Gary Reeder
I'll be the first to admit that I miss the old Celebrity
Tuesday, November 19, 2024, 15:02

Handgun Hunt at the Y.O. Ranch. Being the charity handgun hunt was in the first week of December the the hunts were sometimes bitter cold and sometimes even colder, especially riding around in older Broncos or GMC Jimmys with the top removed. The hunt was originally set for some of the Hollywood celebrities and there were a few there for the first 3 or 4 years. Eventually it just ended up being just 55 handgun hunters who wanted to enjoy a special hunt and good company. I was there for almost 15 years and looked forward to it every December.

Our game was exotic deer, usually Sika but sometimes Axis, Fallow and even whitetail from time to time. The YO had a large assortment of wild game and some African animals like eland and Zebra. Also animals like Bison, water buffalo, Nilgai, all the exotic sheep and goats and a lot more. We had to pay about a grand to hunt and the game was normally Sika deer where we were allowed to take one buck and 2 does. We could take any of the other exotic game but had to pay extra for them. Guys who wanted to win one of the custom guns that Kase and I brought in ended up with a lot of meat to win the prize. Guys spent sometimes $10,000 to $20,000 to win a $2000 gun. All the meat from our kill was donated to the needy along with a portion of the money generated.
The hunt had evolved into a bunch of fat old men who just wanted to hang out in the lodge near the open bar during the day and near the open bar and a poker table in the evenings. The hunt was limited to 55 hunters and was invitation only. I never figured out how these old goats always managed to get invited. But thanks to Taz Ridley, the head honcho, we managed to get rid of them and get a lot of fresh blood in the hunt, in the form of a lot of the handgun hunters on here. This helped to fill a charity hunt up with lots of fresh meat and money for the needy at Christmas.
That being neither here nor there I really enjoyed those hunts. I got to meet a lot of new folks including good friend John Taffin.

Kase and I donated a custom gun each and one was awarded for the most meat brought in for the needy and the other for the most unusual animal taken. Other folks like Bob Baker had one of his fine Freedom Arms revolvers there for the guys to bid on, as did Ruger. Several other companies donated things like ammo, scopes, binocs, flashlights, backpacks and many other special items.
All in all it was a great time and hunting the Texas hill country holds a special place in my heart and one I will remember as long as I live. And a lot of the hunters on here were what made it even more special.