Just saw this on the Hunting Report;

Fair Chase Cape Buffalo Hunts In Texas

(Originally published in the August 2006 issue.)



Here’s an interesting find. Correspondent Ray Sasser tells us there is a place in Texas that has set its sights on creating an American version of the experience of going on safari in southern African. This company even intends to offer hunts for Cape buffalo. He writes:


“The Crown X Ranch is a 37,000-acre property in the Chinati Mountain Range 34 miles south of Marfa, Texas. It is owned by a wealthy German named Howard Schwerdtfeger, who, enamored with the American West, began putting the Crown X Ranch together some 28 years ago. In 1997 Schwerdtfeger started collecting exotic animals. He game-fenced about 7,000 acres, including one 6,000-acre pasture and numerous smaller enclosures for breeding pens. He currently has 30 species of mostly African game on hand, including kudu, gemsbok, sable, eland, waterbuck, nyala, addax and even Cape buffalo.

“The Crown X currently has three Cape buffalo bulls, and Schwerdtfeger is shopping for cows and more bulls. He plans to offer fair-chase hunts for all this game, including the Cape buffalo. In fact, he is currently enclosing three sides of his 37,000 acres with game-proof fence. The fourth side is the mountain range, which creates a natural barrier that will keep most of the animals from leaving the Crown X. Mountain species like aoudad and ibex will come and go at will. The elevations on the Crown X range from 4,200 feet to 7,700 feet.

“‘What I’m trying to create is an environment similar to a very large South African hunting ranch,†Schwerdtfeger told me. ‘The animals will be free-ranging, self-sustaining herds that interact with one another. We have at least 1,000 animals now, and they are reproducing well.’

“That is basically what sets the Crown X apart from other Texas exotic operations I have visited. The animals to be hunted on the Crown X are going to be animals that were born and raised on the property, and most of the hunts will be for free-ranging animals on 30,000 acres unbroken by additional game fences.

“Many Texas exotics operations may have several thousand acres overall, but are divided into smaller pastures, each contained by a game fence. Other hunting operations also typically buy animals from dealers and release them just before the hunt. Some of those animals are not particularly afraid of people and are not familiar with the terrain of the property where they are released. Many ranches have only a handful of animals mature enough to be considered trophies.

“Schwerdtfeger has brought in veteran Texas hunting outfitter Jim Roche to help with the operation. Roche has now run a couple of exploratory hunts on the Crown X Ranch, and his enthusiasm for the place is through the roof. The Crown X will be offering hunts this year and is in the planning stages of building its own hunting lodge. Clients this year will have two lodging options. One is to stay in a portable camp that Roche has previously used for Alaskan moose hunts. He describes it as a very comfortable hunting camp located on the ranch. A second option is to stay at the neighboring Cibolo Creek Ranch, a 4-star resort that regularly hosts the rich and famous, including actor and Texas resident Tommy Lee Jones. Cibolo Creek Ranch is a 25-minute drive from the Crown X and has a 5,300-foot paved runway that’s ideal for most private aircraft.

“The price structure is not yet complete, but the basic hunting fee is $250 a day (based on double occupancy) with trophy fees added on. Roche said some of the ranch’s more common animals carry relative bargain prices — $4,500 for eland, $1,950 for aoudad, $1,750 for purestrain mouflon. The Crown X also has native North American game such as Rocky Mountain elk, desert mule deer, Carmen Mountain whitetails (a subspecies of whitetail similar to Coues’ deer) and javelina.

“The Schwerdtfeger family believes its investment and dedication to creating a South African-style hunting preserve will benefit from concerns about worldwide terrorism, airline woes and trophy importation problems. They expect most of their clients to be Americans, but hunting African game in Texas may appeal to a worldwide clientele, especially those who travel to the Southwest on business. For more details, contact Jim Roche at 325-853-1555, or visit his web site at www.magnumguideservice.com.â€

Correct Link for Jim Roche

Cheers, Peter

quote:

The fourth side is the mountain range, which creates a natural barrier that will keep most of the animals from leaving the Crown X.

MOST?

A poor substitute for the real deal that will likely costs as much or more without the adventure of experiencing Africa.

Whats next importing Bushmen for trackers and skinners ????

No question they will find takers.

The whole thing sounds stupid, but an armchair "hunter" with money, a weekend to kill, and an ego that has to have the adoration of his friends to make him feel like a man will find it irresistable.

There is no doubt that there are a considerable number of "hunters" who I have zero, zip, zilch in common with. Of course the 11th commandment stops us from critical comments. I will say I saw Texans selling BONGO hunts at SCI. So this sadly does not suprise me.

quote:

Originally posted by Safari-Hunt:
Whats next importing Bushmen for trackers and skinners ????

Heck I bet you can find all the Bushmen you need right in Texas. You ever been to Houston before?

SureStrike

quote:

Heck I bet you can find all the Bushmen you need right in Texas. You ever been to Houston before?

TSk, Tsk, Tsk

I believe that Texas passed a law some years back prohibiting the 'canned hunting' of 'dangerous game'.

I know it named lions and leopards, but do not recall if the prohibition extended to bovids.

George

I just got off the phone with Texas Parks and Wildlife in Austin, Texas. I am told that Cape Buffalo fall under the Exotic Game rules of TP&W. There are several ranches in Texas that now have Cape Buffalo. It is legal to own, breed and hunt Cape Buffalo in Texas.

It is not legal in Texas, to import Dangerous Cats for the purpose of hunting.

I guess the next hunting book we con look forward to reading is "Death in the Mesquite"? or "Sage Brush Buffs"?

Or perhaps you could combine a trip? Big Bend, then go see the "Marfa Lights", hunt quail and bag you a buff?

Having had experience with Jim Roche, I'll pass.

Hurry and book your hunt for the 2025 season. As it will be at least then before any "dugga boys" will be avalible. He has to get a large breeding herd built and then let the bull calves grow into "dugga boys".

Keith

Hog Killer,

Maybe they add some steriods in the feed to make them grow faster !!! But yes dont see them shooting dugga boys in the very near future.

What will be next, a hippo hunt in the Trinity river, south of Dallas. Or maybe get your Elephant in Eastland. This is a joke, and anyone buying off on this definately has small penis issues.

Gun of choice?
Why a 45-70 of course! Combine the best of both worlds Old West style and Africa.
Lever action for the Old West and 45-70 loaded to at least .458WM power and cast bullets!
I know cause I read on the Internet a 47-70 can be just as powerful as as any ol .458WM.

Combining old west Texas and Africa in Game,Gun&Cartridge!

Allen

quote:

I guess the next hunting book we con look forward to reading is "Death in the Mesquite"? or "Sage Brush Buffs"?

Dagga Does Dallas?

Boddington on Nailing Non Native Nyati?

Rodeo in the Buff?

Two Step Trouble?

Bill Stewart, on "Single Triggers in the Sage"?

Sixguns for Syncerus?

The possibilities are endless.

There is no possible way that anti-hunters can use this to turn the undecided against hunters is there?????

Big Game Bwannas don't forget www.clearspringsranch.com another Pride of Texas hunting establishment featuring BONGO at $25,000.00 and up. You may not be able to hunt but by God you can still kill.

If Africa become too dangerous hunt in the future Texas will be the place to hunt.I fear Africa will be gone in less than 30 years more like 20 years.

quote:

Originally posted by Safari-Hunt:
Hog Killer,

Maybe they add some steriods in the feed to make them grow faster !!! But yes dont see them shooting dugga boys in the very near future.

More likely will use fiberglass resin and a power sander.

Keith

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
It is not legal in Texas, to import Dangerous Cats for the purpose of hunting.

Good policy. But what about Cool Cats?

No need to import Cool Cats! We already got some Real Cool Cats in Texas!

The Odessa Permian Panthers! Mighty Mojo!
and
The University of Houston Cougars! Eat 'em up Coogs!

If you want the Texas buff hunt to resemble an Okavango Delta hunt, turn 'em loose in a flooded Wharton County rice field.

I wonder how many buffalo are killed inside fence in SA each year, not to mention other countries in Africa?
*30,000 acres inside of fence is the same on either side of the salt pond.
* cape buffalo are regularly purchased as breeding stock then trucked to enclosures in RSA,Zimbabwe,Zambia,etc.
*Is it somehow different because it happens to take a long flight from eastern USA to stay at 5 star lodge in RSA inside the wire and hunt a 40" bull there?

quote:

Originally posted by ALP#4:
I wonder how many buffalo are killed inside fence in SA each year, not to mention other countries in Africa?
*30,000 acres inside of fence is the same on either side of the salt pond.
* cape buffalo are regularly purchased as breeding stock then trucked to enclosures in RSA,Zimbabwe,Zambia,etc.
*Is it somehow different because it happens to take a long flight from eastern USA to stay at 5 star lodge in RSA inside the wire and hunt a 40" bull there?

I'm kinda thinking the same thing, I'm not sure what the big difference is from put and take here and put and take there. You can shoot a fallow deer in RSA, they have tahr on Table Mountain in Cape Town, Piere Davids deer in Argentina, water buffalo in Florida, axis deer in Texas, elk in NZ, all kind of Asian deer in Australia. It's not what I want, but it's certainly nothing new.

One of the big differences between there and here is that here we can take...AND TAKE HOME, as in meat. I love eland on the plate and will take a cow eland in Texas for that reason and just for a trip to Texas...maybe a few hogs while there, too.

quote:

Originally posted by Brain1:
What will be next, a hippo hunt in the Trinity river, south of Dallas. Or maybe get your Elephant in Eastland. This is a joke, and anyone buying off on this definately has small penis issues.

I went to Trinity a while back and there is already hippos there. Would not hunt them
on a bet though.

This not my cup of tea at all but I think some folks aren't recognizing that most things in life are on a continuum...

It's okay to import pheasants from China and Chukar from the Southern Asia and hunt them becuase it was done 150 years ago but not ok to import Cape Buffalo from Africa and hun them 15 years from now?


Not too many folks complain about Gemsbok in New Mexico or Aoudad but Cape Buffalo are not okay?

Red Stag in Argentina but no Cape Buffalo in Texas?

My point is if you accept one introduced species and its okay to hunt it then objecting to another one is just a matter of tastes as opposed to principal.

I guess my Mule Deer on Catlina Island was wrong also? Cause they were intoduced by CA DFG in 1920?

Why all the hostility? If you don't like it, don't hunt there. But don't criticize it. Oh, and if any of you think that 30,000+ acres under high fence isn't fair chase, then you obviously are missing the "rational" part of your brain.

I think this is an absolutely GREAT idea.

RBHunt,

I doubt this guy is running a put and take operation. Most places in Texas don't run put and take operations, most actually have wild breeding herds. It's just a small portion that give the rest a bad name.

But I really don't feel like getting into the fence debate right now. Let's just all be happy this guy is providing another place to hunt in the good ol' U.S. of A.

I wouldn't complain unless I had a nice cabin in the Chinati Mountains, south of Marfa, Texas, and woke up one morning to find an irate daga boy in my garden.

Then I would complain.

On the other hand, I would never in a million years hunt buff at this place. I agree with Mike that the decision whether to hunt introduced, exotic species anywhere is a decision made on a continuum, but this kind of thing is way down on the downhill end of it, IMHO.

Also, I think that, for a lot of reasons, some good and some bad, how long it has been since the species was introduced is absolutely relevant.

It's like the fellow said about religion:

Q: "So what's the difference between a religion and a cult?"

A: "About two thousand years, give or take."

Mike_Dettorre,

What is the difference between personal taste and principle?


Are you saying climbing through Hell's Canyon to kill those damn Chukers, is on plane with shooting a Cape Buffalo out from under a feeder?

I guess my personsl taste/principle sees things different.

I think the magnitude of the response is caused by the fact that killing a Buff or Bongo is not the point at all. It is Where and When and How that matters. The whole point is the memory not just the dead animal.

Anyway, I suspect you agree.

SG

I like imports. In fact as long as I can hunt Axis deer for meat, I don't care if I never shoot another Whitetailed deer. Those Axis are some good eat'n!

Hey, how about taking old, non-produtive, black Angus bulls. Gluing some fiberglass mbogo horns to his head. Then, to get them to "charge", rattle a bucket of range cubes. Should be able to do this for about $750-900 "trophy" fee plus day rate. At least until the real dugga boys are ready. I see no difference in this than shooting pin raised bobwhite quail that will not flush without a boot toe under thier butts.

At least they could be used for bullet/load testing.

Keith

I really dont condem the put and take of animals in a hunting area as long as the game gets time to breed and get knowledgeable about the area and will totally be independent. That is what is happening in South Africa anyway you buy game at the auctions either for new genes or to reintroduce a specie on the game farm but they don't get 5 star treatment they get dropped off and thats it on their own they have to go. Sometimes they get put into holding pens for a couple of days especially the more expensive game just to check that they don't die or get sick of stress but after that they are own their own. Sometimes one very dry periods the farmers do give some food which they have to before the animals would die. And that is why SA has more game than it ever had before white man set foot in the Cape so it works.

My point is if you hunt buffalo in Texas that has been born and bred there and are totally independent will they be aggresive as well since they wont have any natural enemies or predators ???? Will you be hunting wild buff or a buff relaxed from his surroundings ?

quote:

My point is if you hunt buffalo in Texas that has been born and bred there and are totally independent will they be aggresive as well since they wont have any natural enemies or predators ???? Will you be hunting wild buff or a buff relaxed from his surroundings ?

Ask your questions to ranchers living next to the introduced wolves in Yellowstone Park

Funny, I personlly can't wait to see a nyati:longhorn cross!!! and if that's not mean enough, throw in a spanish fighting bull!!!

37,000 acres of land = 57.8 sq/miles

Gentleman, you can loose a heck of alot in 57.8sq/miles

Even 100 years wont change the nyati physiology of having the largest andrenal glands, by weight, of any animal.

Being south of Marfa will NOT improve their disposition, and I am certain that the mere fact of being bred in texas won't make them any easier to hunt or kill.

The texas DG law is about animals that are inherently mankillers... great cats, rhino, elephant, hippo.

Gentlemen, in Texas, cattle aren't dangerous game

I dont really care what they hunt in Texas but I really dont see how this would be different than in SA. Nothing like flying all the way over there then getting to watch the guy on the truck shoot a Wildbeast in a pasture like a bunch of cows. Or pulling into another pasture and closing the gate behind you so the animals cant get out no brush you can see from one end to the other. Or driving past another bunch of animals that I am sure I could have got out of the truck with a feed bucket and walked through them.
I am not trying to put down SA we did get to hunt some big farms that were great and I really enjoyed it so if its in Texas or SA if you have a big area with plenty of cover I think the hunts will be great.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
It is not legal in Texas, to import Dangerous Cats for the purpose of hunting.

Is it legal to import dangerous cats for the purpose of keeping the cape buff on their toes, possibly kali, and to weed out careless hunters?

Well gentlemen, I think if anyone thinks a cape buffalo will be a milk cow because he is turned out in the thorn, and canyons, south of Marfa, Texas,where it get to 112 deg F in summer, I'd like to see some of these heros, walk around in the cactus with them, with their trusty camera, and no rifle!

I see absolutely nothing different from hunting Cape Buffalo in RSA, only more expensive!