A question I am commonly asked from my clientele is “how accurate is the rifle you are building me going to be when using factory ammunition?” My reply for decades has always been very consistent “That depends on your definition of accurate.” So what is reasonable accuracy that one should expect with factory ammo? Unless you have been living in a cave for the past 10 years and haven’t paid attention at all the over all quality of factory ammunition...

Tyler Carson, Shaun Harris, and Stan Rogers arrived in Zapata County South Texas mid-December of 2012 at Dr. Gary Schwarz `s Tecomate La Perla Ranch precisely as expected – on time, enthusiastic, and ready to dive into their first South Texas Brush Country whitetail hunting adventure. Gary`s 4600 acre Tecomate La Perla Ranch was a superb venue for this event. The South Texas rut was in full swing and abundant trophy bucks were moving. There was no doubt that many...

On Monday November 5, 2012, Tecomate Pro Staffer Duncan Dobie and I returned to our homes from our Traditions Muzzleloader whitetail hunt with Larry Ellis of Extreme Wildlife Adventures in the Oklahoma panhandle. True to the name of Larry`s outfit this was an exciting adventure to say the least.As Tecomate videographer Matt Carmen and I were en route to Freedom Oklahoma from Denver, Colorado the day before our three day trophy whitetail hunt, we received word from Larry that a...

The bitter, subzero temperatures of British Columbia were unlike anything I have ever experienced on a whitetail hunt. This was a true test for the equipment that I was relying on so heavily. It was Yeti Cooler COLD! The Remington Model 700 7mm Ultra Mag topped off with a Leupold scope performed flawlessly every time I called on it during this trip. From the rifle range after three back-to-back flights to the kill shot on a 165-inch whitetail to the...

I saw this buck occasionally over the last few fall months in 2012, but could never get him on the trail cameras to get a real good look at him. I did get a quick look at him on one occasion but he didn't stay around long enough for me to get a shot. I had seen and rattled in a few other deer but he was definitely the stud of the area.The rut was in full swing here in...

On December 13th I arrived at the Laredo Texas airport to meet Tecomate`s David Morris for another brush country adventure with host Dr. Gary Schwarz at his Tecomate La Perla Ranch. La Perla Ranch is another brush country jewel being cut and polished into a shining gem of whitetail lore much like its predecessors, El Tecomate Ranch and El Cazador Ranch. The 2012 season at La Perla is living proof of the power of the Tecomate year round food plot...

When I first moved to Iowa 12 years ago, I had no access to private land. My sole availability was public ground, which fortunately Iowa has a good bit of. I took my first buck that year along the Des Moines River sitting on a bucket in the timber with my bow. Like most states you can gain access to where all the public ground is by contacting your DNR. It requires doing some scouting and in many cases a...

Deer season had just ended when we pulled into my parent’s driveway. My father and I were successful in killing two does. Our neighbors, Dan and Neal, were over within minutes to see our harvest. When Dan saw the two dead does in the back of our truck his eyes opened wide. He said that "real" hunters don't kill does - only bucks. Dan felt that if does were killed there soon would be no deer left to hunt.Unfortunately, far...