# Faith Ranch...what ever happened to that ranch?



## Jamie (Aug 2, 2011)

They produced some stunning bucks before the days of DMP's and breeder deer

Plus I always enjoyed Stuart Stedman's deer research

Any one know the status of that ranch?


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## S-3 ranch (May 26, 2004)

They are still churning out monster bucks, but don't sell feed so keep it real down low . :brew:


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## old 37 (Nov 30, 2014)

Don't know, but that's a hell of a deer you got there.


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## Ridin_Skinny (Sep 20, 2010)

Eagleford Shale is what happened. Stuart decided that he no longer needed to lease out pastures or sell hunts anymore.


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## finz (Aug 18, 2010)

They are still killing big deer on the Faith!!


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## Law Dawg (Mar 18, 2013)

*Oil & Gas*



Ridin_Skinny said:


> Eagleford Shale is what happened. Stuart decided that he no longer needed to lease out pastures or sell hunts anymore.


Nothing like realizing there is more money in Oil & Gas than there is Deer Hunting.


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## Jamie (Aug 2, 2011)

That's what I thought but I figured some pics would get out of some deer they've been killing

They're bound to be killing some nice ones..Stedman always knew what he was doing when it came to big deer management


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## finz (Aug 18, 2010)

Jamie said:


> That's what I thought but I figured some pics would get out of some deer they've been killing
> 
> They're bound to be killing some nice ones..Stedman always knew what he was doing when it came to big deer management


Go look on the deer contest, pics are on them.


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## DR_Smith (Jul 20, 2016)

I work right next to it (im pretty sure!) and they area still killing all sorts of deer around the area! some big nice deer to! all I get to do is drive by and drool because I cant hunt!!


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

They still hunt it and still kill some great deer. There's a lot of big deer killed in south Texas that nobody ever sees bc the landowner/hunter isn't into the publicity. They just really like deer hunting big deer.


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## Lagunaroy (Dec 30, 2013)

Nope, don't know nothing about it...well maybe a little.


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## scwine (Sep 7, 2006)

Great ranch the Faith is. I used to call on the rigs once a week out there. I don't miss that dang road getting in and getting out. One time I left the front gate at 3pm and did not hit concrete till 9pm that night. Flooded and stuck semi's blocking the muddy road. 
Anyway, I got to see some nice deer, javelina, bobcat, and coyotes from my truck window.


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## scwine (Sep 7, 2006)

Lagunaroy said:


> Nope, don't know nothing about it...well maybe a little.


^^^Is that you? I have seen that pic before. I also, think I know where that rock formation is on the ranch.


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## Lagunaroy (Dec 30, 2013)

scwine said:


> ^^^Is that you? I have seen that pic before. I also, think I know where that rock formation is on the ranch.


Nope that's Stu, I spent a lot of time in Carrizo as a kid, that pic came off their 2002 website.

And that road never got any better :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## DR_Smith (Jul 20, 2016)

Good ol Old Mines road!! Gets worse by the day!! luckily the ranch I work on is mostly seal coated and they blade it after every rain!!


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## mrsh978 (Apr 24, 2006)

Still hunted. We work on ranch weekly. Don't need or want publicity


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

Stuart knows big deer and has taken many of them but prob. has had more publicity than anyone in the deer world though. Some great info he has furnished to many hunters. Lots of studies and research projects for sure. Their publicity runs for page after page and deer contest after contest yearly. I always enjoy seeing their big deer.

http://www.faithranch.com/about_management.asp


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## Lagunaroy (Dec 30, 2013)

broadonrod said:


> Stuart knows big deer and has taken many of them but prob. has had more publicity than anyone in the deer world though. Some great info he has furnished to many hunters. Lots of studies and research projects for sure. Their publicity runs for page after page and deer contest after contest yearly. I always enjoy seeing their big deer.
> 
> http://www.faithranch.com/about_management.asp


Agree, as a kid the Faith Ranch was not about big deer, it was about good people, same for the Chupedera, Briscoe ranches. As much as I hate to say it, I probably knew that Ezzel kid's grandpa.

If I offended anyone I apologize.


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## Jamie (Aug 2, 2011)

> Stuart knows big deer and has taken many of them but prob. has had more publicity than anyone in the deer world though. Some great info he has furnished to many hunters. Lots of studies and research projects for sure. Their publicity runs for page after page and deer contest after contest yearly. I always enjoy seeing their big deer.


Hmmm...maybe I've missed something

I read a lot about the ranch in the 90's and early 2000's but nothing since

So, I was just curious

Last I read he was high fencing a small portion (4,000 acres) of the ranch and feeding it....and contrasting that with the non-fed remainder

Always wondered how that came out

I always found his deer management conclusions sensible and obviously proven

Btw...I've never met the man and have no connection to anyone involved with the Faith


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## broadonrod (Feb 26, 2010)

Jamie said:


> Hmmm...maybe I've missed something
> 
> I read a lot about the ranch in the 90's and early 2000's but nothing since
> 
> ...


Yes. He is a living legend in my opinion. Look at last years deer contest! More monsters!
I've met him once years ago, very nice fella and a wealth of knowledge. Lots of time, money and efforts into his research.


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## Jamie (Aug 2, 2011)

My bad.....hadn't looked at Las Cazadores leaderboard in years

we played in all that for a few years and it finally got too exhausting









I now see the Faith is still doing their thing...glad to hear that


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## finz (Aug 18, 2010)

Look on the Los cuernos too.


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

I agree with what Brett said...the man spent a ton of money to get things right and to learn all he could about deer management and it's paid off.

There's a reason, and it's not money, that he's on the board at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute.

TH


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## Jamie (Aug 2, 2011)

I'd give anything to spend a couple of hours around the campfire with him

To produce those quality of bucks in the late 90's and early 2000's prior to the "pour the feed to them days" (no disrespect to anyone now that does) takes some deer management savvy 

Of course 40,000 acres helps too 

But I recall reading back then, he wasn't quite sure what characteristics (or combination) of that country contributed..he mentioned the lower rainfall in that area didn't leach minerals out as it did other parts of Texas

Or that high rainfall in Feb contributed more than high rainfall in April (Feb rain established good sub-surface moisture which was, in the end, more important to the brush than any late in the spring)

He'd be fascinating and invaluable to talk to in my opinion


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## stxhunter23 (May 22, 2009)

I hunted next door to the Faith on some Briscoe country for a while and all I can say is wow. Those guys had some big deer over there, they differently knew what there we doing.


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## railbird (Jan 2, 2009)

Any of you that hunted the faith ranch remember a guy by the name Rey Pippen, he worked for alice specialty in the 70's? He took a deer there that was an 8 point that looked like it scored 190. I saw the deer mount and the picture in 80 or so. I would love to have the picture of that deer. every tine including the brow tine looked to be over 12" with the 2's and 3's, being 15"-16".


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## sotexhookset (Jun 4, 2011)

railbird said:


> Any of you that hunted the faith ranch remember a guy by the name Rey Pippen, he worked for alice specialty in the 70's? He took a deer there that was an 8 point that looked like it scored 190. I saw the deer mount and the picture in 80 or so. I would love to have the picture of that deer. every tine including the brow tine looked to be over 12" with the 2's and 3's, being 15"-16".


I'd love to see that pic too.


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## hog_down (Jan 11, 2010)

me three


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## Lat22 (Apr 7, 2005)

Cynoscion said:


> There's a lot of big deer killed in south Texas that nobody ever sees bc the landowner/hunter isn't into the publicity. They just really like deer hunting big deer.


This is the truth. You should also see some of the bass they catch out of their tanks.


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## BretE (Jan 24, 2008)

Jamie said:


> I'd give anything to spend a couple of hours around the campfire with him
> 
> To produce those quality of bucks in the late 90's and early 2000's prior to the "pour the feed to them days" (no disrespect to anyone now that does) takes some deer management savvy
> 
> ...


 I remember that study and could have sworn they found there's nothing like April rain to grow horns. Rain before and after are definitely beneficial but April is by far the most important time to produce maximum growth. Been watching April rain totals where I hunt ever since.......


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

The research y'all are talking about basically debunked the April rain myth. What they found was that while April rain is very important, it's the previous winter's rain followed by a wetter than average April that really makes the biggest difference. Ive been keeping rainfall records on the place I manage for 16 years now and it is very obvious that it's true.
It's a double edged sword to me. I loved the days of managing a deer herd at or below carrying capacity and truly hunting big, wild whitetails. Back in those days if you killed 5-6 150" deer a year with a couple of solid 170's mixed in, you were doing something right. Now days, most places have twice as many deer as the land can support, we feed them like they're cattle and nobody cares about a 170" deer anymore. If you're not killing several above 180" with a 200" deer in the mix, nobody even pays attention. I love whitetails and making a living in this industry but sometimes I wonder if it's really progress driven or ego driven. Not digging on anyone bc I'm part of it too. Just lamenting about the good old days.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Cynoscion said:


> I loved the days of managing a deer herd at or below carrying capacity and truly hunting big, wild whitetails. Back in those days if you killed 5-6 150" deer a year with a couple of solid 170's mixed in, you were doing something right.


Yep, something about hunting deer on large, low-fenced acreage with no cameras and no real idea what is going to step out.

I threw out all my old Texas Trophy Hunter magazines, except the ones with stories from people I knew, but I am sure there were multiple articles from Stedman in there.

I hunted on Briscoe a long time, and did one 4-day hunt next to the Faith. It was interesting to see some tagged deer that had come across.


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## JMalin (May 14, 2014)

I was fortunate enough to guide on a ranch that borders the faith. Takes some deep pockets to hunt that country. Incredible free range deer down there and real life cowboys employed by the USDA to round up Mexican cattle that could be carrying fever ticks. Rugged, desolate country that had a certain beauty to it. Certainly more topography than any other area of south Texas.


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## Lagunaroy (Dec 30, 2013)

That country was always mythical to me. The history bug can not be cured, here is some real old school hunting. http://homemovieregistry.org/wp/the-ross-s-sterling-collection-no-19-hunting-at-chupadera-ranch/

Here is the link to all of the home movies, warning...have some spare time cause they may be addicting. http://homemovieregistry.org/wp/category/the-ross-s-sterling-collection/


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

Ridin_Skinny said:


> Eagleford Shale is what happened. Stuart decided that he no longer needed to lease out pastures or sell hunts anymore.


It's hard to fault him for that. Why have a bunch of strangers running around your place if you can afford not to?


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## FREON (Jun 14, 2005)

used to hunt on the Apache back in the 80s.......loved that country and the deer weren't too shabby either.


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## Harbormaster (May 26, 2000)

FREON said:


> used to hunt on the Apache back in the 80s.......loved that country and the deer weren't too shabby either.


Most folks just rode a horse


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