Texas Ranch Boasts Monster Bucks
OutdoorHub 04.22.14
Mustang Creek Ranch, a favorite destination for whitetail deer hunters, reported 2013 hunting statistics.
Hunts taken during the 2013 hunting season had whitetail buck Boone & Crockett scores averaging over 190. Last year’s highest scoring whitetail was 243 B&C.
Mustang Creek was the first to commercially artificially inseminate (A.I.) whitetail does in North America. Since 1992 this Texasranch, established and owned by Bill Grace, has successfully implemented A.I. to breed whitetail does to produce superior offspring with incredible antlers.
“Through A.I., or ‘genetic preservation’, we are bringing back some of the most unbelievable genetics ever seen in whitetail deer,” states Mr. Grace. “Animals which have been aggressively hunted for many generations and were thought to be lost forever are being given a second chance through the advances of science and technology.”
Also believed to be an important factor is the natural mineral springs that supply the ranch with water saturated with beneficial minerals such as calcium.
The deer hunter on the 243 B&C hunt was Claughton Johnson. The Gruene, Texas resident has already another booked hunt for 2014 — and he is going for a bigger one.
The guide on Mr. Johnson’s hunt was Ryan Halfmann.
Mr. Grace notes that he breeds his deer specifically for health and “huge main frame racks.” He doesn’t care for the non-traditional/non-typical racks developed by many of today’s breeders; he believes that the main target should be more than just the animal’s antler score. Mr. Grace considers that most hunters prefer a main frame buck over the non-typical, “although extra kickers and drops can be a bonus, as long as the frame is there.”
“I want deer to look like deer, not an upside down tree stump,” Mr. Grace says. “There’s true beauty in a natural, wide, massive rack with long tines.”
