Texas Exotic Hunting at Its Finest

There are a number of reasons guests give 777 Ranch five-star reviews. The first is the success they have hunting.

The 777 Ranch arguably offers the best sports hunting world-wide. No other outfitter on the planet has more entries in the Safari Club International’s Record Book of Trophy Animals. The ranch is in the top 10 for every species at the ranch and holds several number-one records. The variety of wildlife rivals that of any African habitat. And no 15-hour flights are needed. The 777 Ranch is two hours west of San Antonio.

Guests at 777 Ranch receive the royal treatment. Sure, the ranch has hosted television personalities, national leaders, and an actual princess. But every guest at 777 Ranch receives the same attention and care.

Overnight guests stay in lakeside cabins complete with fireplaces, whirlpool tubs, and refrigerator. They eat meals prepared by professional chefs. When guests aren’t out on the 23 square miles of the ranch pursuing game, they can gather in the huge trophy room or lounge on deck chairs on their porches overlooking Sugar Lake. But the main reason guests treasure their American safari experience is the quality of the guides.

Guests praise 777 Ranch guides for their ability to transform hunting trips into memories.

Brett Petzer is ranch manager and professional hunting guide. He is registered to lead hunting expeditions in South Africa and in the United States. Coming to 777 Ranch after starting up a game ranch in South Africa, Brett is also an expert in site safety and secure ranch operations and a licensed private detective.

Les Zimmerman has been guiding for 777 Ranch since 2003. He is an avid archer who has bow hunted in Zimbabwe and across North America. Les has an intimate knowledge of the ranch and its animals and also its best fishing holes. He loves to fish for Florida Large-Mouth Bass on the ranch’s fishing holes.

Marcelino Covarrubias has been with 777 Ranch for over 20 years. He is a guide for our Spanish-speaking guests, the ranch foreman, and an expert in preparing animals for trophies. Marcelino has helped guests take trophies that would land in the top 10 in the Safari Club International’s Record Book of Trophy Animals.

Together, your guides will make sure that your stay at 777 Ranch will leave you eager for your next trip. But some of the most important work at 777 Ranch goes on behind the scenes.

What makes 777 Ranch a uniquely rich hunting environment?

The 777 Ranch is in a prime location for large wildlife. This part of southwest Texas has excellent browse for gaming animals. It gets a minimum of winter weather, reducing stress on both animals and hunters.

The staff at 777 Ranch have divided its nearly-15,000 acres into 16 pastures surrounded by high fences. Each pasture is home to compatible species with its preferred terrain.

The Ranch plants 150 acres in hay and another 100 acres in sorghum to feed its animals. After they have cut the sorghum for grain, the sorghum field becomes prime territory for dove hunting. Then the mild climate of South Texas allows the sorghum to head again to become a favorite pasture for the animals.

777 Ranch also makes a substantial financial investment in protein feed. Every month there are deliveries of 70 tons of protein supplements to be delivered across the 15,000 acres of the ranch to keep animals in excellent condition. 777 Ranch’s care for its animals ensures excellent trophies, but it also contributes to wildlife conservation.

Hunting at 777 ranch helps preserve exotic species.

It’s a counterintuitive truth that hunting at preserves like 777 Ranch helps keep exotic species alive.

Exotic species in their native habitat are under constant pressure from the ever-expanding human population. Poaching, drought, and disease have decimated African game animal populations so that some species are under threat of extinction.

It’s true that 10 percent of the animals at 777 Ranch may be killed by hunters in any given year. But it’s also true that 90 percent of the animals at the ranch get live healthy lives without risk of a slow and cruel death from predators or disease. Sports hunting preserves like 777 Ranch provide dozens of species of exotic animals with a stable environment and a chance to raise healthy offspring. And in some cases, 777 Ranch even has help to revive populations of endangered animals in their native habitat.

Four endangered species live on the ranch. These include Arabian oryx, a mid-sized antelope native to the Middle East, lechwe, an African antelope, barasingha, a species of deer native to India, and Eid’s deer from Vietnam. The ranch has shipped Arabian oryx back to their native habitat to help to restore the species in its natural home.

Owner Jeff Rann has brought together over 60 species of animals from five continents to create the largest sustained wild animal herd in the world. 777 Ranch can provide you with a unique American safari experience through which you support the continued survival of majestic animals around the world.