Company profile: High Adventure Ranch’s Ozark big game, exotic hunts

HIGH ADVENTURE IN THE OZARKS

MISSOURI FREE-RANGE BIG GAME RANCH OFFERS HUNTS FOR MORE THAN 30 SPECIES, PLUS LODGING, FISHING AND MORE

BY JASON BROOKS

There comes a time in every hunter’s life when they start to think of hunting something new. Maybe a trip to Africa for kudu, impala and springbok, or an adventure to New Zealand for red stag. These hunts are often “once in a lifetime” for most hunters, who save up and plan for a trip to a faro land. In recent years, excursions like this have been di cult with the current climate of Covid and travel restrictions.

International travel restrictions have made it hard to get to New Zealand and its huge-antlered red stag, but the species has been available all along right here in the US at Missouri’s High Adventure Ranch.

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As befitting the Ozarks, the ranch’s “most popular deer hunt” is for whitetails, and the place is “loaded” with eight-plus-pointers. (HIGH

ADVENTURE RANCH)

But what if I told you there was a place right here in the United States that you could drive to and hunt those same animals, along with many other African, South American and even big game animals of the Rocky Mountains, all in a mild climate and complete with a hunting lodge that serves great food? All of this is found at High Adventure Ranch, located in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri.

I RECENTLY HAD THE opportunity to talk with Charles Pu , founder and ranch owner, and our conversation quickly turned to why he established his ranch back in 1983 with so many game animals. Pu admitted that, like most hunters, his passion for the outdoors start-

ed when he was young. At age 9, his neighbor took him out hunting and by age 12, “There were only three things I wanted: to learn how to dance, how to swim and to kill a 100-pound elephant.” Pu explained that a “100-pound” elephant meant taking a bull that had tusks weighing 100 pounds each. For me, it was a quick lesson in African hunting; for Pu , it was reminiscing about his life and the hunts he has been on. He did eventually do all three things, and the elephant drove his passion for hunting.

Wanting to bring those kinds of experiences to hunters in the US at an affordable price, Pu planned and formed High Adventure Ranch. Since then, the ranch has grown to over 30 big game species with an estimated population of 2,000 animals. Hunters from all over the world are now traveling to Missouri to hunt here, whether they are looking to go on an exotic hunting adventure or just want to hunt a game species not o ered in their home state.

While enjoying the ranch, hunters dine together in a large dining hall that serves the same game they will be hunting, such as bu alo chili, elk meatloaf and wild boar sausage. Cabins and a main lodge o er modern accommodations, and the hunts are all free-range on the ranch’s massive acreage which covers 3 square miles of open land. Along with the hunt, there are several ponds and lakes that family members can fish if they don’t want to pursue game. And once your hunt is over, the ranch o ers full-service meat cutting, including vacuum-sealing the meat and keeping it in a walk-in cooler until it’s time to head back home.

During the early and late summer months, High Adventure Ranch o ers family vacations that include a tour of the ranch where you can see some of the animals that call this place home, all in a freerange environment. Axis and sika deer, blackbuck, wild boar, nyla, kudu, eland and many more animals are often seen in the early morning or late evening hours heading to water at the many lakes, all of which are stocked with fish and no fishing license is needed. They do close during the very hot summer months of mid-June to mid-July for maintenance on the ranch.

IT IS THE HUNTING that Pu really prides himself on, especially the hunts that are donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, along with other hunts o ered to military veterans and disabled hunters. As we chatted about these hunts, Pu ’s voice cracked a bit, explaining how help-

If horned critters are more your style, High Adventure Ranch features mouflon, Hawaiian and Corsican rams, along with Jacob’s four-horn sheep – sure to make a killer European mount. (HIGH ADVENTURE RANCH)

Axis deer are considered by some to o er the best-tasting venison to be had, and they too can be hunted on this free-range operation that encompasses over 2,000 acres in rolling hills two hours southwest of St. Louis. (HIGH ADVENTURE RANCH)

ing wounded vets is something he is very passionate about.

“My brother was a marine and killed over there in Vietnam,” he said. “That’s the reason why I started donating hunts to vets; he was always foremost on my mind.”

It was his dedication to honoring his brother that led High Adventure Ranch to o er hunts to disabled veterans, but Pu admits that now it is the hunt and seeing how it helps the veterans that really gets to him. “When those hunts are over, you never forget them,” he added.

High Adventure Ranch has been around for nearly 40 years, and is established with top-notch guides and sta . “One of my ranch managers has been working here for 39 years,” Pu explained, and added that many of the sta have worked at the ranch for a very long time.

When he started the ranch in 1983, he knew of only one other ranch in Texas with the kind of hunts that High Adventure Ranch o ers. A very unique thing that this ranch promises is the “no game, no pay” guarantee. If you book a hunt with High Adventure Ranch and you don’t fill your tag, then you don’t pay the

Nearby Arkansas is home to the Razorbacks, but the ranch has the huntable kind. Hunters enjoy very high success rates, with trophy whitetail typically taking two days or less, but High Adventure Ranch also has a “no game, no pay” guarantee.

Should you not harvest or wound an animal, the trophy fee is waived and you only pay for lodging, food, guide, license and sales tax. (HIGH ADVENTURE RANCH) trophy fee. Not many other places offer that kind of promise.

Along with the fact that the ranch is CWD-free – unlike many states – there is no worry of a draw or a license and tag being sold out. Pu explained that many hunters head out West for elk, only to find little public access, highpriced over-the-counter tags or a draw system where you might not even get a tag, and a low overall success rate. High Adventure Ranch o ers world-class elk hunting or a cow “meat” hunt – and again, if you don’t fill your tag, you don’t pay – but they also boast a 100-percent success rate on their elk hunts for the past 37 years. It all started when Charles Pu was 12 and he had three wishes: learning to dance, swim and kill a 100-pound elephant. Now he o ers hunts to those looking for an adventure or to finally harvest a 200-inch whitetail. Maybe take the family for a vacation or to honor our veterans. You will find it all at High Adventure Ranch in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. ASJ Editor’s note: For more information, visit highadventureranch.com.