What is the terrain like on Escondido Ranch?

• Escondido Ranch has almost every habitat existing in the Texas hill country, open fields, rugged canyons, forested river bottoms, and rocky plateaus are within its perimeter.  This is one of the reasons for the diversity of the wildlife on the ranch.

 

Is Escondido Ranch high fenced?

• Yes, Escondido Ranch has a perimeter fence that is nine feet tall and approximately 8 miles long.  The purpose of the fence is to keep elk in and deer out; this allows us to keep the deer population density lower inside the ranch than the low fenced areas around the ranch, which along with our supplemental feeding program insures that all of the game on the ranch has adequate nutrition available.  All of the animals within the fence are wild, freely roaming the entire 2 square miles of the ranch.

 

What do I do with the game that I have harvested during my hunt?

• Your trophy fee includes skinning and quartering your animal for transport home in your ice chest.  Tips are greatly appreciated by the guides and skinners. Local processing of your meat and local taxidermy available for your trophy mount is available at an additional expense.

 

What type of camera should I bring?

• Any good still or video camera that will zoom to at least ten power to capture good pictures of the game at 100 yards.  Lights or a flash are handy for those trophy pictures that many times are taken in low light.

 

What type of binoculars should I bring?

• Ten power binoculars are best for viewing game and checking the top of a deer’s head to make sure that the doe you want to shoot is truly a doe and not a button buck or a buck that has just dropped its antlers.

 

What distances will I be shooting at?

• Almost all shots will be less than 150 yards, as most blinds are set within 100 yards of the trails or feeding areas that are to be hunted.  Although visibility from many of the blinds can be many hundreds of yards, we discourage shooting at distances over 200 yards.

 

What type of firearm should I hunt with on Escondido Ranch?

• Every animal on Escondido Ranch can be taken with a rifle using center fire cartridges.  Elk and Aoudad Sheep should be hunted with bullets that are designed for deep penetration and weigh at least 130 grains or more, deer should be hunted with bullets that weigh at least 80 grains.  Bullet placement is critical so shooting a rifle that you shoot well and are comfortable with is very important!  Rifles should have a scope mounted on them and have been sighted in prior to arriving for the hunt.  Hunters will be required to shoot to check the zero of their rifles prior to hunting.  Spring turkey should be hunted with a 12 gauge shot gun shooting 3” or 3.5” magnum shells with #4 or larger shot.

 

Are there bow blinds at Escondido Ranch?

• Yes, we have nearly 20 bow blinds located near major game trails and at virtually every feeder.  Typical distance to a feeder/ trail from the blind is 25-35 yards.  The blinds range from 12- 20+ feet off the ground.  There are multiple 2-man blinds.

 

What type of clothing should I bring to hunt in on Escondido Ranch?

• In the winter months, layers of clothing are best.  The outer layer should be camouflage.  In the summer months shorts and short sleeve shirts are best, with a well ventilated hat.  During spring turkey season full camouflage including face covering is necessary.

 

What is the weather like at Escondido Ranch?

• During Whitetail Deer rifle season in November and December the chance for precipitation is normally less than 20%.  The temperatures are normally in the 30s and 40s at night and 60s and 70s in the afternoons.  When hunting during the summer months the temperatures are normally in the 60s and 70s at night and the 90s and 100s during the afternoons.  The forecast for Junction, Texas is accurate for Escondido Ranch.

 

When is the best time of year to hunt in Central Texas?

• Whitetail Deer hunting season for rifles is open in November and December. Fallow Bucks, Sika Bucks, and Bull Elk have hard antlers from late August through early March, so that is when we hunt them.  Cow Elk, Sika Does, and Fallow Does have their young in March and April so we hunt them from October through early February.  Axis Bucks have hard antlers according to when they are born, and Axis Does have fawns according to when they are born, so year round there are hard horned bucks, and does without fawns available to hunt.  Besides Axis Deer, Hogs, Aoudad Sheep, and Blackbuck Antelope can be hunted year round. Fall Turkey season coincides with Whitetail rifle season, and spring Turkey season normally is the entire month of April.

 

Please contact us at 713-823-2996 (Kurt) Or 254-977-3923 (Heather) if you have any further questions.