In October 1991, my oldest son Bob had just returned from a two year tour with the Army in Germany. He was anxious to go hunting since it had been a long time since his last hunt. We booked a hunt with Thompson Temple's Texas Wildlife. My wife Faye decided she wanted to try hunting for first time on this hunt. She had been shooting with me off and on for over 20 years but had never hunted.

We made the 1050 mile drive from Anniston, Alabama to Ingram, Texas in two days with a stop over in Beaumont on the first day. Our youngest son Phil also went along for the ride as a non hunter. It was noon on Sunday when we arrived at Texas Wildlife's headquarters. John Paul informed we had been bumped out of the Little Creek Ranch as our quarters for the hunt by a contingent of SCI muzzle loader hunters. We were given directions to the Duderstad Ranch where we would stay.

The Duderstad is a 1200 acre ranch which is divided into three pasture areas with acreage of 200, 400 and 600 acres. On Sunday afternoon we all walked around in the 200 acre pasture looking for animals and taking photos of what we saw. I was able to get good photos of a fallow deer and a solid black fox squirrel.  The ranch is covered with thick cedar and scrub oak brush that limits visibility and gives the animals lots of cover for hiding.

Early the next morning, our guide for this trip Robbie, showed up to take us hunting. We decided to give Faye the first chance since this was her first ever hunt. She was on a certificate hunt that allowed her to take a ram without a trophy fee-she only had to pay the daily guide fee. Robbie took us to the 400 acre pasture where several certificate rams were now located after their escape from the 200 acre pasture where certificate rams were normally kept. These were better scoring rams than what were in the other pasture and they were some kind of wild. We chased them all morning without ever getting her a shot at one. She was so nervous and frustrated when we broke for lunch that I was concerned she might back out on the hunt.

After lunch I told Robbie to take her somewhere that she could get a shot regardless of what the ram looked like. She needed some relieve from the pressure she was feeling. We went to a different pasture and began hunting. After a half and hour or so we spotted a lone ram standing behind a downed tree. Faye took a prop and placed a Hornady 240 XTP from her Marlin Model 336 in 44 Magnum right on the near shoulder. He went down like he was poleaxed. You should have seen the look of satisfaction and relieve on her face-it was worth the whole hunt. After appropriate congratulations, photos, and smearing blood on her face we took her ram to the cooler at the ranch and left for mine and Bob's hunt.

Robbie took us to the High Hatch Ranch to look for Catalina goats. We spent most of the rest of the day looking but not finding an acceptable goat. We saw more game and a larger variety of game on this large ranch than I would have thought possible this side of the African plains. As the sun was dropping behind the trees, Bob saw a corsican ram which he felt he had to have. A single shot from my old Remington Model 7 in 7MM-08 which he was using for this hunt and his ram went down in its tracks. Me and Bob waited while Robbie went to get the truck. I took lots of photos of his first exotic while we waited for Robbie's return. We drove to a water hole so Robbie could wash his hands after the field dressing chores. Bob and I walked around and looked over the ranch while Robbie tended to his chores. Bob pointed out a large old ram that was feeding nearby. I looked him over good with my binoculars and decided to make a stalk on him. I sneaked within 50 yards of him and pulled my S&W Model 29 with 10-5/8" barrel from the shoulder holster and fired at the ram's lung area. He ran at the shot and I fired again. At the second shot he went down immediately. We found only one entrance and exit hole. Anyone want to believe I put both bullets in exactly the same hole? Nah, me neither one of them just plain missed but I really don't know which one. Our first day of hunting ended just at dark with all three of us taking a ram.

Bob and I drove into town the next morning to do a little haggling over the price of a gold medal hunt on the Low Hatch Ranch. After we agreed on the price we were off. This ranch lies next to the High Hatch Ranch but had fewer animals of much better quality. We drove around awhile-parking and walking and glassing at each stop. After several of these stops to walk and look we finally found what we were looking for. We were on a hill and two huge old Rams were walking along together. Before we could either one get off a shot the rams were off and running. Robbie suggested we make a big loop and try to get ahead of them while he slowly followed along behind them to keep them from turning back on their path. We ran to get ahead of them and set up in a thick patch of scrub oak with a good view of a clearing we hoped they hadn't yet reached but would cross. The rams cooperated as if they too had read the script. When they came into view they were about 100 yards away and slowing angling toward us. I took the lead ram in the lungs and they both ran towards us-I began to doubt my shot. I was trying to line up the sights for a follow-up shot. Bob asked me which one he should shoot. Suddenly my ram collapsed to the ground. My reply to Bob was to shoot the one standing. He did and like the other one it went down in its tracks. That little 7MM-08 Model 7 did its job again. After congratulations and photos, Bob and I decided to split the cost of another ram for Faye to try and upgrade since her first was very small.

We returned to the Duderstad for lunch and a bit of rest. While awaiting Robbie's return we walked up to where Thompson Temple was looking over rams for the SCI muzzle loader hunters. We spent awhile talking with him and he told Faye to look over all the rams closely because there were some book rams in the pasture she was to hunt that afternoon. When Robbie returned we again took Faye out to hunt. This time she was less nervous because of her previous success. We did the old drive around and get out and look them over deal again. Finally she spotted the one she wanted to try for. It was in a really nasty thick section of scrub oak and no shot was possible. We stalked closer. The ram and his partner ran-we ran and came out on the other side of the scrub thicket. The rams stopped about 75 yards away from where we were. I dropped my hat on a stump and told Faye to lay down and hit him on the shoulder. She placed the 240 XTP behind the shoulder and the ram ran toward us and then turned to our left. He ran for maybe 100 yards before piling up. Our hunt was over and we each had taken two rams. Using the Records of Exotics scoring system, two of them were gold medal, one was silver and two were bronze. Only Faye's first ram would fail to make book. We didn't have them added to the book as that wasn't what we were there for. We were only there to enjoy the hunt and to share a special time together as a family. That we certainly accomplished.