Posted By: the lab
Review of my hunt with Longer Outdoors - 04/20/15 12:03 AM
Just returned home from a hunt with Ryan Longer of Longer Outdoors. We booked for axis bucks, but the 2 of us showed up willing and wanting to look at as many different species as we could see. Ryan did not disappoint, he took us to the fantastic Piour Ranch in Mt Home Tx. We seen some awesome animals, but most were not wanting to stay and be looked at. It was a tough hunt in thick cover. we would catch a glimpse of an animal but they were GONE in a blink. On that 1st day we seen ZERO axis, but we were still VERY excited after seeing so many great animals (urials, both Afghan and Transcaspian, some great bull Scimitars, and some incredible Red Lechwe, plus some great rams). The 1st night Ryan took us out for a few hours of spotlighting and I even missed on a fox (kind of a big deal for a guy from Washington). That night we spotted a great buck, but again he had zero intent on hanging around to present a shot.
Between hunts we were treated to a fantastic steak dinner and reminisced over a few cold beers.
The next day we started bright and early covering a ton of ground both in a rig and in our boots. In the early afternoon a great buck finally made a mistake. I was able to take a shot at just over 100yards through a bit of cover and took a great 33x32 inch buck with a ton of width. After some celebration and getting my buck dressed out, we went back to the hunt.
I think it is how someone deals with adversity that really says what to expect and we had some adversity. Ryan received a call that his little girl was not feeling well at all and it was becoming apparent he was going to need to leave early. He could have said sorry about the luck, and we (both parents) would have understood. Instead he hunted on while making arrangements for another guide to come in. We got back at dark and he still managed to get supper ready before he headed out. Sometime around midnight Mike (his assistant guide) showed up. Grabbed a few hours of sleep and we started hunting again. We covered a great deal of ground on foot (I even found a fantastic stag shed).
After several more hours and 3 great stalks, a nice buck slipped up and my partner made a fantastic shot taking him with 1 shot in the neck.
Ryan and his crew worked their collective tails off to get us on our animals, plus allowing for a little predator hunting was a blast.
I would (and will) gladly hunt with Ryan and his crew again and would highly recommend him to someone looking for a great hunt
Between hunts we were treated to a fantastic steak dinner and reminisced over a few cold beers.
The next day we started bright and early covering a ton of ground both in a rig and in our boots. In the early afternoon a great buck finally made a mistake. I was able to take a shot at just over 100yards through a bit of cover and took a great 33x32 inch buck with a ton of width. After some celebration and getting my buck dressed out, we went back to the hunt.
I think it is how someone deals with adversity that really says what to expect and we had some adversity. Ryan received a call that his little girl was not feeling well at all and it was becoming apparent he was going to need to leave early. He could have said sorry about the luck, and we (both parents) would have understood. Instead he hunted on while making arrangements for another guide to come in. We got back at dark and he still managed to get supper ready before he headed out. Sometime around midnight Mike (his assistant guide) showed up. Grabbed a few hours of sleep and we started hunting again. We covered a great deal of ground on foot (I even found a fantastic stag shed).
After several more hours and 3 great stalks, a nice buck slipped up and my partner made a fantastic shot taking him with 1 shot in the neck.
Ryan and his crew worked their collective tails off to get us on our animals, plus allowing for a little predator hunting was a blast.
I would (and will) gladly hunt with Ryan and his crew again and would highly recommend him to someone looking for a great hunt
