EZ Ranch Cordes Junction, Az

[COOSEFAN]

Yep, there's still some remnants of the escapee's runnin' around

[GRONG]

 

The captive environment puts every one of the animals with in proximity, thus making for easy transfer of diseases so every one is in fected. This is why CWD has spread so quickly in some states where deer congregate around specific feed areas.

 

There is NO reliable test that can confirm CWD in LIVE animals. The only test currently available is done on the brain tissue or lymph nodes of DEAD ungulates. -TONY

 

I have driven through the ranch just to see the stags etc and the first thing you see when you enter the gates is about 50 "cows", I can't remember the female name for the red stags, it's an odd one for sure if anyone knows it. Anyway, Tony your comment about congregating around a feeding area really hit home. It looked like a cess pool of pee, poo and a mtn of feed that they all stand around most of the time. It was a stinky mess. But maybe it's ok to have them like that I don't know, as an outsider not familiar with penned animals, it sure looked gross. As for the stag bulls there was a dozen or more spread out on the south face of a big hill on the north side of the ranch. Looks to have obliterated every cactus, mesquite and juniper w/in reach of their antlers on nearly every sq inch of the big hill they were on. They looked as wild as an animal can look too. It's not like you could walk up to the fence and expect them to be w/in mere feet waiting for a handout, they definitely kept their distance of a couple hundred yards. It sure was neat seeing them and their antlers though. I went in there during their rut and to hear them things "roar" was a TRIP! Quite an odd thing to see in AZ that's for sure. Saw a couple dozen hogs running around in there too as well as the buffalo. I could also see a few sheds laying around on the slope too. Damned near jumped the fence to round a few up but those stags didn't look like they would welcome that though. Doubt the owner woulda liked that either, probably woulda escorted my tail right the crap out of there if I had. But dang I hated to see those horns just laying out there. He did have a pile back at the barn for me to fondle so that was enough to get my fix. Anyway, it was an odd thing to see and it's far from a zoo. I guess they get quite a few people each year out there shooting a few of the stags and buffalo. If you just wanted some buffalo meat I think it's probably a good deal on the price per lb but then again I think he said you pay for the whole animal at that price, not just the quartered and hanging meat. They hang the whole dude up and you buy it all. Might be easier than hunting Raymond Ranch. Thats my take on the whole operation though.

[COOSEFAN]

"Hind" I think is what they call a female Red Stag?

[COUESAZ]

I hope i find one that got away because you should be able to shoot it as it is not a game animal in this state. Some of those things get down right big.

[COOSEFAN]

I've never heard of the antlered critters gettin' loose ...... unfortunately.

 

That would be fun!

[Redbeard]

The real danger is if they get out or if they contact wild animals at the fence. That's how the whole CWD problem got started. They had some animals at the vet school in Ft. Collins and somehow the wild ones in the area caught it from them.

 

Too bad about the sheds.

[4Falls]

I checked out the website and they advertise "thousands of unfenced acres for hog/boar hunting". Un-effen-fenced? Thats all we need.

[Outdoor Writer]

CWD can and is being tested for in Deer by pulling the tonsils.. As far as Elk go they are too big to mess with...

 

J-

 

Yeah, the Colorado DOW has been testing this technique on live deer in a captive environment. They actually take tissue samples rather than remove the tonsils, but it requires anesthetizing every animal to do the tests. Plus, the results are somewhat spotty because they don't yet know at what STAGE the CWD prions show up in the tonsils. That's why I used "no reliable test." Maybe some day they will be able to do a simple blood test. -TONY

[jamaro]

CWD can and is being tested for in Deer by pulling the tonsils.. As far as Elk go they are too big to mess with...

 

J-

 

Yeah, the Colorado DOW has been testing this technique on live deer in a captive environment. They actually take tissue samples rather than remove the tonsils, but it requires anesthetizing every animal to do the tests. Plus, the results are somewhat spotty because they don't yet know at what STAGE the CWD prions show up in the tonsils. That's why I used "no reliable test." Maybe some day they will be able to do a simple blood test. -TONY

 

The tests are reliable just not viable...

 

http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseacti...2a3d5a63f2953a5

 

 

Jason

[Outdoor Writer]

Anyway, Tony your comment about congregating around a feeding area really hit home. It looked like a cess pool of pee, poo and a mtn of feed that they all stand around most of the time. It was a stinky mess. But maybe it's ok to have them like that I don't know, as an outsider not familiar with penned animals, it sure looked gross.

 

If you just wanted some buffalo meat I think it's probably a good deal on the price per lb but then again I think he said you pay for the whole animal at that price, not just the quartered and hanging meat. They hang the whole dude up and you buy it all. Might be easier than hunting Raymond Ranch. Thats my take on the whole operation though.

 

When I was in NZ a couple years ago, I got to see quite a few farms where they literally raise red deer like livestock because the venison is in high demand around the world. These farms were prevalent on the south island, and it was rare to drive more than two miles and not see one. If you see venison on a restaurant menu in the U.S., it's a good bet you'd be ordering NZ red deer. And it is indeed excellent eating.

 

I thought the same thing about the buffalo meat until I did some math.

 

At $2 per pound for a buff on the hoof, that would be anywhere from $3,500 to more than $4,000. There are big ranches in NM and TX where you can kill a buff for much less. -TONY

[Outdoor Writer]

The tests are reliable just not viable...

 

http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseacti...2a3d5a63f2953a5

 

 

Jason

 

Clinical signs of CWD alone are not conclusive, and there is currently no practical live animal test. Currently, the only conclusive diagnosis involves an examination of the brain, tonsils or lymph nodes performed after death.

 

Research is being conducted to develop live-animal diagnostic tests for CWD. Early results indicate that a new live-test utilizing tissues from an animal's tonsils may be viable in deer, but so far has been ineffective in elk.

 

I rest my case. -TONY

[mattys281]

I checked out the website and they advertise "thousands of unfenced acres for hog/boar hunting". Un-effen-fenced? Thats all we need.

 

I think that what they mean is that the entire property is "thousands of acres" & the hogs are not fenced into smaller lots on the property. They have the whole ranch to roam, and thus consider it fair chase. If I invested a bunch of cash in animals I dang sure wouldn't let them roam off my property & onto the public land surrounding, so I don't imagine they would either.

 

At anyrate, I'm not opposed to any responsibly ran hunting business & wouldn't mind paying the $250 for a hog hunt, as long as it was fair chase & the operators had not been implicated in anything shady. Beats the heck out of driving to Ca.

[War7664]

GRONG:

 

What did the hogs look like? Were the domestic pink Wilbur-types or did they have any Russian characteristics?

[Bucks_N_Yotes]

I used to work with BLM as a firefighter, and in the off season I was detailed out to the survey dept. My first job was to help re-establish BLM/private property lines in the Agua Fria National Monument. Guess whose property was in tresspass on to BLM Land? EZ Ranch. I spent about a month at and around his ranch, He may well have about 2k acres, but let me tell you he didn't skip a beat on putting up the biggest fence he could. There were alot of inner pasture fences, and most of the time that we were there the Red Deer would all be hanging out by their shop!! I never saw the Boars, but then again, it was five years ago, and he really didn't want us around. Beautiful deer, and if they chase them up the hill on the NW corner, I would say that it would be amost fair chase. The buffalo that I saw where in smaller pens.

[NRS]

I talked to a couple of guys who said they hunted at this "EZ Ranch" in Cordes Junction but they did not have much information about it. I was wondering if any members have been there or know of anyone who has been? Just curious, they said the place had large boars, red stags and buffalo on the ranch. I have never heard of a place like this in Arizona. I wonder how big it actually is, sounds like one of those "canned hunts" types of operations....

 

I think that is probably the same property that once housed Kent Henry's Arizona Hunt Club. That was a put-&-take bird -- pheasant, chukar, bobwhite quail -- shooting preserve, but they also had a very challenging sporting clays course that humbled me more than once. -TONY

The EZ ranch is not the one that Kent Henry had the Arizona Hunt Club on. EZ is east of cordes Junction on the Agua Fria River in unit 21. Az Hunt club was north of cordes in 19B. EZ has had red deer, fallow deer and buffalo for at least the last 20 years. If the animals get loose, they would be trespassing on state or BLM land(Agua Fria National Monument) and the owner could be subject to losing his grazing leases and monetary penalities.