History

The legacy of Mattern Ranches is rooted in intense dedication to the land and wildlife…

Situated in the Heart of the Texas Hill Country…

Mattern Ranches is located in a region of Texas known as the Hill Country. Situated on the Edward’s Plateau, the Balcones Fault forms the southern and eastern borders of the Hill Country. From the Balcones Fault, the Hill Country stretches as far North as the Llano Estacado and the Llano Uplift, and it stretches as far west as the Pecos River and the Chihuahuan desert, constituting a total area of 31,000 square miles. This region lies in a transition zone from the humid climate of the Texas coastal region to the more arid climate of West Texas and Mexico. Precipitation levels fluctuate from year to year but this area of the Hill Country receives approximately 30 inches of rainfall a year on average.

There is evidence of human activity in the Hill Country dating back thousands of years. Situated above the Edward’s Aquifer, an abundance of natural springs can be found throughout the Hill Country. These springs provided cool, fresh water for early inhabitants such as the Tonkawa, the Lipan Apache, and the Comanche Native American groups. Native Tonkawa would hunt wild deer and turkey, in addition to harvesting pecans and mesquite beans from plants along the banks of rivers. Apache and Comanche groups would hunt and live off of the wild Buffalo herds that could be found in parts of this region. Native American groups from all over were drawn to this region due to its large concentration of Edwards Chert stone, also known as Flint, which was used to make numerous tools and weapons used by the native groups. There are multiple “Indian Mounds” that can be found on the M5 Ranch where piles of flint, some in the shape of arrowheads, were left behind by ancient inhabitants of the land.

Once a part of the Historic Y.O. Ranch…

The approximately 1,000 acres that today make up the M5 Ranch were once a part of the Historic Y.O. Ranch. The Y.O. Ranch was founded by Charles Schreiner, a former Texas Ranger, in 1880 when he first purchased the Y.O. brand. The Y.O. ranch grew to encompass 566,000 acres of ranchland in the Hill Country, which Mr. Schreiner was able to purchase with funds he had raised from driving cattle north to Dodge City, Kansas. The Y.O. Ranch became renowned for their world class Hill Country hunting operation and their introduction of many of the exotics that still reside on Hill Country ranches today, such as those found on the M5 Ranch. The Y.O. legacy on the ranch is most apparent in our two windmills, with branded wooden signs displaying No. 27 and No. 28, relics of a time when the ranch was under Y.O. ownership.

Purchased by the Mattern Family in 2011…

After being under the ownership of different entities over the years, the M5 Ranch was purchased by the Mattern Family in 2011. This was when Mattern Ranches was born. Since we purchased the property we have worked tirelessly to make improvements to the land where improvements were necessary. Some of the many things we have done over the years include: implementation of improved water sources for our wildlife, removal of ashe juniper for healthier groundwater conditions and native plant growth, installation of road base roadways for easier transportation around the ranch, improvements and maintenance on our high fences, and the construction of a headquarters with three buildings for lodging and a covered parking pad with a deer cleaning station and a storage freezer. A big focus of our efforts has also been on growing a world class herd of whitetail and exotics through intense game management practices. The result of this work has been a deer operation that consistently provides hunters with trophies that top leaderboards for various state big buck competitions. During the 2020-2021 season, one of our deer won an award for widest spread for high fenced deer on Trophy Game Records of the World. While numerous improvements have been made over the years, we have also made it our duty to protect and preserve the natural elements of the land that make it so special. The Mattern family is committed to upholding our level of commitment to the land for as long as it is in our hands and we vow to protect and preserve this little slice of God’s creation in the Texas Hill Country.