HUNTING AT THE FORD RANCH

Joe Pray and Bill Pray Jr., Fourth-Generation Deer Hunters

Editor's Note: Outdoorsmen across the nation know the reputation of the Ford Ranch in Melvin, Texas, as the home of trophy-sized white-tailed bucks. Most hunters see the biggest deer of their lives there and often don't shoot these huge deer because by Ford Ranch standards, the racks aren't that nice. Joe and Bill Pray of Keeseville, New York, fourth-generation deer hunters, came to the Ford Ranch in 2003 to hunt.

"There were seven hunters at the Ford Ranch from New York the week I hunted there," Joe Pray reports. "We'd driven down for the hunt. My brother and one of his friends had come down here last year. But this was my first hunt at the Ford Ranch, a truly awesome place. I saw more bucks at the Ford Ranch than I'd ever seen in my lifetime. My brother, Bill, bagged a buck that scored over 140 points on the Boone & Crockett scale. When he took that buck, we hugged, hooted and hollered, gave each other high fives and jumped around like wild men. Everyone who came with us plans to return to the Ford Ranch to hunt next year. In a week of hunting in the area where we live in New York, you may see only one or two bucks. If you don't shoot a buck as soon as you see it, you probably won't get a buck all season. However, down at the Ford Ranch, we passed up big 8- and 10-point bucks - bucks we'd never even see at home. I kept count of the number of bucks I spotted saw this week, and I counted 120 bucks. I really hate to tell the people back home how many bucks I've seen in four days of hunting because they won't believe me, especially when I tell them that 50 of those bucks were shooter bucks.

"I started to take a big 8-point buck, but so many bucks were around me that I decided to pass on it. Then all the deer separated and ran off. I watched the big buck that I eventually bagged come down a hill with his ears laid back. He was all bristled-up and ready to go to war. I'd come to Texas to try to take a typical 10, but this buck was an 11 pointer. When my guide returned to my stand after I'd taken the huge buck, I was white as a ghost and really shook up. I felt like I was about to pass out. I'd never had the chance to take a buck that size before in my life. When we went over to the spot where I'd shot the buck, we couldn't find any blood, hair or other sign that I'd hit the deer. My brother, Dan, was with me as I followed the trail that I thought the buck had taken after the shot. When I saw those big antlers, I yelled and so did Dan. Dan and I hooted and hollered so much that I was sure the guide thought we'd lost our minds."

According to Bill Pray, "I came down to the Ford Ranch with my family. On the first morning that I hunted, I saw 15 bucks. Later that morning, five more bucks came in, so I had a total of 20 bucks out in front of me. When the buck I finally took moved in and started to push all the other bucks around, I figured he was the dominant buck. I thought the buck had 10 points, but he only had 9. But he was the heaviest-racked buck I'd taken in my life. I love hunting with my family, and I don't think there's anything better than going on a hunt like this with your family and sharing time outdoors together. We all plan to come back next year."

To learn more about the Ford Ranch and its hunting services, call Forrest Armke, the ranch manager, at (325) 286-4572; e-mail him at fordranch@hotmail.com or, visit www.fordranchhunting.net. I don't believe I'd ever hunted in warmer weather for deer than this hunt at the Ford Ranch the beginning of November, 2003. Luckily for me, I'd rolled-up a lightweight suit of Mossy Oak Apparel's TrekLite and packed it along with wintertime clothing. I thought, "Well, this TrekLite doesn't take up any room at all, and who knows, I may need it." I lived in that TrekLite suit the entire four days I was at the Ford Ranch and stayed cool and comfortable in my tree stand in the high-80-degree weather. You can go to www.mossyoakapparel.com to learn more.

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