The Why Not? Ranch Story
This incredible property belonged to the grandmother of one of Why Not? Ranch employees while Michael was serving as the GM of Mac Haik Ford Lincoln in Georgetown, TX. The landowners generously allowed Michael to have the run of the place for 10 years before offering to sell it to him. Having been born in Vermont and raised in the mountains of New England, Michael developed a passion for the outdoors. He spent every chance he could out at the property cutting up dead trees, burning brush piles, keeping the roads cleared, riding 4 wheelers with the kids, hunting wild pigs and dreaming of owning a ranch someday. Then, he received a call one day and wound up sitting down with Glenna and Linda, the two sisters that had inherited the property. They offered to sell the ranch to him, but he had a big problem. He had no way to pay for it. Then, to his surprise, they offered to finance it for him! Why Not? Ranch was born. Michael is very grateful for their generosity. If they hadn’t done this for him there was no way that he could have made it happen.
Michael's hunting days were over and the work began. There was an old house that came with the place that was in shambles. It went through a complete remodel with Michael serving as the general contractor. Michael and his kids did lots of the demolition work ourselves and subbed out most everything else. Once completed, it was like a brand new home. It became their weekend house as they were living in Georgetown during the week. Most weekends were spent out there working on cleaning up the land. They hired an excavating company during the drought of 2011 to come in and rebuild all the stock tanks deeper and bigger than ever. They stocked the ponds with fish. In 2016, he finally escaped the car business and moved to the ranch full-time. No more corporate BS. Michael even donated or threw away all his neckties, never to wear one again. No suits and no fancy shoes. Just boots, sneakers and flip-flops from now on. It was about this time that he met Wanessa, my much better half. They now enjoy the quiet country lifestyle.
He took a little over a year off from everything, bought a Caterpillar D6H, rented an excavator and began clearing a 60’ swath around the 4 ¼ mile ranch perimeter. Michael and his good friend, Duane Loessin went to work getting it ready for the 8’ tall game fence. They had a blast doing it. They, well mostly Michael, broke lots of stuff in the process. He even drove a log through the excavator with the bulldozer!! Luckily, Duane knows how to fix everything! He learned a lot working with him. Cuatro Strack and J4 Fencing put up the high fence, pens and the deer handling facility. They did a very nice job on everything. Michael is always getting comments from folks on how awesome the fence looks.
Michael purchased Whitetails, Axis deer, and Blackbuck to stock the ranch with. He also bought some breeder deer for the fledgling deer breeding operation. He bought Ranch King hunting blinds and feeders. The blinds are so nice that you could live in them and the feeders are the best he has ever owned. Easy to fill and none of the never-ending mysterious problems that most feeders are plagued with. They are all set up for hunting now except for lodging. Out of town hunters have stayed in the state of the art, deer handling facility or at the Rainbow Court Motel in Rockdale. The deer facility has a nice bathroom and shower, heat and a/c, refrigerator, and more. The Rainbow Court Motel has been in the same family for over 100 years. It’s a favorite Rockdale destination and is so clean you can eat off the floors. It is Michael's understanding that one of the owners is into hospital sanitization. That would explain it. It’s their intention to build a lodge in the near future. Stand by for further details on that.
On top of all that, he bought a set of 13 commercial momma cows and put pureblood Wagyu embryos in them. They are on the way to a herd of 30 pureblood Wagyu mommas. Their plan is to sell Wagyu genetics, live animals, and the very best beef on planet Earth.
In addition to hunting, Why Not Ranch? also hosts birthday parties, company parties and church retreats at the Why Not? Ranch. It’s a great place for everyone to escape the craziness and just get away.
Their Whitetail breeding program is coming right along. They flushed embryos out of some high-end breeder does this year and transferred them fresh into recipe does. This went very well for their first time. Why Not Ranch? has introduced genetics from some of the best AI sires in the industry like Horsepower, Blackjack, Triple Crown, Back in Black, Brain Freeze, Gunslinger, Judges Prodigy and more. They have partnered with other breeders on some of the best Whitetail genetics in the world. They cannot wait to see what the future brings with the deer breeding program. The idea is to stock the ranch with Whitetails that will blow your mind. Everywhere you look, they want to see giant Whitetail bucks. Additionally, Why Not? Ranch will sell stocker and breeder bucks to other ranches wanting to improve their genetics. Sales of top pedigreed does and semen sales from their own bucks will be in the future as well.
There is lot’s going on at the Why Not? Ranch. Something for everyone. Whether you want to harvest the Whitetail of a lifetime, hunt exotics, catch a big catfish, enjoy a beyond-prime Wagyu steak, host a small party or just get away and relax, the Why Not? Ranch is the place to be. On the hunting side, the idea is to provide a very personal, high-end boutique experience. Why Not Ranch? does not want to be a high-volume hunting/lodge operation. They want to host single guests, couples and small groups.
You will have the Why Not? Ranch all to yourself during your stay.
