PETE DENNEY'S BRUSHY HILL TROPHY BOWHUNTING RANCH

Ranch News

 

March, 2019

We've made some significant changes to our business model and pricing for whitetail hunts. Please CLICK HERE to read a summary.

Srping Turkey season started off great - almost every hunter had a shot opportunity or harvested a bird. Several hunters harvested 2 birds! Unfortunately, the extremely warm winter and spring, coupled with vast amounts of rain since October, resulted in an early turkey rut. So, buy the 2nd weekend of the spring season, the birds were largely 'henned up' and the blooming foliage has resulted in very little 'talking." The hunting got tough, frankly. In the next week or two, though, as hens begin escaping from the gobblers in the afternoons (to build nests) the afternoon hunting should improve enormously This should make for a great April turkey season!

We're planning some new road improvements - fixing roads we haven't gotten to yet and opening up some old roads and maybe even a few new ones! Stay tuned.. Several other projects are in discussion and I'll post them here.

 

April, 2017

We've had a busy spring turkey season. Unfortunately, the extraordinary and unprecedented warm temperatures we've had since February really threw things for a loop. By the time the season opened up, the birds were already well into their breeding cycle! This meant that we weren't able to enjoy the incredible hunting that the ranch generally offers during the first few weeks of the season. Despite large numbers of toms, it's very hard to pull them away from hens they already have gathered up! "5 hens in hand is better than the one in front of that blind," as the old saying goes! The Lone Star Bowhunters Association held their annual "Grunts and Gobbles" hunt at the ranch, as usual - it was one of the largest and most successful hunts they've held in years! Everyone saw game and they killed a bunch of hogs and several turkey. It's our honor to be long-time supporters of that great association and to provide the ground for such a terrific fellowship hunt! Thank you to the LSBA and all the members that attended!

We are planning to do another round of road improvement on the ranch this coming summer. The improvement in the hunting that resulted from last year's project has spurred us to build on that success. We're already spraying brush and tree killer on the roads we're planning to work on this summer; and we're attempting to hold back the regrowth on last summer's roads with herbicides. You asked for these improvements and we listened! Make sure and tell Pete "thanks" when you talk to him!  --Nick

 

January, 2017

We've just had a tremendous 2 months of hunting - possibly the best season in years and there's still a couple weeks left! The incredible, and often annoying, amounts of rain we've had over the past 2 years has resulted in terrific antler growth and we're harvesting a good number of truly mature deer. Thanks to our management minded hunters, lots of young and promising deer are being spared and the focus has really been on the older (4+ year old) bucks! The younger bucks that are coming up look very good and the next couple seasons look like they could be just as good!

 

October, 2016

Whitetail season kicked off with a couple of great early season bucks - Steven Humbley and Megan Ellenburgh each killed a terrific buck with the help of our ranch manager, Nick Anderson. Steven killed his 11 point whitetail buck out of a "semi-guide" stand and Meghan killed her 136" buck on a fully guided hunt with Nick. This was Meghan's first animal with a bow on her very first bowhunt!

September, 2016

We just completed the first phase of a major road enhancement project! Pete and Nick spent several months on a bulldozer, motor-grader and tractors to widen and clean up many overgrown roads, reclaim some old roads that were undriveable and cut a couple new roads! This will be a multi-year project but it should improve the hunting on the ranch by opening up areas to those that were previously concerned about scratching their vehicles or getting stuck. We're already seeing extraordinary game traffic on the roads they have re-worked. The game seems to be enjoying the wide open roads!

October, 2014

Whitetail season has started! Opening day, our youngest client, 13-year-old Laney Graham, killed her first buck; and she did it all by herself! A 5.5 year old, 15" wide 9 point that was pushing 200 pounds, live weight! The deer have had a great year, with rain at just the right times, and the increased antlers and body weight are evidence of that. It should be a great season. The acorns are dropping but it seems, right now, like it may be a light crop; which should help keep them coming to corn. For the first time ever, we are "recommending" a broadhead for use on the ranch. After some extensive testing and real-world experience on some very large game (like elk) we're confident in encouraging our hunters to try, and use, Ramcat broadheads. There are 4 factors which led to this recommendation: 

Accuracy - Ramcat broadheads actually fly better than a field point! How is that possible, you ask - how can it fly "better" than a field point? Here's how. In windy conditions they have little or no drift. During field testing, our ranch manager found that these broadheads had FAR less drift in extremely windy conditions than even field points. In a 25-30mph wind, at 40 yards, field points were drifting as much as 6" where the Ramcats drifted less than 1." That's pretty impressive perfomance.

Penetration - Because these broadheads are, essentially, a fixed blade broadhead, they naturally get better penetration than mechanical broadheads. In addition, the tips break even the heaviest of bone with ZERO damage to the ferule or blades. Up against several popular/top-rated mechanicals, these broadheads out-penetrated all of them, by far; and they penetrated as well as any fixed blade on the market.

Performance -  While the cutting diameter is not as large as some of the mechanicals (which we don't allow) out there, but it's comparable with most fixed blades and they creat a terrific wound channel, with a good blood trail. The blades are OUTSTANDING! They're razor sharp and TOUGH! We reviewed numerous Ramcats that had passed through elk and mule deer, including those that had broken bones on elk, and not a single blade broke and all of them were still reasonably sharp after the exit. Ramcats have a unique feature that allows the blades to flip backwards on the rare occaision when they don't pass through; and the back edge of the blades is as razor sharp as the front! This is a game changer. Instead of an arrow staying in the animal and clogging up the wound channel (making blood trailing much more difficult) this feature enables the broadhead to cut its way out as the shaft works its way out. This means additional damage to vitals and a better chance for a good blood trail. It's just plain amazing! 

Price - The icing on the cake, for these broadheads, is the price! We've seen them for about $31 for a 3-pack; compared to $40 for most of the "big name" brands of broadheads. It probably won't stay that way, as word gets out and they get popular; but they're plenty affordable right now. At ANY price, these broadheads are 'the cat's meow!' In 20 years, we've never gotten behind a broadhead - there've been many good brands but never one that was so clearly head and shoulders above the rest........until now! Do yourself a favor and try a pack. 

March, 2014

Turkey season kicked off with a great start! The toms are really gobbling and responding to calls and decoys. Hunters have harvested a number of great birds; as well as some nice hogs! The spring has come a little late to our area this year and as of the last weekend of March, leaves are just now beginning to appear, as the large groups of turkey begin to break up. We're happy to announce that we will be hosting a big Drury Outdoors hunt again this year as well as the annual Lone Star Bowhunters Association "Grunts and Gobbles" hunt in April.  Happy hunting, y'all!

 September, 2013

Getting ready for another deer season and looking forward to seeing all our hunters again! It looks like it's going to be a great season! The recent rains have helped but the ranch is not nearly as green as it usually is and the acorn crop is not looking good. This should mean easier hunting in the early season. The deer should be coming to corn more agressively than usual but hunters who can locate an oak thats actually producing acorns can be assured there will be lots of deer traffic.  Good luck to everyone this coming season! 

April, 2013
We had a good turkey season and want to congratulate all our hunters including the guys & gal from Drury Outdoors' Bow Madness that hunted with us! You can check out the highlights of their hunts this summer on the Outdoor Channel. 

February, 2013
Our ranch manager, Nick Anderson, has formed a relationship with Nite Hunter lights (producers of high-end bow and gun mounted lights. He will be offering these lights for sale at the ranch as well as for rent! Having a light on your bow will allow you to hunt hogs at night, which will increase your odds of success since they are primarily a nocturnal animal. These lights are produced locally by a Christian family and are unparalled in quality and customer service. Check out their website and you can call (512-587-8651) or email Nick if you have any questions. 

January, 2013
First of all, we would like to thank all of our hunters from the 2012-2013 season! It was a great season and we look forward to seeing y'all next year! Lot's a hunters already have their deposits in for next season. Remember, for those that hunted with us this last season, we automatically reserve the same dates and pasture choice for next season until March 15. If you do not have your deposit in by March 15th, the dates and pasture will, then, be offered to other hunters on a first-come, first-serve basis.
In late December we had the pleasure of having a member of the Drury Outdoors staff bring his daughter for a little deer hunting. John O'Dell (Bow Madness, Dream Season) brought his 15 year-old daughter Madison to try and get her first deer with a bow. If you look at our photo gallery you can see the success she had! The hunt will be featured on an upcoming (late spring/early summer) episode of Bow Maddness TV that's all about taking the kids hunting. A few weeks ago, John brought his 11 year-old son Jacob out for a hog hunt and that will also be part of the episode. Both hunts are up on the Drury Outdoors' blog. Click here to read about Madison's hunt and click here to read about Jacob's hunt. John, who recently moved to Boerne, TX has become a regular visitor to Brushy Hill Ranch and is planning a lot of hunting with our ranch manager, Nick Anderson.
This spring, the Bow Maddness team will be on the ranch for a big spring turkey and hog hunt. These hunts will filmed and should air some time next winter.