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Dear Friends of the Matador Ranch:
Welcome to the first issue of All in a Day's Work. We will periodically use this newsletter to update you on what's going on at Matador.
For those of you who have known us for a long time, you are aware that 2008 was a very busy year for us. We built a new 10,000-square-foot lodge to host our hunting guests and added a 1,000-acre high-fenced area stocked with trophy whitetail bucks. One of our guests in 2008 harvested a whitetail deer that scored B&C 224 2/8 (see that photo below.)
To grow our brand, we included a pro shop within the lodge, and have recently launched an online store. You may access it at www.matadorranch.com via the Merchandise tab at the top or directly via http://store.matadorranch.com. We stock camouflage and hunter-orange clothing, golf shirts and balls, casual shirts with the Matador logo, knives and other Matador gear that you or your customers may enjoy.
Our 2009 has also been full of firsts. We completed construction on our new deer breeding facility earlier this year and will use it this fall as we begin our artificial insemination program. We moved all of our breeding does from San Angelo into our pens here, and on June 11, our first fawn was born. To date, we have 72 fawns (see photos below) on the ground, and are still counting. Our yearling bucks are exhibiting good antler growth, with some approaching 140 inches. We are very excited about our breeding and genetics program, so stay tuned for future updates.
 For those who watch our horse program, we have the first foal crop by our stallion TS Matador Star. As expected, Eagle Eye, as we call him, is throwing color and we are excited about offering him for limited breeding.
 We are also pleased thatTim Washington has shown Eagle Eye in several Ranch Horse Association of America shows and he has placed in five of the six events entered this year, including second place finishes in Alpine and Haskell, Texas.
Last year, we faced dry conditions that affected our forage and nesting habitat. Thus, the deer herd and game birds were negatively impacted. Going into this fall, however, we have had good rainfall over the ranch and have already seen some quality deer with impressive racks. We've also seen turkey and quail hatches all over the ranch, which leads us to believe this year's season should be better than last.
As we continue to innovate and expand, know that we will continue managing our natural resources to create real long-term value. That means continuing our industry-leading safety programs and ensuring that all our jobs are carried out in an environmentally responsible manner. We have an outstanding team committed to excellence in all areas of compliance and producing the best livestock and wildlife that we can.
With that update, please know that we appreciate your interest in Matador Ranch. If you have questions, please give us a call. If you know of someone who would like to be added to our newsletter list, please send me an email at bob.kilmer@matadorranch.com.
Sincerely,
Bob Kilmer
Ranch Manager
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New Babies
Prior to us completing our breeding facility, we were able to keep our does and their offspring at the Pfluger Ranch near San Angelo. In February, we relocated the does to Matador, and then brought the first fawn crop to the ranch in March. Our first fawn born to our breeding does arrived in June, and since that time, 71 more have joined the herd. In addition, we have several yearlings coming along...See these photos with nice-sized antlers in velvet.
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Still Accepting Reservations for Trophy Whitetails Within our Managed Area
This will be our second year for hunts inside our managed area on the ranch. We had a very successful harvest last year, with 13 bucks taken that scored between 150 and 224 inches. The largest buck harvested had main beams of 27 inches, an inside spread of 19 inches, an outside spread of 32 inches and the mass measurement was 51 2/8 inches.
 This deer sported 20 scorable points and earned a B&C score of 224 2/8. Robert Jochim took this deer in early November. The deer was the fifth largest entered in the Los Cazadores contest. We have a few openings for hunters interested in our package deals and are offering 10 percent off on October hunts within this managed area. Deer within this area will score between 160 and 230 inches. Call Wayne Pearson at 229-686-1925 to book a hunt. |
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Meet the Matador Wildlife Team
In the 2008-09 hunting season, Matador guests harvested 14 Mule deer bucks, 13 trophy Whitetail bucks within our managed area, 41 Whitetail bucks outside the managed area, and 54 Whitetail does. Our spring turkey hunts yielded 30 mature toms. If you have never hunted Rio Grande turkeys, it is the experience of a lifetime.
Wildlife management truly is all in day's work for our Matador team. Our team works long hours during the season to ensure guests have the best opportunity to harvest a quality animal. But the work doesn't stop when the season is over. We monitor populations and the available forage and nutrition needed to ensure all species thrive, as well as fix fence, water pipes and all those other daily chores. Our team includes Matador employees, as well as a number of consultants who lend their expertise and experience to help us continuously improve our operation and preserve the value of the land that we cherish.
Our team includes
 Les Woolsey is a native of Matador. He has been with the company in different capacities since 1997 and most recently became our assistant hunting manager. He manages the deer breeding facility, feeding, doctoring, delivering and tagging new fawns, and he is a very knowledgeable resource when he guides hunts. He and his wife Kim have two children: Kaylee and Jacob, who at 14 became a part-time employee this summer.  Shane Taylor was raised in Matador and began assisting us with our hunting and wildlife programs in February, 2008. Shane is handy in all aspects of the hunting department and when he sees a need, he gets it done whether it be building deer blinds or planting food plots. He and his wife Wendi are parents to Austin, Bryant, and Jacie.
 Marc Hess is the latest addition to our wildlife team. He is a native Texan, a graduate of Texas A&M University, and spent some time working in wildlife management in Oklahoma before moving to Matador and joining our team in March. His responsibilities are varied, but his particular interests are related to quail. He is also GPS-mapping our ranch and 130,000 acres is quite a task to map! Marc and his wife Jennifer have two children: Freddie and Heidi.  Bobby Buntyn, who has two degrees in wildlife management, has been our wildlife consultant since the inception of our new hunting program in '08. Based in San Angelo, he grew up loving the outdoors and likes to share that experience with his son, Caden. Bobby is often at the ranch and brings much-needed expertise to our team.
 Wayne Pearson is a well-known, respected outfitter who has hosted the longest-running hunting and fishing show on television for almost 30 years. Wayne's show Ultimate Outdoors may be seen on the Outdoor Channel on local cable or satellite systems. Wayne has consulted with us to develop our business plan and deliver hunting experience and customer service to satisfy our clients and guests. He coordinates bookings to ensure we maximize the lodge and to effectively manage our wildlife and natural
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MBM® Principled Entrepreneurship™
When diesel was approaching $4 a gallon in 2008, we knew that moving our steers to summer grazing would be expensive using trucks. So, as our Market-Based Management® business philosophy encourages us to do, we examined alternatives recognizing there may be opportunities other than "the way we've always done it."
We developed a decision-making framework to help guide our decision, fully applying economic principles to make the best decision. As we totaled up the costs associated with hiring cattle-hauling trucks and compared it against driving the cattle 25 miles using horses, it was evident that we'd save significant funds by doing it the old-fashioned way. Thus, we worked with Motley County's sheriff's office, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Public Safety to map out a plan that would cause the least disruption for the community.
In the end, we saved $7,500 by moving the cattle in our version of a cattle drive in 2008. Though diesel was less expensive this spring, we again evaluated our options and again elected to drive the cattle to summer grazing realizing a savings of $4,000.
 Want to learn more about Market-Based Management? See http://mbminstitute.org/science-of-success.html | |
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Check Out Our Store!
Our store stocks numerous camo
patterns as well as casual
clothes and we will add
others soon. Check out
to see our current inventory and specials.
 We are offering selected caps at 50 percent off through the end of September. Take a look at the Web site to see the ones that are on sale.
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Weather Update
Matador has not been immune to one of the hottest summers on record in Texas. However, where much of Texas is in serious drought conditions, we have been blessed with several rains this summer, after a very dry end to 2008 and into our spring. The country is very forgiving and we averaged 4.6 inches of rain across the ranch in June, and almost 3.5 inches in July, which is about three times more than we received last July. Overall, the country looks good and our cattle and wildlife are in great condition.
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Giving back to the community
Matador Ranch works hard to be a good neighbor to our friends in the community of Matador. We regularly support the local 4-H and FFA programs, the junior rodeo and the volunteer fire department. Last year, we provided a load of "antique" rocks salvaged from an old ranch building. These rocks, which were quarried on the ranch, have been delivered to the Old Motley County Jail that is being rehabilitated. The jail also was built with ranch-quarried stone. The Friends of the Old Motley County Jail have also launched a fund-raising campaign to develop a historical video about the county. Matador Ranch is pleased to commit $2,500 toward that fundraising goal.
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Turkey
Spring turkey season was great at Matador. Hunters harvested some really nice long beards - one was 10.5 inches and another had spurs of 1.5 inches. One of the main turkey roosts on the ranch is very near the ranch headquarters ... our guests love to watch the birds come into roost and leave the next morning. If you position yourself under the porte cochere at the lodge at sunset or sunrise, it's an amazing sight to see.
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Quail
A very dry late winter/early spring didn't bode well for our quail hunters. You truly had to hunt to find them. The birds were there, but the dry conditions made it tough on dogs and hunters. That said, we had a number of successful hunts, but it often took all day to reach the limit. Most areas generally produced really strong 10 to 14-covey rises, and one awesome day we found almost 30 coveys. Good moisture across the ranch this spring ought to result in improved prospects for bird season in January 2010. |
In case you missed it:
Matador Ranch's lodge was featured in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in October.
Read the story here.
Livestock Weekly profiled Matador's hunting operation in February. See that story here. |
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Calendar of Events
Matador Ranch has been the subject of several news articles about its hunting program and has welcomed Wayne Pearson of the Outdoor Channel on numerous occasions. Wayne and his crew have filmed several deer, turkey and quail hunts and you may watch them on the Outdoor Channel.
Coming up on the Outdoor Channel in Outdoor Channel Outfitters. The following Ultimate Outdoors shows will feature segments on Matador hunts:
Aug. 28, 2009 2 a.m. (wild hog hunt)
Aug. 29, 2009 3 p.m. (wild hog hunt)
Sept. 7, 2009 8:30 a.m. (turkey hunt)
Sept. 11, 2009 2 a.m. (turkey hunt)
Sept. 12, 2009 3 p.m. (turkey hunt)
All times are Eastern.
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