Hatton Ranch: Classical Texas Deer Hunts
By: Keith R. Schmidt
A few miles from Graham, Texas in Young County, sits Hatton Ranch smack dab in the middle of the old Comanche and Kiowa southern raid route when a Full Moon in the 1800’s kept homesteaders wary. Fort Belknap built nearby in 1851 to protect this area on land familiar with the sound of gunfire. But shooting today comes from the modern hunter’s scope sighted deer rifle.
Hatton Ranch promotes the “Classic” deer hunting experience for fantastic big deer with wide antlers. Hunters may also have a chance at wild hogs and there are several varmint species in the area. Two comfortable hunter cabins are just across from the main lodge of Texas limestone. An outdoor covered grilling/cooking/dining area and fishing lakes stocked with largemouth bass help make Hatton Ranch a special experience. I should know as my hunting partner Mike Guarr and I have been hunting here annually for nearly 20 years. Guarr, a gourmet chef posing as an energy industry lawyer, finds the hunter cabin kitchen small but adequate to create post hunt dinners ranging from crawfish etoufee to marinated chicken breasts wrapped in bacon. Addicted to large antlered bucks, he annually adds to his collection from the Hatton Ranch. Guarr’s last seven deer taken at the Hatton Ranch were B&C scores ranging from 181 to 241 with an average score of 205. His deer harvests include the ranch’s legendary large beamed “Stickers” who, before coming home to Guarr’s trophy room, passed good genetics on to “Son of Stickers”…who, not long ago, ended up on a wall across from his father.
Hatton Ranch: Hunting and Breeding
Rich Clonts, a successful Dallas businessman, has owned the ranch since 2006 and with Ranch Manager Pete Campbell’s assistance created a hunter’s Mecca. They also run an allied deer breeding business. The Hatton Ranch whitetail breeding program produces big framed, wide classic bucks. The program provides stock for Hatton Ranch hunts and supplies other ranchers wanting to improve their deer herd. And, looking out from one of the modern raised ranch blinds, it is obvious Hatton Ranch deer have descended from Royalty. Clonts, justifiably proud of his intensive game management efforts, works closely with wildlife biologists to breed with the best genetics in mind. Natural browse is supplemented with year-round high protein diet and the ranch’s lakes provide abundant water. Hatton Ranch also offers an opportunity for year-round hunting of Scimitar-Horned Oryx with cull/meat hunts available occasionally. The ranch only hosts a limited number of hunters annually and doesn’t accommodate large groups.
As a high-fence ranch, White Tail Deer are definitely here but the hunter still has to find them. Hatton Ranch covers almost 800 acres. Many mature bucks often live their entire life within about 80 acres. So, there’s plenty of room for both deer and hunters. Hunting is done mostly from strategically placed modern hunting blinds. An added bonus is the chance to eliminate predators. Some hunters have had success calling them. The last hunt, I was lucky taking a coyote when I was looking for a deer…and, lucky again when a deer wandered by later that afternoon.
Heading Toward Hatton Ranch
A five-hour drive from Houston to the Hatton Ranch takes one through scenic parts of Texas. Our traditional route heading north goes by the multi-story Baker Hotel on the outskirts of Minerals Wells. This hotel, currently undergoing a $65 million dollar, multi-year renovation, will be completed approximately 2024 and well worth a visit when it reopens. Mineral Wells also has a variety of other historic sites nearby and actively markets bottles of its locally produced “Crazy Water.” The restored Fort Belknap just outside nearby Newcastle also is available to tour.
From Dallas, it’s only about a two-hour highway drive to Graham, a historic small town that grew with early cattle raisers, railroad connections and later the energy industry; the Hatton Ranch close by.
I’ve hunted in Africa, public lands and also on ranches without fences. I’ve come to the conclusion that high-fence hunting on a large Texas ranch is the same experience as open range hunting except the option of taking a really fine healthy specimen far more likely at a ranch like the Hatton.
Keith R. Schmidt, long-time patron of the Hatton Ranch, is a writer and hunter living in the Houston area. Story copyright retained by author.