4R Ranch - Blog

August 12, 2026 by Deryl McKinnerney

Summer is finally here! Jill and I just returned from a short trip to New Mexico on the 4^th of August and found the heater had been turned on in The Hill Country sometime while we were gone. However, as soon as we got home we left again for Duncan, OK to pick up English Pointer pups. The further north we went, the hotter it got. When we arrived in Duncan, the temperatures hovered around 107-109 degrees. Fortunately, a summer shower rolled in and dropped the temperature to 75 degrees and we got to see the pups run around for a bit instead of hunting shade. As hot as it was in Tarpley, TX, it was comfortable compared to Duncan, OK.

August 10, 2025 by Deryl McKinnerney

As I write this years dispatch we have just shy of 650 round bales in the field, our cows are all slick and fat, all of our creeks are flowing and the springs behind the lodge are bearing more and more water with each rainfall. What a wonderful spring and summer! We were lucky to get enough rain to bring the creeks down and fill our tanks, but avoided the destruction that happened just to our north. We have been on the receiving end of a 24” rain over a 24-hour period and it is unbelievable what water can do when it is in a hurry. A tornado in the form of water, or total chaos is how I would describe. 

May 07, 2024 by Deryl McKinnerney

Abundantly blessed. I use that term often, and not merely as a statement that sounds good in casual conversation. 

When Jill and I started this venture over 20 years ago, I called it “The Big Experiment”, much to Jill's chagrin. I called it the big experiment because I had never guided a quail hunt for anyone other than family and friends. We hadn’t renovated the building in what is now the lodge, and Jill had never prepared a meal for anyone other than friends and family. Moreover, we only had 6 dogs and no kennel to put them in. Yes, I grew up hunting quail and never passed up a chance to go hunt them. I had a few bird dogs when I was in my 30s and hunted every chance I had, but that was the extent of my knowledge as it pertains to the hunting industry.

August 21, 2023 by Deryl McKinnerney

I will forego the weather update, as anyone living in Texas has felt the toasty conditions we have experienced the past 2 months. However, the first few months of spring and summer did supply us with much needed rain. We were fortunate to raise several hundred round bales of hay, so we will have ample supply to get our reduced herd through the winter.  Even more important, we have good cover in our courses, and with just a shower or two in September & October our cover will be optimal for the coming season.

August 11, 2022 by Deryl McKinnerney

Hot and dry! This is no new news for those of you who live in the great state of Texas, but wow!  Living on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert can be humbling at times, and this is one of those times. Back in 2010-2011 when the last drought broke, a wise old man (my father) told me that if I were lucky, I’d live long enough to see another drought. He was right, and so goes life in the Texas Hill Country.