Macy Ledbetter

November 13, 2015 by Macy Ledbetter

Death by Mother Nature–by “natural causes”– accidental death, death caused by something other than your weapon, that is what it is. Shooting at and wounding a deer that eventually dies from the wounds is not natural mortality. Starvation, flooding, fighting, predation, birthing complications, drought, snake bites, hung in fences and car accidents are examples of natural mortality.

October 13, 2015 by Macy Ledbetter

When I was about knee high to a grasshopper, I was sitting in a ground blind with my dad.  It was one of my first hunts to sit on the ground and not on a board nailed in the limbs of a tree.  I enjoyed it very much because I could see the critters better, draw in the dirt and sharpen a stick with my pocketknife.

October 03, 2015 by Macy Ledbetter

We have all heard and probably used the word management when referring to a ranch or a hunting scenario. I know I see and hear it in almost every article, magazine ad and ranch description. But I also make my living physically managing ranches and I am here to say that this term is often used, abused and misused!

September 15, 2015 by Macy Ledbetter

Grazing management is the planned manipulation of livestock numbers and grazing intensities to increase food, cover, or improve structure in the habitat of selected species. Grazing management includes kind and class of livestock grazed, determination and adjustment of stocking rates, implementation of a grazing system that provides planned periodic rest for pastures by controlling grazing intensity and durations, and/or excluding livestock from sensitive areas to prevent trampling, allowing for vegetative recovery, or eliminating competition for food and cover. Planned deferments can be short or long term, depending on the conditions. Seasonal stocker operations may also be appropriate to manipulate habitat.

August 13, 2015 by Macy Ledbetter

Canis latrans are members of the dog family, with adults weighing 20-40 pounds.  They prey on a wide variety of animals including rodents, rabbits, deer, game birds and livestock.  They also consume vegetation such as prickly pear apples, mesquite beans and persimmons; and readily consume corn and protein feed meant for deer.