Now in its 4th year, the 4B Ranch whitetail deer management program is coming along nicely. Seeing the big bucks with great antler growth is exciting but maybe even more exciting than that is seeing yearling bucks with 6 pt. and 8 pt. racks. Seeing very nice 8 pt. and 10 pt. 2 1/2 year old bucks is also very exciting and validates the holistic approach toward wildlife management that has been adopted on the 4B. While feeding (protein) out of the bag exclusively is no doubt one way to insure the nutrition needed to grow big racks, it provides little variety for the deer. By planting crops of wheat, oats and summertime legumes, combined with planted food plots and pasture grazing that promotes the growth of native forbs and browse, protein feeding has become supplemental rather than the staple. The last two years have also yielded fine fawn crops with many of the does having twins. An aggressive predator control program has enhanced the survival rate for newborn fawns.

This hunting season on the 4B has been relegated mainly to meat hunts with the harvesting of does and spike bucks by friends and family. There is one particular mature 8 pt. that yours truly has his eye on but other than that, no bucks will be harvested from the ranch. We fully expect to be letting hunts next season for management bucks that will include some really nice 8 and 10 pt. bucks.

Dove season at the 4B Ranch is always highly anticipated. West Texas is rarely short on birds and it looks like the 2005 season will be no exception. One of the highlights of the year on the ranch is opening weekend of Dove Season. Our traditional ‘Friends Of The 4B Dove Hunt’ commences on Friday, September 2nd, with a large gathering of family members and friends. Kicking it off will be a clay shoot to help hone those winged shooting skills followed by a hearty meal served in the ranch Pavilion where old and new friends alike will have some time to get acquainted or reacquainted. Saturday morning will find 25 to 30 eager hunters scattered through the native sunflower fields and around the stock tanks of the ranch chasing the elusive Mourning Dove in the sights of their shotguns.

2005 has been a good year and has produced sunflowers that are 6 to 7 feet high in some areas as well as native dove grass as thick as you please. Under the supervision of Matt Brewer, ranch Wildlife Biologist in training, Bill Johnson, Terry Fox and I spent time on our tractors shredding around the tanks and through the fields making it easier to find downed birds as well as putting lots and lots of fresh seed on the ground. After all, managing for Dove on the 4B is a significant part of our overall habitat planning.

So, welcome to all our ‘Friends of the 4B’ who will be hunting with us over the Labor Day weekend and to Dusty Greaves of Lone Star Trails Outfitters in Coleman, Texas, and his hunters and finally to the new hunters that will find their way to the 4B for the first time for a great Dove Hunting experience in 2005!

We’re always looking for ways to improve habitat for the wildlife and enhance the land on the 4B Ranch. With an inclination toward holistic management, we’re trying a new crop this year on the ranch that we hope will work well for the wildlife and the land. Guar is a legume that many in the United States have little experience with as there are few geographic areas that have the climate for it. What is guar?

Guar is a legume that resembles a green (string) bean and is grown primarily for human consumption in India and Pakistan. The primary use for high grade guar in the United States is in its refined state (guar gum) and is used as a natural stiffener for products such as ice cream, pudding and cheese. Lower grades of guar gum are used in cloth and paper manufacture, oil well drilling muds and explosives. The bean itself contains 54% protein which should provide a GREAT protein source for the Whitetail Deer and the Russian Boar and will substantially reduce the need for supplemental protein feeding. The second benefit and maybe of more importance and financial benefit is that the root nodules of the guar plant contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria and crop residues and when plowed under, improve yields of succeeding crops. Successful crops of guar can put up to 196 lbs./acre of nitrogen into the soil when plowed under which will be a huge boost to succeeding crops. The application of the same amount of synthetic nitrogen would be very expensive and of course the guar root provides a natural means by which nitrogen can be applied to the soil.

Planted on May 21st, the guar is now coming up. We hold out great hopes for the guar and take pride in the fact that at least in West Central Texas, the 4B Ranch is the first to try and cultivate this promising plant. Special thanks to Alan Cooper of Cooper Farms for his diligent efforts on behalf of the 4B and for coming up with the idea for the guar crop in the first place.

Pictured Below; Left - Alan has plowed and layed rows and is now planting the guar seed. Right - after a nice rain 5 days after planting, the plants are coming up nicely only 8 days after the germinating rain.

There can be no doubt that the Blackbuck Antelope is one of the prettiest game animals around and the Blackbucks of the 4B Ranch are no exception. I won’t bother giving you the biologist take on this animal but rather our personal experience with observing these animals and in particular, last nights up close and personal observation.

Here are just a couple of facts from our observations on the 4B. Unlike the whitetail deer, these animals from the goat genus have horns that are permanent and I always worry about them when I see them close to the high fence. I’d hate to see them break a horn off. We NEVER, EVER pressure them. We don’t see them at the feeders. Primarily, they graze like cattle instead of browsing like whitetail deer. They also seem to like the open fields and high open areas where their vision is not obstructed and we’ve noticed that they bolt at the first sight of us even if it’s from 500 yards. Their winter coats are definitely the most aesthetically pleasing. The coats of the mature bucks turn dark on the sides and on the face accented by a snow white underbelly. Their eyes have the white fur around them with the dark coat around that always reminds me of Buster Brown’s dog, Tige, for some reason.

Last night while my wife and I were returning to the 4B HQ from a feeding mission on 4 wheelers, I chanced upon a really interesting situation involving the largest Blackbuck Antelope buck on the ranch. Getting close to these animals is next to impossible. Riding the dusty Big Tank pasture road and not sparing the throttle, I slammed the brakes on as something big was right in the middle of the road. As I came to an abrupt stop, to my astonishment stood the biggest Blackbuck on the ranch and not 8 feet from me! It was down in a low area where the water flows into the Big Tank and a part of the road that we’ve not been able to use for the last several months due to standing water. There he stood, posing like one of our dominant boars. Head upright and back legs stretched, I don’t know if the ATV headlights were blinding him or what but amazingly he didn’t move. In fact, he proceeded to urinate and that took a couple of minutes. I’ve noticed the big bucks doing this out in the field like it’s a sign of dominance or at least has some social meaning for them. In any event, I was able to observe him for 2 to 3 minutes from an unbelievably close distance. I had time to count the twists in his horns and this guy has 5 twists and I’d say his total length is 23 to 24 inches. Just an incredible animal! 200 acres of wheat has probably helped that a bit I’d think. I actually talked to him and he still didn’t bolt. It was actually quite incredible, the kind of moment I live for on the 4B. Finally, he slowly sauntered off to the brush and trotted out of sight. Since it was a night time feeding mission, I didn’t have my camera with me. Not even my crappy cell phone camera. What an experience that was. When I returned to the barn and met my wife and Matthew and told them the story, I think they both gave me a wink.

The picture on the left shows one of the bigger bucks out in the field urinating. That was shot from 600 yards. The picture on the right taken back in November of 2004 is the buck that I encountered last night.