The Bucksnag Hunting Club is a private club of 18 memberships, many of which have been with the club since its beginning over 30 years ago.
In 1968, Jimmy Reel, Bill Lehrer, and Bob Raley purchased the building known as the Chapman Hotel in Garwood, TX. After extensive restoration of the old hotel, they opened for business as The Bucksnag using the name of the Bucksnag Creek flowing through the Garwood Prairie.
Within just a few years, the group had expanded the operation into a private duck and goose hunting club that would become the only one of its kind in the area. Members were selected from long-time friends of Mr. Reel, the area's foremost hunting guide and operator. Mr. Lehrer provided the prime rice-land areas for hunting.
Working together, they established The Bucksnag Tradition: a unique clubhouse furnished comfortably with many of the original hotel furnishings, hearty country style meals served daily for members and their guests, and some of the best duck and goose hunting in the country. The Bucksnag was and still is more than just an occasional place to go hunting. Most members along with their families and guests visit here frequently. Some stay for days at a time.
In 1996, after 28 years of leadership first by Jimmy Reel and then his daughter Agnes Strauss, the members of The Bucksnag Hunting Club formally established the club as a 501C7 non-profit organization which now owns the hotel and continues to lease the prime rice-lands from Lehrer Interests.