Son of a Blitch
George Bowe Blitch has been a Wildlife Manager, Texas Rancher, Professional Writer, Videographer, Photographer, Editor, Speaker, Brand Developer & Designer, Cartographer, Touring Musician, Teacher, Coach, Entrepreneur, Finance Manager, and the owner of numerous businesses.
George has met some wildly interesting people in his lifetime, and this "Son of a Blitch” is sure to share some impactful stories, interviews, and messages that will be informative, educational, and highly entertaining!
"I've met some incredible people in my life, and I want to share their stories!" ~GB
Son of a Blitch
Ep. 83 - The Story of the Hunt for "Black Beauty", a Mature Melanistic White-Tailed Buck
At the center of this story is "Black Beauty", a melanistic white-tailed deer, whose rare appearance on the Blitch family ranch came during a profound transformation in our approach and practices of wildgame and land management.
Melanism, a genetic trait causing an excess of melanin and resulting in dark coloration, is particularly prevalent in certain Texas counties, though this was the Blitch family's first interaction with a melanistic animal.
George recounts the shift from cattle ranching to wildlife stewardship, a decision that reshaped the family's ancestral lands. After inheriting the ranch, George and his wife, Meg, collaborated with local biologists to enhance habitats for native species like deer and turkey. This transition was not merely a change in operations but a deep-seated commitment to preserving the rich biodiversity that defines their region. Their efforts were driven by a desire to honor the land and its history, ensuring that future generations could experience its natural splendor.
The episode delves into the discovery and the exhilarating hunt for Black Beauty, blending instinct with uncertainty, culminating on Veterans Day—a poignant connection to George's grandfather's legacy on the family ranch. This encounter not only highlighted the importance of wildlife management but also underscored the family's commitment to sustainable land stewardship and family traditions.
Throughout the podcast, emphasis is placed on the importance of community involvement in conservation efforts. By working with local wildlife biologists and participating in programs like the NRCS's EQIP, we implemented strategies to improve habitat quality. This collaboration illustrates how landowners can partner with experts to achieve conservation goals, benefiting both wildlife and the environment. The Blitch family's story serves as an inspiring example of how individuals can make a meaningful impact on biodiversity through informed and responsible land management practices.
In conclusion, "Black Beauty" is more than a story about the hunt of an extremely rare deer; it is a heartfelt tribute to family heritage, the beauty of nature, and the enduring impact of conservation. George Blitch invites listeners to reflect on their own relationship with the natural world, encouraging a deeper appreciation for the wonders that surround us. Whether you are a seasoned hunter or a wildlife enthusiast, this episode offers valuable insights into the significance of preserving our natural heritage and the joys of stewarding the land for generations to come.
To learn more about George Blitch, visit:
https://www.sonofablitch.com
Hey everybody, george Blitch here and I am super excited to share with you the story of Black Beauty, a melanistic white-tailed deer that I took on my family ranch in 2016. A melanistic white-tailed deer that I took on my family ranch in 2016. And just to kind of give you guys a little bit of information if you didn't already know this melanism is a genetic trait that causes an excess in melanin, which produces a dark coloration. So this happens in animals all around, but you know dark fur or hair or feathers. Basically, this deer was almost jet black in color. There were some white hairs on the tips of its tail, but other than that this was almost an all-black deer. In our region in Central Texas there are about seven to eight counties that have more melanistic white-tailed deer than the rest of the world combined, and about 20% of our deer in that region are abnormally dark. So I knew this going into kind of taking over the reins of my family ranch when it got handed to me and my wife in 2011,. But I had never seen any of these deer. I'd heard about them and never seen them in the wild. So kind of a little bit of background.
Speaker 1:In 1975, my grandfather, who is a colonel in the Air Force had retired and he wanted to buy a ranch. So he and my father went in halves on this ranch in Central Texas, got a little over 500 acres. They ran cattle there Santa Gertruda's cattle from King Ranch and upon the end of his life, as he was kind of retiring from a ranching world, we had some guys come in, some local cattle ranchers and they ended up leasing the property running cattle on it. When my grandfather passed and the property got distributed, my dad ended up with a few hundred acres, handed that over to me and I decided to immediately say goodbye to the cattle and run wildlife management programs. So first thing we did is Meg and I called up our local wild game biologist. She came out from Texas Parks and Wildlife and we drove around and we were identifying different browse species for whitetail deer and turkey, the two species we're primarily trying to work on to build a better habitat for and so we're seeing these tier one, tier two plants and we're kind of taking notes. Later on we went back with a little booklet that we made that showed pictures of these plants, that we could actually go out and use a GPS and map exactly where these were and put together a printed map. Through my company Met my Ranch in order to kind of carry around with us and be able to identify these and maybe track where these animals are going to bed and feed and everything.
Speaker 1:Just, you know, another tool in the toolbox was on one of these dates. We're driving around and Meg and I were turning the corner and I kind of looked down this one lane and she was seeing right in front of us and right there an animal just kind of ran right in front of the Polaris and I didn't get a very good look at it, but she's like, oh my gosh, that was amazing. And I'm like what was it? She's like, oh my gosh, that was amazing. And I'm like what was it? She's like it was a deer, but it was really really black, like almost entirely black in color, and I was like, oh man, I think you just saw a melanistic deer. And so we started talking about it and pretty much we figured that must be what it was. So of course I go around to all the game trail cameras we had there, pulling SD cards, looking around to see if I found any kind of evidence of that particular deer on the property and lo and behold, none. So this is 2011.
Speaker 1:Every single year from then on out, you know, I was religiously checking these SD cards to try to see if I could find a melanistic deer and I looked through every single image for multiple reasons One, I send those in to the wild game biologist to get harvest recommendations. And two, to just monitor what's on the property. I mean, I've seen zonkeys, that's right, half donkey, half zebra. I've seen emu, I've seen tons of our neighbor's cattle, just about anything you can imagine people coming through and everything too. But I go through hundreds of thousands of photos every single year and I never saw another picture of a melanistic deer and no one ever saw one in person on the property. So I figured, man, that must be off on some other County or maybe didn't make it, who knows, but it wasn't on our place.
Speaker 1:Uh, you know, every single year from then on, I'd go ahead and do what I was saying, checking all the cameras. And then finally, one day I was November 15th 2015, I was pulling some SD cards and I looked up and I saw a image of the top back of a deer and it was black. And I knew boom, we finally got evidence there has been a melanistic deer on our property. The second image showed a little tips of some antlers, so I knew, okay, we got a buck. And then, on the third one, this thing was super blurry and running away, but I could tell we had an eight point buck. There was probably a middle-aged buck, maybe three and a half, four and a half years old. Uh, but it's really hard to determine because a blurry picture and you know, whatever we decided, uh, as far as as a group, it was to make sure that no one shot this deer until we had a better chance to get a better game trail image or, uh, someone taking a picture in person. And I always keep cameras out there that people can take out into the field with them and take photos, some, you know one piece body units, but they got a good zoom on them and kind of reach out there and that way you can take a picture of something cool. Or, if you've got any questions, if you're in the stand, you take that picture, bring it back to the ranch and we'll discuss hey, is that a shooter or not, or whatever it may. Of course, that entire rest of that year, you know, 2015, during the hunting season. I'm looking at these cards and trying to see is there any other images? Can we tell how old this deer is? Is it going to be on the hit list? And never found another image at all. So 2016 rolls around and I'm working with our local NRCS agent.
Speaker 1:We're part of the EQIP program and one of the things we were doing was to try to build better habitat, was to take out some of the non-native species, some mesquite, different things, and try to bulldoze root plow, get everything up into burn piles and basically take out these fields. We're going to try to do about 50 acres, but we ended up doing, I think, about 25, maybe just shy of that doing I think about 25, maybe just shy of that. But we ended up kind of completing this process a little late to plant our native grasses and forbs that we wanted in. They had kind of suggested that we have those in by May 1st. There was all sorts of setbacks and problems and some weather issues, and so we didn't get to finish the project of clearing this land until July. So we decided well, we want to do something with this raw dirt that's on the ground. We don't want just a bunch of weeds to grow up because we have to plant it the next spring. What are we going to do? So we put our heads together with wild game biologists. We decided we're going to go ahead and plant some things that could benefit the deer and the turkey that year. So we got some oats and a bunch of mixes of some other seeds and things that would maybe be able to give them some protein benefits, and we ended up going ahead and planting that in that early fall that November. You know, hunt season's rolling through and we're seeing the oats grow and all the deer kind of come into that area that we had cleared, and it was really exciting to kind of see something like that. It's like, all right, yeah, we've done something, and this is just stage one right, because all the you, we've done something and this is just stage one right, because all the nitrogen that that was going to put into the soil was only going to benefit better when we next spring put in our native grasses and forbs. So it was just a really exciting time, and seeing them utilize this and seeing turkeys run through there too is just a really neat thing.
Speaker 1:And one of the days I get a call from my buddy Jacob Spradling. He's like hey, man, you mind, if I go up the property, I want to do a little bit of work. You know, I'll go ahead and set some hog traps. I'll probably be there overnight. I said, yeah, go for it.
Speaker 1:So that was November 9th of 2016. And he goes out and decides he's going to sit up in the see. Well, I was not expecting to get this phone call, but he calls me up at the end of the night. He's like guess what I saw? I saw it. And I was like no way, you saw black beauty. And he's like I did. I saw black beauty came out about 115, 120 yards and it was dark, george. And it was like, right as the last bit of light was going on.
Speaker 1:And I was like well, why didn't you shoot it?
Speaker 1:Cause he told me it was in a mature 10 point at this point in time.
Speaker 1:And I was like you know, why didn't you take it?
Speaker 1:He's like man, I'm not going to take that deer. That is your deer. Uh, the little backstory of the year before he had killed a huge 12 pointer on our property, just shy of a one 60. And this thing was massive as the biggest deer we've seen to date, even on the ranch. And that was his first year. So he kind of felt like he had had the special, uh deer of his lifetime on that property and he wasn't about to get greedy. So he ends up telling me hey, man, but I did see it. And he tells me about where it was and everything. And he's like you know, do you mind if I stick around another day? Maybe I'll take the camera out and see if I can get some pictures tomorrow night? And I was like absolutely go ahead and do that.
Speaker 1:So he ends up going out the next day and he ends up seeing black beauty again and this time he gets some pictures. So he goes and gets them on the camera and he calls me when he gets back to the house. He's like George, I got some photos. I was like no way Send them to me. He's like well, they're on the SD card on the camera. You know I'll have to download it on my computer back at home. I was like no, no, no, just take a picture in the back of the LCD screen of that. I need to see these pictures now. So he grabs his phone, takes a picture of the back of the camera screen and check it out, he got pictures of black beauty. It's been there two days in a row at the exact same spot, in the exact same time and she's like well, what time are we going to the ranch tomorrow?
Speaker 1:Now y'all, there's many instances in my life where I've known I've married well, and this was a very particular bowl, memorable one for me. I was so excited. I don't even know it is the quickest I've ever packed the ranch. I'll tell you what I think I was done in like three minutes, had everything I needed into the truck, and then it was just that anxiety of I need to go to bed right now, even though it was, like you know, like not exactly bedtime for me. I was kind of still had another you know, few hours to go, probably, but I was very, very excited to get to sleep and to wake up and get my butt to the ranch.
Speaker 1:Next morning comes Meg and I grab our youngest, ellie, and we drive out to the ranch. Our oldest, alyssa, had a project she couldn't break free from, but we get out there and so we grabbed some food and I ended up deciding I'm going to get there a little bit early, just so I can kind of settle in that area and be quiet and make sure I don't make any noise and just really kind of get in there and get in the blind early. So I'll park about a thousand yards away with the Polaris and I walk up and, man, I'm super stealth, you know, heel to toe, super quiet, taking my time, and I turn the last corner, I'm about to go up into the deer blind and look out in the field and what do I see? Two dark figures. That's right. I'm like no way. I grab my binoculars, I throw them up and right there in front of me, two cows, our neighbor's cows that kept getting into our place year after year. They're sitting out there again. So I did what any other stealth, wisdom filled hunter would do I put everything up in the deer blind and I got down and I started running at those cows, waving my arms and just hoping that they would run off. And eventually they did. And you know, I felt so proud of myself. I had chased them off and now they weren't going to ruin my hunt.
Speaker 1:And right when that hit me, I realized that I had probably just left my scent all over the spot where black beady had showed up two days in a row. I probably disturbed other things in the woods in the process and I probably just ruined a once in a million lifetime chance of being able to even see this deer, yet alone have a shot at it. And I started to be filled with regret and just man, it was a tough couple hours there because I didn't see a single deer and I was just bummed out y'all. Well, finally, you know the sun's setting and everything is. You know your eyes are playing tricks on you, right? Every single shadow to me was a melanistic buck stepping out.
Speaker 1:And then I look over to my right and there's a lane kind of right in front of me and on the right edge of it I see some antlers coming out. And then I see Black Beauty take a few steps out and we're talking. It's like 33 yards away, and I was thinking it was going to probably come out. You know the same spot. I'd had been two nights before, because of course nature does the same thing every day, right? Yeah, well, in my mind it was going to happen like that, and so I pulled up the rifle and I put that scope on the deer and all I could see was black, like only black, and it took me a minute to realize what it done. Well, in my infinite wisdom, I thought that that deer was going to show up at a particular spot, so I had already zoomed in my scope right. I'm at 12 power, so I crank it back down to three or four, whatever it was at, and then I finally got the deer in my sights and I was about to take a shot.
Speaker 1:All of a sudden there's a bunch of ruckus off into the woods, some deer, something hogs, who knows. We're making some sounds and some noise. And that buck got so freaked out and it tensed up and it was just about to bolt and I just fired. I was thinking that I had the crosshairs where I wanted, but I wasn't a hundred percent sure. It just kind of all happened instinctually fast because I didn't want to lose that opportunity. And I see the deer bolt from the right part of the lane over to the left and then into the woods, and then there's about probably 30 yards of woods and then there's another lane off to the left, and so I immediately racked another round and I got my gun set up on the left-hand lane, thinking if it made it through the woods. I'd have a second shot at it if I needed it and I I don't know, man, it was must've been maybe five seconds, it felt like five years. But I hear this crash in the woods and I'd never heard the crash before until that day and I was like whoa, I think it's down, but I still trained on that left-hand lane just in case it got up. I was not going to lose this opportunity.
Speaker 1:I was there for another like 15, 20 minutes just locked into that area waiting to see if it ever came through. Never did. Finally grabbed the gun, pulled out the live round, set it up against corner of the blind kind of got my flashlight ready and everything, and so, probably about 30 minutes after the shot, I ended up going down and walking through the woods and there it is there's black beauty, there's this deer that I'd been dreaming about, and all of a sudden I realized it was veterans day, 2016, and my grandfather bought this land a veteran and there was so much that he wanted to do to implement kind of wildlife enhancements out there, and he had tried to do all sorts of stuff out there at the time, even while he was raising cattle, and so I kind of felt like I was picking up that torch a little bit and then all of a sudden, here's all these things that we've done and it's our first big clearing and here's this deer that was eating these oats in this spot that we had, you know, worked on and blood, sweat and tears, and it just came a full circle moment for me and I was just so blessed and honored. So I sat down and said a quick prayer and I ended up grabbing the deer, putting it on the back of the basket, hitch, pulled it back to the house, took some pictures, meg took some pictures with it and you know Ellie shown it, shown off the deer, and then I ended up you know ellie's showing it showing off the deer and then I ended up, uh, you know, basically getting ready to be shoulder mounted, had it shoulder mounted here in in the houston area b&b taxidermy and they ended up doing an amazing job and, uh, they're actually had had done a second one for me, because this hunting season, this last past hunting season here in 2023 in october, I ended up getting a melanistic white tail dough, uh, and got a shoulder amount of that. So, uh, some more stories I'll be writing about that.
Speaker 1:Uh, I wrote the story of black beauty, got it into, uh, quite a few publications, both in print and online, and just been very blessed to tell the story of that, and you know what it meant for me and what it meant for my family to be able to have that wonderful experience. Again, I just feel ultimately blessed to be able to have this property, be a steward of it and a caretaker of it to pass it down to future generations, and so it just means a lot to me, and it also means a lot to me to be able to share this story with you guys here. I hope you guys all have a very safe, wonderful and very eventful year out in the field, hope you guys get some great meals from all your wonderful harvests and y'all stay safe, take care. Thanks again.
