While Texas may be the best-known hot spot for exotic game and hog hunting, Oklahoma should also be high on your list for this type of hunt. My wife and I travelled to a great ranch in December of 2025 to pursue hogs and exotics.
The Ranch
We were impressed as we drove up to the ranch and saw the massive lodge. With its cathedral ceilings and expansive great room, it was a great place to relax after our long drive. It has 12 private, en-suite bedrooms and a large bunkroom to accommodate any size group of hunters and guests. They have several activities to do after a day of hunting, such as a pool table, golf simulator, corn hole, and poker table.
Our lodging and meals were all included with the 3-day hunt. The food was absolutely excellent–starting with a hearty breakfast of eggs and bacon to top-notch dinners of grilled steaks, smoked brisket, and salmon. Definitely some of the best food we have had at a hunting lodge.
The Hog Hunt
After arriving the first afternoon, we went out hog hunting after dark using the outfitters thermal scoped .308 bolt-action rifle. It was a great experience as it was my first time hunting with a thermal scope. Our guide snuck us into a slightly elevated blind about 100 yards across a pond where a group of hogs were feeding, it didn’t take long to have a 123 pound hog on the ground.
Exotic Game Hunts
On this trip my primary species to hunt was the Scimitar Oryx. Before first light on morning number one, we nestled into a blind to see what the day would bring. As the dark began giving way to dawn, we saw several elk and a Dybowski Sika deer grazing about 100 yards away. After a couple hours, we spotted two scimitar oryx coming over the hill. As they made their way closer, we picked the one I wanted, and I was able to put a killing shot on him through both front shoulders.
After a delicious lunch, we were taken to a different stand to try for an axis deer. We sat there all afternoon and got to watch several exotic species come and go. As the afternoon wore on, the axis deer finally started moving into our view. There were many does and fawns, but the bucks were very skittish, staying in the thicker brush. After quite a long time of watching them creep closer to the edge of the thick woods, the one I was targeting finally stepped into the clearing. I was able to put a good shot on a really nice buck to add to my list of exotic species. This was a great hunt because axis deer are a very beautiful animal and extremely wary.
The next morning, we went out hunting from the same stand we harvested the scimitar oryx from the day before, hoping to see the Dybowski Sika deer again. We got to see some elk, bison, and some really nice looking fallow bucks. After a few hours of hunting, we spotted the Sika deer coming toward us from a wooded draw. After getting a good look at him through our binoculars, I decided to take him if he presented a good shooting opportunity. He slowly wandered closer while harassing a cow elk, and I was able to harvest my first Sika deer.
That afternoon, we just sat in a stand to see what other animals might show up. After watching several sets of hogs, different sheep species, and fallow deer wander through, we saw a dark looking animal approaching from behind a hill. As we got our binoculars on it, we realized it was a Catalina goat (which we didn’t even know they had) with a really nice set of horns. After letting him wander closer, I decided to take a shot at the big billy and bring him home with us too.
After supper, our guide and I took his .223 with a thermal scope out to see if we could call in a bobcat. We called in a couple of raccoons and armadillos, but no luck on the bobcat. Maybe next trip!
It was a great hunt, on a beautiful game rich ranch with a great outfitter family. The husband and his father are guides, the wife is the cook, the daughter makes desserts, and the youngest son quarters the animal and gets the heads ready for a taxidermist.
Summary
I highly recommend hunting with this great family in the heart of Oklahoma. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, you can hunt from the blinds without your guide with you, if you so choose. My wife and I opted to hunt by ourselves, except for the hog, and the night-time predator hunt.