Uvalde Hunting Trip
by
Gary W. Burris

I got a call from my pal Johnny Van Etta asking if I wanted to spend a couple of days with him at his deer lease near Uvalde, Texas. I was excited about spending some time in the hill country of Texas so I agreed to meet him in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Uvalde and follow him out to the lease. I don’t remember ever being in Uvalde before but I figured it must be okay because this Wal-Mart was a Super Center and that indicated to me that I was still in civilization.

I hooked up with Johnny just as the sun was setting and after a stop at the local grocery store and a liquor store we headed out of town. We left the paved road a few miles outside of Uvalde and I followed him through three bump gates one open gate, one locked gate and one Aggie gate. An Aggie gate is a locked gate with another unlocked gate beside it just in case you don’t have a key. The road got progressively rougher as we traveled perhaps eight miles from the paved road. We were so far from civilization that my cell phone lost signal about five miles from our final destination. And like I told Johnny, even my GPS couldn’t find a satellite.

Finally, we arrived at the hunting lodge. There I met a couple of the other hunters who share the lease on the property. They had their wives with them and were enjoying a relaxing few days away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The six of us enjoyed an evening meal together. Why does food cooked on a grill in the country taste so much better than something prepared in your own kitchen? Anyway, my filet mignon was just marvelous.

The lodge has an interesting history. It was originally built to be a recording studio. It was constructed from native rock and has some really interesting stone artwork built into the interior and exterior walls. There is power and running water and even satellite TV. The main floor has a couple of very nice master bedrooms and a bathroom, while the “studio” has been converted into a bunkroom. Also, there is a common room where the TV is located and this room has a round fireplace in the center and glass walls with a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside. There is a spiral stairway from the common room to a half basement where is located the kitchen, dining room, pantry and another bath. This basement is a walkout into the back of the lodge where there are a number of grills and picnic tables to enjoy when the weather is nice. The story is that the fellow who built this place hoped to have Willie Nelson come and record music and party with the owner. It is unknown if there was ever a recording made there.

We got up early in the morning and headed out to our various hunting stands. There was a map to study showing the location of the hunting stands and feeders. I was given #10 so I looked at the map and figured how best to get there. I drove down to the Aggie gate and parked the truck and walked to the stand. Let me rephrase that. I parked the truck and started walking toward the hunting stand. Keep in mind that it is pitch black and I’ve never been here before. Therefore I missed the flag showing the shortcut to the stand. I continued on to the feeder and it dawned on me that I missed the shortcut. So figuring that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line I headed in the direction of the stand. It was too dark to see the stand from the feeder but I knew the general direction. I had my SureFire flashlight and used it to pick my way through the undergrowth and cactus plants. Probably about 20 yards into the wilderness I was completely lost, not sure even what direction to go to get back to the feeder. I knew the wind was out of the south so I took a northeasterly tack where I figured the stand was located. I encountered a fairly steep slope that was not easy to scale so I had to zig-zag around to make any upward progress. I got to a point where I could see the stand with the aid of my SureFire. To make a long story short, I made it to the stand with my tongue hanging out and with scant time remaining before daylight.

I remained in the stand until about 9a.m. and did not see any animals larger than a sparrow. So I packed up and headed back to the truck. It was an easy walk along the marked route I had missed in the dark and I made a mental note on how to return. I did find a very nice Smith & Wesson pocket knife along the trail that someone had lost. The guys back at the lodge knew who it belonged to so it will get returned to the owner. A light drizzle started just as I got to my truck. The wind picked up and seemed to be much cooler as I arrived at the lodge so it was nice to catch a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs and pan sausage.

Early afternoon the weather settled a bit and Johnny asked if I wanted to try a different stand that afternoon and I said sure. So about 3 in the afternoon I headed off to stand #11. It was a lot easier to find than #10. Of course it was daylight this time. I drove past the feeder and on past the stand then turned around and parked the truck about 20 yards from the stand. I got all my stuff into the stand and settled back to see if anything was happening.

I scanned the countryside with my binoculars to see if there was any life out there. Some really colorful cardinals were hanging around the feeder but other than that I didn’t see anything. In fact I started naming the cactus plants. There was prick, big prick, old prick and sticker just to mention a few.

At about 6 pm the sun dropped behind a hill and I decided it was time to pack stuff up to head back to the lodge. And while I was getting my stuff together I saw a deer step into the road about halfway between the stand and the feeder. I wanted to get a good look at the deer to make an estimate of the Boone & Crockett score. So I got my binoculars and estimated the score to be between 170 and 180 Dun and Bradstreet. It was a doe.

A doe makes good sausage too so I picked up my trusty lever action Winchester 30-30 with open sites and leveled it toward the doe. I deftly cocked the hammer and slowly pressed the trigger while holding the sites on target. A 150 yard shot with open sites and a cross wind is a pretty difficult shot to make. Fortunately I had only about 50 yards with no wind. The soft nosed bullet found its mark and the doe dropped in her tracks. Satisfied that she was done for I continued to pack my stuff. When I looked up again, she had her head up and was looking around. So I grabbed my AR-15 and put a 223 round into her head. I put my stuff into the truck and drove past the deer and on to the lodge to get some help loading the deer into the truck.

Johnny arrived a few minutes after I got there and we headed back to pick up the doe. It was dark by that time and when my headlights lit up the doe, she had her head up again. What does it take to kill this animal? Johnny got out and pulled his Glock 17 out and put two rounds of 9 mm hardball in the head of the doe. The deer continued to breathe and act like it was not ready to give up so Johnny whipped out his Kershaw knife and slit the animal’s throat. Finally she breathed her last and we loaded the carcass into the bed of the truck.

We both decided there and then that we would change our carry ammunition from hard ball to hollow point. The hardball ammunition just does not have enough stopping power because it goes through and through without doing much damage on the way. A hollow point should expand and impart its energy into what it hits. And in a life threatening situation I want all the stopping power I can muster.

Back at the lodge we hung the doe up and dressed the meat out. I put it in my ice chest and covered it with ice for the trip back to Houston the next day. The other two guys showed up with one hog each and they dressed them out as well. We cleaned up and cooked dinner that evening while discussing the day’s hunt. Dinner was quail and baked potatoes followed by a little college football on TV.

We slept in the next morning and then headed back to Houston. There was a short stop in Katy to drop off the deer meat for processing into sausage and then back to the house.

I gave Johnny the back strap from the deer and thanked him for inviting me to go on the hunt. I also want to thank Sarah, my six year old granddaughter, for the camouflage hat that I now consider my lucky hat and will wear it each time I go hunting.

WHIDPA Year End Party
by
Gary W. Burris

The West Houston IDPA (WHIDPA) club holds several matches each month. They shoot IDPA matches the first Saturday of each month as well as every Wednesday evening. They also hold a three gun match on the second Saturday of the month.

WHIDPA started out the year collecting an extra dollar from participants each time they shot a match. The money was placed in a fund that is used to purchase awards and guns that are given away at a year end party. And that dollar is matched by the club and the Impact Zone shooting range. Each time someone participated in one of the club events he was given a ticket for the gun drawing. The final tally was 143 different shooters in the drawing. Some had only one ticket and others had over 30 tickets. And by the end of the year there was enough money to purchase nine handguns and one shotgun.

The year end party was held after the match on December 9th at Repka’s, a restaurant about three miles from the range. The party was well attended and a great time was had by all. Awards were given in each division and classification for performance over the entire year. A number of gag awards were presented that added to the enjoyment of the event. But the most fun was when they called a winning ticket number for a gun and everyone looked at their tickets in hopes of finding a match. Samantha Newton’s ticket number was the first one called at the year end party, way to go Sam.

I wanted to mention a few of the people who worked so hard over the last year to make WHIDPA one of the most successful IDPA clubs in the Houston area. First is Mike
D'Elia founder of the club and considered as an example for those who follow in his footsteps. Garry Newton worked tirelessly to come up with the scenarios and set up the match events. Steve Gates does so much for the club and is the go to guy when you need something done. Bob Wolff runs the 3-gun match almost by himself. Phil Oxley is the range owner and a huge supporter of IDPA and WHIDPA. There are many others I could mention like Samantha who helps her dad set up the match. To everyone else who contributed to the success of the club I want to extend a heart felt THANK YOU on behalf of the officers and members of the West Houston IDPA club.

What’s ahead for WHIDPA in 2007? It is impossible to predict the future, but if 2006 is any indication, it should be one of the best years yet. Keep up the good work WHIDPA.