A Champion in Texas

By David J. Sams Lone Star outdoor newS

When driving up to the colossal buildings of the Champion Ranch near Rochelle, the hospitality starts at the curb and never lets up. My wife, Adrienne, and I were distracted by the staff waving and smiling as we arrived. We were smiling back as we opened the doors and said our hellos. We both had a feeling we were going to enjoy this place. The group quickly unloaded our truck and stored our belongings in our room.

A tour of the 60,000 square-foot trophy room took almost an hour, but we had a delicious margarita in our hands, and Kani Darden, the office manager, just kept opening doors. There are nine different themed rooms, mostly hidden under incredible taxidermy or through a themed portal.

We visited with our professional hunter and guide, Johan Louw, who is from South Africa. He travels back during the hunting season on the Dark Continent and was leaving in a couple of weeks, but he was eager to get us out on the ranch for a game drive.

Our room was called The Sheep Cabin — an old, restored cabin from North Carolina. For some added excitement, there was a mounted bear peering into our shower — it looked like he had torn off the roof trying to get in. The reclaimed wood, old bottle window and the luxurious but simple bedding all added to the experience. And, if you like the mattress, you can order one at checkout and they will ship it to your home.

Dinners are served to order with four main menu choices, and the red snapper dish was excellent. Louw was champing at the bit to get us in the UTV, so we made a quick trip at sundown. It seemed many of the 60-plus different species of animals from around the globe had eaten their fill on the fresh, green grass that had sprung up after a recent rain.

After that, the bar was calling our name again, and the friendly bartenders kept us entertained with great drinks and conversation.

If you are really adventurous, there is a Speakeasy hidden under a river with water buffalo and other mounted animals. This is a private club, and some of the locals prefer to have the seclusion. But we liked the openness and friendliness of the big main bar.

The next morning, we left early on our game drive and found the animals up and feeding during the cool morning. Our first big surprise was a nice herd of zebras, and then we found Waldo, the giraffe. On this morning he was friendly and curious, but sometimes you can’t find him for days, Louw told us. We kept spotting this and that — a dama gazelle, a blesbok, Arabian oryx — and then we saw something “local.” A hog was looking right at us as we rounded a curve, and before we stopped, Louw had handed me a Champion Ranch custom rifle and yelled, “Shoot!” ear. She turned as the bullet left the end of the suppres sor, ending in a nice Texas heart shot.

We eased back to the lodge for breakfast where we were rewarded for shooting a wild hog. Steve Owens (Steve O), Champion Ranch manager, announced he gives anyone a special cap for shooting varmints on the ranch.

Our mid-morning drive took us to the center of Texas where a monument shows Lat 31’ 21’ N Long 99’ 14’ W — the real geographic center of Texas.

We visited the bovine pasture and saw some of the cool large creatures: white bison, water buffalo, a yak and more.

After a smash burger and an hour to rest, Louw took Adrienne to the range to teach her some safari shooting skills. Because she’s going on her first safari soon, one-on-one training from a South African professional hunter couldn’t have come at a better time. She came back smiling and showing photos of the 300-yard target she hit perfectly.

Our afternoon drive was filled with more animal herds from around the world, and we seemed to get closer to most than we did in the morning. After a day, we still hadn’t seen all 8,000 acres of this rolling hills ranch. Much of it has good, thick habitat, so guests may never see it all.

The ribeye dinner was followed by the second-best tres leches cake I have had. Sundowners on the highest porch in the lodge with a view for miles revealed more rain on the horizon, and we traded stories with Louw into the night.

The next morning, with coffee in hand, we drove past the red lechwe herd that seemed to hang around the lodge and found ourselves casting for largemouth in the 36-acre lake.

The post-spawn fish were a bit finicky, but we man aged to catch a few on top-water lures. The lake record is ing in more of the incredible taxidermy and whimsical designs that adorn the trophy room. Our handshakes and hugs were long as we said goodbye to our new