Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What an afternoon...

We were hunting a low fence ranch in mid summer near Leakey. There were lots and lots of Axis, really calling during the rut. I heard one as I stalked a group of does. He came over the hill and I immediately knew he was the one. I hit him through the lungs with a .270 with 130 grains and he went about 50 yards before flipping head over heels. I was afraid he would break those 33" horns. My Axis had snow-white horns. I think I was told it was because they had just come out of velvet and hadn't been rubbed, but that sounded backwards to me. We weighed him gutted at 170 lbs.
Anyway, I had a nice "pedestal" type shoulder mount to show off more hide. More impressive mount than my biggest whitetail. I also had a pillow made for the ranch couch. Only one I ever shot, but definitely one trip my buddies and I will never forget.
Thanks again for sharing your trophy with us.

stumpy

Any pics of your mount, Stumpy?

I'd love to see them - I'm looking for ideas and already saving up...this one might be expensive!

But, since he just showed up as a gift during a free family & friends dove hunt on the ranch I grew up on, I'm not complaining about taxidermy!!

Yours sure sounds like a beauty! Near a twin to mine, at least in beam length - I think mine's longer beam was like 33 7/8, and the shorter right at 33. I think the long tines and mass helped him a good bit on the score, and they sure make him pretty!

DJ

VERY NICE DJ. Congratulations!!!!

I'm ignorant on this stuff, no set season because they are not native or??

Just wonderning.

Daev

Sure appreciate it, Andy. It's really quite a start to the season - hope it is going to be one of those special seasons, although it will be regardless!

Thanks,

DJ

Too hot for more! IME, it's movement and wind a whole lot more than the latest and greatest camo that is the key to success, (within reason of course - I don't wear white t-shirts to hunt - grin.)

We came in below the dam and there were enough cedars on top to crawl around that we stayed hidden, even with the 3 of us.

The sun helped too, and the wind was just right.

DJ

You're right on both - my Dad was pretty fired up! He's getting more enthused about good pictures all the time - he never paid that much attention to them, but he's seen how much enjoyment they add, and he's thinking of them and wanting to take them now.

We've had some good hunts and times, and I'm sure grateful we're continuing it with the children - I had two daughters kill their first deer along with my son last year, and it was a pretty big event for them.

DJ

Thanks Murf & Tx270.

Tx - I was thinking getting a bird to fly withing shotgun range was going to be a victory with as few birds as we were seeing and as much as the boys were moving around, but it sure got better in a hurry. It just worked out perfect...

DJ

Laughin'...One of those days when it seems everything is going your way, for sure!

Thanks,

DJ

That pic actually motivated me to try to have an avatar. Got it in there, but it's kind of scraggly...Guess my pic is too poor or too big or too something. Old camera...grin.

DJ

Probably sums it up better than all my blather...grin. I'm practicing for my next career as an outdoor writer!

DJ

Thanks, Brad!

A little of your snow sure would have been handy - I was huffin' and puffin' trying to get him photographed, gutted and loaded and off to cold storage before he spoiled in our heat!

DJ

It's great to be blessed, but we have to be ready to do our part when the opportunity is presented.

I often say we aren't going to kill a deer sleeping in or loafing around the house - we gotta get out there and expect success and be ready to capitalize on it when it comes.

DJ

Sent PM about photos.
My buddy had his last Axis full body mounted. My house is too small for another big animal body!

stumpy

Really nice DJTex.
And great pictures as well.

Though i have never killed an Axis i have heard from two guys that have that the meat beats WhiteTail venison all day long in taste and tenderness.

Fwiw about ten years ago i was hunting on a ranch near Rock Springs in a tower stand about 80 yards from the next ranches fenceline(no i was not hunting the fenceline)when something near dark caught my eye in the very thick cedar.
After a minute or two i saw nothing and thought it was perhaps a bird flicking thru the brush.
It was getting near the end of legal shooting light when i looked back that way and saw what i thought was the biggest Whitetail buck that had ever lived!!
It gave me such a start that my temples throbbed from the adreneline rush.
Then of course looking at it with binoculars i realized it was an Axis.
Sure wished he would have been on our side of the fence because he was truely grand.
Congratulations.

Nice Axis DJ! Very nice! Now put one of those backstraps on the grill!

-Dan

A couple of other funny and providential details we were talking about last night...

As we got to the tank dam, my youngest boy realized he had fallen a bit behind and might miss some of the action, so he came the last 30-40 yards at a 3 year old dead run - eyes on the ground and dove hunting ear muffs in place so that he couldn't hear if I had tried to call softly to slow him down. As he reached the bottom of the dam, I had spotted the deer and was edging back to move around to a shooting lane, and he looked up and spotted me motioning for him to slow down and be quiet. My 5 year old, seasoned hunter that he is, was creeping up and hoping little brother didn't blow out all the deer.

Well, the little guy saw me and immediately stopped and hunkered half way up the tank dam and began side-hilling around to follow me in a little duck walk - cutest thing you ever saw. Big brother was creeping up, and I turned back to trying to crawl around to where I could get a shot.

As I said above, I was able to ease around and get a shot as the big Axis was leaving. My oldest was ready, and watched the deer run and knew exactly where the big one was last we were able to see him, but his little brother was still hunkered on the fairly steep tank dam when I shot. The shot startled him a little, even though he had his hearing protection on. He was in a pretty good classic Texas hunker when I shot, and when he flinched a little at the shot, he just did a backward roll right over and rolled back down the tank dam. He came up grinning, never lost his grip on his toy pistol which he had swapped for his toy shotgun, and big brother and I about fell over laughing.

Speaking of his leaving his shotgun at the truck, that probably helped save the stalk as well. It's one of those that has batteries and makes noise when you cock it and a pretty loud sound when it shoots. Either would have blown our stalk, but his little pistol barely clicks any more.

Just one more thing that went perfect on a perfect day...

DJ

DJ,

What a story. Great pictures by your Dad.

Awesome story, awesome pics, awesome buck. Congratulations.

Very nice and some great pixs. Gives me confidence in using my 243 this year. Nice start to the season

Thanks, Dave.

I put the buck in my friend's (and taxidermist) freezer after caping him out. I told him I had killed a good axis buck and he told me where to put it at his shop, but he wasn't there when I dropped it off. He called me yesterday and said he almost fell over when he opened the freezer. He went on and on about him, and he doesn't usually do that - I'm thinking a buck this big may be more unusual than I realized. I'm probably enjoying this hunt and buck as much as any I've ever taken.

Dave,

As to the season, once these exotics establish a wild population (and when they're high fenced as well, for that matter), there is no closed season on them. A hunter does have to have a valid license, but there's no closed season. The bucks are usually in hard antler during the summer, but they vary in when they grow and shed and breed.

Another interesting wrinkle - I had bought my license the morning I shot him so that I could go dove hunting. My old one had expired the day before, so if not for the dove hunt causing me to get a license, I couldn't have legally taken him. Yet another detail that went just perfect on a day when it seemed nothing could go wrong.

I was supposed to grill venison steak fajitas for our dinner guests that evening, but my Dad took over cooking while I took care of the deer and got him to a cooler. I felt bad about being late (although the guys went with me to drop him off), but my wife was very understanding. When she saw the pictures, she was about speechless and said she wouldn't have passed him up either - dinner to grill or not! What a woman...grin!

DJ