Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting AXIS

What are you using to shoot them with?

Yea he's a good one, the first pic of him right I took while he was still in the grass shows his mass as well as length on both beams. I've never had him scored but probably should. He's got it all, length,width and mass.

I'm not big on scoring things.
I thought he was big enough to shoot when I pulled the trigger, and thats really all that counts

I've been using my old 300WM for years but it's not needed. I use it for 2 reasons, first I've got so much confidence in it from all my years of hunting elk with it. The other reason is the old "if you draw blood you pay" speech you get from most outfitters. I always wanted to anchor them on the spot and so far thats what I've been able to do. I always carry a 22-250 with me for popping a doe in the head.
I recently bought a 6.5 Creedmore from one of the guys here on the forum that I'm going to start using this fall. The old 300WM is just not as much fun to shoot as it used to be. I'm getting tired of getting the taste slapped out of my mouth everytime I pull the trigger. I'm just getting a little long in the tooth I guess.

I hear ya talking. Ive only shot 3 Axis so far, one with a 7x57 and the other 2 with a .243
Because of the " if you draw blood..." speech I shoot them on the point of the shoulder, break a bunch of stuff, and they go down right quick. The .243 with a 95 NBT did a great job.....

If they would let me, Id use my 223AI...but every place Ive been has a 243 min.


BTW: You'll like the Creedmoor!

Yes sir it's a beautiful left handed custom that I can't wait to get bloody.

Dad got this one yesterday in his back yard. 9mm FN-x. Kid you not...as he would say. Not bad for a 78 y.o. smoker huh? This one is bigger than the pic makes out. We have shot bigger ones but he needed the meat and couldn't let it pass. Plus....you know....it was right there.

Cool!!!

Great photos there elk.. Those axis are beautiful animals.. Some of those photos of bucks were just awesome. Thanks for sharing.. This makes me want to go for axis again.. Shot my first one in 85 in of all places, Hawaii.. Shot my 10 th in Texas in 2003.. Can't believe it has been that long since I hunted axis.. At that time I could hunt as early as March.. Now it seems they want you to hunt in May - Aug.. Pretty hot for me.. I think the most we paid for the bigger bucks was $750. My Best was only about 30" long not quite, but fractions short.. I never scored anything.. We had some great hunts in the Hill Country in the late 80's and 90's. Must consider going down there again. Great show you folks put on.. Best of luck in the future..

btw- congrats Ingwe. That was a nice one you got. You will love the meat. My folks won't even eat whitetail any more - but they go straight to processor and don't salt and drain for a few days like I do.

Any idea how much yours weighed? I tried to guess some of my bigger ones. Wild stab I was putting them at around 175 +lbs but I know they can get a good bit bigger. Have seen a few and a game ranch nearby had a monster always posing by the road with perfect broadside stance- the tease!

We will see them herding up or walking single file just before night. Some great big bruiser in the mix. Seen upwards of a hundred at once.

Trouble with axis is no matter how many you shoot you simply cannot keep yourself from having the hides done. I have given some as gifts and still have a few laying around the house.

Talking about axis posing.. On one of the later hunts, near Rock Springs, Texas we were going to my friends Uncle's place for a hunt..
On the way we spotted an axis with palms and lots of points.. It almost looked like fallow horns, but with many points.. On the way out, my pal from Texas said he was going to stop and ask the rancher what he would take for the buck..
While he was inside my bud and I guess what the price would be.. I guessed $5000.. I not sure what my bud guess.. When our Tx. friend returned, we told him our guess.. I think my guess was the high one, turned out the rancher had just turned down $40,000 for the buck.. He was hoping to develop a unique strain..
Next year we ask about the big fellow, our Tx pal said he had visited with the rancher, and the big guy had just disappeared.. Maybe poached..

Great story WCH, I think anyone turning down 40K for a wild deer needs to get some help!!

Depends... if the genetics had passed along...40K would have been a drop in the bucket possibly.

Best I ever saw was roughly a bit over 40 inches, close to 42 on the lenght, supposedly off a YO pasutre and dropped at the processing plant out of Kerrville.

Truly we were in awe, when we were told what the rancher turned down.. The buck, when we spotted it, was quite near the guys house.. My Tx. pal had seen it there numerous times before our trip.. I guess one never knows.. But the genetics thing is what he seemed to have in mind..

How about a few more pics. No real monsters!!

I've got some good exotic photos but I don't really see a catagory they fit in!

They can fit right here! What the hell

We had a Campfire Hog Hunt down there in March and those purple flowers in your pic were everywhere!

Post some more pics!

What ingwe said!!!!

I've only shot 2 and both with the .257 and 100 gr Accubond. the first one dropped right there at a 175 yard shot. The second was only 80-ish yards and turned away. I hit him a little far back and he went about 100 yards and left no blood trail until the end. (Hatari told me to quit my complaining since I got it )

The second was this one.

can't wait to see the flamin' creedmoor whacking axis deer