Rancho Caracol Update

November 2009

Wednesday, November 4, Houston Safari Club-monthly meeting, HESS Club, Houston, TX. It is always fun to get together with our friends, and long term supporters at the Houston Safari Club. We are looking forward to bringing a group and having a good time. To learn more, please visit http://www.houstonsafariclub.org/events/#

Thursday, November 12, American Association of Drilling Engineers-Fin, Fur, Feather, Food, Festival, Humble Civic Center, Humble, TX. This promises to be a fun-filled evening, and we are proud to have donated the whitewing dove that John Rabon of MI Swaco will be preparing to perfection. To join go to http://www.aade.org/Events/F5%202009%20Info%20and%20Forms.pdf

Saturday, November 14, West Texas Rehab Center Sporting Clays Shoot, San Angelo Clay Bird Association, San Angelo, TX. WTRC’s Spring shoot in Abilene was a lot of fun and the fall shoot in San Angelo should be a blast as well given the cooler weather. To learn more please visit http://www.rehabclayshoot.com/

Thursday, November 19, Dallas Safari Club-monthly meeting, Sheraton Dallas N. Hotel, Dallas, TX. Carter Smith, and Colonel Pete Flores of Texas Parks and Wildlife will be the guest speakers. To sign up, pleae go to http://www.biggame.org/

October 2009

Thursday, October 8, The Cross Timbers Chapter of Quail Unlimited Banquet, will have their annual fundraising banquet at Watt Arena in the Will Rogers Complex, in Ft. Worth. The fun starts at 6:00 and we hope to see you there. For more information please contact Todd Lucas at todd@unitedsportsmensmarketing.net

Friday, October 9, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is putting on a fund raising shoot at Westside Shooting Grounds, Houston, (North of Katy). This is a first time shoot for us but we are looking forward to it. For more information please visit http://www.asme-ipti.org/public/EVENTIQLGM534334332.aspx

Saturday, October 10, Daughters of Liberty Shoot, American Shooting Center, Houston, TX. This is a first time shoot supporting the 2’nd Amendment. This sounds like a fun event for a worthy cause, so we are looking forward to it. To come out and shoot with us, please go to http://www.daughtersofliberty.com/meetingscalendar.html#um

Tuesday, October 13, The Association of Energy Service companies is putting on a shoot to raise money for scholarships at the Greater Houston Gun Club, Houston, TX. To learn more, please visit http://aesc.net/upload/AESC_GC_Chapter_Sporting_Clays_Tournament_Forms.pdf Friday, October 16, Oilfield Helping Hands is putting on their fall shoot at Baroid on the Brazos, Fulshear, TX. This is a great cause and a fun place to shoot so please come out and join in the fun. To do so, please visit, http://www.oilfieldhelpinghands.org/events.php?eventid=139

Saturday, October 17, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-Shoot for the Cure Sporting Clays tournament, will be at the Greater Houston Gun Club, Houston, TX. Great cause and fun course. To learn more, go to. http://www.cff.org/Chapters/txgulf/index.cfm?ID=11258&blnShowBack=True&idContentType=1533&Event=11258

September 2009

Monday, August 31-Wednesday, September 2, we will be dove hunting with our old friends and consistent supports, the Dallas Woods and Waters Club near Throckmorton, TX. To learn more about this event, visit http://www.dwwcc.org/outdooractivities.shtml

Friday, September 11-Monday, September 14. We are honored to be hosting four wounded warriors in recognition of their service to, and sacrifice for, our country. Rancho Caracol, Southwest Airlines, http://www.southwest.com/, Oceaneering International, http://www.oceaneering.com/index.asp, and Team Trident LLC, http://www.TeamTrident.com, are proud to make this small gesture of our gratitude.

July 2009

On Thursday night, July 9, we will attend the Dallas Woods and Waters Club monthly meeting at the Sheraton, N. Dallas Hotel. Robert M. Anderson will be talking about sheep hunting. As a flat land bird hunter, I get short of breath just thinking about this, but it should be fun and informative. For details, please go to http://www.dwwc.org/ . Hope to see you there.

The next evening, Friday, July 10, we will be at the Dallas Safari Club Wine Paring Dinner at Chamberlian’s. This is always a fun event, and we hope to see those of you in the metroplex there. For details please visit http://www.biggame.org/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=29&extmode=view&extid=3.

Friday and Saturday, June 17 and 18 we will be in San Angelo for the Shannon Medical Sporting Clays Shoot. This should be a lot of fun and is for a worthy cause. If you live in West Texas, please come out and join the fun. For details please see http://www.shannonhealth.com/smc_default.asp?OrgID=02FFB3180D544B0992BA57906AA3AD1C&DocID=3C1210A1027E42558BE773FBCE3CEC03&ParentID=Root&App=1

On Friday, July 31 we will be shooting in the Houston Oilmens’ Sporting Shoot at the American Shooting Center. If you are participating in this shoot, we look forward to seeing you there.

June 2009

On Wednesday night, June 3, we will attend the Houston Safari Club June Meeting at the Omni Hotel in Houston. Robert M. Anderson will be talking about sheep hunting. As a flat land bird hunter, I get short of breath just thinking about this, but it should be fun and informative. For details, please go to http://www.houstonsafariclub.org/events.html. Hope to see you there.

The next evening, Thursday, June 4, we plan to attend the Houston Chapter of Quail Unlimited Banquet. It will be at River Oaks Country Club, in Houston, the same as last year. QU does great research and habitat work, so please visit http://www.houstonsafariclub.org/events.html, for details to attend.

On Friday, June 5, the Houston Society of Petroleum Engineers is hosting their annual Sporting Clays Shoot at Rio Brazos Shooting Preserve in Simonton, TX, just West of Houston. We hope to see you there. Please go to http://www.spegcs.org/en/cev/1489 to register to shoot.

Thursday, June 18 we will be at the Intercontinental Hotel in Addison, for the Dallas Safari Club June Meeting. Wilson Stout will be talking about hunting in the Central African Republic. Should be a good time. To make reservations, please visit http://www.biggame.org/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=29&extmode=view&extid=46

Two days later, on Saturday, June 20, the Dallas Safari Club is having their Summer Fun Shoot at Elm Fork Shooting Range on the West side of Dallas. We participate every year and it is always a lot of fun. To register to shoot, go to http://www.biggame.org/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=29&extmode=view&extid=41

May 2009

Saturday, May 2, will be a very busy day for us. We will have two teams at the Houston Safari Club Shoot at the American Shooting Center. This is one of our favorite events year in, year out, and we are looking forward to renewing old friendships and making new ones. The Houston Safari Club is a long time supporter, and the proceeds from their events all benefit wildlife and the shooting sports. If you would like to join us, please visit, http://www.houstonsafariclub.org/pdf/2009_Clay_Shoot_May.pdf to learn more.

On the same day we will have a team in the Sky High for St. Jude’s Shoot at the Cajun Elite Shooting Grounds in Jennings, LA. This is our first time to sponsor this event, but we are quite excited. Proceeds benefit the St. Jude’s Hospital for kids with cancer. If you live in Acadiana, please consider coming out and supporting this great cause. You can learn more by visiting http://www.skyhighshoot.org/default.asp.

On Wednesday, May 13 the Austin Chapter of SCI is throwing a Safari Party at Dave and Buster’s. The theme of the event is that you don’t have to go to another continent to enjoy world class hunting in an exotic environment. We appreciate the invitation and are looking forward to attending. Please come out and join us. To learn more, visit http://www.sciaustin.org/index.asp.

The following weekend, Friday and Saturday, May 15-16, the HOIST shoot take place at the Westside Sporting Grounds just North of Katy. This is a major fund raising event for a variety of charitable causes and is quite a production. Even if you do not shoot in it, it is well worth a visit. Details can be found at, http://hoistusa.org/pdf/NEWSLETTER.pdf.

Every year we look forward to the http://saipemamerica.com/http://saipemamerica.com/Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Shoot. This year it is being held at the Westside Sporting Grounds. Saipem America and Clyde Evons and Jennifer Williams do a fantastic job of organizing a first class shoot for such a worthy cause. You don’t want to miss this one if you live in the Upper Gulf Coast area. The direct line to the registration page was down the last time I tried it, but you should be able to go to http://saipemamerica.com/ , and then follow the links from there.

April 2009

Even though we are technically in our ‘off season’ period, April is shaping up as another busy month for us.

On Friday, April 3 Channel 8/PBS is having their shoot at the Greater Houston Gun Club. We hope that those of you in the Houston area that enjoy Public Television will come out and support this event. While we will not be able to attend, we have donated a hunt to the high overall team in the Triple Crown competition. This is the final shoot in this trifecta on Friday, April 3.

The next day, Saturday, April 4, we will have a team in the West Texas Rehab Center Shoot at the Abilene Gun Club. We donated a hunt to this great cause and hope to see some of our Rolling Plains clients there as well.

Dean will be representing us again this year at Shoot for the Heart in Tunica, Mississippi, on April , 15-17. This is always a lot of fun, supports a worthy cause, and a visit to the Grand Casino is well worth a trip itself.

We will be at the Team Quail Awards Gala at the Omni Hotel on Thursday night, April 16, in Houston. The proceeds from this event support the fine work being done by Dr. Dale Rollins and his staff at the Roby Research Ranch. All of us quail hunts have benefited enormously from his work, so please come out and join us in supporting his ongoing efforts on our behalf.

The next day we will be at Baroid on the Brazos for the Oilfield Helping Hands Sporting Clays Tournament. This event raises money to help oilfield workers who have been injured and are no longer able to work, as well as their families. We are proud to be both donors and participants in this event, and hope to see many of you there.

April 24-26 will find us at the Southern Side-by-Side Clays Championship at Deep River Gun Club in Sanford, NC. Several of you have already told us you will be there. Please come by our display table and let’s go burn some gunpowder together on this beautiful course in piedmont, NC.

We are also proud to be donors and shooters at the Stephen McDaniel Memorial Scholarship shoot at Matt Johnson’s ranch outside of Ft. Worth, on Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25.

All the best, and hope to see you at one of these.

March 2009

Even though hunting season is over for a while, we are going to be quite busy in March. On Friday, March 6 we will be at the Alley Theatre Shoot at the Greater Houston Gun Club. If you are participating in the shoot, come by and say hello to us.

Saturday, march 7, we will be in Lubbock for the Safari Club International Banquet at the Civic Center. We have donated a hunt in the past, but never attended, so we are looking forward to this.

On the same day we will have a team in the NRA Shoot at the Loma Alta Shooting Range in Brownsville, TX. If you are going to be in the Valley, this is a fun event every year and supports our fundamental right to keep and bear arms.

The Park Cities Quail Unlimited Banquet will be held on Thursday evening, March 12, at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas. We have donated a hunt and will have a table at the event, so we hope to see many of you there. This is the largest single fundraiser worldwide for QU and the preponderance of the proceeds fund quail research in West Texas.

We will stay in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex for the next three days and have a booth at the N. Texas SCI Expo at Bass Pro Shops at DFW airport. This should be a lot of fun, so come out and visit with us from Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15.

This is the first year that we have donated to the Chesapeake Chapter of SCI, but we are excited about their banquet in Annapolis, MD, on Saturday, March 21. We have an ever-increasing number of clients in the area and wish them well with their fundraiser.

March 28 will be another busy day for us as well. We will have two teams shooting in the Conoco-Phillips Special Olympics Shoot at the American Shooting Center in Houston. That evening we will also be represented at the Dallas Woods & Waters Banquet in Plano.

All the best, and hope to see you at one of these.

February 2009

This is going to be anther busy month or us at Rancho Caracol. For the first half of February we will be hunting quail and mourning dove. It looks like an excellent end to one of our best quail seasons ever.

On Saturday, February 7, the Odessa Chapter of Safari Club International is hosting their annual banquet. We have donated a hunt and encourage those of you in the Permian Basin to come and support this event and bid up the price of our donation.

Houston Safari Club is featuring Craig Boddington as the guest speaker at their monthly meeting on Wednesday the 11’th. Those of you who are big game hunters are quite familiar with Craig’s articles and books and this should be a big event and a great deal of fund.

We are not the only ones who will be busy in February. The following evening, February 12, Craig Boddington will be at the Dallas Safari Club meeting at the Embassy Suites-Outdoor World in Grapevine. We have donated a hunt as a door prize, so please make sure to attend if you are in the metroplex.

One of our favorite events of the year is the Ft. Worth Sportsmen’s Club banquet on Thursday evening, February 26. We have donated a hunt and will be attending, so please come by and say hello and help make this a lucrative event for this fine organization.

Saturday, February 28 will be a very busy day for us. We have donated hunts to two shoots which are raising money for two great causes, and we plan to attend both. The Marine Technology Society is having their annual shoot at the American Shooting Center in Houston and this is always a fun event. The same day, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts shoot is taking place at the Greater Houston Gun Club. This will be our first, but hopefully not our last, time to participate.

We encourage you to attend an event in your area and support these very worthy causes. If you have any questions or would like to participate, please send us an e-mail or call us (888-246-3164) and we will get you in touch with the appropriate parties.

January 2009

Our winter season is in full swing and the quail hunting has been outstanding and mourning dove consistently good. The rains last year, and the cool weather this year have been major contributors. You have to take advantage of it when Mother Nature co-operates like this, and many of our clients are doing just that.

In addition to our normal hunting operations, January is our busiest month of the year for Safari Club events. We will be at the Dallas Safari Club Convention on Thursday, January 8, through Sunday, the 11’th. Then it is on to Austin for the Safari Club International banquet on Tuesday, January 13. From Friday, January 16, through Sunday, the 18’th, we will be at the Houston Safari Club Convention. All these events are a great deal of fun and offer the opportunity to talk with outfitters and guides from all over the world, see some world class taxidermy exhibits, and handle some legendary guns. These organizations are all enthusiastic and effective advocates of hunting and gun ownership, so please attend if you have a chance. While you are there, stop by and visit with us in our booth.

We will also be participating in the Homes for Our Troops Sporting Clays Shoot at Baroid on the Brazos (just outside of Houston). This is our first time to attend this event and we are looking forward to supporting this worthy cause. We will be at the Sponsor Banquet on Thursday night, January 22, and will have a table at the shoot the following Friday and Saturday. I hope some of you can come out, break some clays, say hello, and support the men and women who do so much for us for so little material compensation.

All of us at Rancho Caracol wish you a prosperous New Year, and look forward to your next visit.