About

Location
Home Draw Ranch is located approximately 22 miles east of Post, Texas, on the western edge of Kent County, Texas; 55 miles southeast of Lubbock, Texas; and some 200 miles west of the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex. Geographically, this area, east off the Caprock and is referred to as the Rolling Plains of Texas and is in a 20-22″ rainfall belt. Access to the ranch is excellent with U.S. Highway 380 bordering the north side of the ranch for more than 2 miles. There are ample locations for a grass landing strip on the ranch and a paved landing strip is 20 miles to the west in Post, Texas.

In addition to this website’s map of the ranch, you can also see an aerial view of the ranch at the Google Earth website. The coordinates of the northwest corner of the ranch are 33^&deg 10′ 38.62″ N, 101^&deg 01′ 32.94″ W. By comparing this website’s map with the Google Earth aerial photo you should be able to see most of the prominent ranch features in a view that is about two years old. The large ‘shiny’ areas that stand out in the Google Earth view are areas that were plowed in preparation for grass planting.

Current Usage
At present the ~3,500 acre ranch is a working cow/calf operation and will support 150-200 cow/calf pairs. The ranch is also an excellent hunting property and is currently leased for quail and deer hunting. The ranch is located in a rural area that is not impacted by zoning or other municipal regulations. Also, there are no private deed restrictions or environmental regulations which would limit property use or type.

Improvements
There are no permanent improvements on the ranch, such as houses, barns or livestock working corrals. The entire south side and the entire west side of the ranch do have access to 220 volt, single phase electricity. The ranch is divided into two large pastures and one smaller 130 acre pasture. The large pastures each have a forty acre field that has been fenced off from the main pasture. In the past these forty acre fields were plowed and planted to winter wheat, but they have now been returned to perennial grass. The perimeter (~10 miles) and interior (~3.64 miles) fences are in average condition and can be accessed by vehicle for inspection and maintenance.

Water
Livestock and wildlife are watered by man-made earthen ponds which are referred to as tanks in the local vernacular. There are 17 of these tanks and, with normal precipitation, all but six will have water in them year round. In addition to these tanks, there are approximately 5 miles of soil and water terraces. Not only do these terraces control erosion and conserve water, they also provide easy wheeled access within the pasture for quail hunting. The North Fork of the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River is on the property in the southwest corner. During the rainy season (spring and late summer) this tributary of the Brazos River will have surface water continuously. During the dry parts of the year this tributary will not have any surface water. Regardless of the time of year, there is adequate water just beneath the surface of the ground in the vicinity of this tributary. The ground water in the vicinity of the Brazos River tributary is sufficient to water the entire ranch. All that would be required to develop this water source is a well and a pipeline. After one moves away from the immediate vicinity of this tributary, ground water becomes very difficult (and often times impossible) to find.

General Description
The terrain of the ranch varies from fairly level to gently sloping, draining to a broken (and in places fairly steep) canyon bottomland. A wide draw begins near the north central area and drains in a southwesterly direction towards the Brazos River tributary. This tributary of the Brazos River is the dominant geographic feature of the region and strongly influences the topography of the entire ranch. Elevations of the ranch vary from about 2,115 feet on the southwest corner to over 2,380 feet on the central east side.

Mesquite is in moderate to sometimes dense canopies on the more level to gently rolling upland areas and is also found in the canyon bottomlands. Cedar is common on the more sloping and rough, broken portion of the ranch. Willow, cottonwood, and hackberry are also present, as are cat claw, algerita, bear grass, prickly pear cactus and cholla cactus.

The ranch has a good turf of native grasses and has been well managed and properly grazed. Principle grasses include western wheat grass, blue stem, switch grass, Canada wildrye, sideoats grama, vine-mesquite, blue grama, plains bristle grass, three-awn, Arizona cottontop, buffalo grass, hooded windmill grass and tobosa. In addition to the native grasses, approximately 400 acres of improved blue stem grass have been planted. The addition of this grass has dramatically increased the grazing potential of the ranch.

The upland soils are dominated by Cobb and Miles fine sandy loams with slopes of 1-5%. The canyon bottomlands contain Weymouth clay loams and Wichita silt loams, each with slopes of 1-5%. These soils lie upon the Santa Rosa formation which is Triassic in age. The transition from the upland soils to the canyon bottomlands is characterized by a caprock and rough, broken lands. This transition zone can represent as much as 200′ of elevation change and greatly adds to the scenic character and recreation potential of the overall ranch.

The ranch is easily traversed by ranch roads and while four wheel drive vehicles are not required, they do come in handy when the roads are muddy. Also, a vehicle (say a SUV) with some ground clearance is necessary to negotiate the ranch roads. Anyone wanting an off road experience should come with ‘ranch-tough’ tires and lots of spare tires.

Hunting
This ranch offers excellent hunting opportunities. This is quality quail country and the varied terrain supports both mule deer and whitetail. Dove are generally present year round. Turkey and feral hogs are common. Additionally, the ranch has its share of critters indigenous to the area, e.g., coyotes, bobcats, skunk, badger, raccoon and both cottontail and jack rabbits. Armadillo, peccary, and antelope have also been spotted on the ranch. A mountain lion or its tracks can be seen occasionally. The ranch could easily be game fenced and exotics introduced to make an excellent game preserve.