San Diego, Texas * Duval County
South Texas Trophy
Whitetail Deer Breeding and Hunts
ABOUT
US
The Vela Ranch is located between San Diego and Freer, 65 miles West of
Corpus Christi, Texas. This area is known for its wildlife habitat and
trophy whitetail deer.
Dr. Robert Vela, a practicing internal medicine physician in Corpus Christi,
and a native of Duval County, purchased the ranch in 1990. Although initially
acquired for recreational and limited cattle-breeding purposes, the Vela
Ranch was rapidly transformed into a managed whitetail deer operation.
Over the last 12 years, we have enhanced our native deer herd by instituting
an intensive management program. These measures have included high-fencing,
supplemental/continuous feedings, food-plots, and introducing better genetics.
Via the T.T.T. permits (transfer of deer) and the scientific breeder program,
the genetic pool has improved drastically, producing beautiful, antlered
bucks.
The scientific breeder program has become the heart and soul of the Vela
Ranch. We release quality bred deer into the open range, adding diversity
to the existing genetic pool.
The
Vela Ranch encompasses nearly 1000 acres. The
terrain is diverse, but mostly South Texas brush. The San Diego Creek
traverses the property, providing fertile soil for a variety of forbs
and shrubs with high nutritional value. Furthermore, six waterholes
provide an excellent water source for the wildlife. Also, under the guidance
of Victor Saenz II, long-time ranch and deer enthusiast, the native habitat
is optimized by frequent discing of the senderos, food-plotting, and year-long
supplemental protein feeding.
Limited management and trophy hunts are available this year. In addition,
a limited number of one, two, and three year old bucks, does, fawns, and
mature open and bred does are available for sale.
Anyone interested should contact us for further details. We will be happy
to share our experiences.
The Vela Ranch is situated in Duval County, mapped
here in red (map from Wikipedia).
