Larry, who owns a Texas oil field service company (“We drill the holes,” he says), has hunted extensively...Africa eight times plus vast experience hunting Montana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas, Mexico, Colorado and Alaska several times.
Larry purchased an “Oak Creek first week-of-the-season hunt” at the Dallas Safari Club auction in early 2009.
“I’ve been bow hunting for 30 years and have never killed a really good buck with a bow. The best I had ever taken was a 135,” says Larry.
“There just are not that many good deer in Texas.”
“I also rifle hunted in Saskatchewan for eight years trying to get a good trophy deer for the wall and ended up with five 165s. I finally got tired of being fooled all the time. Every year someone would take a 200....but it wasn’t me!" That was about to change--dramatically!
"So I sat down and I figured out what it was costing me....and it was costing me a lot of money...and I still didn't have a good deer on the wall. I looked at a number of deer hunting ranches and felt Donald had a really good operation, the other ranches just didn't appeal to me like Donald’s did. I had been talking with Donald for two or three years trying to make up my mind where to go when I saw a hunt of his come up at the Dallas Safari Club Auction. It was for the first week of his season and any mature deer on the ranch. I knew I had to have it, I put my money down and went and shot two really good deer...a 229 with my bow and a 267 with a handgun. I got a little carried away but I got two terrific deer.”
Larry also had good things to say about Oak Creek Whitetail Ranch...the place and the people.
"Oak Creek is a really good operation...the best accommodations, a beautiful comfortable lodge, with good hot meals that are ideal for you when you’re hunting hard. Never in my life have I seen so much natural food as Donald has going there. The genetics are there! It’s not an easy hunt though. The property is nice sized and the deer are there but I hunted hard for three days."
Was it worth it Larry?
"I’ll tell you...a good whitetail buck is the toughest trophy to come by next to a good male lion."
Larry’s son, Cameron, accompanied his dad on the hunt. Larry told him he could take a deer up to 180 inches.
"He shot a 181-7/8-inch deer with huge bases...8” and 8.1”....just a huge deer that weighed 270 lbs.! It was just a ridiculous deer...so my son is of course, ruined!"
Larry was also accompanied by his friend, Mike, who shot a 250 typical buck.
"Mike’s deer will probably qualify for the new #1 Typical in the world. That deer is one of the most impressive deer I have ever seen," adds Larry.
Donald Hill describes meeting Larry and tells about Larry’s hunt:
“I didn’t think Larry was ever going to come and hunt with us. I had talked with him for it seemed like forever. Every year I saw him he said he was going to come and hunt with me and he never did. When he told me last year he was going to bid on my hunt at the auction I just grinned and told him, “yea right”.
I had never had the opportunity to auction off the first week of my season before so I had no idea what it would bring at the Dallas Safari Club auction. It was a pleasant surprise that it bought more than any other whitetail ever in the history of Dallas Safari Club, and when I saw that it was Larry that had bought it I was really pleasantly surprised.
Larry wanted a good deer with his bow so we started scouting for him trying to find a good deer that we could pattern. Once Larry got to the ranch the deer seemed to change patterns over night and what we thought would be the plan, changed. We had to do an about face and move on the deer the morning of Larry’s hunt. His guide, Barry took a Double Bull Blind and set it up near an old pond thinking that one of the big deer we had been seeing would get close enough for a shot. As things turned out our plan worked. A nice 230” buck strolled within 10 yards on the first morning at about first light. Larry drew on the deer but not used to hunting from a blind, his arrow nicked the blind as he released and never made it to the deer. After that Larry looked at a lot of 200 inch deer but just could not connect with one. Finally getting his opportunity at another big deer, Larry capitalized by taking a 229 inch non –typical that he was looking for plus a great 267 inch with a handgun. Two terrific looking deer that anyone would be proud of!"
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