I personally have alot of respect for Rick and Bubba. God provided them with a huge platform to be a shining light for him, and they take full advantage of it.

As far as the dream ranch, why all the bad mouthing of them for providing an oppertunity for a father and son that they may not have otherwise? I dont belive many here would turn down an invitation to the ranch, given the oppertunity. I know I would't.

Buddy of mine met jackie bushman bout a month ago at an eye doctors office in montgomery.Said he was nice as he could be.And I listen to rick and bubba every morning and love listening to em.

Amen is all I have to say....Amen.

i like jackie and rick and bubba. i dont agree with everything they say but i listen every morning. rick and bubba may not be hardcore hunters like a lot of us but who cares. they give positive support for a sport that takes a lot of negative hits.

how many acres is the dream ranch? there is a difference in hunting a 600 acre fence and a 3500 acre fence.

Okay, I'll put my 2cents in. My wife plays tennis with Bubba. I can't say that I know him, but I have sat and talked with him on several occasions. Most conversations ended up in deer hunting. I even got an invite that I should probably follow up on, but I ain't gonna call the guy out of the blue and say "hey, remember me!" That's just not me. Bubba has always told me that he hunts at least a few days a week after he gets off work, and that Betty worries about him going alone. Now, he may be sitting a shootin house or whatever, but it sounds like he puts his time in, so don't just jump to conclusions about someone you have no idea about. By the way, it amazes me how he remembers my name every time I see him, which is only a couple times a year. That may or may not say a lot, but I kinda thought it did. I'm sure he meets tons of people, but he calls me by name, and asks when we are goin hunting (although this is usually spring or summertime). One other thing, I've been out to eat with their team a couple of times. I have yet to meet a person that knows him, and has something bad to say. He's a dang hoot to tell you the truth.

As for Rick, I have never met him, but I can tell you this; someone who can go through what he has, and come out a better person and share what he has gone thru to help others out, and lead them to follow Jesus Christ, that's an awesome disciple right there, and I could care less how he hunts really!

For them not to be hunters that's all they have talked about this morning.... Hunting on Bubba's place yesterday.

I think they promote a positive outlook on the sport of hunting. They are provided a tremendous platform to spread that word and have a HUGE audience of people who may not really ever even THINK about hunting except for the banter of these guys.

I, for one, see that as a GOOD thing!

Awesome post!

A doe killed on public land is more of an accomplishment than killing a huge buck at that place. And anybody trying to claim that there is no difference is either somehow linked to this type of pet cow slaughter and therefore has a vested interest in defending it or they are a sub imbecilic moron. I'll leave it to them to say which.

Todd1700, since the days of the Indians (native americans), hunting has not been fair chase. If I only had 2 days a year to spend in the woods with my sons, I would participate in this "pet cow slaughter" as you call it. It isn't about killing a deer, more so the opportunity to share an outdoor experience with others. The places serve a purpose, may not be for you, but many save up for years for the opportunity to spend the time doing what they enjoy. Same for fishing, Disney World, foreign vacations, ect. I have no vested interest in any one of the places and I am also well educated. With your SA post, don't know If I could say the same for you. A lot of things rub me the wrong way in life, but we live in a country with liberty to enjoy our lives.

I'll say this and then I'm done with this thread. I'd rather stand for what Rick and Bubba stand for and take care of my family the way they do, physically, spiritually, financially, etc..., which takes up most of their time, and go kill a fenced deer. I'd rather do that, than to be one of those guys, that we all know, that lives and breathes hunting to the point that they won't have a job that interferes with THEIR time, won't spend any free time during hunting season with their family, therefore neglecting their families, financially, spiritually, emotionally, etc... but kills a lot of big free range deer. One may be the better hunter but which is the better man?

I agree with every word of that ford150man.

Now there is a post worth adding. Thank you ford150man!

Todd, you made your own point look foolish. If it's that hard to kill a deer then you are obviously killing to many deer. If they are so dang scared of people that it's an accomplishment to kill (slaughter same thing) a doe, then you aren't huntin, you're "raping" the natural resource.

Killing a deer don't take much of a man. Living right is a far better measuring stick to manhood than killing. Just like 150 said.

Only "vested" interest I have is in Jesus. EVERYTHING else is crap. I guess that makes me the moron. I ain't all that sure what imbecillic means so I ain't claiming that part.

Rick and Bubba are fine men of integrity. Their genuine faith is evident in the way they live. I had the pleasure of working closely with them during my tenure at Academy Sports & Outdoors. I sponsored their radio show and saw them behind the microphone. Great bunch of guys!

For example, I shared a deer stand with Rick just days before Bronner drowned tragically. We sat for several hours sharing testimonies of how we became Christians and our life journey. Fast forward a week and I'm struggling to watch the video of Rick preaching his own son's funeral.

God says we should not judge another person but He also says we should inspect the fruit in their life. By inspecting the fruit, we identify genuine Christians from those who just give lip service. Rick and Bubba have produced more than enough God-honoring fruit in their life to prove who they are….and WHOSE they are.

amen fordf150,BFB, and wildlife bio. Great posts and that's the truth. Deer hunting is fun and a great past time that we all enjoy immensely but there are definitely more important things in life. In order: God, family, work, recreation. R&B dont hesitate to use thier platform to witness for our Lord Jesus Christ and that takes a very big man because I'm sure that in doing so there are probably businesses that wont advertise or sponsor them because of it.

Fordman, what a great post! Being a good husband and father takes more of a man than any other endeavour you can undertake.

I am so far from where I need to be but I'm not nearly as far as when I allowed hunting to rule my life. I could care less what , where or how they hunt as long as it's legal. I don't know much about Bubba but Ricks testimony is astounding considering his loss and he has certainly walked the walk.

I have no desire to see such places made illegal any more than I'll want it made illegal for a farmer to slaughter a hog or a chicken. Hell, we used to butcher hogs on my grandfathers farm. We just never called it a hunting trip. Why? Because it wasn't hunting. It was killing a domesticated animal. Any animal can be domesticated if raised like cattle in a pen. Deer are no exception. If you have waaay more money than hunting skills and want to go buy one of these bucks raised and groomed for the slaughter then fine, knock yourself out. But don't try to blow the smoke up my @$$ that you have done something as rare or difficult as killing an animal that size on free range land under natural circumstances. I could go shoot any one of the cows standing in my fathers pasture right now but it wouldn't be much to brag about.

Last time I checked we have the freedom to live our lives as we please as long as we are legal and ethical.

That's one thing in America is we are not grateful for the priveleges we have an some are so jealous an envious for someone who has the abilities to take part in such activity. Just because YOU don't does not give them the cause to bad mouth them.

I am sure rick an Bubba laugh at You all the way to the bank. As for me I appreciate their witness an testimony

Why is a big buck a coveted thing among hunters? I mean it's not like the horns of large racked bucks can be ground up into a medicine that saves lives. They can't be used as fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to power a city for a years time. So what makes them such a sought after prize? I'll explain since you seem not to know or at least "pretend" that you can't see the difference between these pen operations and killing deer this size in the wild.

What makes them special is that under natural circumstances they are rare and conditioned to be pretty cautious about exposing themselves to human eyes. The vast majority of bucks are not born with the genetics to grow a 170 inch rack no matter how long they live (especially here). So that is a rare animal to start with. Then by the time a buck in the wild survives (many don't) to reach their full potential at age 5 or 6 they have probably had a scrape or two with death and become very elusive in their habits. Many become almost totally nocturnal and nearly impossible to kill by legal means. Killing one of them is either an act of supreme skill or intense luck. Perhaps a combination of the two. But in the wild it doesn't happen often and is therefore a moment to be savored.

Now, enter the pen operations. They fence a place off in order to keep a herd of bucks concentrated together in much higher numbers than they would normal remain clustered together in the wild. They stock the place with genetically engineered animals with the necessary genes to grow huge horns. No random chance there, "ALL" the animals are bio-engineered for this trait. Then the animals are raised by humans in a protected "farm" environment so they basically do not see humans as a threat. And thanks to the fence, couldn't get away if they did.

End result? You have a captive pen chock full of giant antlered deer that are dumb as a box of rocks with very little fear of humans. In other words you have removed everything that made that animal a coveted prize. It's not rare, unique, or difficult to kill. It's a prize bull on a farm.

And you guys can go blow that smoke about "the really important thing being the outdoor experience with friends" up someone elses @$$. LOL! You can go camping with friends for less than 100 bucks and enjoy the outdoors. Why go spend 8000 dollars or more at a place with a price list that varies depending on the size buck you want to kill if it isn't "ALL" about the horns?

These places are dude ranches for people with far more money than hunting skills. People who want to buy a certainty rather than hope (perhaps in vain) to kill such an animal in the wild. And heck, why not? They know once they get the animal home and mounted on their wall they just won't mention to any admiring guest that they killed it in a pen. They will just be able to technically and truthfully say, "Yep, I killed him."

What a joke.

I have seen you refer to "natural circumstances" several times. Does this mean that where you hunt there are no food plots and never a feeder out?