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We got up a smidgen
earlier this morning in hopes of getting into our stands
with more darkness than light. The wind was howling as we piled
out of the truck at our respective hunting
locations. I chose my tripod, which is the first
stand we come to on the road to the back of the
property. As I approached my stand, I could hear
animals moving away from me. I never heard snorts,
indicating whitetail, but I did notice feces that
resembled that of deer. From my tripod, I saw a doe
and a yearling ease down a hillside to my west, about 200
yards away. Les
chose to hunt Glenn's tripod, which is positioned in a
large oak tree on top of the plateau we've been
hunting. The only activity he saw was a "light
colored animal", crossing the valley a long way from
his location. Glenn
set up in his ICE Blind and was fortunate enough to see a
few deer that were out of range. Steve
headed to his Non-Typical located in a big oak tree.
As he approached his stand, he noticed a lot of hog
droppings where his corn once laid. He made his way
into his stand, and situated his gear for the morning
sit. Not more than two minutes after he got on
stand, he had does feeding in his shooting lanes. At
6:20, he attempted to draw, but let down, feeling it was
too early to shoot. He waited until he had enough
light, and luckily, the deer waited as well. With
the deer plainly visible in his lane, Steve let an arrow
fly. Steve's Goldtip arrow, tipped with a Rocky
Revolution mechanical broadhead hit the deer quartering
away. After following a blood trail, that only a
mechanical head can create, Steve found his monster
doe 60 yards away. The subsequent forensic
investigation of the animal's body revealed that the Rocky
Revolution had crashed through the ribcage, severing the
heart and one lung. 
We
all headed into town for lunch and ice. After making
short work of a burger at the King Burger, we headed back
to the property for a siesta and the afternoon hunt.
Before heading to our stands, we had the park manager take
us to the Sinkhole, so we could snap a few pictures.
It is a pretty impressive cavern and the smell of bat
guana is prevalant. Below is a picture of Glenn and
the manager, Mike, overlooking the Sinkhole. 
For
the evening hunt, Steve and I set up in his tree, placing
my swivel limb out on a large limb, about 10 feet from
Steve's stand. We braved the heavy winds, only
getting sight of two deer crossing to our east at 50
yards. Glenn
sat in his ICE Blind again, getting to see a doe and a
small six point at a distance. Les
opted to take a hike down into the canyon, to find a shady
spot to watch and wait for deer. He saw two doe and
two yearlings, well out of range. 
Every
evening, during the drive home from the Sinkhole, it's
like a safari. We see tons of blackbuck, fallow and
axis. On Mr. McCarson's ranch, we've seen some
monster axis. He's wanting to get some bowhunter's
in on his place to start taking them out. He's got
some that are well over 30". We'll be passing
on the information for his hunts when we get back.
Here's a picture that we got tonight of a
"medium" sized axis: 
This
has been a great hunt. As of this update, we know of
seven deer that have been taken. There are seventeen
hunters on this hunt, so the success rate thus far is
impressive. The
park manager, Mike, asked me to send him video of the man
that was doing the shooting yesterday on the other side of
the fence. I gladly told him I would. He
figures the man, O.D. was probably hunting, and they're
planning on sending a game warden over to visit with
him. That was good to hear! Stayed
tuned for tomorrow's hunt as Steve and I are headed back
to the oak tree for a tandem assault on our unsuspecting
prey. Les is unsure if he'll head over with us to
hunt and Glenn has decided to just sleep in, hunt axis
here at the McCarson Ranch and then head
to his lease near Uvalde for the weekend.
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