Grazing Across Texas: Rod, Gun & Ranch Cooking

First Shot Outfitters recognized on pages 24-39 and page 81,

where 6 of Monica’s yummy recipes are featured along with

over a dozen amazing hunting pictures taken of Mike and Monica’s operation,

First Shot Outfitters, by acclaimed photographer / writer Tosh Brown.

Read what Tosh Brown says about First Shot Outfitters below:

Occasionally, you’ll find a husband and wife business team that almost seems predestined for success.

Mike Wyatt grew up in Midland and spent his youth raising bird dogs and chasing quail across West Texas. After building a successful pest control business in San Angelo, he sold out to a national chain in 1998 to pursue a career as an outfitter.

Monica Mize grew up in Hico, where her father, Mike, Operated Honey Creek Sporting Clays, one of the first clay courses and shooting preserves in the state. At fifteen, Monica applied for a job as a waitress at the Koffee Kup restaurant; she didn’t get that job, but they did hire her as a cook.

Today Mike and Monica and their four children live adjacent to their spacious log-built hunting lodge on a small piece of land between Coleman and Abilene. Within twenty-five miles of the lodge, they have leased access to over 50,000 acres of prime Rolling Plains hunting habitat. If dry conditions warrant a change of venue, they also have gate keys to another 60,000 acres farther north and west. Mike oversees the dogs and the hunting and Monica presides over the kitchen and the books. Ask anyone who has seen these two in action, and you’ll probably hear a consensus description: boundless energy, enthusiasm, and Texas-style hospitality.

In less than ten years the Wyatt’s have built a phenomenally loyal clientele. Hunting purely wild quail over fine dogs, Mike and his guides run basically nonstop from opening day until the closing bell. Mike doesn’t believe in clock-watching, and if he finds a big concentration of birds just before noon, then lunch will just have to wait.

In addition to quail hunting, First Shot Outfitters also runs fully outfitted dove, deer and spring turkey hunts. A duck/quail combo can be arranged during the winter months, and ranch pond bass fishing is available year around.

On a blazing hot April afternoon, I followed Mike, belly-crawling and knee-walking, through 100 yards of prickly pear and mesquite to get us within calling range of five big gobblers and a harem of hens. After we seduced and bagged the dominant bird in the bunch, Mike admitted his basic theory of success. “Some people get into the business because they like to hunt and fish,” he said. “I do this every day because I love to guide.”

After sampling Monica’s expertise in the kitchen, I’m convinced that she feels the same about her cooking.