On our last visit to the Busy B Ranch in Jefferson, Texas, I had no desire to hunt for rams. Earlier that week I had taken a gold medal Scimitar Horned Oryx and wanted to finish the week out hunting hogs. Jason and his Dad, J.D,. had talked all week about this wonderful Corsican Ram they had on the bow preserve. “If you have ever wanted to take a nice ram you really should try for him,” J.D. told me every day. My reply was always, “I really don’t care anything about harvesting a ram.” Early one morning, toward the end of the week, my husband, Gary, and I set out for the bow preserve and HOGS! As we crested a rise in the road, the sunlight glinted off a massive set of horns belonging to the Corsican Ram. He stood out from the others just by his size. I knew immediately this was the one Jason and J.D. had been talking about all week. We just stopped and gazed at him and I was mesmerized. I looked over at Gary and said I think I’ll stalk the ram, you go on and look for the hogs. By the time we parted ways, the rams had moved into heavy brush and a shot was impossible. It was now a waiting game. Finally, the rams moved out into the open and I took the shot. My shot was too far back so I knew my day was just beginning. I had to finish what I had started. The other rams herded around the Corsican and it took the rest of the day to finally make that perfect shot. My love for rams had begun.
When we began making our plans to visit the Busy B again for the Fall of 2007, my first thoughts were "I’m going to hunt rams!!" We arrived at the Busy B on Sunday morning and after months of planning and a fourteen hour drive we were anxious to hit the stands. Jason had some new area that he wanted us to see so after unloading and donning our camo we decided to ride this area and familiarize ourselves again with the Busy B. We were glassing at the edge of a field when a herd of rams came out of the woods and began feeding on the other side. I was shaking so bad I could barely hold my binoculars still. There were several nice rams, including a Texas Dall and a Black Hawaiian that I definitely wanted to take back to North Carolina. We went back to the cabin and ate a quick lunch, anticipating the afternoon hunt. As we were going back into the hunting area, Gary got a good look at a nice Axis Buck. He decided to try for a shot, but with the Axis quartering away, the shot wasn’t perfect. We split up and searched for the Axis the rest of the day. It was almost time to call it a day and I came back to the field to meet up with Gary. I had sat down and was looking, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Axis when the ram herd came into the field at almost exactly the same place we had seen them earlier in the day. I met up with Lynne and Jim Frady and we decided there was enough daylight left to stalk the rams. I just couldn’t pass this up. Lynne and I slipped through the field stopping and checking the distance with the Nikon rangefinder. We got to 27 yards and I came to full draw with my Pearson Stealth, waiting for the rams to separate and give me the opportunity. Finally the rams moved apart and I released my Muzzy tipped Carbon Express Arrow and it found its mark. Celebration time!! I had taken a Gold Medal Texas Dall ram! What a way to start to start our time at the Busy B.
The next morning Gary and I split up again - Gary to look for the Axis and I was looking for the ram herd. I found them first thing but they slipped away and I spent most of the morning trying to spot them again. The woods were dense and it was hard to keep up with the quarry. They knew exactly where the most cover was and managed to continually give me the slip. Mid-morning I headed for our meeting place to see how the rest of our group had done. As I came around a bend in the road I caught movement from a trail to my left. I stopped and crept up to get a better look. The rams were heading right up the trail straight into my path if they just didn’t see me. I managed to take cover behind some bushes and just held my breath. They kept coming but the Black Hawaiian I wanted was bringing up the rear. Could I stay concealed while the rest of the herd moved past me? It seemed like it took forever as the rams were feeding down the trail but finally the Black moved into range. I released my arrow and I now had the third ram in my quest for the Texas Slam – A Black Hawaiian.
After lunch I decided to try the blind. Gary and I were still trying to spot the Axis and I was hoping he would cross somewhere near the blind’s location. Elk, fallow and buffalo came by the blind and I got a good look at all of them. Daylight was growing dimmer and I heard the truck coming to pick me up at about the same time I again spotted the rams coming out of the woods. I crept out of the blind and motioned for Jason to stay back up the trail. I followed the wood line hoping to get a shot at a nice Jacobs Four Horned Ram. He was wise to me and kept staying in the middle of the herd and denying me a shot. I kept easing along with them and finally, he fell behind the others. My Pearson Stealth again did the job and I was able to harvest the ram. He scored third in the Records of Exotics for 2007.
I am already counting down the time until we can revisit the Busy B. The Bonners run a first class operation and it is always with sadness that we leave with much anticipation for our next time.
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(For more on Gary’s Axis Buck, see “Worth the Wait.”)
To plan your trip to the Busy B, contact:
Busy B Ranch
Jason and Shanon Bonner
1100 West Prospect Road
Jefferson, Texas 75657
Or:
www.busybranch.com
