Fairly long post, but wanted to give as much detail as possible in case you are considering this ranch. This is a small ranch located just East of San Antonio off I-10. We purchased a hunt (blackbuck, ram and hog) off Ebay and it was very explicit as to what was included. However, upon our arrival, we found that “ebay hunts” would be treated with much less respect. I use quotes because that is what we were called all weekend long. We were treated as more of a burden than guests, not to mention paying guests. I am including a list of highlights of the reasons I CANNOT recommend this ranch/operation: (Darin was my hunting partner, Dean was the hog hunter in camp) - Eat in cold, dark, alone o Friday night the guide nor the owner sat down to eat with us and/or carry on a conversation as we sat on the porch, with no light in the cold o Saturday night we simply requested the meal be at our trailer so we wouldn’t have to sit outside again, and again we ate alone - Darin wasn’t picked up Saturday morning until after 11:00 am for his hunt, then just dropped off by himself on place he’d never been for his “100% guided ram hunt”, then told if he shot one too large he’d have to pay another $700 o On a paid hunt Darin sat in camp for half a day waiting to be taken to the other property o NEVER was there a mention of a limit on the size of ram that could be harvested, until Darin was being dropped off for his ram hunt o On a 100% guided ram hunt, shouldn’t a guide be present? - asked to leave stand o even though we had harvested our hogs, I didn’t think it appropriate to be asked to leave a stand in the area the black bucks had been seen - feeders not working o None of the feeders Darin checked on the other ranch were operational - no rams seen o We would expect to at least see a ram, maybe not harvest, but see one - only 5 BB on place that we could tell o only 5 blackbucks were ever confirmed seen by any of the hunters, including the “guide” - treated as an inconvenience o The hospitality witnessed by us and the other hunter in camp was completely lacking. That’s why Dean (the hog hunter) left Saturday night before supper and did not even go on his Sunday morning hunt o Several comments and actions over the weekend gave the impression we were in the way, rather than paying guests. - “ebay hunt” o On several occasions the mention of “On our ebay hunts…” o NEVER in any correspondence, or advertisement in the ebay adds or on the web site was there a mention that a hunt purchased on ebay would be of less value than a normally purchased hunts o We purchase items on ebay to get bargains, not to get less value. I’m sure this is the same reason anyone purchases items on ebay - Not guided as advertised o While we were provided a guide, he was spread between 3 different hunting parties leaving him only a small amount of time to dedicate to each o A guide was non-existent on the ram hunt, which was supposed to be 100% guided - No soft drinks as promised o The only drink provided was water and orange juice until later Saturday afternoon and milk was delivered o There weren’t any snacks as promised until Saturday afternoon as well - No access to 4 wheelers as advertised o In the very last email correspondence the owner mentioned that 4 wheelers would not be provided, up to that point, for the previous 10 or so correspondences over 5 months it was advertised that they would be available o This is a small issue, but just another misrepresentation - 4 wheelers from hog hunters had terrorized the place o While walking/still hunting one couldn’t help but notice the atv tracks covering the entire ranch. These were very fresh from the previous hunting party o That is the right as the land owner to allow this, but the rules state this is not to be allowed and we had expectations that the game would not be terrorized by atv’s. o It wasn’t until late Saturday that some of the animals started emerging from the thickets - No corn o Again, only in the owner’s final correspondence did it mention we would have to provide our own corn o Again, not a big issue, but in a previous conversation we were given the impression corn would be provided to bait the animals. - Friday noon to Sunday noon???? o To me that mean hunt from Friday noon to Sunday noon, not Sunday 9:00am, and certainly not “you will have to be out of camp by 11:00am - Positive: o One nice axis seen o One nice sika seen o One nice fallow seen o One nice red stag seen o LOTS of buffalo (more like cattle though if someone likes that kind of “hunt”) o Could have killed more hogs, saw several (not what I’d call a lot though) o Accommodations were acceptable, but there was a nicer trailer available we weren’t allowed to stay in (not sure if that was for guests though) o They are finishing a new building that will be nice for dining, showers, a few sleeping areas, etc. o Two tower blinds on high fence pasture are very nice If you like I can go into more detail on any point you wish. I sent this list to Paul Candelaria twice giving him the opportunity to respond, but to date have heard nothing from him. My assumption is that I’m old news now and wouldn’t be a source for future income for him. My hunting partner (Darin) had already purchased another hunt on ebay from wildhoghunt before our arrival. After our hunt, he has tried on several occasions to explain our disappointment and ask that corrections be made or refund for his future hunt. Darin was finally able to speak with Paul and he “guaranteed” his satisfaction on the next hunt. Darin followed up he conversation with and email to confirm as he wanted something in writing. Paul’s response was, “I checked with your guide from your last hunt, and he confirmed no guide fee and a poor tip. To guarantee your success on your next hunt, you will need to plan on a upfront guide fee of $75 upon arrival. The guides don't like working for free and not getting tipped, as you can imagine. You will also need to plan on $100 for meals and lodging, as per the terms of your auction.” So far this is the only explanation we have gotten from him as to our crappie service. Now let me address his response. 1st – guide fee was included in the auction price IN WRITING! 2nd – guide’s tip was to be based on service and success IN WRITING! - there was no guiding taking place - success was marginal - we tipped the “guide” $140 anyway because we found out Paul doesn’t pay him anything 3rd – Meals and lodging were included in our package IN WRITING! In conclusion, I will stop short of calling this operation fraudulent, but suffice it to say don’t expect what you are promised, even if in writing. For example, some of his advertisements boast “expect to see as many as 100 hogs.” We saw maybe 20, tops. You will see the number of hogs Paul hauls in on a cattle trailer and releases the day of your hunt. They are interested in how many hunters they can herd through, take the money and get ready for the next herd. Written by: Robert Bridges, rbridges00@lycos.com

Written by: "Bobcat" Posted on deertexas.com: Another fairly long post regarding WildHogHunt but people need to know as Ebay is only covering up for this guy. Back on October 18, 2004 my friend purchased a S. San Simeon Super Sheep Shoot, 5 sheep, choose any 2 from WildHogHunt. The purchase price was $154.50. This was a pretty cheap hunt and I was glad to get it only to find out after paying for it that my payment was being returned because I had mutually agreed to cancel the hunt (which was not true). We had to contact Ebay immediately to tell them that I had never contacted Paul Candelaria to cancel this hunt. Anyone knows that a ram hunt for two rams at that price is cheap so this is why he wanted to cancel this hunt. Anyone who has bought an item on Ebay knows that it is impossible to confuse your items but this was the excuse he used to say that he mistook me for another hunter who wanted to cancel his trip. After straightening this out I was to go on a black buck hunt and my daughter was going to do the ram hunt. The hunt was originally set for Sunday, March 6th. But on Friday, March 4th I got an email saying that they had shot all of the blackbuck and I would have to schedule for another weekend. I told Paul that I would go ahead and come down for the ram hunt and do the blackbuck later but he told me that they did not have any rams either. So the hunt got rescheduled for May. For the May hunt my daughter's boyfriend purchased an additional hog hunt and we all were going to go on the same weekend. But now the rules have changed. There seems to be a set of rules on Ebay and a set of ranch rules and then there are the rules that he makes up out of his head as he goes along. There now is a mandatory staff fee of $75 which was not on my contract or part of the Ebay listing. The price of food and lodging had also increased; again, not part of my contract. So we decided to stay in a motel in Gonzalez and bring our own food to save the money. It clearly states in the contract that exotic hunts are to be fully guided. This is a joke. All Jonathan, the guide, wanted to do was talk to his fiance who is the maid and cook. When we asked him how many blackbuck were on the ranch he didn't know. When we asked him where the blackbuck have been seen he didn't know. He never went out with us to find the blackbuck the whole time we were there. This is considered fully guided? My daughter wasn't the only one who had a ram hunt. And by day 2 people started complaining about not seeing any rams. And just like Robert Bridges posted in comes a cattle truck and low and behold rams appear. Now I've been on many ram hunts almost all of them on ebay and you know when rams have been just dropped off. These rams are nothing like the pictures shown on ebay. Paul will tell you that you can shoot a full curl ram and he'll tell you there's many species to shoot but he only buys Barbados because that is all you will ever see. Needless to say out of the two rams my daughter was supposed to get, we only got one because they only let off two and another hunter shot one. As for the hogs, they were all small so it's really hard to get "big mean hogs" when they are all under 100 lbs. And for my blackbuck, never saw one. I contacted Paul immediately after the hunt, told him that I didn't even have a shooting situation and what was the ranch policy. Paul said he would make me a deal. In his own words "none of the hunts are guaranteed, however, I will let you add another blackbuck hunt for $300; again not guaranteed." I had already paid $726 for the first blackbuck hunt. We filed a complaint with SquareTrade dealers and he never responded. In all we spent $1400 for three hunts and only came away with two animals (one ram and one hog). This is a warning to anyone wanting to go to this ranch! I have all email correspondence for anyone who would like to read it to prove my point. Written by: "Bobcat" Posted on deertexas.com

I just came across this site. I recently took a ram hunt in Texas with another outfit and was warned to stay away from this hunt provider (wildhoghunt). Some of the things the Texas guide told me were reflected in these posts. I was looking at ebay before coming here and noticed the same thing: a seller by the name of "texasbesthunting" uses the EXACT wording and content that "wildhoghunt" uses in their ad. The email address is also the same. The "texasbesthunting" seller is a new one- it has only been registered for about one week. May want to add that site to your questionable list. Written by: "nuprofessor" Posted on deertexas.com

This guy is still at it years later... There are plenty of nice and honest places to hunt in Texas and Paul Candelaria's ranch is not one of them. All of the above are still true . He is a scam artist and will nickle and dime you to death or should I say $50 and $100 bill you to death. Don't fall for his low price promises it ends up being twice as much as any other hunt out there with all the very well hidden fees until you get to the ranch where they are all out in the open. Please send complaints you have about Paul to jessica_ivins@yahoo.com. I am going to do something about this, it's not about the money he took from me but for the principle of the matter. Hunting is a fun enjoyable activity and should not be tainted by scam artists.

I was first attracted to this site by the offer of a free birthday hog hunt, so I contacted Paul and set up a hunt for my wife and I during my birthday last year and paid hundreds of dollars accordingly.  I can't remember if it was for preparation of hurricane ike or something else, but when I realized I couldn't make the hunt, Paul said I could not get my money back but could pay an additional money to reschedule for next year.  I figured it was better than losing all of my money so I did.  Now due to current work load, I recently had to cancel my vacation and hunt this year as well.  As soon as I found out I e-mailed Paul and he asked me if I wanted to pay an additional $50 to hold this hunt for a later date.  I replied that I was frankly tired of paying him money for nothing, and then said "May GOD bless you."  This guy obviously doesn't have any compassion for hunters, but appears to care a great deal for their wallets.  Another thing that originally convinced me to take this hunt was his catering to Christian organizations and I figured he must be reputable.  Was I ever wrong!!!!  There are better places to hunt and better people to hunt with.  The actions of this person speaks volumes to us all with the wisdom and warning to stay away from this one.

I hunted the same ranch its not what I expected eather. I hunted in Gonzales I went on a day hog hunt and the details I was given for the hunt was very shady I do not recomend this guide service to anyone. I did kill my hog it is a high fenced area the animals seem to be more like pets. I actually petted one of the deer how lame to be an outfitter and have a petting zoo for a pigshoot. One of the guys there brought me back to what he called a hot spot where the hogs were i will day it was a hot spot. about 15 shotes ran across the road in front of us and when he stopped the jeep i sware i heard a gate shut like the pigs were released out of a trap to be shot he said i could shoot one of any size but told me if i shot one two big i would have to pay so much per pound due to trophy fee. I killed my hog within 19 minutes of being out I was there less than 45 minutes in the woods. the hog was cleaned but when i got home to look the meet over the hog had worms bad so I spent a bunch of money for nothing. I thought that was saposed to be a manged ranch, not a cestpool of nasty varments and deseptive trade practice. Maybe we can all file a class action on this guy I paid over 500 hundred for my hunt! and not to mention the dang bone yard that i seen its a wonder all the animals there havnt died from desease yet. the only thing I can say is that guy paul is a sorry S.O.B most of us are working men just trying to take time off and make a good hunt without having to have the upkeep of a lease everyyear and this guy takes advantage of the fact. one of the guys that were doing the skinning allso made durrogatory remarks about my wife when she was doing nothing or saying nothing I guess he was uses to wollerin with the hogs lol .  I dont recomend this outfitter to anyone as CAPTAIN WOODROW F CALL WOULD SAY( I hate rood behavior in a man wont tolerate It).   Mr. Paul need to remember we are disgruntled hunters and hunting accidents do happen. God help him If i ever go back to that place because I wont. I could think of 10 million ways to ruin his ranch one being my brother is a Warden. I hope he chokes on a zebra D*** next time i would use buckshot love you paul Texas cur dog

I am currently looking for a place near Austin Tx just to shoot hogs I will not litter or make a mess. I would allso like to find a place in east texas to hog hunt with just a gun prferably with a furnished stand by the land owner i do not have a bunch of money to spend do to economic times. lease must be truck assessable i do not own a four wheeler. I will not use dogs and I will agree to landowners terms for days a times for hunting. I would just like to put a dent in the hog population and put some meat in the freezer without having to pay high prices for a hunt. I will check back at this sight every so often for replys  thanxs

WHAT WOULD UNCLE TED NUGENT DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This guy is a piece of CRAP.  He ripped off my buddy who has leukemia.  He portrays himself as a Christian and rips off regular folks looking for a reasonably priced hunt.  He just collects money and screws you over.

He advertises great hunts and his guides just hang around a bad set of trailers.

God has a special place for this kind of human refuse. 

Just got back from paul's ranch. We had a great time and saw and shot many hogs. The staff was awsome and the food was great. We saw about 50 hogs a day when walking around, hunting at night we saw a few hogs and it was slow , but alot of fun. varmint hunting is very difficult in general and not recomened at this place. we saw a skunk but did not have enough time to put a good effort into hunting varmints.  The best time to hunt this place at night is from midnight to daylight. We saw a giant hog at night but it would not come into bow range. we shot 6 hogs and all were around 150 pounds. there were 11 people total hunting the ranch at one time which i thought would be way to many but it was just fine. Everyone shot hogs. The only complaints that we had were that they charge to put your meat into a cooler and when they do it is just frozen into a big block. when you have them cut up your hog stand there and put the meat into bags before it go's into the cooler. when they debone your animal they don't do a very good job, the meat is left with dirt and hair on it. Paul? who is this guy? Is he made up? You would think the owner of the ranch would stop and thank a guy for hunting on his ranch, the guy is no where to be found. There are no other ranches like he says there are. There is only one and it is about 320 acers. Other than that it was a great time.

Mr and Mrs Paul Cadelaria are charged in Gonzalez County Courthouse. They were supposed to have a hearing on April 16, 2010,

This "religous" man is an embarassment. Want a great hog hunt and an even better time? Berry Ranch - Dilley Texas. You'll thank me for this tip - I promise.

SPIKE

Well me and three buddies made the trip to pauls place June 11-13,2010. Ill start with the living quarters they were pretty nice and always had air conditioning on. The food was awsome they always served it hot and on time. We only hunted hogs and we seen alot every time we started pushing through thick brush we had pigs running. Every one in my group got a hog and the other two goups all got several. We did have a blast hunting them. The guides i cant remimber their names but they were some really nice people that were trting to help us the best they could.THE BAD this is a high fence hunt it really wasnt clear to me untill we arived. I would only reccomend this hunt for hogs the elk bufflo and other exotics are way to tame for any excitment in a hunt. The ranch is small witch is another downfall to it. But for the price this hunt is hard to beat it cost me 400 after every thing was said and done witch is fairly cheap if you have researched other hunts.I seen paul twice when i was there and you could tell he was very irrogant he never said a word to me or any of the other hunters witch i found wierd cause he made several thousand off us at least be aprricate and say something to us. But other than that it was a great hunt had lots of fun everyone shot pigs. I wouldnt be affraid to reccomend this place but i will not be going back the way you hunts pretty shaddy and you have to keep walking or the other hunters will be coming up on your ass and be shooting towards you but we never had a problem with this. Well i tried to make it as detailled as i can cause i just got back form it some off these reviews are misleading the fees are all on the web site we never had to eat alone or any thing of that matter it it was a good time but im not going to go back.

I hunted on Paul's TX ranch earlier this year (April 2010).  The operation was well organized, the acreage small, but use of land was well managed.  We all had a pre-hunt briefing, were required to check the zero of our weapons.  The hunt organization was accurately described.  Hogs were abundant, accomodations were good, rooms were clean and cool.  Staff was pleasant and helpful.  Food was tasty and plenty of it.  Price was very reasonable!!  All the charges were accurately described on the website and there were no surprises/ hidden fees.  I have been hunting for more than 45 years, all over North America, including Alaska.  I guide professionally in the Western US and AK.  Every hunter has varying skill levels and sensibilities.  I went with my godson, only.  In our hunting "group" were sixteen other hunters.  We were assigned to hunting teams (5-6) and shared accomodations.  My original team assignment was not with people of comparable experience, skill and ability.  I would not choose to hunt with these individuals.  I had to dumb my hunting down to accomodate these guys.  The "hunters" struggled with maintaining skirmish lines, hunting pace, and working together.  Some of the other groups did not follow the Ranch Boss' instructions for hunting.  They returned late, moved way too fast for hunting, and couldn't hold an effective skirmish line either.  They inconvenieced the entire group and made the hunting less safe, enjoyable.  It WAS NOT the Ranch's fault.  The guides were knowledgable and told us precisely how to hunt these hogs.  They were exactly right on the money with their advice and my godson and i had a great time, took several hogs and discovered another father / son team from Iowa who were outstanding individuals  with all kinds of hunting skill, experience, and ability.  We hunted together as much as possible.  The "down time" hunts, etc.  There was a lot of spot and stalk, some free hunting during our "down" time and night stands.  We made two good friends and we look forward to sharing adventures with them in the Western US and Alaska.  We will be back next year for more hogs and a spring turkey hunt.  Good value, great hunt.  Bring a group of friends to hunt with and you will not be disappointed.  My only recommendation would be to let the small hunter groups have more say in their hunting team assignments.