Most Valentine’s stories start with roses, a box of chocolates, and a candlelit dinner.
Ours began with a custom-built Shaw 6.5-284 Norma rifle.
For the record, several dozen long-stemmed roses cost a lot less.
It started as a Valentine’s Day weekend getaway for my wife, Wendy, and me, and a chance for her to harvest her first deer.
But instead, we walked into someone else’s love story.
Meet Idaho native-turned-Texan LeeRoy Tracy and his dream: Dos Hermanos Hunting Ranch, just outside San Angelo, which spans more than 4,000 acres and offers world-class whitetails and a variety of exotics.
LeeRoy’s dream of owning Dos Hermanos didn’t begin in Texas.
It began in Africa, a place he's been three times.
“If you’ve never been on safari, it’s just a blast,” LeeRoy said.
But it wasn’t just the thrill of those safari hunts that inspired him. It was the opportunity. The abundance of game and the realistic chance of success.
Things the Idaho native said he saw dwindle back home over the years.
“In Africa, you see huge herds of animals,” LeeRoy said.
Idaho? Not so much.
“If you want a giant deer, you may get one once every few years, if you’re really lucky, and a really hardcore hunter,” LeeRoy said.
He was, and is, that hardcore hunter.
So he wanted something better than what Idaho offered, not just for himself, but for his family, and others.
“When you go hunting, you want to be successful,” LeeRoy said.
LeeRoy, like anyone, couldn’t bring all of America to Africa. So he did the next best thing: he brought a little bit of Africa to America. Texas, to be specific.
Africa showed him something different: an opportunity that wasn’t rationed, a place where possibility ran as wild as the herds.
And there was something even more delicious than the thrill of adventure: eating African wild game.
“When I go over there, you know, I always tell them, I want to eat the game. I want to eat game meat,” LeeRoy said.
LeeRoy developed quite an appetite for Africa, so he began thinking about ways to bring his African hunting experience and its menu back home.
So he kept dreaming.
Then he took his son-in-law, Jake, on safari.
And that’s when the family part of this love story began.
“He commented to my daughter (Leah) how much I was smiling and how much I was enjoying myself and having a good time,” LeeRoy said.
Sometimes, the people who love you most recognize your joy before you do.
So his family did what strong families do: They rallied behind his dream. Peer pressure, it seems, works up and down family bloodlines.
“It was a big part of the decision, and we talked about it as a family, and they were all on board,” LeeRoy said.
As much as he loved the idea of building a hunting ranch, he loved the idea of building a legacy even more.
“I always had a dream to give them a better life than I ever had,” LeeRoy said.
That’s not a business plan, that’s a father’s prayer.
“When I’d come to Texas, I just saw all these animals, and you could come and shoot one or two or three species on a trip and just have a great time,” LeeRoy said.
Today, Dos Hermanos is more than just a hunting destination; it's an oasis of comfort and adventure set on over 4,000 rolling acres of West Texas landscape. Guests enjoy spacious, well-appointed lodges with all the modern amenities, authentic home-cooked meals, and guided hunts for whitetail deer and exotic species. The ranch also features scenic outdoor gathering areas, stocked fishing ponds, and a welcoming atmosphere that makes every visitor feel like family.
But acreage and record-breaking racks don’t tell the real story. The love of and for his family does.
And it's a love that rekindles every day, bright and early.
“We meet every morning, the boys and I… and we discuss the trajectory of the ranch, what the priorities are, what we want to do, how we want to grow it, what’s working, what’s not working,” LeeRoy said.
No one is there because they have to be.
“I’ve never held their feet to the fire,” LeeRoy said.
He places the burden on himself, that’s what fathers do. They shoulder risk quietly and hope their sacrifice turns into something their children want, not something they feel obligated to carry.
Many never get confirmation that they did it right.
LeeRoy did.
“I just got a text from my son, Mason,” LeeRoy said. “He said, ‘I just realized it’s a beautiful life here.’”
That’s not a text most good fathers get. It’s a message meant for the great ones, a son recognizing what his father built.
“We are a hunting ranch. We don’t run cattle, and so this is our passion. This is what we want to do,” LeeRoy said.
Looking back, Wendy’s first deer will always be special. That moment belonged to her and to us as a couple, and we are deeply grateful. The intimate conversation we shared after she dressed out her first deer, and then her second, is priceless to me. On our way back to the ranchhouse, Wendy paused, looked at me, and said, “My mom would be so proud.” She lost her mom just last year.
Even then, what stayed with me most was something unexpected but every bit as endearing.
Somewhere on a Texas hillside, I realized Valentine’s Day isn’t always about romance. Sometimes it’s about family, legacy, and the quiet love that endures.
Sometimes it’s about chasing what you love, and raising children who love you enough to chase it with you.
And sometimes it sounds like this:
“Dad, I just realized it’s a beautiful life here.”
Jay Pinsky, Editor, The Hunting Wire & Archery Wire