Hunting Outlook for 2014

Although we are in the fourth year of a severe drought and experienced a few cold and windy days during the winter, our wildlife populations are in fine shape.  Our Spring hunting has been excellent and we anticipate having good hunting throughout 2014 and early 2015.  If you are interested in hunting with us, please make a reservation right away so we can arrange a hunt for what you want to shoot and when you want to be here.

2013 proved to be an exceptionally good year for hunting at Stowers Ranch.   We harvested many outstanding whitetail bucks during the season, with B&C scores ranged from 125 to 150.  You can see pictures of some of these in our Hunting Photos section.  We continued to increase the number of large whitetail bucks by limiting the total taken and by giving a pass to many high potential young bucks that will have outstanding antlers in another year or so. 

Our turkey population is thriving.  Long beard gobblers are all over the ranch, and our Spring turkey hunters had a marvelous time seeing lots of birds and having many opportunities to harvest one with either a shotgun or bow. 

The exotics have continued to do well.  Our number of harvestable Aoudad, Fallow and Blackbuck are up.  We have recently acquired a small herd of Gemsbok that will be ready to hunt in the next year.

Of course the weather continues to be a concern.   While the total rainfall in the past two years has been only slightly below the average, rain has not fallen at the time when most needed to spur the growth of grasses and forbs.  Our cattle operation has suffered, and we have had only a handful of cows and bulls on the ranch during 2013 and so far in 2014. However, the pastures continue to have good cover that protects the topsoil and the warm season grasses are making a strong recovery.  The river and springs are flowing and the windmills and solar wells continue to provide fresh water throughout the ranch.  We are maintaining the practice  initiated last year of scattering small piles of high quality alfalfa around the ranch in order to promote healthy wildlife with high conception, birth and weaning rates.