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Z Bar Ranch Deer Hunt

December 7 & 14, 2002

The Z Bar Ranch located southwest of Medicine Lodge, KS, owned by Ted Turner, invited KS BBBS to send 10 matches down to hunt does during the 2002 rifle season. Encompassing 42,000 acres, the Z Bar Ranch is located in the scenic Gyp Hills of south central Kansas and offers some of the best deer hunting in the state.

On December 7th, 4 matches and one unmatched Little were accompanied by Michael Pearce, outdoor writer for the Wichita Eagle, his son Jarred and his hunting buddy Mark Sherman. Neil Lawson, Sr. Wildlife Manager for Turner Enterprises was the guide for the hunt. Only 2 of the matches had hunted deer before, and of those, only one of the Littles had managed to harvest a deer. All of the other hunters were first time deer hunters. For one of the matches, this was their first hunt ever.

Upon arriving at the ranch, Neil gave the matches an overview of their operation and some background on the ranch. He also discussed how they are managing the property for both wildlife and a commercial buffalo operation. At this time, Turner Enterprises is not making the property available to other outfitters for hunting. This was a truly unique opportunity for BBBS.

After sighting in the rifles and spending some time practicing their marksmanship, the matches were taken to blinds that had been provided by Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

While all hunters saw quite a few deer, we were unsuccessful at bringing one home. One Little did manage to hit a doe, but it was run off by a coyote before we could get to it.

On the 14th, the second group of BBBS hunters had much better luck, harvesting 5 does. For three of the hunters, two Littles and a Big, it was their first deer. The weather was most uncommon for Kansas in December…no wind, clear skies and temperatures in the mid-50's. All in all, a beautiful day.

Keith Yearout, the ranch manager, took the group on a quick tour of the ranch, showing them the buffalo (there are 1,800 buffalo currently on the ranch) and the prairie dog towns that are being established to support the wildlife. Already, burrowing owls are making use of the prairie dog towns, prairie chickens are using them as a lek, and antelope are being seen there as well.

The December 14th hunters, with buffalo in the background. Two of the Littles were matched and three were on the waiting list. After this hunt, two of the waiting Littles were matched with their Big for the hunt.	Up close and personal with some of the buffalo that call the Z Bar Ranch home.
Big Jeff Christensen, former USMC, helps a Little sight in his rifle prior to going to the blinds.	Mike Pearce, outdoor writer for the Wichita Eagle, helps Little Josh Meliza sight in his rifle on the December 7 hunt.