Our Story
The Beginning
The Double Dime began in 1987 when Dr. Doug realized his childhood dream of purchasing a ranch in the hill country. He had always wanted to own a little piece of Texas, and that opportunity came in the form of 1010 acres atop majestic Riley Mountain in Llano. The “XX” represents those one thousand ten acres and the magnificent animals that call the Double Dime home.
20 Years of Poor Genetics
Llano is commonly referred to as the “Deer Capital of Texas.” At one time, there were more deer per acre in Llano than anywhere else. Unfortunately, the extensive population did not translate into quality. The numbers were high, but the quality was not. Despite our best efforts to supplement feed and let deer reach maturity, the average deer we harvested seemed to generally have 8-10 points and score 130” or less.
Time to Make a Change
In 2006, we knew we had to make a change. We spent 20 years trying to work with the native genetics and improve them as best we could. It simply wasn’t working. We hopped in the truck and made a little trip to South Texas. That’s when it all changed. We visited a legit deer breeding operation and saw the results that were possible through enhancing our genetics. Dr. Doug reached in his back pocket, and we were in the deer business.
First AI Fawns Born
Our plan was simple. Buy the best does we could find and AI them to the best bucks in the country. Jordan took over that aspect of the operation. He went all over the state trying to find the biggest framed, best looking deer out there. From day one, we decided to breed for looks. That was key. Producing big bucks is easy. Producing big framed, wide, symmetrical bucks is not. In 2007, our first group of AI fawns were born. Our genetic improvement plan was now in motion.
Heisman Scores 148” @ 1
In the summer of 2008, we finally got to watch our first group of yearlings grow out in the pens. Those were exciting times. We had put a great deal of time and effort into researching our genetics, but we still didn’t know exactly what to expect. The results shocked us. In 20 years of hunting the Double Dime, we had never killed a buck over 150”. Our first group of yearlings had one standout in it. He scored 148” at one year of age, bigger than any mature buck ever seen on the ranch. We knew he deserved a name so we gave him one, Heisman.
Heisman Breaks 300”
They say it’s better to be lucky than good. We took our luck and ran with it. Heisman became the face of our ranch. He had the look everyone was chasing, and we were extremely fortunate to have him standing in our pens. He appeared on the cover of numerous magazines and won some of the most prestigious awards in the industry. He grew his best set of antlers in 2012, scoring 301” with an inside spread over 28”. When we started our business, the goal was to grow good looking 200” deer. We never dreamed we would have good looking 300” deer.
Ranch Loaded Up
We spent the next ten years building on the start Heisman gave us. Fortunately for us, we were able to keep the momentum going by staying disciplined. We focused on the importance of achieving width consistently, and always put looks over score. The results speak for themselves. In 2015, our numbers finally allowed us to stock our ranch with the type of genetics we set out to produce. The Double Dime now boasts one of the finest deer herds in Texas.
Goals Achieved
Here we are rolling into 2018. If one thing in life holds true, it’s how fast time flies. We have now been improving our whitetail genetics for over a decade, and what a fun ride it has been. If you are looking to change the genetics on your ranch, we can help. You don’t need to spend 10 years trying to figure out how to get from little 130” narrow deer to some of the widest, prettiest whitetail deer in existence. We have numerous deer available on an annual basis. Thank you for taking the time to view our website. If the deer pictured here are the type you would like to have roaming around on your ranch, please give me a call.
