JN Ranch TX ... anyone have any info???

[drdougrx]

Just check'm em out.  Would appreciate anyfeedback!

Thanks! 


http://www.jnranch.com/index.htm

[Graybeard]

Not sure I've ever heard of them so no help there.

The prices sure aren't any real bargains it would seem. With only 1200 acres and all that list of game it's clearly a put and take situation. I'd be surprised if many of the animals have been there more than a year to get acclimated and likely a lot less.

Still the accomdations look nice and it's pretty country. I've hunted places of that size and it can be fun to take a stroll and see what game you can sneak up on.

[drdougrx]

Kinda thinking the same thing GB!  I was also looking at the Mayfield Ranch as well.  My TX friend Ken Wilson who makes Sportsman-on-Film videos can also take us.  He's still my best best as there will be three of us.  He has half a dozen ranches that he can hunt and I've been on four of them, all fairly large (2-6k acres).  He's also good friends with the owners of the 777 ranch. 


BUT...every one of his ranches has terrific trophies at top prices.  I'm thinking that if I'm going to spend top dollar, I want top trophies.  Then again...I'm beginning to wonder whether or not I can really afford or justify the expense.   

[Graybeard]

The only reason I don't go more is I know I can't afford it. I have Ken's videos and we've watched them a bunch of times. I sure enjoy them. I sure enjoy going after exotics but since I retired the funds just aren't there for it anymore.

[billy_56081]

Maybe we should start a fund for a hunt for Bill.

[drdougrx]

I'm in!!

It's just a shame the prices are sooo crazy.  My first exotic hunt in TX was in 1995.  I shot corsican, blackbuck, hybrid ibex, axis and sika.  It cost $600, $1000, $1000, $1250 and $1500 = $5300 plud 450 for Ken to guide.  In 2001 I went back and shot fallow $1500, Tx Dahl $1000 and Mouflom $1750 = $4250 plus 450 for Ken to guide. 

Cheaper prices generally mean poor quality trophies i'm afraid....same with real wilderness hunts.  Was looking at NewFi moose hunt....6 day moose hunts can range from $3500 for a heavily hunted area to 10k for an area that is exclusive and you have a chance at a trophy greater than 50 inches.

I just find myself asking if a 2 day hunt that needs to account for airfare, car rental, overnight stays, food, tips and taxidermy is, in the end, worth the time and expense.

[markc]

Doug, you're delimma sounds familiar.  I do know folks who have asked similar questions regarding hunting leases.  The cost for a whitetail lease, especially if you are running feeders, supplemental feed, trips there and back, fuel, etc.etc..  Many I've known opt for a couple of 2 oor 3 days hunts at locations they are likely to see real trophy's, rather than the cost of a lease where they may not. 

For me I enjoy the time at hunting camp and prefer to be there as many days as possible, so while I hope to one day do some 2-5 day trophy hunts for non-whitetail's, right now I can't see spending that kind of cash.  No matter your choice, the cost is high, and a hunter is what we are, so maybe it is just a matter of how many of those trips we take each year..

[drdougrx]

At this time of my life...the 10 day deer or moose or caribou or anything else hunts are just not going to happen due to family and job.  Even the 6 day Maine bear hunt is a promise to my wife that I'll head home the day after the bear is down.  The owner of Wild Hill, the preserve that I like to hunt, always tells me....dammit Doug...why don't you just stay another day and rest a bit.  He's right....I never do it.  Addicted to the crackberry......

So a 2-3 day hunt for something that doesn't occasionally show up in my backyard really fills a void for me.  Won't be forever,,,but,,,till things change...exotics will be the way to go, as will the decisions of what are they worth in my time and money.

My wife asks why I always shoot boars...for one..you can eatm to the oink...another is they are lot of hunt for the $$.  Thats why.  I'd rather shoot elk or red deer or, or, or....at double or tripple the price......

And...long ago I quit the Orange Army that invades the northeast in the Fall.......

idle musings......

[markc]

Doug, what is the chance that your wife would go along with you on your hunts?  My wife was not raised in a hunting family, they didn't own a firearm.  I was able to get her to go to the deer lease with our kids in the off seasons, and little by little she gained an interest in what I was spending my time doing.  Now days, she is nearly the only person I hunt with.  She encourages me to take hunting trips, although we ended up purchasing property for recreation/hunting.  She still wants me to go bear hunting, because she wants a bear skin rug.  Nice lady.

[drdougrx]

Hey Marc,

No chance.  My late father-in-law hunted and my wife has never said anything negative about it, but, she does say, "I don'r mind if you go, but I could never stand by and watch or shoot an animal." 

Now the bear skin rug!!!  That's worth it.  I've had 2, the one I have now and one that was ruined by water damage in the basement that I sold.  I also have a 3/4 mount bear on the wall.  My wife likes the rug...says it feels nice.....