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Wildlife Systems, Inc.
ENews
Serving Hunters' and Landowners' Needs Since 1987
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Editorial
The Time It Rained....and Rained....and Rained!
In Elmer Kelton's 1973 western novel,
The Time It Never Rained, Kelton tells a story of a West Texas rancher who struggles through the incredible drought of the 1950s, trying to maintain his ranch without sacrificing his values or independence. Even though there is more to the plot than that, the storyline of this novel strikes close to home for various reasons, including the fact that Kelton was a San Angeloan. But more importantly, when you live in a region like West or South Texas or any other arid location, the reality of the harsh consequences of drought become vividly clear. When the rains don't come, we can and do suffer immensely. Calf and lamb crops are sacrificed to some great degree. Dry-land farm crops wilt along with the revenue that follows those family-farm crops. Fawning success of deer, along with hatchlings of turkey and quail, dry-up alongside the parched lands. The financial economies that are tied to these resources can be diminished during droughty periods, directly impacting the producers and indirectly impacting all citizens of the local communities. Thus, when you live in these parts, it becomes second-nature to think about and talk about the weather as though it's part of your daily vocabulary.
Like many other types of hardships, it's the "droughts" of our lives that build perspective in our minds, thus allowing us to have a greater appreciation for the good times, and to have stronger balance as humans. We've all dealt with adversity in some way. Everyone's story is different, but everyone's story has similarities, especially when it comes to life's trials and tribulations. Droughts teach us to be better farmers, ranchers, and wildlife managers, and the droughts of life teach us to be humble and resourceful. At the end of the day, it's the challenges of life that make us all stronger and better.
What the good Lord teaches us through the challenges associated with droughts, He rewards us with the fruits of the next rains, and He has been blessing us in spades in this part of the world in recent months with abundant and timely rainfall. Much of 2018 was extremely dry and hot until September, here in the San Angelo area. Then, on the night of September 2, it began to rain. And it rained, and rained, and we continue to get generous moisture. For perspective, our average annual rainfall for San Angelo is ~20". From September 2 - December 31, 2018, some areas in this part of the state received approximately 25"+ of rain. Since January 1, some areas have already received 25"+ of rainfall. Thus, during a 10 month span, many areas of this region have received 50"+ of moisture....approximately 2.5X our yearly average in 10 months! These abundant rains have been widespread over much of the state. Hallelujah!!
Currently, conditions across Texas are simply outstanding. Range health in most areas is as good as I've seen it, local reservoirs have more water than they have in decades, and country drives are refreshing and enjoyable. Last year was a tough wildlife year in many parts of Texas with poor fawn crops, mediocre antler growth, and virtually no hatch on turkeys and quail. Conversely, this year is shaping up to be the best wildlife year that we have had since 2010, which was a proverbial gold-standard year to be in the hunting business in Texas. So, here's to the Rain Gods who are smiling down on us.
Business is great. As many of you know, the economy across the United States is extremely strong. Like him or not, the current leadership of this country has done an amazing job of revitalizing economic vibrancy around the country with consumer confidence being as good as I can recall in the 32 years of being a business owner. We are seeing strong markets from all the traditional regions that have supported WSI over the years. We are thankful for the support from our clientele and we tip our hat to those who have placed confidence in our WSI team. Thank you for your business...we greatly appreciate it!
Cheers,
Greg Simons
Wildlife Systems, Inc. GM/Principal
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New WSI Office Administrator
We are pleased to welcome Belle Webb as our newest WSI staffer with her joining our team as WSI Office Administrator. Belle is originally from the San Angelo area and studied Business Administration at Angelo State University. She has years of office admin work with a great deal of focus on financial book-keeping. Her family comes from a ranching background and still operates country in Brewster County, so Belle is not new to ranching, hunting, wildlife, and rural business affairs. According to WSI co-owner, Greg Simons, "We welcome Belle to our WSI family and looking forward to her participation." Simons added, "She is a great cultural fit and after she finishes drinking from the fire hydrant with the steep learning curve of getting familiar with things, she's going to be a highly productive part of our team." Belle has warm and comfortable presence over the phone, and we feel that our clients will enjoy their interaction with her.
Jennifer Jezek, who served as our WSI Office Manager for several years chose to pursue other business opportunities, but Jennifer will stay on with our team on a part-time basis serving as our WSI Media Tools and Graphics Manager, focusing on photo management, website maintenance, and assisting with various graphics needs. According to Simons, "Jennifer has been an integral part of the success that our company has enjoyed in recent years and I'm happy that she will continue to contribute in meaningful ways."
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Texas is home to more free range nilgai antelope than their native country of India. Originally stocked on the King Ranch in the 1930's, these sporty game animals quickly took hold and are currently free ranging on a handful of large private properties in lower South Texas. Our Nilgai antelope hunting takes place on the historic H. Yturria Ranches near Raymondville in lower South Texas, and at the El Sauz Division of the East Ranch at Port Mansfield, Texas. Nilgai antelope hunting offers a challenging and fun experience, and this is certainly a hunt destin
ation you will want to add to your schedule.
Our nilgai antelope hunts are set up as 2.5 day packages including 3 nights lodging. Some hunters are guided 1x1 and some clients are 2x1. Three meals daily are served. Your nilgai bull will be skinned and caped as part of the package and you may choose to pay to have the meat commercially processed at a nearby facility. Incidentally, nilgai antelope meat is some of the best wild game meat you will ever have, which makes nilgai hunting even more attractive.
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WSI payment policy for our hunting clients is relatively straight forward:
- When a booking agreement is generated, client has 10 days to pay deposit to confirm or secure the booking.
- On all fixed fee hunts, our normal required payment schedule is a 50% deposit with the balance being due 30 days prior to hunt. Failure to make payments on time may result in cancellation of hunt and possible forfeiture of any paid monies.
- On hunts that are based on a daily fee, plus a kill fee, the daily fees are what is required on the front-end to confirm or secure the booking. These hunts often involve certain exotics.
- On any hunts that involve fees that are due during the hunt, such as kill fee on exotics or hunts that involve additional trophy fees, those payment must be made prior to client's departure from the property...due upon completion of the hunt. These payments MUST be made with credit card (plus 3%), cash, cashier's check, or through our QuickBooks Intuit program. The Intuit option depends on our ability for the office to generate the updated invoice and then email to the client before client's departure from the hunt; it's then simply a matter of the client clicking on a secure link and entering the required bank information and the transaction is effectively treated as an electronic check with no wiring or transfer fees being assessed.
- Another option on kill fees or trophy fees is for client to prepay these fees prior to the hunt and WSI will refund these fees if an animal is not taken that prompts the kill fee or trophy fee.
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Consistent with industry standards, WSI has a relatively rigid policy regarding how hunt cancellations are handled:
- Should client have to cancel hunt for any reason, no paid fees will be refunded unless the client can replace themselves at full cost of the hunt. If client is replaced at full cost, cancellee will be refunded all paid monies minus 10% of the cost of the hunt which serves as a cancellation fee.
- Most hunts cannot be postponed due to WSI limitations related with its obligations and commitments on the properties involved. Thus, WSI is NOT obligated to accommodate requests on date changes of hunts.
- On all fixed fee hunts, the balance payment is due 30 days prior to the start day of the hunt. Failure to make these payments on time may result in cancellation of hunt with no refunds provided.
- Trip cancellation insurance is highly recommended.
Cancellations in this industry can be a delicate matter in trying to reconcile. WSI Co-owner, Greg Simons, shared his sentiment on this issue by stating, "It sometimes presents an uncomfortable position on the proprietor in this type of business when clients are faced with various, unfortunate hardships and request a refund or perhaps an adjustment in dates. Due to our business structure and obligations that we have with our landowners, we simply are not able to offer refunds without it being a possible financial burden to the company, not simply as an opportunity cost, but as a true cash cost. There are two primary options for the client to salvage a large portion of monies that have been paid...1) Client can find a replacement for themselves, or 2) Client should consider purchasing trip cancellation insurance, which we've made easy by having a link on the Home Page of our website."
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Travel Insurance Coverage
Few people take advantage of affordable travel insurance packages that are offered by various providers. Monies forfeited due to trip cancellation, medivac assistance, lost luggage benefits, car rental collision coverage, and medical needs assistance, are just some of the benefits that are offered through various travel insurance packages. For convenience, WSI provides a
link to Travel Guard on the Home Page of our website and Travel Guard is simply one of many providers that traveling hunters should consider exploring the options and benefits. As WSI co-owner, Greg Simons, put it, "Travel insurance is unfortunately an after-thought for 99% of hunters who spend a great deal of money on hunting travel. When we have a client that calls to inquire about their options when cancellation is looming, the first thing I ask them is if they purchased insurance that offers trip cancellation relief; almost without fail, there answer is 'no' even though we make it a point to communicate the importance of such coverage."
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Rocky Creek Whitetail Hunt
Encompassing roughly 25,000 acres, or the equivalent of almost 40 square miles, this low-fenced ranch offers outstanding hunting opportunities for someone looking for a reasonably priced whitetail hunt. This country supports a high density of deer, so hunters can normally expect to see lots of bucks through the course of their hunt, with it not being uncommon to see 10-20 bucks per day. These packages are typically set up as a 3.5-day, 4-night program that includes meals, guide, lodging, and game care. Airport shuttle from the San Angelo airport can be provided for a nominal fee. The ranch is located 25 miles west of San Angelo. When you combine comfortable lodging, great food, and excellent hunting, you have an excellent hunting package that is well-suited for a group of buddies, corporate group, husband/wife, youth hunt, or individual hunters. Price is $4295 per hunter, which includes 1 mature buck and 2 does.
In the several years that we have hunted this property, 2019 is the first year that we have had excellent late winter and spring conditions via rainfall, which is a tremendous booster for antler growth. The green conditions from the 2018 fall period, which made the hunting a bit more difficult last season, are a boon for this year when you combine the continued lush conditions that have prevailed over the last several months. So, we anticipate this to be a break-out season for the Rocky Creek Ranch.
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