Hunting expo unfazed by heat wave and kicks off in McAllen

McALLEN — The hotter than usual temperatures that El Nino has caused this summer may have kept a lot of people indoors or in the water.

But hunting season is around the corner and avid outdoors adventurers showed plenty of enthusiasm Friday during the opening day of the 32nd annual Texas Hunters and Sportsman’s Expo at the McAllen Convention Center.

Vendors offering new products, ranch stays, hunting excursions, fishing and camping gear and more greeted potential customers and impressed the throngs who are getting ready for some cooler weather, the fall and opportunities to bag a trophy and enjoy the outdoors.

“It’s business as usual. In fact, it’s picked up,” said Rick Bailey and Eric Garza, owners of the Santa Cruz Ranch, a high-fenced destination located east of McCook. “But with El Nino and the high pressure we’ve had with temperatures over 114 degrees and the lack of rain, we don’t have our protein producing trees producing our protein to feed the animals, so our protein bill goes up even though you would think it would go down because they are drinking more in the summer and eating less, but it’s actually the opposite.

“I guess that’s because they start the rut and have other things on their minds.”

The ranch sells hunts and is home to a 17,000-square-foot lodge with accommodations galore. There’s a movie theater, weight room and many more amenities for hunters and visitors. Guests will enjoy the daytime hours and be ready for the nighttime hunts.

“Weather affects the hunters more than the animals,” Garza said. “The animals have acclimated to the South Texas weather and will stay stay bedded down most of the day, then sometimes get up and have some water then go bed down again till late evening. Then they’re up all night long once the temperature has dropped.

“Most of those species, even though the animals have been born in Texas or on our ranch, the species are from other hot areas like India and Pakistan.”

The owners added that the business didn’t slow during the COVID-19 pandemic as people were looking for opportunities to get out of the house, whatever the cost.

“They couldn’t do other things where a lot of people would normally go, so a couple of hunters, or three or four, would come out and everyone felt secure. They could leisurely enjoy the day, go fishing on the pond, do whatever,” Bailey said. “When people hunt, they want to be comfortable and we do everything we can to make sure they have a great experience because there are so many ranches in Texas where they can hunt. For us. it’s about the ambiance, the personality of this place. They leave as family.”

The show continues through 7 p.m. today and concludes from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.