Two Days before Thanksgiving Day of 2003, I was packing the final items I would need for my Texas hunt. I was leaving that next morning and was so excited, because I would be traveling to Uvalde, Texas to hunt whitetail deer with my good friend Belinda.  Once again we had teamed up to hunt and film each other.  I flew into San Antonio and met Belinda there.  Our guide picked us up at the airport and drove us to the ranch that we would be hunting.  The neat thing about this whole hunt was that we were going to be hunting with an Outfitter that was a woman.  Dovie Davenport’s Ranch and her name was- you guessed it, Dovie and a very amazing woman at that.  She was not quite five-foot-tall and couldn't have weighed more than 90 lbs.  Dovie’s size and the fact that she was a woman may have seemed like it was an obstacle when it came to being an Outfitter, but it didn't slow her down for a minute.

When we arrived at the ranch, she was waiting for us to help get us settled in. Our lodge/quarters was a small trailer on the land that we were hunting. It was a little rough around the edges, but had all the comforts that we would need.  Belinda and I were there to hunt and didn't plan on spending much time inside anyway.  As we were driving in to the ranch, I could not believe the number of quail I saw.  They were everywhere!  I remember thinking to myself that this would be heaven for a bird hunter.

We started the hunt by splitting up into teams.  Dovie took Belinda and I went with Robert.  I don't think I have ever seen so many deer.  This was my first whitetail hunt out of Michigan and the way you have to hunt them in Texas is so different from what I was use to.  No runways, no tree stands.  Actually, there where no trees period!  Well, what Texans call trees and what I call tree are two different things. 

Where I come from, they would have been more like oversized bushes.  I learned and experienced so much on this trip.  The first night out, Belinda made a good shot on a Javalina and got the excitement going when she brought it back to camp. I had lots of deer action, but not the size I was looking for. The next night Belinda again, harvested first; a nice Texas eight-point.  My arrows just can't compete for first kill when her bullets can reach out 200 to 300 yards and knock one down.  Again I had seen action and even watched a monster ten-point! He just wouldn't come in close enough for a shot. On the third morning, with Belinda all tagged out and me yet to draw my bow back, it was getting down to the wire. I had to fly back to Michigan that next day.  I was antsy and more than ready for my chance to bag my deer. Robert and I again went to a Tripod stand that was near a pond.  Oh yeah, I was informed that Texans don't call them ponds.  Texans refer to them as tanks.  I had so much to remember!  Anyway, back to my story. Robert and I sat all morning and again the deer came in, but not close enough. Nearing the end of the morning hunt, a coyote came in and spooked all the deer away. We ended that hunt and headed in to regroup and decide our next plan of attack.  Since I had one night left and would be leaving early the next day, I reluctantly picked up a gun and followed in Belinda’s footsteps.  My love of archery is always first choice to me, but every once in a while I can be persuaded to pick up a gun and have at it.  That last night I was fortunate enough to get a nice Texas whitetail with a gun.  A little disappointed that it wasn't with my trusty bow, but nonetheless I was happy that I had taken such a beautiful whitetail in a state that was new to me.  Belinda was happy because she thought that she was turning me into a gun hunter.  So she thought!  Archery is still my first love.  It was a very happy Thanksgiving and another hunting memory we'll never forget.