Downie Draw Ranch

The ranch is located about 115± miles west of Del Rio, about 17± miles northwest of Dryden, and 13± miles southwest of Sanderson.

Downie Draw Ranch is a 7,916± acre hunting ranch with long draws and beautiful bluffs. The extensive landscape of rolling hills, valleys, and long canyons display views that go on for miles. The most fertile ground lies in the deep valleys that funnel into Downie Draw, where rich soil has been deposited during hard rains. Soils in this area are generally dark, clay loams that support scrub, cacti, brush, oaks, junipers, native grasses, and mesquites. The diversity of plant life continues with hackberry, kidney wood, walnuts, catclaw, persimmon, black brush, quayacan, lechunguilla, and algerita. Many of these plants offer a high content of protein that contribute to healthy wildlife. Elevation ranges from 2,400± asl to 2,650± asl, with remarkable views across the ranch.  A hunter’s cabin rests atop a hill at 2,628± asl. The cabin overlooks beautiful hills to the south. The area around the hunter’s cabin is relatively flat, providing additional building sites close by.

The main drainage across the northern half is Downie Draw, which winds through the property for approximately 3± miles. Downie Draw was named after Charles A. Downie, a rancher who drove his sheep from Austin through San Antonio to the Trans-Pecos region, where he established his ranch there in the early 1880s. Mr. Downie ranched over 145,000± acres in the southwestern part of Terrell and southern part of Pecos county. Long before Downie, this historic draw carved through ancient limestone, creating a rugged and winding valley. Deposits of sand, gravel and mud cover the canyon floor. The drainage area is nearly 500± ft wide at times with excellent thick mesquite and hackberry draws funneling into it.This ranch has transitioned from a historic sheep and goat ranch to a nice hunting ranch.

A well-kept 400± sf hunter’s cabin with a bathroom, a sink, a shower, and a wood-burning stove rests on a large hill. A game cleaning rack is nearby. Additional building sites provide majestic views in all directions. The north and west sides of the ranch are fenced. Electricity is available. There are also ten feeders and 12 water troughs scattered across the ranch for wildlife.

Abundant free-roaming game includes whitetail, mule deer, and elk with sightings of javelina, quail, and dove.

The ranch has two water wells: one electric and one solar, that provide to the hunter’s cabin and 12 water troughs. There are a few old stock tanks that could be improved to hold water.