San Miguel Ranch – South Texas Mystique a Stone's Throw Away
November-December, 2007
By James Stewart
Brady Standard-Herald – Hunter’s Review 2007
An easy way to mix business and pleasure
Being an adopted Texan, I have grown up with the knowledge that South Texas hunting is an experience all its own. From the hundreds of hunting shows to the people I have met over the years, hunting south of I-10 takes on not only a different look, but a different meaning as well.
Central Texas and Hill Country deer hunting was new to me when I moved to Brady 10 years ago. After spending my fair share of days in the live oaks and mesquite trees, I wondered how South Texas hunting could be much different.
As a member of the Texas Outdoor Writers Association, I had the opportunity this October to participate in a hunt on the San Miguel Ranch located just west of Uvalde to see just one aspect of what South Texas has to offer.
I have joked with folks around here before that I used to think Abilene was the end of the earth (until I went to Van Horn) but West Texas and South Texas are not the same either. I made a trip to Dilley and Cotulla a couple of years ago to attend the Los Cazadores deer contest, but I did not have the opportunity to get out and hunt and see what that terrain was like.
The San Miguel Ranch is owned and operated by Mike and Holly Gardner. They formed the hunting operation more than 10 years ago and have worked tirelessly to build their operation into one of the world’s premier full-service hunting operations.
Whether it is hunting whitetail in the South Texas brush, plugging away at whitewing or mourning dove or working over pointers as they locate coveys of quail, the folks at San Miguel Outdoors (SMO) can provide you with one of the best South Texas experiences you can find.
New to the business this year is its signature 7,000 square-foot adobe lodge that is perched on a bluff overlooking the South Texas terrain. The new lodge is strategically located to offer clients, whether individual or corporate, easy access to bird hunting, exotics or any of the 30,000 South Texas acres they have access to as part of their hunting operation.
Scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2007, the lodge is customized to offer some of the best accommodations available for a small group of hunting buddies or up to 30 folks.
Our group of 10 media folks arrived our first afternoon and after formalities and waivers were finished, we wasted no time in loading up in the quail rigs and hitting the fields.
The folks at San Miguel run a hunting operation that is designed to be top notch. From the moment you visit with any of the staff to the time you leave the property, Mike and Holly have one goal in mind – customer service.
On this particular hunt, we were tagging along on typical South Texas quail rigs. We had two different styles, but both were extremely fit for this style of quail hunting. One was a Polaris all terrain vehicle which had been customized to hold two persons perched on the elevated seats in the back while the driver and a passenger were in the “cab”. Something new to me was an added “bumper seat,” which was just the ticket for one of our party who had mobility issues.
The other rigs were driven by the hunting guides and were full-sized pickups with cages for the dogs and safari-style seating on top.
South Texas quail hunting can cover quite a bit of terrain. We started out with the writers riding in the rigs while the dogs and their handlers work the senderos. Once a dog went on point, we would hop off the rigs, line up and move in on the point.
Trent Brinkoeter, a oil and gas lease broker from Houston, was the dog handler for the groups I hunted with during the trip. His hobby and passion for working quail dogs works perfectly with his profession, which allows him to be hired out for guided hunts.
Bret Ferguson, the ranch and hunting operations manager, divided us into two groups to hunt different areas of the ranch. This particular portion of the ranch is designated as a private bird hunting area, thus allowing us to hunt birds such as pheasant and quail out of season.
Others in my group the first afternoon included TOWA president Ralph Winingham, veteran writer Ray Sasser, who has written for the Dallas Morning News for the past 20 years, John Jefferson and several members of the corporate level of SMO.
The dogs worked well, but the birds didn’t cooperate with us for that afternoon hunt, nor the next morning either. Hot weather and unusually thick grass allowed the birds to run and hide despite our best efforts.
Our first afternoon hunt, we gave the dogs a rest and hit the dove fields with hopes of heating up our barrels on mourning dove. I had my fair share and limited out, but managed to only find 10 of them before the action slowed, and we called it a day.
What happens in between hunts, whether it be from morning to afternoon or overnight, I believe those times are one of the best indicators of what an outfitter or hunting service is really like.
Back at the lodge, the young chef, Andrew Giles, put his best foot forward with appetizers and a full-blown dinner that he skillfully planned. Giles puts his French-influenced cooking skills to use making sure the cuisine for the quests and crew is not just your ordinary hunting camp stew. From frog legs with a zesty dipping sauce to wonderfully seasoned pork chops, his love for cooking was one of my personal favorite parts of the stay.
On our second morning hunt, several writers had returned home to tend to business which left me and Bill to ourselves with Trent and his charges. Due to troubled knees, Bill was having a bit of difficulty getting in and out of the rigs and high-stepping through the thick grass, so Bret and field manager Justin Machost loaded Bill on the front “bumper seat” and I walked alongside Trent and marveled at how his dogs worked and were rewarded with cooperative birds.
Anyone who has hunted over dogs knows that it is just as much about watching them work as it is downing a bird when it flies. There is just something amazing about watching a dog and handler work.
As we worked the senderos, the pointers would lock on to a bird scent and hold almost perfectly still while Bill and I worked into position for a shot. After Justin motored in the Polaris with Bill perched on the front, Trent would send his labrador in to bust the covey into flight.
The morning was filled with cooperative birds and fantastic shooting opportunities. I had my share of missed shots, but when it was all said and done, I had six ring-necked pheasant, a couple of chukkar and about a dozen or so quail in my tally.
In typical South Texas fashion, cactus ended up claiming several of my downed birds. Once a bird was out of the mowed senderos, there was a high probability that it would land in the middle of a cactus patch. Brush pants, and snake-proof boots are a must for this style of hunt and despite the resiliency of the dogs, many of the birds fall where it is physically impossible to retrieve them without being impaled by sharp cactus needles.
Off and on throughout our hunt, I got glimpses of some of the whitetail that SMO prides themselves on and for which they are most well known. A look at the dozens of trophy photos that adorn the walls at their old lodge shows that they do well at getting clients opportunities to hunt quality South Texas bucks.
Back at the lodge awaiting the arrival of our last group of hunters after the final morning hunt, I commented to our host, Holly, that she and Mike had succeeded in something that I, for one, view as the most important and most valuable asset to any business – people who pride themselves on customer service.
From the little things that, to many would go unnoticed, all the way up to the obvious formalities, it is the attention to detail that every member of their crew embraced that caught my eye. Speaking from experience, you and your business can only be as good as the people you have working for you. With that being said, it is no surprise to me that Mike and Holly and San Miguel Outdoors have become one of the best names in the business. During this day and age, anyone with the funds can buy the best land, build the best lodge and offer trophy animals, but pride, customer service and attention to detail is one thing that is increasingly difficult to find.
For more information about the variety of first rate hunts that San Miguel offers, visit their website at www.smoutdoors. com.