Vail’s Good Life Ranch

04/11/2026

One of the biggest ranch mysteries has been solved. I had a giant typical breeder buck on the ranch named RIP (after the actor on Yellowstone)He was a 238” giant. He was in the DMP one year ( picture with the mask on and yes his antlers were cut off before I received him). I was extremely excited to see what he did the next year. As the year went on he was looking great. My last picture of him was August 20 2023. He was 5.5 years old and looked very healthy, then he disappeared. I’ve looked for him every year - multiple helicopter trips, walking the brush - no sign of him. This year his remains were found by the grandkids from the helicopter. They are badly deteriorated but clearly it’s him from the G1s. At least I had one breeding cycle with him and this chapter can now be closed. Very cool buck and hopefully some offspring running around.

04/08/2026

04/08/2026

A day at the range just wouldn’t be complete without taking the .50 cal Barrett for a whirl. I’m thinking plinking with the .22 was just a tad more enjoyable 😂😂.

04/08/2026

Nothing like South Texas evening / night fishing! The grandkids had a great time - as did my oldest daughter. Good times!

04/08/2026

Night fishing was productive! Olivia caught a big ol catfish weighing just shy of 10 pounds! What a beast and released to be caught another day! Great memories at the ol good life ranch!

04/07/2026

Spring break at the ranch is always a great time. The highlight is having a helicopter come in for an incredible aerial view of the ranch. The exotics from above was like watching an African Serengeti documentary. The kids saw the vast majority of the exotics, located sheds and just had a great time. Thank you Benevides!

04/06/2026

One extra benefit of having a rain day in South Texas is catching up on projects. I wanted to switch things up on my Dan Wesson Kodiak and thought a rain day was the perfect time to switch out the grips. These are from Lambda.

04/04/2026

Wahoo! I found both sides to Seahawk! I went into the DMP a couple times and figured I’d use On X to make sure I covered all the ground. Fortunately I found him in the first section. Seahawk did me a solid and dropped both antlers together. During the helicopter capture we rough scored him at 218” but knew that was low. I just put a tape to him and came up at 225 2/8! That’s a heck of a mostly typical frame. Beautiful deer - now to see what this year brings!

04/03/2026

This sendero was becoming pretty tight. The deer would come in and out of the brush quickly making shooting somewhat problematic. The dozer essentially doubled the width and it looks great now. Another hunting enhancement done!