Reprinted with permission

The Nation’s Best Shooting for Women

Winter 2004 issue

 

It has been said that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. I hope my luck continues as this year progresses. Just a few short weeks ago I received a telephone call from Susan Long with the Shooting for Women magazine. She was calling me to let me know that I was chosen to attend a hunt at the Y.O. Ranch in Texas. I live in Willard, Missouri, and I hadn’t ever been to Texas. I was so excited at this opportunity, I just hoped I was prepared. It was just two weeks until the hunt. I got busy right away and booked a flight.

The hunt I was going on was with the DIVAs. I had heard of this group but didn’t know much about them-I didn’t know any of them. For those of you that haven’t heard about this fine group of ladies let me tell you a little about them. The DIVAs are dedicated to encouraging and mentoring women and youth in the shooting sports and outdoors. Their membership is open to women worldwide of any age who want to become more involved in outdoors and shooting sports.

My trip to Texas started early Friday morning as I boarded a plane in Springfield, Missouri. I had a short layover in Dallas/Ft. Worth and then another flight to San Antonio. It was a rainy day as I made my way to Texas. We finally arrived in San Antonio and I was just hoping my gun and clothes had arrived at the same location. This was only my third time flying and you always hear these stories of your luggage ending up in a different city than you. Fortunately I didn’t have that problem.

I went to the baggage claim and got my gun and bag then headed for the doors to meet my ride. Misty Taylor, with the Y.O. Ranch, pulled up in one of the ranch’s many suburbans. We loaded my gear and made our way to the ranch. As we headed out of town the rain seemed to get heavier. It was so bad at one moment a truck on the opposite side of the highway just spun around and slid into the median. Fortunately, there were no other cars near him.

Misty and I arrived at the front gates of the ranch. The rain had lightened up quite a bit and as we drove through the ranch. It didn’t take long before I started seeing some of the diverse wildlife the ranch has to offer. Shortly after I got settled in Ricky Kay, a Y.O. Ranch guide came to check on me. We talked for a while and then he offered to take me on a short tour of the place. I readily accepted the offer and grabbed my camera in hopes of getting some pictures of some of the animals roaming the ranch.

The first group of whitetails we saw ran to the top of a hill. They paused for a moment and then scattered. Except for a lone buck, he was the biggest one of the group and he just stood there at the peak with the hill country sky behind him. He waited just long enough for me to snap a photo of him; it was like he wanted his picture taken, and then he disappeared.

Ricky and I headed back to the lodge to see if the DIVAs had arrived yet. Several of the other guides were there and we sat around telling stories and playing cards to pass the time. Later that evening the DIVAS arrived and I got to meet the group of gals I would be hunting with. We discussed with the guides what we would be hunting the next day. After visiting for a while longer we all headed for bed so we would be ready for the hunt in the morning.

Aleida Escobar-Reese and I were paired to hunt with our guide Ricky. After a quick breakfast we loaded up in the suburban and headed out. As we made our way through the rough Texas hill country we stopped at several of the feeding and watering areas to check for any fresh sheds. The whitetail and axis were both shedding their antlers and we were hoping to find some souvenirs.

Since this hunt was a management hunt we were in search of does. We could take a whitetail, axis, sika or blackbuck doe. I told Ricky I wanted to try for an axis and Aleida wanted either an axis or a blackbuck. After hunting for several hours and seeing more wildlife than I had seen all season back home in Missouri I finally got a clear shot at an axis. The deer was standing broadside at approximately 50 yards; I settled the cross hairs on it and squeezed the trigger. The axis stumbled around, took a few steps and lay down next to a tree. We waited a few minutes and then went to retrieve my trophy. After taking some photographs we all loaded back up in the suburban to continue hunting.

It was getting close to noon and we headed back to the chuck wagon for lunch. While we ate we talked with the other gals to see who had any luck this morning. One of the other gals had shot an axis and everyone had seen lots of deer. After lunch Ricky asked if we wanted to rest, we told him "no way" we’re ready to get back to hunting.

He took us to a different area to try and find some of the blackbucks. We hadn’t been in the area for five minutes and a group of axis was right in front of us. Aleida quickly dropped one of the does and we were ready to take some more pictures. Now if we could just find some of the blackbucks. After moving to another area in hopes of spotting some blackbucks we finally came upon them. After some maneuvering around Aleida had a clear shot and she took it. The blackbuck went down. Our day of hunting was coming to a close as the daylight was running out.

As everyone arrived back at the lodge we started sharing our days adventures. What a great way to end a beautiful day of hunting in the outdoors. Everyone shared their stories of the hunts into the early hours of the morning.

The next day everyone was heading back home. The DIVAs were leaving out this morning and my flight was in the afternoon. I said "good-byes" to my new friends and fellow DIVAs.

I would like to thank Judy Rhodes and the other DIVAs for allowing me to join them on the hunt and in the group. I’d also like to thank Shooting for Women magazine for choosing me to attend this hunt. The hospitality at the Y.O. Ranch was wonderful and I thank them for everything.