RCR Stag, Pig Trap, Pheasant

Friday

Up early in the cold to begin grinding off the old hinges on the pig trap panels and welding on the new ones I had brought with me. After a few hours, the trap was fully assembled at the machine barn. Jason (the ranch foreman) and I loaded it onto the trailer and discussed the best location. He had seen a small group the day before in the front pasture, which was out of the way of the weekend’s other activities, so we decided to set up there. After a quick setup and test, we baited the trap with a combination of alfalfa hay, peanuts, and corn.

That evening, I headed to the back pasture for the stag hunt. After watching various animals come and go from the feeding site, I spotted the hinds moving through the brush, followed by a glimpse of one of the three stags I was after—"Ladies Man," named for always being surrounded by the five hinds in the pasture. Just as I was preparing for a shot, my phone alerted me to movement at the pig trap. As Jason had described, two sows and two piglets were milling around outside the trap. Over the next 5–10 minutes, I recorded video of Ladies Man herding the hinds toward the feeder, took a shot at him, and, after checking the trap again, dropped the gate on the four pigs, which were now all inside.

Saturday

Up early to retrieve the stag we had tracked into the darkness the night before, as well as to harvest the four pigs in the trap. The stag hunt took an unexpected turn—there was plenty of blood but no stag to be found, and eventually, the blood trail ran cold. We decided to bring in Matt and his dog to ensure recovery. After what felt like forever (but was really about 20 minutes), a shot rang out, and Matt called to confirm the stag was recovered. Unfortunately, I had made a poor shot—a little too far forward, hitting the far shoulder instead of the near one. The stag had rejoined the other eight stags in the nearly 400-acre pasture.

Now running late for the pheasant hunt, Jason offered to load the stag with the tractor and handle it for me so I could catch up with the pheasant hunting group. After a quick hour’s drive to Santa Anna Hunting Area, we warmed up with a few rounds of skeet shooting before they released the birds. Over the next four hours, we worked the dogs, shot birds, and waded through four-foot-tall grass, collecting a great haul of pheasant, Chukar, and quail. Braxton experienced his first pheasant hunt and had an incredible time. As a birthday gift, he even got one of the pheasants he harvested taxidermied for his wall at home.

Back at the ranch, we had dinner and then processed the pigs from the trap—each was a great eating size. We quickly cleaned them up and put them in the cooler with the stag so they could be processed the next morning.

Sunday

After breakfast, we began processing the animals into my coolers: an 800-pound stag, two sows, and two piglets, along with a few pheasant, Chukar, and quail—quite the haul of excellent table fare. Once everything was packed and prepped for the drive home, Ross and I made the rounds to check and reposition a few of the ranch cameras, moving them to new strategic areas to get a better read on animal numbers and health in different pastures. (Nothing beats 24-hour surveillance to truly understand what’s eating all that protein.)

After getting home late, my wife and I vacuum-packed the pork and birds and placed them in my game freezer. I checked the ice on the stag hide, horns, and meat to ensure everything would hold overnight.

Monday

After work, I made the trip to the meat processor to get the stag processed into tenderloin, backstrap steaks, flank steaks for fajita meat, tenderized steaks for chicken frying, link sausage (some with jalapeño and cheese, some plain), and, of course, summer sausage—some also with jalapeño and cheese.