We Lost a Great Husband, Dad, Grandfather and Great Grandfather

On December 5, 2013 our #1 hunter and tractor driver transitioned from earth to his heavenly kingdom after a lengthy illness.  Billie G. will be greatly missed by his family and friends.   We will especially miss his time sitting on the back deck of the ranch house holding court about his life experiences and how important it was to "work the earth".  Now he is in a place where he will never run out of diesel or pecan orchards to mow.  We miss him greatly and will cherish our memories forever.  Texas LG2 will never be the same.

September Teal Season Provides Refuge for Blood-thirsty Dove Hunters

NEWSFLASH: The dove aren't flying this season. I should know. There's about 50 fattened beauties perched on top of my child's playset. While the HOA frowns upon firing shotguns in residential backyards — Damn, libs! I thought this was 'Merica! — I'm forced to find other birds to hunt this season. After an unsuccessful dove hunt out at the LG2 Ranch on Sept. 22, I'd all but lost hope in the next morning's hunt. So I did what every unsuccessful hunter does: I slept in. In the morning, the view from the porch confirmed my decision. Nothing was flying. Instead of wallowing in the covers, I decided to get up and go for a morning 4-wheeler ride with Noah. While heading out to the pastures, I decided to take a peek at Proffitt Lake to see if there was any activity. Just as the 4-wheeler came flying over the top of the dam, I spotted some movement near the shoreline and jammed on the brakes. "Teal!" I whisper to my son, pointing at the north edge of the lake. We reversed it out of there and headed back to the ranch. I grabbed my 20 gauge, loaded a few steel shells and left the little one with his grandparents. "Are you going to shoot them, dad?" Noah asks. "Don't shoot the ducks." My heart sinks. I look over to gram for a little help, maybe a "let's go inside, Noah" but she was as floored as I was. This would be our first life lesson: "Oh Noah, I have to shoot the ducks. They'll get away." Leaving him and myself confused by the explanation, I slowly backed toward the 4-wheeler and gunned it before his head stopped swimming with fatherly wisdom.

This time, coming up over the ridge again was disappointing. The teal had moved on. It was pointless. I sat there at the edge of the lake, totally exposed in my white shirt and black nylon shorts. Staring across the lake, I spot some movement across the southern shore. Bingo! Three teal! I walked around hoping they hadn't spotted me, all the while knowing they had. I rounded off my approach and surprised them from behind. Boom! Boom! Teal down. Who needs dove hunting when you have September teal season? I drove the two waterfowl back to camp and proudly displayed the birds for my son. Noah was so happy with the result, he hugged the bird and wouldn't let go. He held it up and showed all of the other ranchers. It was my first September Teal Season kill, and the first in a soon-to-be-long stream of father and son hunting discussions.

NEW SEASON AHEAD

It has been a couple of years since we updated our blog so hopefully this year it will be different.  Food plots were established two weeks ago by Teresa, Phillip and Mark.  With great rain over the past 10 days the plots should be coming up.  The outlook is good for whitetail hunting with a couple of large 6+ year old bucks showing up on cameras.  Duck season is looking good but we need water in the front lake to flood the back timber.  Dove season has been a bust up to now, so hopefully with the latest cold fronts the "big birds" are now in the area. 

The Big Quack Attack: A Special Edition of the Big Buck Report

To ring in the New Year, the BBR Crew opted for duck hunting on Proffitt Lake since a full moon had the deer making late-night maneuvers. Teresa, Bill, Mark, Sam and Phillip were rewarded for their early wake-up with five puddlers that dropped down to join the party. Sam, the resident duck expert, noted that we harvested the first two Spoonbills at the ranch as well as a drake Pintail that Mark wants to add to the trophy collection.

While positioned in the flight path of a few sandhill crane, Mark was able to drop a big bonus bird into the pond. That capped off an exciting morning on the lake. For a full recap that’s packed with cranes singing, ducks swirling and a near on-camera takedown, check out the third episode of the Big Buck Report below. To check out all the LG2 videos, visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/texaslg2ranch.

Rainin' Crane

On Sunday morning, 12-20-2009, Sam G and buddy Andrew A harvested a couple of sandhill cranes. More would have been harvested had Sam G not made the rookie mistake of not loading his gun. He did not fire one shot at the first group that passed just 30 yards overhead.

Weather: Cold. Duck Season: Hot.

Guide Sam G and partner Chris D put the smack down on the ducks on Friday morning, 12-18-2009. Ducks poured into their hunting hole all morning, and both partner and guide shot limits. Among the ducks seen were teal, mallards, wood ducks, and pintails. The pintail drake that was harvested was another first for LG2 ranch. Already more ducks have been taken than last year. So far, 8 wood ducks, 8 mallards, and one pintail totalling 17 ducks have been shot in just 3 hunts. This is 5 more than last year, and its just halfway through the season! The fact that there was a good hatch this year, there has been plenty of water, and it has been the coldest winter since the ranch was purchased all play a key role in why the season has been so good. More cold weather is expected, and over 14 inches of snow was recently reported at Texas LG2 ranch. Guide Sam G will be taking Mark G and other interested hunters to Lake Proffitt on the weekend following New Year's day. The guide is optimistic about the upcoming hunt.

World Premiere of the 'Big Buck Report at Texas LG2 Ranch' -- Episodes 1 & 2

In order to add a little more video to the Texas LG2 Ranch website, hunters Phillip and Mark got a little creative during a Sunday morning hunt. The two filmed the first two episodes of the ongoing series "Big Buck Report at Texas LG2 Ranch." In the pilot, "The Buck Report," Mark gives viewers a recap of the hunting season so far. It was a little windy, so you'll have to turn the volume up. In Episode 2, "The Badger Hole," Mark guides the viewers on a scenic trek to the West Stand for some spotting. On the way, the two hunters run into a badger hole. Will the badger attack?!? Find out by clicking on the embedded video.

Also, to check out the new Texas LG2 Ranch YouTube channel, head over to www.youtube.com/texaslg2ranch. And just in case you missed it, Doug's Big Deer video has eclipsed the 1,000 views mark!

Episode 1 -- "The Buck Report" with Mark G and hunter/journalist Phillip, live from 100 paces north of the pecan orchard!



Episode 2 -- "The Badger Hole" with Mark G and hunter/journalist Phillip, live from 40 paces east of the West Stand!