I have been and still am looking for a ranch to hunt in Texas. So far, I’ve looked at:
Kyle Ranch
Desert Safaris
Rio Bonito Ranch
Trackin’ Trophies
Double Arrow Bow Hunting
DB hunting Ranch
Crystal Creek Bowhunting
Point is, there are so many options I’m having a hard time. I’m hoping some of you could help me pick. Please note, I’m posting this on two forms so if you’re like me and follow multiple forms you might see it more than one place.

My two top picks so far are Crystal Creek Bowhunting and Desert Safaris.
Desert Safaris appears to have what I want but might cost more then what I would want to spend on a yearly hunt. Maybe a one in a few years to get a large fair chase trophy but not yearly event.

Crystal Creek Bowhunting has a package hunt I really like. A 5-day hunt for $1,100 is well sounds great. Maybe to great but I haven’t found a bad review and the individual I talked with when I called was very polite and willing to assist.

I live in South Central Illinois. For me to get to west Texas it is a 16-hour drive. Thus, I’m looking for a weeklong trip. Bowhunting only is ok with me, but the wife would prefer a gun hunt. I may need to buy her a rifle as we don’t own any… Illinois doesn’t allow them for hunting. Over all we would want a trip that we could do each year, so I’m going to say $4,000 is close to what I would want to expense for the two of us. Extra for mounting, processing, tags and tips is expected. Maybe more once I start a trophy room, but not yet.

Thanks for any recommendations. I’m looking at this for a yearly hunt for off season and to fill the freezer.

Wendy Lou game reserve. Mike Odell is a heck of a good guy and they run a class act.

http://www.wendyloureserve.com/

What are y'all looking to hunt?

Axis would be my primary, but blackbuck or fallow would be nice to get as well. My wife wants first choice is a large hog. Although I know if I got her in front of other animals she would go for them as well. Rams would be good as well, a friend took a black Hawaiian and I thought it was good on the dinner table.

Here's the fallow I got at Wendy Lou. They have a few axis and blackbuck as well as lots of other game.

It sounds like double k outfitters would fit the bill for you. I'm from Wisconsin and have made the trip the last three years and have booked again for next year. He doesn't have a web page but he is on Facebook. Feel free to PM me for more details.

If you have not checked us out please consider us for your hunts.
We are very competitively priced, do offer rifle rental so you do not have to travel
with any and nearly all of our hunts are under $4,000.

I'm easy to work with- you tell me what you would like to get out of a hunt and I will do
my best to do that.

www.westtexashunt.com

PM Sent

That mount looks amazing.

Left voice mail, looks good with you having a lot of positive reviews.

I would also suggest checking out mulie_mike.

I did an free range axis hunt thru mulie Mike too last feb. Mike is a great outfitter -- he has got some great properties and highly recommend him too.

Ditto for Wendy Lou, I have visited, communicated with, but have not hunted there class act, very nice setup with great critters..The lodge is 5 Star but the hunts will
be over your price range but they might put a package deal together for you and the misses.
Lucky 7 Exotics and especially PBGSO are great to hunt with and would highly recommend PBGSO with many different critters and am sure they can work within your budget.
I would stay away from Doubleshot and DB hunting as I have bad experiences with both.
okiehuntr

Double arrow is good and mulie Mike is as well

Might want to look at Forister Exotics as well

I would suggest two ranches for you to check out. 1st would be Double K Outfitters in Kosse Texas. I have hunted with Kelly Bounds (ranch owner several times over the last 5 years). The ranch is 1000acres. Your group is the only ones on the ranch at a time. He has Red stag, fallow, axis, blackbuck, sika and aoudad all at a set price of $1500 regardless of size. His day fee is $100 per person and he has hogs at $1 a pound hanging weight and rams (a few anyhow) at $500. The lodge is extremely comfortable, you do have to provide your own food and beverages but it would be easy to fall in or under your budget depending on if your wife stayed on hogs or changed up to an exotic. I have 2 axis on my wall from his ranch and 2 fallow with 2 more bucks at the taxidermist now.

The other outfitter I would highly recommend is Ryan Longer of Longers Outdoors. He is connected to several ranches and can customize the exact hunt for you. Ryan runs his hunts all inclusive so there are no additional fees and he takes care of the food and non alcoholic beverages. I have hunted with Ryan 3 time and have a buffalo hunt booked in 3 weeks.Ryan also goes out of his way to make sure your non hunting time is great too. He understands that this is not just your hunt, but also a vacation and makes sure it is perfect. I took a 35 inch axis with him 2 years ago and my hunting partner took a 37 inch axis with him last year. I know either of these guys can get extremely close to your budget and will be a fantastic experience for you. I too live out of state (Washington) and it becomes EXTREMELY important to me that these trips are good as I am more then just a few hour drive from home and I would feel comfortable (and have) referring my closest friends to either of these guys. Good luck wherever you book.

https://www.facebook.com/Double-K-Outfitters-Hunting-Out-of-Bounds-384630738265146/?fref=ts
http://www.longersoutdoors.com/

Ragunter,

As an outfitter myself, I'd like to make a few suggestions. I run an operation out of Harper which is located in the heart of the Texas hill country. Myself and many others in this area can certainly put you on animals for that budget - however I'm a little concerned about your time frame. If I read correctly you're wanting to come for a week, which I'd assume is probably actually 5 days. In my opinion, this is actually too much time for your budget, at one ranch. Most ranches should have you harvested out in about 2-3 days, leaving 2 or 3 days left with nothing to do. $4000 is a great budget to work with, but if you spend it all on one ranch you might end up bored for 3 days. So I personally would do one of two things:

1. Find a ranch with excellent accommodations, that are specific to your needs. Several outfitters use lodges that will host a variety of hunters at the same time, in the same facility. If this is ok with you, great. I encourage you to consider the time frame you're going to stay and maybe something more private will fit your bill. Also consider the ranches LOCATION in relationship to nearby towns of Texas that are worth visiting during your stay. If 5-6 days is your trip duration, you'll have plenty of time to explore some of these nearby towns and enjoy some of the Texas charm that so many of them contain. Lastly, the food! I'd certainly ask for a camp menu before deciding!

2. Since you have a reasonable budget and a good amount of time, perhaps booking with two different ranches would be better! You'd get to see multiple pastures and enjoy different animals at each. Perhaps start off with a hog and doe hunt at one ranch for 2.5 days, then move to another for an axis deer hunt. All of this can be done with a little research and planning. Some outfitters may be able to provide this experience for you as well.

I hope you find something that fits the bill!

Robert,
I think I would go to your place just for the food. The seared axis loin looks great. You need to get the meateater to your place to do a hunting plus cooking special.

Thank you sir for the kind words. I'd love to have you and your wife out, if you'd like. I do my hunts a little differently, which we can discuss privately if you'd like. Just follow my links in my signature if you'd like to reach me.

I didn't toss my name in the hat just because I didn't want to sound biased. Many of the ranches mentioned are exceptional hunting facilities and are all worth of a visit. I've personally met several of the individuals that own some of the outfitters mentioned above and lots of them are first class.

Ox Ranch all I can say is Wow