Lufkin, Texas Man Wins a Once In A Lifetime Premium Buck Hunt

Back in August, I posted a story on our KICKS 105 website and app about time running out to purchase an entry into the 25th annual Big Time Texas Hunts, presented by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. These once-in-a-lifetime hunts cover everything from whitetail, gator, duck, and many others.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Big Time Texas Hunts.  The winners were selected in a random drawing from 154,551 entries and the 14 lucky individuals have been notified. One of those big-time winners is from Lufkin!

Marion Harvey Rhodes is the winner of the Premium Buck Hunt. This hunt takes place at the 2,385 acre Catorce Ranch located in Maverick and Kinney Counties in prime whitetail habitat. This high-fenced property has been intensively managed for the past fifteen years in an effort to maintain a population of one deer to 15 acres and a doe to buck ratio of 2 to 1.

Marion Rhodes will receive the following:

• Take their deer hunt this fall or winter (2022 - 2023season)
• Benefit from the expertise of professional guides throughout the trip
• Bring a hunting guest to share in this exclusive hunt
• Enjoy complimentary food, and on-site transportation

Here are pictures from previous winners' hunts

More than $1,408,000 was raised this year from Big Time Texas Hunts entries and proceeds from the drawing support wildlife research, habitat management and public hunting across the state.

“Big Time Texas Hunts continues to be an important conservation fundraiser for TPWD and we greatly appreciate the support of our Texas hunters that purchase entries each year,” said Kelly Edmiston, TPWD Public Hunting Coordinator. “If a hunter is lucky enough to win, they will experience the hunt of a lifetime.  If they don’t, they can feel good knowing the funds from their entry go directly to wildlife conservation and public access projects on public hunting lands in Texas.”

This year’s winner of the Texas Grand Slam hunting package, Stephen Lambden of Point Comfort, Texas, is making plans for four separate guided hunts for the state’s top four premier big game species – desert bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, pronghorn and mule deer.

This year’s winners from the other Big Time Texas Hunts categories are as follows:

• Ultimate Mule Deer Hunt – Jared Poole, Hankamer, Texas
• Nilgai Antelope Safari – Chadwick Michael Goodman, Del Valle, Texas
• Premium Buck Hunt – Marion Harvey Rhodes, Lufkin, Texas
• Exotic Safari – Wesley Howard, Colusa, Calif.
• Whitetail Bonanza – Daniel Chavez, Harlingen, Texas; Stephen Lara, San Antonio, Texas; Kasey Mock, Stephenville, Texas; Paul Hicks, Fort Worth, Texas; Michael Loper, Sandia, Texas
• Big Time Bird Hunt – Weston Walker, Liberty, Texas
• Gator Hunt – Samuel Johnson, McKinney, Texas
• Powderhorn Cast and Blast – Brandon Killough, Winters, Texas
• Wild Hog Adventure – Roy Rendon, Joshua, Texas

Entries for next year’s Big Time Texas Hunts will go on sale on May 15, 2023.

Big Time Texas Hunts is made possible with support from Toyota and the Texas Bighorn Society.