I was graciously invited by fellow THF member “WLR Hunter” for a tour of the Wendy Lou Classic Game Reserve near Hico, TX. To say I am impressed by this beautiful piece of ground would be the understatement of the century. The owner, who is from South Africa, took me on a 4 hour drive around the property yesterday. We were able to share stories and talk about hunting….while glassing the various species of African game present on the ranch.

They are doing things in a very different manner on this property than most. The ranch consists of 4,500 acres of mostly open grassland separated by creek bottoms, pecan groves, and a few mesquite and oak flats. There are no feeders of any kind on the ranch, and the animals are completely self-sustaining with large breeding herds of all the species. They focus mainly on African species (namely Blesbok, Springbok, Impala, Gemsbok, Waterbuck, and Eland) but also have a few of the more common exotic species (Axis, Blackbuck, and Fallow). They also have one of the finest herds of Red Deer I have ever seen (estimated at 400-500 animals). I even saw quite a few Whitetails, of which two were easily over 150”!!

I will say this….I have personally set foot on somewhere between 50 and 100 high fenced game ranches in Texas, and never before have I honestly felt like I was on another continent until my visit to Wendy Lou. It was a truly incredible experience. Seeing huge herds of African animals that were legitimately wild, unhabituated to humans, and wanted nothing to do with the vehicle was refreshing.

I would like to say a huge “thank you” to the owner, Graham, for the opportunity to visit his property. He was a wonderful host, and I look forward to visiting with him again. I will definitely return soon, but next time with rifle in hand.

I also was able to capture some amazing photos, which I hope you all enjoy.

For more information about hunting Wendy Lou Classic Game Reserve, visit their website: http://www.wendyloureserve.com/

Great pictures

nice

I drive by this place every time going to my deer lease. It is amazing what you see in the fields late in the afternoon. Great photos BTW.

I'd love to take a drive through there..............

Absolutely amazing! I will keep them in mind when looking for an outfitter that has red stagg.

Neat animals and great pics

i live about 3 miles from wendy lou and always enjoy driving by to see what is out there.

Great pictures, Wade! Thanks for sharing.

Great pics

Awesome pics!

Used to drool everytime I drove by there on the way to Comanche. Nice to see some pics "inside the fence". Beautiful place.

Sweet pics, thanks fir sharing

That waterbuck is awesome. I would love the chance at one of those!

wow great pictures thanks for sharing

ive hunted there with them last year, love it and had a great time, its only about ten mins from my lease,

Hi Wade!
You certainly were able to capture some amazing photos during your visit with us - these are great images! Thank you for sharing them and also for your very gracious words about the Wendy Lou. We think it is a pretty special place and are honored you think so too.
It was a pleasure meeting you and we look forward to spending time with you again in the future.

Thanks for the kind comments y'all!

Great looking animals wlr.

Question for WLR Hunter. My old ranch management classes came to mind when Eland Slayer mentioned the numbers of animals on this place. This place is 4500 acres which is HUGE until you start factoring in the numbers and figuring carrying capacity(how many acres per animal unit.) I realize these aren't cows, but some of those species are comparable in size and what they eat. I guess my question is, Do they have enough to eat? For instance, the red deer herd is estimated at roughly 450, divided that by 4500 acres, that's 10 acres per animal unit, for just the red deer. There are ranches to the west of us who would kill to have 100 acres per animal unit. That is not even factoring in the rest of the species. They may not all eat what a cow eats, but they all have to eat. I am not trying to sound like some number crunching geek or kill-joy on an awesome post but you may have an over-grazing problem.

Wink68,

I don't want to answer for WLR Hunter....but from what I could tell, all the animals were in excellent condition (as you can tell from my photos). I never saw any unhealthy or poor animals. The ranch probably has at least 3,000 acres of good native grass. And during the winter, they plant roughly 250 acres of wheat to help as well.

From speaking with the owner, the total animal population seems to be roughly around 1,200 animals...FYI.

I will also add, that things learned in ranch management classes are not always the gospel truth...and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Great pics Wade. Looks like a great variety of species you don't usually see in TX.

Awesome pics.