As promised folks here's my feeble attempt at a written hunting report. This Axis hunt with team Pope started last summer with a 3 day hunt where we found many nice bucks but none that I could get on. I went back for a couple days late last fall but didn't shoot then either.
We started the hunt on a place on the Nueces river in Edwards county. Lots of wildflowers still growing along the river made for some photo ops.




We sat in a blind until dark and didn't see the buck the landowner had been seeing! We did spot a very nice younger buck with a beautiful frame and dark horns but we passed! Beautiful country along the river and it was a pleasure to get to hunt there.

Day two started very early on a ranch between Junction and Kerrville. While hunting there last summer we located a huge old deer with a big barrel shaped rack but I didn't get an ethical shot and we passed. I hoped to see him again this year and see what his headgear looked like this summer but it wasn't meant to be. The morning was very windy with little to no movement! Later in the morning we made a move to a beautiful ranch near Moutain Home.

The Priour Ranch is a beautiful place with many different species of Exotic game. I'm sure the Whitetail hunting is incredible every fall as I viewed many bucks just starting to grow this years rack. I got to see some animals I'd never seen before like the Elds deer, Hog deer, Muntjak deer and the Persian Gazelle. I took a few photos but I was focused on getting a shot at a mature Axis. Heres a few shots of some Sambar deer





as well as a beautiful Barasingha that was so Orange colored he almost glowed!

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This was important to me as I'm not really a velvet guy. I've killed them in the past but I'm a hard horn guy! We started hunting in a slow mist and heavy wind and we thought we could stalk him close to a spot he had been feeding recently with some does but we didn't locate him or the does. The huge pasture he was calling home has a large area in the middle that's (appx 400 acres) of 6-10ft tall Shinnery Oak that is a perfect place for any wild animal to call home. The Axis/WT/Muflon that I noticed using it were always just a few feet away from complete safety and concealment.

The guys at the Priour (John and Caleb) said our best chance to see this buck was to stay out of the area until just before dark and hopefully the does will feed out into the heavily oaked meadows that surround the Shinnery maze. We had lunch and spent the afternoon looking for Axis in other pastures on the ranch. We found several other bucks but my heart was set on the buck I'd seen the photo of. About 7:00 that evening John and I decided to get the wind in our face and see if we could see him before he saw us! After about 45 minutes we located the does he had been seen with but he wasn't with them so we moved to the other side of the Shinnery fortress and slowly started moving from north to south with the strong south wind. About 8PM John said very softly "thats him"..... I was dying because I couldn't make him out in the thick brush.Finally I realize he was at the very edge of the shin oaks much farther up the pasture than I was looking. John said "if we move he will bust us... can you make the shot?" I settled the crosshairs, took a deep breath and slowly applied pressure to my very light trigger. I lost the deer in the recoil but from the smile on Johns face I knew he was DRT. I'm proud of the shot (265yyards) because I forgot to crank the magnifacation off of 3.5 power. That's pretty good for my old eyes as I always leave my scope cranked down unless I'm hunting in open country!

The buck was a tank of an animal and is bigger bodied than any Axis I've ever killed. If you get a chance to hunt with Pope Brothers don't pass it up. The guides.... Josh and J.D. are very knowledgeable and a pleasure to hunt with. Thank you guys for a great time! Take Care folks, Baker

Been waiting for this report Bev! I knew when you finally decided to drop the hammer on one that he would be a good one! You ( and he) did not disappoint!

Congrats man!

Really nice Axis buck. Congrats. I shot my only Pronghorn hunting with Pope Bros. and they will work to get you on an animal.

It's amazing how many animals can live in harmony behind a fence. Though it would be cool to have a lion running in there too.

Great pics, great buck there Elkhunter. I enjoyed your story very much.

Beautiful pics. Thanks

good story and pics! tell us about the rifle, cartridge, and bullet.

PS: hope you had your insect repellant...looks like great chigger country!

Nice.

Yes sir, the rifle is a 6.5 Creedmoor that I bought from one of the fire faithful.
Action - Remington 700 C series short action
Barrel - Hart #2 stainless 24" 1-8 twist
Stock - McMillian remington classic ADL 13.5 lop 50/50 black and orange!
I hit him with a 143 grain Hornady ELD-X and he didn't take a step. The load was built by a guy near Dallas named Chad who does this for a living.
As for the chiggers you sir are correct but I have a secret weapon. I dust my pant's legs litely with a little sulfur and they never touch me. To get away with this you must keep your wind right when hunting!

Thanks. Nice rig. Bet it shoots ity bity groups!

Mighty fine!

Great report and pix!

ya!

GWB

Nice!! One of those is on my bucket list!

glad to see it kill again.

very nice buck sir

Nice deer, story and rifle. I am not much of an antler chaser, but lament having to bow out of an axis doe hunt a couple months back, due to family issues. Great hunt.

Thanks for the kind comments guys, the off season Axis hunts are a great way to bridge the gap between normal hunting seasons. Later Folks

Great critter and, as usual, very good pics. Thanks for sharing!

I'm thinking each of my to sons who shoot LH will get a rifle similar to what you have for their high school graduation. I have time, they are 9 and 6...