A few weeks ago, my wife and I visited a private ranch in Bandera County, TX owned by a very close and dear friend of mine. I've known the owner for most of my life, and in fact, he gave me my very first deer rifle at age 4. I'm 31 now and haven't been to the ranch in over 10 years, so it was great to introduce this very special place to my wife. The ranch is 4,000 acres of high fenced property on the Medina River. Of all the ranches I've been on, it is still absolutely one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been.....and will always hold a special place in my heart.

The ranch is not open to the public, and is leased for hunting by a corporate group. I've got more photos than is possible to post here, but I figured I would share a few of the highlights. I hope you guys enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them. (keep in mind these are low-resolution files, the full-resolution versions are much better!)

And before anyone asks.....yes, that is a Kangaroo. haha












There is also a nice herd of Bison on the property....here a few of the better shots I got of them.

Beautiful photos! Those Pere David's deer are such odd looking critters!

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Beautiful photos! Those Pere David's deer are such odd looking critters!

Thanks Ann! And yes, Pere David are peculiar animals for sure!

Thanks for sharing these spectacular photos,OB

Wade, good God man, you take tremendous photos. I can understand your deep affection for that place. It is breathtaking. I did not know there was such beauty in Texas.

Great photos, Wade!

True paradise

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Wade, good God man, you take tremendous photos. I can understand your deep affection for that place. It is breathtaking. I did not know there was such beauty in Texas.

Thank you for the kind words!

Very cool photos.

Yes, the Pere David are interesting. Another I find almost as odd, in a good way, is the Barasingha. The first one I saw wasn’t far from Brady a few years ago. Once again, great examples of Texas exotic ranches keeping these animals alive when there aren’t many of them back in their home lands.

Nice pix. Good work.

quote:

Originally posted by DCS Member:
Very cool photos.

Yes, the Pere David are interesting. Another I find almost as odd, in a good way, is the Barasingha. The first one I saw wasn’t far from Brady a few years ago. Once again, great examples of Texas exotic ranches keeping these animals alive when there aren’t many of them back in their home lands.

The deer in the first photo is actually a Barasingha in velvet with his summer coat!

Here are a few more pics I got of that same bull.

Thanks for the nice pix - reminds me of some exotic reaches that I hunt in Texas. One near Hondo had some of the largest Kudu, Bison, and water buff seen anywhere!


Two Bills (73 and Oregon)- I have been telling you -
Lots of pretty places down here and enormous hunting opportunities for native species and exotics.
Interestingly, many of the luxe ranches are not well known to the public and for good reason!

One of my friends place in Comanche County had Bongos and such, BUT not in view of the county roads! Why? Because the locals would shoot game through the 8 foot chain link fence topped with barbed wire; they knew they could not retrieve the animals but shot them anyhow! He had plastic strips woven through the high fence to minimize drive by shootings.

quote:

Originally posted by Eland Slayer:

quote:

Originally posted by DCS Member:
Very cool photos.

Yes, the Pere David are interesting. Another I find almost as odd, in a good way, is the Barasingha. The first one I saw wasn’t far from Brady a few years ago. Once again, great examples of Texas exotic ranches keeping these animals alive when there aren’t many of them back in their home lands.

The deer in the first photo is actually a Barasingha in velvet with his summer coat!

Here are a few more pics I got of that same bull.

Ok, I see it better now. Thanks.

Texas exotics are fascinating for sure.

Wade glad to see you back, hope you are doing well and you continue to grace us with photos.

quote:

Originally posted by crshelton:
Thanks for the nice pix - reminds me of some exotic reaches that I hunt in Texas. One near Hondo had some of the largest Kudu, Bison, and water buff seen anywhere!


Two Bills (73 and Oregon)- I have been telling you -
Lots of pretty places down here and enormous hunting opportunities for native species and exotics.
Interestingly, many of the luxe ranches are not well known to the public and for good reason!

One of my friends place in Comanche County had Bongos and such, BUT not in view of the county roads! Why? Because the locals would shoot game through the 8 foot chain link fence topped with barbed wire; they knew they could not retrieve the animals but shot them anyhow! He had plastic strips woven through the high fence to minimize drive by shootings.

It is common to have a double set of high fences about 20 plus yards apart with a tall berm in the middle. That’s an investment and it helps the animals. It’s not my deal, but I appreciate them.

Nice photos! Beautiful ranch! Thanks for posting.

There is a misconseption on high fenced hunting particularly on the internet, and yes some is not fair chase, this applies to Texas, and African countries, but in the real world many of these ranches are very large and are fair chase, and not easy hunts, pick them with care and you will have a good hunt..South Texas has some great high fenced hunting with 30,000 ac. pastures, as does So. Africa and Zimbabwe..Just another point of view.