HOME
Hunting Predators
By Russell A. Graves
Ten seconds after I turned on my predator call, I knew the spot was good. Dressed in a ghillie suit, the sun at my back and the wind in my face and an open field falling away from me, I knew the location was money.
To my east, a brushy creek winds its way through the wide open West Texas country – a perfect spot for bobcats or coyotes to hunt for mice and small birds. So seventy yards up a slight slope from the creek, I settle in next to a lotebush.
I’ve seen plenty of predators in the area and having a good understanding of the various prey species that abide here, I choose a cottontail in distress sound. Just before pressing the “on” switch, I glass the creek bottom one more time to check for animals that may have already spotted me, as the last thing I want to do is educate them.
Not seeing anything, I turn the call on, crank up the volume and blare the distressed cottontail sound across the small valley. Three minutes later a big, mature bobcat slinks from the brush that I’d just glassed and heads towards the call that’s making the ruckus. The light is perfect and he is a mere fifteen yards away for at least a minute as he stalks the fur decoy that spins errantly on top of the game call. He’s so enamored with the decoy, he all but ignores me as I snap picture after picture of him.
I am pleased to see the bobcat but am perplexed as to how I never saw him in the brush I’d just glassed.
To read more pick up a copy of the March 2017 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By Krista Lucas Wynn
Each year, when the professional rodeo season wraps on Sept. 30, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association announce the Nutrena Horse of the Year, presented by the American Quarter Horse Association, in each event. This is a prestigious award, voted on by the members of the associations. To be named Horse of the Year by fellow competitors is a high honor only a few achieve.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Heather Welper
Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.
The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.
When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Tony Dean
Snow on the Mountain is an annual forb that is part of our landscape almost every year.
It is adapted to most of Texas and grows north to Montana and Minnesota and south to Mexico.
Although is seems to be most adapted to clay soils, this plant can be found on a wide variety of soil and moisture conditions.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
-
Country Lifestyles2 years agoScott & Stacey Schumacher: A Growth Mindset
-
Country Lifestyles8 years agoStyle Your Profile – What your style cowboy hat says about you and new trends in 2017
-
HOME8 years agoGrazing North Texas – Wilman Lovegrass
-
Equine1 year agoThe Will to Win
-
Outdoor10 years agoButtercup or Primrose?
-
Country Lifestyles5 years agoAmber Crawford, Breakaway Roper
-
Country Lifestyles9 years agoJune 2016 Profile – The man behind the mic: Bob Tallman
-
Country Lifestyles8 years agoDecember 2016 Profile, Rusty Riddle – The Riddle Way