I went to the Wolf Branch Whitetails Ranch this past weekend to do a little exotic archery hunting. I was a bit concerned about the weather and drove through a helluva rain storm leaving out of Fulshear going On I-10 early Friday. Fulshear is just West of Katy and still a suburb of Houston...if you didn't know. But, the weather turned out nice all weekend!

The Wolf Branch is in between Sonora and Junction right off of I-10. Nice ranch, nice comfortable new lodge/bunkhouse with full amenities. Good country. I met Nathan at the Ranch and after getting unpacked and some broad heads (Slick Trick 125's) loaded up, we were off touring the ranch, looking for a particular Mouflon Ram.

We found the Ram after a bit, but he was running with a bunch of other Rams. There was a big wooly Merino Ram, a couple of White Dalls, a young Aoudad, a red sheep or two, and 1 or 2 others. Moral of the story...lots of eyeballs and noses. After multiple blown stalks, we finally got within 20 yards, but it was thick cover and no shot. They finally got wind of us and took off again. As darkness set in, we called it a night. Still had fun though.

The next morning on our first tour around, we came across a nice set of black/painted rams and the biggest one with good curl was also thick and wide with a white blaze face. Great looking animal! The white blaze face really set him apart. As we passed on by he was on my mind. Shortly thereafter we came across an Ibex hybrid ram. Very nice looking animal. Silvery-white with black markings, thick long black beard, nice curved horns without much flare. By this time I was starting to forget about the Mouflon entirely and was concentrating on the blaze faced ram and the Ibex hybrid goat!

After some consideration and discussion with the guide, I changed gears and went after the big Ram. He was with 2 smaller Rams. After a blown stalk or two we finally got them on one side of a big fat cedar tree and were able to get close on the backside of the tree...but no shot from that angle. The wind swirled and they snorted and took off running, but as luck would have it, they pulled up and stopped suddenly to look back at us. A quick range check by Nathan and my arrow was on its way covering the 32 yards rapidly! The slick trick did its work. The ram went 30-40 yards (if that) and kurplunck! He was down. Here's a pic!

After a celebratory lunch, a nap, and then watching the OKC Thunder get their butts beat by the Memphis Grizzlies, we went out to feed that evening and came across the hybrid Ibex goat again. I scoured him with my binoculars and I was impressed! I’ve always wanted one of those curved horn goats and this one was a beaut! But…I decided to pass. Back at the lodge as darkness set in I began to have regrets. Nathan and I talked it over and I decided I’d try for him Sunday morning before I headed out.

Shortly after sunrise Sunday we were up and out on the Ranch. After a bit of a look we spotted the goat. Watching him from the Kawasaki Mule was one thing. Getting out of the Mule and trying to stalk him was something else. We chased him around a bit. I almost had a shot at one point but just as I started to draw he whirled around and bounded off. We chased him around a bit more and he finally passed through a small clearing. The window of opportunity was small but I sent the slick trick flying at 40 yards.

It sounded like it hit, but I wasn’t sure. There were some small limbs from a cedar kinda close so I thought maybe I’d hit one of them. The goat scurried off but he didn’t just haul a$$, so I wasn’t sure I’d even hit him. The shot felt good but Nathan wasn’t sure either. We moved up and found my arrow buried in the mud. I started thinking it was clean miss, but there were some light traces of blood on the arrow. My heart sank a bit. I was expecting nice blood. I started thinking I’d made a bad hit.
Soon we found blood on the rocks, then more blood, then lots more. Things were looking up!

After 30-40 yards we came across him standing in some thick cover. He wasn’t moving. I move up to about 10 yards and decided to put another arrow in him, just to be sure. As soon as the arrow hit, he collapsed right there. Turns out the first shot was behind the shoulder and came out through the neck. A definite kill shot. But when it doubt, better safe than sorry! Either the hair was so thick that it almost wiped that arrow clean or it just blew through so fast that it didn’t get all covered in blood.

Here’s a pic!

All in all, a very enjoyable and productive weekend! Saw lots of wildlife. Stalked some good animals. Had some luck. Made some good shots.

The Wolf Branch Whitetails ranch was nice and comfortable, easy to find, good amenities, satellite TV. Nice place to spend a weekend!

Thanks to Heath and Nathan for setting me up and for being flexible and letting me change animals mid-hunt!

wow..great story.. i'd die for a weekend like that!

good times!

Neat deal, really like the hybrid Ibex goat

Awesome!

Congrats!

Looks like you did good.

Great looking trophies! Taxidermy forthcoming?

Dang nice animals, congrats! What were the length measurements?

Taxidermy is forthcoming. Shoulder mounts. The Ram will go next to my Texas Dall. The Ibex goat on a different wall. I'll post pics in a few months when I get them back from TriState Taxidermy.

I think the Ram was about 35 inches. The Goat was 36 inches, if I remember correctly.

They're both unique looking animals which I like. I'm anxious to see how they turn out.

Nice looking animals. Don't blame you for passing on that big mouflon.

Very nice animals.

congrats again matt

That is awesome. Great storytelling also. Congratulations!

Nice job!

Enjoyed the read and the pics!

very nice! cant wait to see the mount pics!

Two very good trophys.

X-ellent!

Congrats great looking hybrid

Those are two awesome animals!!! Congrats