Information

What To Expect

Get ready to hunt on the Haun Ranch

We want you to know what to expect.

Before you book, we’ll have detailed conversations about the game, the conditions where you’ll hunt, our rates of opportunity and success, and the gear you’ll need. We’re happy to answer questions by phone or email before the hunt and for as long as you need us afterwards.

Once you book your hunt

We’ll take a credit card number to hold your reservation, but we don’t charge it unless you don’t show up. You can call, email, or text for any information that you need.

  • Equipment suggestions and a gear checklist
  • Advice on how to prepare for your hunt.
  • Updates on conditions as needed.

Getting your Texas hunting license and tags is not hard, but we can help with that if needed. We can also help you plan for taxidermy and meat transportation.

Getting Here

  • Moving guns through Texas airports is straightforward. You’ll be fine if you obey TSA regulations and your airline’s rules.
  • There is almost no support available in Meyersville. Academy Sports and HEB in Cuero or Victoria should have anything you forget to bring.

The day before your hunt

Once you get to the lodge, you’ll have time to:

  • Find your sleeping area and unpack.
  • Prepare your gear to hunt the next morning.
  • Meet your guide and plan your hunt.
  • Get to know your fellow hunters.
  • Get a full brief on how we hunt and a full update on the latest game regulations.
  • Have dinner.
  • Go to sleep and dream of hunting.

The Ranch Itself

Weather

Fall and winter have warm days and cool nights. In the spring and summer, it’s always hot. You can check the weather forecast for Meyersville, TX, at www.weather.com

Terrain

Our ranch is on the Texas coastal plain at less than 40’ above sea level. There are no hills.

Vegetation

Brush and grass are very thick here, and there is some open pasture. Whether it’s green or brown depends on rain—we can go months without rain in the summer. After it rains, the grass grows tall and the low ground is swampy.

Hunting Methods

close-up picture of a stand

Stands

Because of the terrain and vegetation, the longest shot here is rarely beyond 100 yards. Like many Texans, we hunt from stands or box blinds. Stands are 4’x6’ with 2 office chairs so short rifles are nice. Rifle balance and weight are less important than for still hunting since you’re shooting from a rest.

picture of feeder and lights

You’ll have a feeder roughly 50 yards from your stand. One green light on the feeder will come on to 30% at sundown, then slowly increase to 100% when an animal passes directly under it. These lights illuminate an area about 10 yards in diameter, so the longest low-light shot you’ll get is about 60 yards. Longer shots might be possible if the grass is low due to dry weather.

Hunting from stands gets you very close to the game, so you CANNOT be noisy. Here are some tips we’ve learned over the years:

  • Take the minimum amount of gear into the stand.
  • Don’t talk if you’re out there with someone. Whisper, or you won’t see much game. Better yet, don’t talk at all.
  • Before you get in the stand, take everything out of your pockets so your rifle doesn’t bump up against it and make noise. Also take the sling off your rifle and put it in your pack. You don’t need it and it just makes noise.
  • If you have an illuminated scope, set the illumination between the two lowest settings so you don’t get the highest setting if you turn it the wrong way. The brightest setting will wash out your view.
  • When you get to the stand:
    • Put your gear inside, load your rifle, chamber a round, and put the safety on. This is the loudest thing you’ll do other than shooting, so do it before the game shows up.
    • Open the windows so you can see the feeder.
    • Position the chairs so you can see out the windows and shoot easily.
    • Put your gear where you can reach it with the least possible movement.
    • Turn on your electronic earmuffs.
    • Keep your rifle in your lap so you can raise it easily and quietly.
  • When you see or hear game:
    • Turn on the illumination in your scope.
    • Grab the barrel with your non-firing hand and guide the muzzle to the window. This keeps you from banging the muzzle into the wall or roof of the stand, which will scare the game away.
    • Pull your hand back along the stock and rest the rifle in your palm so it doesn’t make noise on the windowsill.
    • Reverse that to pull the rifle back in your lap.
  • When you leave the stand, turn off your ear protection and reverse one battery so it doesn’t accidentally get switched on in your pack.

Thermal Hunts

We use an electric cart to drive around and find the hogs with a thermal monocular, once we find hogs we get out of the cart and stalk within shooting distance, we use shooting sticks to steady the shot. We load up the hog and continue to hunt. We hunt for about 6 hours trying to get a shot at a hog for each hunter in the group. After the hunt is over, we return to the lodge to gut, skin and quarter up the hogs.

Rifles & Cartridges

Cartridges

  • Shots here are close, so almost any cartridge works with good shot placement. The 308 Winchester with 150-grain bullets is perfect. Proven cartridges like the 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08 Remington, 270 Winchester, and 30-06 Springfield are fine, especially on larger trophy animals.
  • We don’t stock ammo at the ranch. Ammo for uncommon cartridges can be hard to find these days so bring something that you can buy easily. The nearest sporting goods stores are Academy in Victoria and Cuero. They sell ammunition made by Federal, Remington, Hornady, Winchester, and other major brands.
  • Not having long shots means that impact velocity will be very close to muzzle velocity, so standard cup-and-core bullets like those made by Sierra, Speer, Hornady, etc., are fine. Premium bullets like the Nosler Partition, Barnes TTSX, Swift A-Frame, etc., are great but you don’t need them.

Rifles

  • Almost anything will work, but shorter is better.
  • At dawn and dusk, stainless-steel barrels can appear white. Cover them with camouflage tape or paint them a dark color.
  • We recommend a 100-yard zero because it keeps the bullet within an inch of the line of sight at typical ranges and will reach well beyond that if needed. Zeroing 3” high at 100 yards is great for west Texas but can lead you to overshoot your trophy in south Texas.
  • Bring enough ammo to check your zero when you get here. Scope internals can shift in the cargo hold of an airplane, plus our weather can also be hot enough to shift your POI, especially if you’re coming from a cool climate or a higher altitude.

Optics

  • Standard optics are fine for deer. For hogs, choose optics with low-light conditions in mind: binoculars with objective lenses larger than 42mm, illuminated reticles, etc.
  • Even though shots will likely be close, you still need a good scope, ideally with an illuminated reticle for hunting hogs. You’ll use it at dawn and dusk—not in broad daylight—so get one that you can adjust to a very dim setting. Very bright scope settings wash out your view. Meopta, Vortex, Leupold, Nightforce, Swarovski, Schmidt & Bender, and others make good optics but other great firms enter the market almost daily.
  • The reticle should be simple, with a fine aiming point. You don’t need a “Christmas tree” reticle for hunting here. The Nightforce Forceplex reticle is ideal.
  • Keep your scope on the lowest setting (ideally no more than 4x) while you’re in the stand.
  • When budget is an issue, a solid fixed-power scope is far better than a variable that fogs or won’t hold a zero.
  • If you don’t own a scope with an illuminated reticle, choose one with a bold reticle like the Leupold Heavy Duplex. They’re easier to see in low light than finer reticles.

Archery Hunters

  • I have ladder or box blinds about 25 yards from the feeders.
  • We have several pop-ups blind to set up wherever you want them.
  • Full Camo is best.
  • Scent elimination is a must.
  • I prefer to use Ozonics. I have one that can be rented.

Muzzleloader Hunters

  • The same tactics apply to muzzles hunter as rifle hunters.

Earmuffs

Electronic earmuffs protect your hearing when you fire. They also help you hear game and remind you of how much noise you’re making. We strongly recommend them.

Camo Patterns

You can wear camo if you want, but you don’t need it. It’s more important to have clothes and gear that let you move quietly since you’ll be so close to game. Few people understand this, but black clothes make you stand out in low light. (Try it and see.) Olive green and medium blue or gray are much better choices than black if you don’t want to wear camo.

Shot Placement and Shooter Preparation

  • Most of the time, you’ll be within 50 yards of a deer or hog.
  • Plan to shoot hogs just behind the ear. This drops them on the spot, so we don’t have to track them, plus it tears up less meat.
  • Just because you’ll be close doesn’t mean that the shots are easy. To prepare, be able to hit a small target that’s weaving and bobbing target at 50 yards. Three-inch helium-filled balloons bobbing on a short string in a light breeze is about right.
  • Shoot for the shoulder on a deer. A neck shot could ruin your mount.

Getting Meat Home

  • We’ll gut and skin your game, then hang it in our cooler. The morning that you leave, we’ll quarter it and put it into your cooler.
  • No problem if you drive. Just bring enough coolers to get back home.
  • Check your airline if you need to put meat in checked baggage.

Packing List

  • Texas license
  • Hunting Boots
  • Headlamp
  • Electronic muffs
  • Binoculars & case
  • Ammo
  • Water
  • Binoculars in padded case but without strap
  • Rangefinder in padded case
  • Rifle in a soft case
  • Ammo—10 rounds is plenty.
  • Sling (not on rifle)
  • Electronic ear pro with spare batteries
  • Cell phone
  • Cleaning kit: rod, jag, patches, and a chamber brush
  • Insect repellent

Our hunts book quickly. Weekends are typically booked solid during deer season and open weekdays are rare.

  • Species include trophy whitetail deer, wild boar, Rio Grande turkeys, doves, predators, and varmints.
  • High-fence deer hunters get access to unlimited hogs, varmints, and fishing.
  • Lighted feeders
  • Night vision and thermal hunts available for spotting hogs at night
  • Freshwater fishing
  • Self-guided or fully guided
  • Combination packages available
  • Meals are available for $60/person per day.
All hunts include lodging, guide, blinds, cleaning, skinning, pond and creek fishing, and varmint hunting, plus use of our 100-yard rifle range and walk-in cooler.

Lodge

Our lodge is included on all hunts and sleeps a dozen hunters comfortably. It has a full kitchen, full bathroom with shower, BBQ grill, fire ring, wood, pool table, Ping Pong table, and Bluetooth speakers.

We also have a small cabin that sleeps three.

Our hunts book quickly. Weekends are typically booked solid during deer season and open weekdays are rare.

  • Species include trophy whitetail deer, wild boar, Rio Grande turkeys, doves, predators, and varmints.
  • High-fence deer hunters get access to unlimited hogs, varmints, and fishing.
  • Lighted feeders
  • Night vision and thermal hunts available for spotting hogs at night
  • Freshwater fishing
  • Self-guided or fully guided
  • Combination packages available
  • Meals are available for $60/person per day.
All hunts include lodging, guide, blinds, cleaning, skinning, pond and creek fishing, and varmint hunting, plus use of our 100-yard rifle range and walk-in cooler.