I’m thinking 257 wby for a axis hunt the next choice is 300 win
100gr lead tip vs 180 acu bond shots will be 250ysd plus opinions please

I'm sure the 257 could handle the task,but the 300 Win Mag would be my choice.

No, anything that will kill deer will take Axis. You will like Axis meat better!!

Mine dropped quickly with one round (130 grain blue-box Federal) from a gay .270.
Bob

They can be a good bit bigger than your average whitetail but I don't know that they are any tougher. I've shot 2 bucks. One with a 30-06/Federal Fusions that went straight down and another with a 7-08/ballistic tips that went about 35 yards. The heavier of the 2 weighed about 265lbs and neither bullet exited. Although a soft point in a 257 weatherby wouldn't be my first bullet choice, it will do the job without question. It's more than enough gun, you just may destroy allot of very good meat in the process.

Not tougher..I'd say about the same...I've had no trouble at all killing them with a .243...likewise whitetails.

I second that. If you order venison in a restaurant it's really Axis.

I don't believe they're any tougher but the few I have have see run off after the shot didn't leave blood trails like whitetails.

Good luck and shoot straight and have a great hunt. Axis make really good table fair.

Bob

Any thing that you would use for Whitetail will work on Axis, .243 with a good bullet kills the hell out of them. Rio7

As did my one and only axis. He didn't take a step, but did tumble down into an abyss.

I'm planning on whacking one with a 7-08/140 partition combo come May.

Guys I've hunted Axis for over 20 years and there is nothing magical about their ability to absorb a round. As stated most any WT round will work if placed in the kill zone. Now...... on the table is where they become magical.

.257 Weatherby Axis

Nice buck Dan!

I remember that buck Dan.....

How big is that buck Dan? I don't know squat about them. Looks like a good one to me though.

It was over 30" but had all those extra points,wish that point wasn't broke off but he's an 8 pt Axis

I used to guide where they were free ranging... from what I"ve seen, like any deer, bullet in the right place its over. They have a thick hide on the neck, the bigger ones, MUCH thicker than whitetails.... Use a good bullet.

Hit em in the wrong place and they are longer for life than a whitetail typically. But they are generally larger, so that makes sense.

Nothing real magical about them though. Although I would not use a varmint type bullet like you can get away with on our whitetail, just due to size mainly.

Ranch owners shot em all the time with 223. We shot em now and then if the gals needed a deer for the pit, with 22 mag in the head.

I don't know much about them, but the free range axis I saw and chased in Hawaii were about the same size as the whitetail I know well in Montana and Idaho. The axis may have actually been a bit smaller actually.

What is an average axis weight/size in Texas? What about your whitetails (south Texas whitetails are generally really small right)? Could it be that axis deer are generally the same size in Texas and Hawaii but the whitetail you all are comparing them to may be smaller than northern whitetails, which IME can get somewhat close to average mule deer size?

Ah Spring time in Texas, just around the corner. Nice deer.

Is an Axis male a buck or a stag traditionally? I always called them bucks.

I have to be careful not to collect one with the Jeep here but finding a place that doesn't charge out of state rates is another story. Maybe it would be cheaper to use the Jeep and then buy a new vehicle with the insurance money.

RE: Rifles
Anything you would use for Mule Deer is ideal.

Shot one axis with the .257 Wea. 100 gr. BTBT.. The bullet exited, but the buck did not bleed much.. It was a lung shot and he ran a ways... I think I would prefer more bullet and a large bore.. Remember you pay if you wound one..

100 gr TSX made quick work of mine I'd not hesitate to use a .257 weatherby

Watched this one for awhile this morning Rio7

I shot two does with a 7mag using 140gr Accubonds.Both were shot in the lungs and neither one bled very much.One went about 5yds,the other about 50yds.The one that went 50yds didn't leave any blood at all.Had to go seek and find that one.The other one that went 5yds,I got a piece of it's shoulder,so the bullet expanded more before entering the chest cavity.They are built a little different than a whitetail,they are more grazers than browsers and their vitals seem to be just a little farther forward.

Beautiful buck there.. Hope to go for them next month..

Not sure if the lack of blood trail is common but the Axis seem to have looser more rubbery skin than whitetails to me in my limited experience with them.

To All,

An 180 grain GCCB of 180 grains at about 2000FPS out of my .300SAV pump-rifle is excellent medicine for Axis. - I see NO need for a magnum of any sort for a 250-275 pound deer at any reasonable range.

yours, tex

I think the last one I shot was with a 7mm Wea. and a 160 gr. Sierra HPBT.. It dropped on the spot, but I used a high shoulder shot rather than a lung shot.. Also killed several with the Rem. 7mm mag..

They look a little fatter/softer than a whitetail. Body shape like a meat type show deer.

Those are two beautiful bucks. I am getting excited for April to come around. I have read that it is one of the best game meats. On par with oryx

The meat is tender.Cook med-rare and it's really tender.

Almost.

Nice buck.

I've been hunting with the same group of guys for the last 17 years. We've taken both white-tail and Axis deer. It aiin't always the case on a morning hunt, but when it comes to taking either in the evening, the tenders never make it to the cooler. A bit of black pepper, Worcestershire, some Tony Chacheries, and plopped on da' grill over 3 second hot mesquite coals, 2 minutes on a side, slice thin and eat right off the grill, I've never heard anyone complain about toughness!

ya!

GWB

I'm all in!

Truth, I grilled some Axis loin, leave the knives in the block, they're not needed, cut with a fork and actually falls apart [melts] in your mouth before you even get to chewing good, damn-dest thing if ever tasted, absolutely best tasting stateside meat I've ever had, kudu and gemsbok loin in the bush is the only thing close.

Ok now I'm hungry.

You can be in Tx and shooting in the morning if you leave now!

To All,

All that I know about tough in Axis deer is that mixed 70-30 with feral hog, it makes WONDERFUL Texas Red (or "tourist chili", if you insist) Chili. = I'm a TX Master Naturalist & that dish is called: Invasive Species Chili.
It must also be admitted that everyone, who comes out to Cibolo Natural Area for chili, nearly makes her/himself sick from eating numerous bowls.

yours, tex

That is a nice buck. What does it cost to shoot one of them? I have no idea about setting up a hunt. What part of Texas are they?
Thanks

Cariboujack,

Here in TX, BIG Axix bucks are all over the place from the DFW area to far South Texas, including LOTS in the hill country south & west of The Alamo City.

I talked to a rancher about an hour ago who has a BIG buck on his ranch that is still "in velvet". = He expects that buck to be about 35+ inches when he's in "hard antler" in March or April.

yours, tex

Thank you sir. I believe I need one of those. Since I'm coming form Idaho, I may have to find one that isn't all the way in San Antonio. I like the white horns too. Don't think I need velvet.

These are 'farmed' deer? High/low fence sort of deal?

Both high fence and free ranging

My observation on Axis deer comes from a somewhat different point of view than some. Where I shoot them they're called Chital, and there aren't any whitetail. The whitetail I do normally shoot are roughly twice the size of the chital/axis deer I've shot and give muledeer a run for their money. Having said that I've also hunted those tiny southern whitetail although not in Texas. Just like a deer, only smaller.

I never found that Axis/chital deer are tougher than whitetail that were about twice the size. Fact is, I never found that any of them were tough. As chance would have it I've killed deer by the truck load and trailer load with a .257 as well as .300. There is no doubt that it is very effective on deer from mulies on down, and is one of the truly great open country deer cartridges. I still don't think its a match for a .300 though.

Bullets make more difference than calibers.

This.

My brother hunts a place in McCulloch County, Texas where he’s not the lease holder, but he’s part of an “elimination team” I guess you could call it. Anyway, the landowner farms sheep and he hates axis deer because they eat what 7 sheep can eat.(I think it was 7 if I remember right). Every year my brother gets to go there and they kill a couple of pickup loads of axis. These are free range axis. And yes, we process and eat them all. Very good eating! I’m hoping one day I get invited to go there.

Just a few I've seen here in Tx. Both pics are of free range axis.



Taken during Turkey season (April). This buck was taken a month later and measured 38" and 40". The just barely seen to the right measured 36"



This one measured out at 37".

Cariboujack,

IF you would like my help in finding you a suitable place to hunt in South TX, PM me with your wants/needs & I'll try to help.

The "BIG BOYS" are mostly in the dense brush in South TX & are NOT easy or cheap to hunt. - A free range hunt for a BIG Axis buck won't be quick, as the brush is very thick & the old/biggest bucks "run & hide" in the "thick stuff". = They didn't live to be that big by being stupid.
(I heard that last year that a hunter from CT paid a trophy fee of over 7,000.oo for a near 40-incher that weighed 265 pounds field-dressed. He reportedly hunted for his trophy for about 15 days from dawn to dusk & all of some nights, too. = There are a FEW "real monsters" down here. ====> South TX has the BIGGEST Axis bucks, though there are "decent size trophies" all over TX, starting about 1,000.oo & up. Doe Axis are "the best eating deer" & usually 300-500.00 each.)

yours, tex

ironbender,

It depends. = The REAL hunters (in my OPINION) here do NOT "do" the "HIGH-fenced, farmed" animals but rather seek out the free ranging Axis on the huge South TX ranches. = The rancher that I mentioned earlier & that has seen the (probably in "hard antler") 35" buck is "out & about" on his well over 1,000 acre ranch.

IF all that a person wants is MEAT, it can be bought in some butcher shops, here. - Similarly there are "hunters" who want to shoot a deer at feeding time & that (imo) is no different than shooting a farmer's cow.

yours, tex

I will be hunting around the Rocksprings area.

Interesting and quite different-looking country.

In my experience, it's not any tougher to kill an Axis than it is a Whitetail. As with anything, shot placement is key. I've found the typical Axis Buck to be larger than the average Whitetail Buck.

I've found the 257 Weatherby to be a sure killer of Axis deer. I use the 115 gr NBT.

Here's a free range Axis from last October taken with my 257 Wby at 175 Yards.

In what areas do you see them free range in South Texas? I don't doubt there are pockets of them. I've just never seen any in the areas I've hunted. If you don't mind, pm me any ranches or Outfitters you recommend.

ECHunter80,

While I won't give you specific ranches (absent the owner's consent) there are LOTS of free range Axis near KERRVILLE, BOERNE, GRUENE a goodly number in JIM WELLS COUNTY Texas.

I've also seen any number grazing after dark near I-37 South between San Antonio & Corpus Christi

yours, tex

Jim Wells - I haven't hunted any around Jim Wells but it would make sense that they could grow big down there with all that high protein browse. Ive seen some on a high fenced ranch in willacy county and they looked like they hadn't missed a meal. I've heard a few ranches around the King have free ranching scimitar, waterbuck, and auodad now too. I'm very familiar with the axis numbers out in the hill country. I can't pass a creek without looking for them West of San Antonio.

The only one I killed fell to a 100gn TSX from my 243AI. About 150 yards. It made it about 10 yards and dropped.

TxHunter80,

Be NOT deceived the "OLD BOYS" (who are carrying nearly too much antler to haul around) got that way by being wary, do NOT come to the feeders EVER & hang out in the thickest of brush except late at night.
(An old boarding school chum of mine, whose family owns a truly HUGE ranch, has seen a buck that he stoutly claims was at least 45 inches last Summer. = I've known Bud since 1963 & he's not a liar.)



yours, tex

Tex,
I don't doubt it. Those old axis can just vanish. One of the two I shot was in s tx on a good sized high fenced ranch that have a self sustaining herd. The guides were on the ranch frequently running cameras and guiding whitetail/Nilgai hunters. Neither of them recognized the one hunt I got. They said they probably saw him when he was young but hadn't seen him in years and didn't even know he existed. He never went to corn or protein feeders so was never caught on game cams. As you mentioned, he probably lived those last few years well off the roads in the thick stuff and moved around at night a good bit. He was an old fellow with just a few teeth left that were worn almost all the way down. Horn wise he was only about 30-31" but I couldn't be happier with him.

you sure about Jim Wells county, I grew up there and still hunt there and Duval county as well. I've seen them in high fences and have buddy's who-have them but i have not seen any free range.

stxhunter,

According to friends, who are employed by ICE & the USBP (and the men/women of the TBV, who patrol the private ranches), they routinely see free range Axis deer while patrolling Jim Wells & surrounding counties for illegals/drug smugglers/common criminals. - So, YEP, I'm pretty sure of that.

yours, tex

wouldn't surprise me, i doubt they're as common as up in the hill country though.

Tons of Aoudad in this area. They can get obnoxious....

stx & All,

To "stx", SORRY. WRONG answer.

As I said elsewhere, I'm a TMN & we routinely see free ranging Axis deer all over the hill country when out doing small mammal, avian & reptile studies/surveys. - NO, I've NOT seen any of the "Ole Boys" so far there, as they are NOT hanging around when we are out counting, trapping & .chipping/releasing wildlife. = They EVAPORATE into the brush at the first human sound/scent.

During the OCT "Small Mammal Survey", my field-partner & I were "running traps" & walked up on a pair of Axis does, who didn't even seem to be much bothered by our presence, until Melissa sneezed. At that sneeze, it was "Adios, gringos!".
(Our chapter of the TMN do 3 surveys per year of small mammals, as well as avian counts & 2 reptile studies each year for TPWD & TAMU at several Texas Natural Areas.)

Note to ALL: I would encourage our forum members to trained/become a Master Naturalist in TX, your State or nation of residence. = Imo, what we volunteers do is valuable to the conservation of game & non-game species, as well as restoration/preservation of the natural environment. We also are "heavily involved in" youth outdoor education/training projects, with 4H, BSA, GSA, Campfire & numerous ISD.
(Our Chapter, ALAMO AREA MASTER NATURALISTS is the originating/ founding chapter of the Master Naturalist groups, Worldwide. Since our founding in 1997 by "6 just regular folks", who were interested in conservation/preservation/invasive species removal/restoration of the TX outdoors, the program has spread to over 25 States & 6 foreign nations. = Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain , Ireland & NZ - Two more nations are soon to be added to the "loose organization" of "crazy volunteers".)

A Personal Note: Before you decide to become what my classmate (Jim Baker) calls one of the "Whining Weed Wienies" OR join the Texas S.A.L.S.A. Team, be SURE that you are physically in good enough shape to do what they require their members to do. = Just ONE long weekend with the SALSA "lunatics" convinced me that I'm "just to damned old & beat up" to keep up with their members. = I "hurt for a week" thereafter.

yours, tex
Class 41, AACTMN

Lets see now: my first axis spike was with a 7.7x58 Japanese sporter with Norma ammo. The second spike was with a M1 DCM carbine and Win 110 gr. HSP ammo thru both lungs. The third was a buck with my Win 670 30-06 loaded down to 300 Sav ballistics. With the exception of the spike shot thru the lungs with the M1 Carbine, they all died quickly with a minimum of follow up. Axis deer meat is highly prized in Hawaii, there are no scent glands. We usually eat everything except the bark. Mel Chung in Hawaii.

I smashed my Hawaiian axis with a 243 dunno what ammo it was. “Guide” says you better use my 30-06 they’re big and tough, I said naw pass the 243. Killed him in his bed about 40 yards, 1 and done...

melchung,


Fwiw, my "go to rifle" for all game up to about 200 KG is my Model 760 in .300SAV & loaded with a GCCB to Spanish-American War .30-40 Krag ballistics. = 170 grain bullet at about 2,000FPS. = That "old school" load kills cleanly & with little loss of edible meat out to 250M.
(I haven't yet had to chase a deer/predator with that cheap CB load if I did my part.)

I’ve killed two nice Axis bucks - one with a 7mm Rem Mag & 150gr Scirocco and the other w/ a .243 & 80 gr. TTSX. Both did the 50 yard death dash after a lung shot. I doubt a whitetail would have acted any differently.

I've been hunting Axis in Texas for over 20 years and I hope to do so for 20 more. I've got 100's of Axis photos but I'm not going to resize them all just to be able to post them here. Great animal to hunt but they are hard on a WT herd as they just will out compete them. I've never killed an Axis that wasn't fat and slick no matter the terrain conditions. They will and can eat many things that WT deer simply won't or can't eat!

I killed five with a bow, they died just as fast as a whitetail.

Elkhunter49; hanco,

AGREED 100%. = Axis deer are & no more "bullet-proof" than any other similar sized deer. = In point of fact, out at Camp Bullis (a nearby military facility) several Axis have been killed (at close range) with loads of 7 1/2 birdshot. = Here in TX, exotic species may lawfully be taken by "any otherwise lawful means", 24/365.

One major difference in the 2 species: WT do not graze on grass/'weeds. - They mostly eat leaves/twigs as "browsers". Otoh, Axis, given the choice, will graze on grass, if available. If there is insufficient grass available, they WILL eat leaves/twigs & many other items.

yours, tex

WHere is Camp Bowie? I know Camp Bullis very well and the fact it has a lot of Axis but as much as we have shot in the SA area over the years I just don't know the Bowie name for some reason?

My brother uses a 60 partition in a .223 , and for his big gun a .243. You do not want to waste a lot of Axis meat............

rost485,

OOPS. = SHOULD have written CAMP BULLIS. (SORRY - I'm OLD, OLD) .=. = BRAIN CRAMP.

yours, tex

More like in reverse.

tronbender; Reloder28,

I received an email this PM from a rancher in far southeast TX, who said that Axis deer were brought into TX many years ago for both hunting & in the hope that they would eat noxious weeds, brush & mesquite.

Charles H___________ further said that the current "free range" Axis deer are often, "several generations away from the deer that had been penned up" & that many of the "free ranging Axis are now fully naturalized TX deer, are now truly wild animals, are now bigger/better nourished/bettered antlered than their cousins in India & will likely remain part of the TX environment for a very long time, despite hunting/netting/trapping."


yours, tex

There was a damn big axis carcass laying in the median of IH 10 sunday morning at the US 290 exit. And another smaller on down 290 toward Harper. And yet another between Stonewall and Johnson city! Free range axis are all over that country.

kaywoodie,

YEP.

yours, tex

I’ve shot a half dozen or so with a bow. When shot in the right place they are clearly no tougher than WT. The vitals are farther forward and than a WT, not unlike a feral hog. If you try to center punch the lungs like you do on a WT, you’d be catching the back of the lungs/liver in my experience. I find the does smaller and the bucks larger than the TX WT. I also find the oldest bucks to be as canny as any WT I’ve ever hunted. I’m sure either caliber will be fine if you do your part. Just my .02.

Hey Jeff, just in case you wanted to know, Camp Bowie is up by Brownwood.

Couple years ago, my SinL from Fayetteville was telling us about her son looking at a property just south of I-10 and ?'tween Seguin and Columbus. It was a very large high fence place that had had Axis introduced long time before and then ownership got "cloudy" in a family squabble, and the ranch was not being managed at all.for anything. Suposedly the Axis had overgrown the habitat and had about starved out the WTails, but nothing was going to be done about it until the heirs split up the place. I "volunteered" to .move down there and "help out" if the nephew could put together a deal..and she about choked to death laughing at me. Oh Well
Ron

verhoositz,

Pardon me for pointing out that your comment is CONTRARY to DOCUMENTED FACT.

WT & Axis deer do NOT directly compete for food as Axis are GRAZERS, who prefer to eat grass/weeds & healthy WT seldom eat either one. = Otoh, WT are BROWSERS & primarily eat leaves & stems from trees & bushes.

IN the VERY unlikely event that your post has ANY basis in fact, it means that the Axis had no grass/weeds/low-growing plants left to graze upon & to keep from literally starving, that they sometimes "competed with" WT for the scarce edible tree/bush leaves.

yours, tex
Alamo Area Chapter
Texas Master Naturalist

satx78247

Not to start a pizzing match but what you are saying is contrary to some of the literature and what I have observed first hand.

I have read and seen where they do compete. Here is some info from two sources that they do compete. https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_lf_k0700_0103.pdf and this one: http://www.buckmanager.com/2008/02/18/white-tailed-deer-versus-exotic-deer/

In some areas the Axis out number the Whitetail. I have seen this around Kerrville and Mt. Home Tx.

tex: Cows are grazers, too, and "normally" don't compete with WT. But if they are above the CC of the pasture, and overgraze, then they will eat whatever they can and will certainly reduce the groceries left for the WT.

Note that in verhoositz's post he said the axis had overgrown the habitat.

'78247, Since I did not personally observe the property, but was repeating what the realtor/sellers contact had told my in laws, so I'll have to say only that I dunno what is hard fact and what is blarney, and from whom. Oh and I got this info 3rd hand from non professionals and had the fun speculation of getting into that kind of a retirement circumstance, putting the property back together., and turning a. profit for the new owner.

As far as I know this privately held property has not been sold or broken up in the 3 years since this conversation with my in laws about it. However, the initialy interested family member/buyer has moved on and invested his money in buying a niche business from another gentleman who wanted to retire and had let his business deteriorate, and my family member is now doing corporate, municiple, county and state govt entity clean up contracts from Harvey's damage etc and is busier than a one armed paperhanger. So IMO the question is moot, except for 3rd party I'net speculation and conversations.
Ron

Edit. In my circle of friends and family is a guy I've known for most of his life. He's a SFA Dr Kroll desciple that made it as a Forestry Industry Game Manager at a national level, is now retired and living out of state. If I had had any inclinations that this deal would have come together ...this would have been the person I would have gone to for advice and guidance and hoped I could have provided a vehicle to lure him back to Texas with. ..and this subject would have never been mentioned, especially in this format.
Ron

When I first started entering the TPW Lottery hunts, I got drawn for the Walter Buck WMA site that borders the back fence of the South Llano River SP. As I recall this was a WT Doe Only hunt, and any exotic that wandered along was fair game too, regardless of sex. The WB WMA is no longer offered in the Lottery selections, probably becuae of the need for 4x4 only jeep sized vehicles and really dangerous hilly roads.

I rode the 2x4 Suburban's nerf bars standing out side of the truck and steering thru the opened door coming down the worst of the steep hills with the tranny locked up in Low in the dark, scraping my butt on the rocky uphill wall & feeling the right rear wheel loose traction on the downhill side occasioanly.

I'd gotten lucky late right at sundown from the top of the hill I was hunting on the 1st day from a elevated chair stand that overlooked I-10 about 2miles north of me and killed an Axis doe and could have taken several more if I'd understood what an Axis looked like and had my head out of my rear end. the 15-20 critter herd was running with a mixed herd WT's & Axis of both sex's, and I never saw any WT's that were not accompanied by Axis, except for a lone WT 8pt Buck on the last day.

That 1st nite I was really late coming out of the SP entrance at about 10:30 when I went across the low water crossing.just inside the SP Front Gate..and spooked a herd of mixed critters that took 9+ minutes by my digital dash clock to clear the road, running at flat out at warp speed.

Today SLR SP is one fo the hardest hunts to draw I know of, and all most always all 4 stands score multiple critters per hunter...and I've been putting in for SLR SP ever since every year, for 18 years, without fail and with out success.
Ron

verhoositz,

Sounds like that on that particular property that there was not enough grass/weeds for the Axis to eat, so they started eating leaves/stems to keep from starving. = SAD CASE, it sounds like.

yours, tex

Tex, dunno never got to see it as the deal never went very far with all the other sides hooks & crooks trying to one up each other...Sad is good word for the whole thing from what info I could glean 3rd hand...and why my inlaw laughed so hard at me knowing that I wanted in on the deal and could cite chapter and verse who to call to get started yadda yadda ...but then I didn't have any money in the deal either. Easy enough to play big boy ball on someone else's dime.

The player on my families side is a self made very smart guy no matter whatever else he is. and has all ready built from scratch a very successful niche petro chem business. My background is in selling consumer products to retailers...or about as far as you can get from what needed to take place with that property, until it was put back together with an end product to sell.
Ron

I live in the heart of axis country and kill them all the time. Usually with a .223 and 64 gr. Winchester Ranger Power Points. They're no harder to kill than any whitetail. Put the bullet in the right spot and they go down just like everything else. The farthest I've had one run is 30 yards, max.

DubThomas,

100% CORRECT. = I've never understood why some of the people here think that Axis are "bullet proof". = Other than size, they are simply DEER.

Btw, I'd like to find a suitable place, within easy driving distance of The Alamo City, to hunt Axis.

yours, satx

Dub Thomas, If you didn't get 2 holes and a blood trail your doing it wrong. Rio7

Virtually all of the exotic ungulates that have become widely distributed in Texas are ecological generalists. When times get tough, they compete with all the other herbivores for whatever is available-- and usually outcompete the native ungulates which have evolved with rather narrow ecological niches.

mudhen,

The wildlife biologists at TAMU state that the Axis deer do NOT normally compete for food sources with native WT. - Like any other mammal, if there is nothing else to eat, Axis deer will eat leaves/woody stems and/or other vegetation to stave off hunger/starvation.

yours, tex
Texas Master Naturalist
Alamo Area Chapter

PM sent.

I totally disagree, but that 64 gr. load usually leaves two holes depending on where I hit them. I usually take the high shoulder shot and they go straight down. DRT. On occasion I've missed the spot and they've only run 30 yards or less. Kinda hard to go very far with no lungs. I killed my biggest with a .243 but don't remember the bullet weight. He went 10 yards. 33" on one side and 31" on the other.

Dub Thomas, My comments were made in jest. good hunting. Rio7

I kinda thought they were, but wasn't certain.

Tex: from what I have read and been told, I don’t believe it’s that black and white. Axis and other exotics
Do compete with WT, it to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the situation. Here’s what another Aggie game biolgist told me:

Axis compete with WTD even when we try to manage close to carrying capacity. Diets of each overlap. In stress periods axis can take in much more grass in their diet where WTD cannot. Take a look at this publication for more detail. https://agrilife.org/coastalbend/files/2015/02/Using-Livestock-to-Manage-Wildlife-Habitat.pdf

southtexas,

I think we three are saying the same thing in slightly different words. = Axis, when they get hungry enough, WILL compete with WT for leaves/stems BUT that usually the 2 species of deer don't compete for the same plant life..
(The same TAMU professor, that I mentioned above, told our TMN class that WT don't eat grass & might well starve standing belly-deep in coastal Bermuda, that most any grazer would love.= In point of fact, I guided a school group last Fall at Crown Ridge Natural Area & watched a 2-3YO WT leaping up into a tree to pull down a limb to much upon, while standing in nice/green grass. - CRNA is over-populated with WT but I've not yet seen an Axis there.)

yours, tex

yes, I've heard the comment a number of times that a WT deer would be about as well off in a coastal bermuda field as he would be in an asphalt parking lot.

But if you look on page 6 of the article I posted, in a browse-dominated range (typical of Texas) an axis' diet is 50% browse. So even in ideal conditions axis WILL compete with WTs and must be considered when calculating the carrying capacity.

southtexas,

One thing is certain sure: Some places in this county have WAY too many WT.
(Some here say that there are places in Bexar County with 250 WT per square mile.)

Not long ago on WOAI AM radio they were talking about "urban deer".
A man called in & said that he had 62 deer in his yard right now & that he had counted every one..
The WOAI fellow said, "WOW what a bunch of deer. What are they doing?"
The caller said, "Eating my azalea bushes."
(I just had to chuckle at that.)

yours, tex