Nick and Alex Hayes, a father and son team from the soggy “Garden State”, headed south this past July to dry out in the Lone Star State! This was to be their very first hunt together and what better place than south west Texas chasing nighttime predators and varmints! The first night of the hunt was spent driving around safari style while running a “Light Force” spotlight. The brilliant light penetrated the night revealing a number of yellow eyes lurking in the darkness. With guns blazing, the duo quickly racked up a respectable body count of; raccoons, porcupines, skunks, jackrabbits and ringtail cats. The second day was spent at a local Gun Club where Nick & Alex tried their hand at several rounds of skeet followed by sporting clays. After a couple hundred shots it was time for another night of fun. This time they wanted to focus on predator calling. With that the “Fox Pro” electric caller was fired up, letting lose a barrage of appetizing calls sure to make any carnivore drool. It didn’t take long for several hungry grey foxes to come streaking in with reckless abandon. Both Nick and Alex demonstrated their shooting prowess time and time again as their guns belched tongues of orange flame at the would be predators. Their guide, veteran predator hunter Jim Roche was truly impressed with how quick these two northerners caught on with this fast paced nighttime action! Practice indeed pays off!

Dennis Duke, (CA) had one goal in mind, to spend quality time with his son whom he had not seen in a year. Nick, who now lives in Texas, had but one goal also, to go hunting with his dad. After a few back and forth phone calls the pair decided on a “father and son” predator hunt! Dates were booked around September’s “New Moon” to help insure a chance for a bobcat. The first night they flung shot after shot from their short barreled .223’s at several fox, raccoon, ringtail cat, and a smelly number of skunks. The second night guide Ryan McDonald called in a nice Texas bobcat at the very first set. The big cat hung up at 50 yds. The hunters decided to stretch the barrel of the .12ga but the cat managed to escape unscathed. The next set produced a grey fox that dropped to Dennis’ AR-15. The following “call” produced a “grey” for Nick. The load of #2’s from the Benelli .12 ga smoked the fox at 25 yds. “Set up” after set up resulted in either a fox or raccoon running in to investigate the tantalizing call. Some “rested in piece” on the parched Texas soil and some didn’t. About midnight the team set up to call near an old squeaky windmill. After a few minutes a pair of yellow eyes was spotted sneaking in from one side. Ryan lit up the night with the blinding spotlight as Nick cut loose with the Benelli. When the mushroom like cloud of dust settled, there lay one beautiful bobcat!


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Despite the continuing drought conditions throughout much of New Mexico, our 2011 Sept antelope hunters did very well, maybe even a tad better than last year’s hunters. We were a bit concerned whether the Sept 10th opener would coincide with any rutting activity which provides hunters & guides an extra edge. Not to worry, we saw a number of bucks chasing does! Our 16 Magnum Hunters harvested 16 mature antelope bucks with a couple pushing 80+/- inches. We conducted our hunts on four large ranches near Roswell, Vaughn, Corona and Ft Sumner, NM. Several bucks surpassed the magic 15" benchmark with a couple over 16". While size isn’t everything, it sure helps raise smiles in a hunting camp.
As with most hunts, there are many stories that could be told. We could talk about A.J.’s 450 yd one shot kill, or Mark’s 12 shot buck, or Corey’s 3 minute antelope hunt, but the story that must be shared is about a man who lost his mother only 3 days before he was to show up in NM.
John Thoman (VA) called to say that he would be unable to attend the antelope hunt and that he was not asking for a refund. When asked if there was anyone he could swap his hunt with, he said not on such short notice. We mentioned that we hosted a “Youth Hunter Education Weekend” 2 days before at our Lodge in Eldorado, TX and would he be interested in donating his hunt to a youth who might not otherwise have an opportunity like this. Without hesitation he replied “yes”!
We contacted a divorced mother of 2 whose 11 yr old son, Cameron, had successfully passed our hunter ed. course. Cameron and his mother spent their first day hunting with professional guide Donnie Mathis. Also in the truck was antelope hunter Randy Sagstetter of Houston, TX. About mid morning a nice pronghorn buck was spotted some 300 yards away. It was quickly determined to be more within Randy’s rifle range. The buck dropped at the shot confirming the decision. High Five’s were exchanged amongst the team and Cameron was up to bat! The first day ended with a beautiful New Mexico sunset but without Cameron firing a shot.
Back at camp, exciting stories were being shared by the 6 successful hunters along with words of encouragement for Cameron and A.J. Long (TX), the only hunters yet to fill their tags. Andrew Hofstetter, a big smiling 10 yr old from IN, who harvested a nice 15” buck earlier that day, asked if he could accompany Cameron on the next day’s hunt. As it so often turns out in our camps, hunters meet and soon become friends. These two boys represented the youngest antelope hunters we have ever had.
The next morning, Cameron’s team headed north on the 40,000 acre ranch, and A.J.’s team headed south. About an hour into the hunt Cameron drew a bead on a nice antelope buck, busy tending a small group of doe. The 325 yd “air ball” missed the buck, sending him and his does fleeing across the prairie. Guide, Jim Roche, continued to glass the retreating antelope as they eventually slowed to a walk then bedded up near a small group of junipers. Seizing the opportunity, they made their way across the open plain trying to keep the junipers between them and the now bedded antelope. Jim and Cameron belly crawled to the closest juniper tree. Slowly leaning out past the tree's fragrant bows, Jim laser ranged the bedded buck at 228 yds. It was now or never for Cameron!
Jim extended the legs of the Harris bipod on his 12 lb custom sniper rifle while Cameron snuggled up to it’s McMillan A-5 adjustable stock. Twisting the scopes magnification ring up to 25X on the Leupold Mark IV, brought the buck seemingly into Cameron’s face. A couple clicks of the elevation turret and Cameron had the green light to chamber the .300 Win Mag. Cameron offered up a quick prayer asking the Lord to help him with his marksmanship then slipped “off” the safety. Jim barked then howled like a sick coyote. After two or three long howls the bedded buck stood up to face the would be carnivore. Cameron felt confident and squeezed the trigger, sending the 180 gr “Barnes Tipped Triple Shock” bullet through the buck’s heart. Before ejecting the spent round, Cameron praised God for answering his prayer! Mother and son were elated, as was everyone in camp. Later that day A.J. bagged his buck, bringing the camp's success rate to 100%!
Cameron sent a thank you note with photos to John Thoman for making his hunt possible. At such a sad time in John’s life, a selfless act of kindness brought great joy to many. The Lord does indeed bless those who bless others. In John’s case, maybe it was the Lord calming the waters amidst the storm.


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The afternoon before "Good Friday" Melony and I were driving through the Texas Hill Country on our way to Austin when we were suddenly run off the road by a huge tractor trailer rig carrying the bed of an earth mover. The over-sized "wide load" came around a blind corner 65 mph and challenged us and three other vehicles for the right to cross a two lane bridge. He was in the center of the road taking up every square inch of roadway and Mel and I were forced to take evasive action leaving the roadway and risking plumenting off the embankment into the dry creekbed below. Our 2008 Jeep Wrangler has exceptional anti-lock brakes and combined with the heavy duty mud tires provided the much needed traction to stop. While we were both spared, a lady behind us was struck "head on" and died in mine and Melony's arms as we tried to perform CPR. We prayed over her and the family she left behind. Much later we arrived at our intended destination, my brother's house. As we entered the house we surprised 50 guests who were waiting there to surprise me for my 50th Birthday. Now, covered in dried blood and soaked clothing the "shock and awe" on my family's faces left many speechless. The question before each of us is, "Are You Ready" to meet your maker? In John 14:6 Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me." Do you know Him? If not, seek and ye shall find... John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Happy belated Easter.



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The 2011 Spring Turkey season is off to a great start. 5 hunters and 5 longbeards on opening morning!

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Piper, our blue lacy female (the one who "grins"), had 8 puppies on March 1st. She had 2 blue males, 4 blue females, 1 red male and 1 tri-color male. Mom and pups are doing well! Piper is from Jimmy Brooks kennel and is a full sister to our stud dog "Magnum Scout", though different litters. We bred Piper to Jimmy Brooks stud dog "Bull". Piper is our fastest and most athletic dog in our Magnum kennel. She can jump flat footed over a closed tailgate into the bed of our 3/4 ton Chevy truck. If you are interested in purchasing one of her pups, please call or email me to let me know ASAP. The puppies are $600.00 each and require a $200.00 deposit to hold each pup. They are first come first reserve so please hurry!
Visit our blue lacy website: www.magnumbluelacydogs.com.

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Trail cam photos from last weekend's scouting session are starting to pour in. This photograph is of a really huge "free range" whitetail that most anyone would want in their crosshairs. We are posting these latest photos under our "Recent Photo" gallery on our Home Page. If you have any difficulty getting the drop down menu to work on our website, simply click on your browser's "compatibility button" and it will start working. As we progress through this fall we will continue to post new photos of our clients and their trophies. We have been conducting a number of doe/cull buck hunts in an effort to manage our whitetail deer herds. We appreciate all the hunters (especially all the kids) who hunted with us this last month. Their voluntary meat donations helped to feed three orphanages in Mexico. All of our pre-season scouting is fixing to pay off for "Magnum Hunters." This weekend our "Big Buck Hunts" kick off so stay tuned for breaking news. Some "big boys" will be in our hunters sights!

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This past weekend we had the pleasure of leading a small youth mission trip into the mountains of far West Texas. The focus of the mission was to provide much needed meat for three Mexican orphanages across the border from El Paso that have been greatly effected by the violent drug cartels. The boys; McCall (15), Cody (13) and Kenny (13) all harvested animals (2 watusi steers & 1 roan antelope) then in turn donated the meat along with their weekend to help grind the meat into hamburger, a much needed staple in Mexican diets. In addition to the meat, Perry Rollins and Randy Fair of Glen Meadown Baptist Church helped organize donations of medical supplies along with 5,000 lbs of much needed clothing to give to Mexican missionaries. The boys fullfilled their various responsibilities and left the ranch knowing they had been the "hands and feet" of Jesus. Raising boys into men, Amen!



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The 2010 Texas Fall Hunting Season is upon us and our wildlife is flourishing from a year of blessed rainfall. Our annual deer census shows our herds at, or above carrying capacity with fawn crops averaging 80%+. This will require a significant reduction in doe deer populations along with significant harvests of cull bucks and management bucks as part of our Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Managed Lands Deer Program. All of the meat may be utilized by our hunters and their families with any surplus being donated to; an orphanage in Mexico, soup kitchen in San Angelo, TX, U-Turn for Christ, and feeding the homeless in San Antonio, TX. We beleive in managing our wildlife while encouraging children to be involved in the great outdoors and in giving to those in need. We hope you will get involved too. If you are looking for an opportunity to take a kid hunting or connecting with your family over a weekend "in the field," then contact us. We are all about keeping families together and helping raise boys into men. If you are looking for a guide service that encourages higher morals and ethical hunting, then give us a call. May "God Bless" you and yours.

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Melony's mom passed away peacefully at 2:44 a.m., April 19, 2010. She is no longer suffering and is in the loving arms of our heavenly Father. A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who has prayed for Mary Ann and her family during her battle with pancreatic cancer over the past year. It has been a long, hard journey and she is finally at peace.

2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

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We are experiencing a fantastic start to our Texas spring turkey season with most Magnum hunters completely filling their bag limits with 3 yr old Rio Grande gobblers. The number of jakes that everyone is seeing brings promise for the 2011 spring season. While the blessings of this spring have been many, none more so than Gloria Blumig, who at age 81 made her 10th "Magnum Hunt." Gloria limited out on 2 longbeards in only 1 1/2 days of hunting with the help of "Magnum Guide" Neil Grant. This marks Gloria's 15th Rio with "Team Magnum!" We will be posting lots of turkey photos in the days to come so please check them out under "Recent Photos."

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