedules to chase ducks, snipes and sandhill cranes.