If you're looking for bargain exotic hunts, hang onto this contact. I've known Pannel for 15 years. He's an outstanding hunter with access to several good exotics ranches west of Kerrville. He guides exotics hunters for the simple reason that he loves to hunt. He doesn't make a living as a hunting guide, and he only tries to make about $200 per animal. "If somebody calls me and I know where I think we can find the kind of animal he's looking for, we'll go hunting," says Pannell. The flip side is that Pannell won't necessarily take you hunting just because you call. He may have something more important to do, or he may not know where to locate an acceptable animal. Pannell says the bargain in exotics these days is crossbred mouflon rams, which sell as cheaply as $250. "We kill them with horns measuring 25 to 30 inches," he says. "They make for a good hunt, and you simply can't beat the price." Indeed, pure strain mouflon are much more expensive to hunt.
Other bargain animals are axis deer (see above) and blackbuck antelope. These latter animals, when they have horns that measure over 20 inches, make an excellent trophy, and you can find one that big for as little as $1,200. Small blackbuck measuring 17 to 18 inches cost as little as $800.
Turning to specific ranches that offer low-cost hunts, one I recommend is the 11,000-acre West Kerr Ranch near Mountain Home. Sika bucks here cost only $750, mouflon rams are $500 and........(continued)
