A group of buddies and I headed down Friday afternoon for a weekend at one of my ranches outside of Abilene. We didn't get down there in time to hunt Friday evening, but we hit it hard Saturday morning. My friend, Frank, was after a big axis buck that we had seen with a goofy horn. He didn't show himself at the blinds that morning, so after breakfast we jumped in the truck and drove around to see what we could see. We had a big black wildebeest that we kept seeing, and after about our third run-in with him, Frank decided to warm up his shoulder. He was on a pretty good trot, when Frank's .270 barked and after a short run, he crashed right on video. He was a monster, one of the coolest animals that I have had my hands on.
After we took him back to the house and got him caped and in the cooler, we were back after the big axis. We were driving to get into our blind when I looked over and off of the road a few hundred yards, bedded under a tree, was our axis. He hadn't even seen us, so Frank got ready and took the shot. We couldn't tell at first if it hit him or not because he ran off like nothing was wrong. We jumped back into the truck and made a big circle to the direction that he had went so we could try and get a shot. We were able to get around on him, and Frank made a great shot and he was down for good. After we walked up to him, we saw where his first shot had hit him in the neck and done a pretty good amount of damage. We were very lucky that we got around on him and got another shot. He was a great animal, with a very unique rack. The picture doesn't do him much justice. The normal looking side was 34" and the funky side was 36"
We took him to the cooler, and it was my friend, and our taxidermist, Mark's turn. He wanted to try and kill a few sheep with his bow. We tried multiple stalks and could never get the camera or him lined up at the same time. Finally, he had too good of a chance to pass up and shot a nice Tx Dall before I could get the camera going. The ram didn't go 30 yards and Mark had his first exotic with his bow.
We were about out of daylight, so we threw the dall in the truck and headed across the ranch to a place that we had seen a group of nice catalina. I have never shot one and was wanting to get some blood on my new bow. I couldn't close the distance before dark on them, but as we were driving out, we looked up on the hill and skylined perfectly was a nice catalina billy. I told Frank that if he wanted him, to go ahead and take him and I would get on another group in the morning. He didn't hesitate long, and when the goat was in a good spot, he hammered him.
The next day, we hit it hard looking for Mark another ram and me a big catalina. It didn't take long and Mark and I found a small group of sheep down by a pond. We snuck up to the edge of the brush and Mark made a 44 yard shot and collected his second ram, a very nice corsican.
We loaded him up and went back to where we had seen the catalina the day before. They were down the hill a bit, bedded up by another small pond. I circled around them and got as close as I could. After a short wait, they stood up and fed out in front of me and I was able to get a shot on the biggest one. He ran about 40 yards and piled up in some brush.
It was a great weekend with very good friends. Thanks for reading.
After we took him back to the house and got him caped and in the cooler, we were back after the big axis. We were driving to get into our blind when I looked over and off of the road a few hundred yards, bedded under a tree, was our axis. He hadn't even seen us, so Frank got ready and took the shot. We couldn't tell at first if it hit him or not because he ran off like nothing was wrong. We jumped back into the truck and made a big circle to the direction that he had went so we could try and get a shot. We were able to get around on him, and Frank made a great shot and he was down for good. After we walked up to him, we saw where his first shot had hit him in the neck and done a pretty good amount of damage. We were very lucky that we got around on him and got another shot. He was a great animal, with a very unique rack. The picture doesn't do him much justice. The normal looking side was 34" and the funky side was 36"
We took him to the cooler, and it was my friend, and our taxidermist, Mark's turn. He wanted to try and kill a few sheep with his bow. We tried multiple stalks and could never get the camera or him lined up at the same time. Finally, he had too good of a chance to pass up and shot a nice Tx Dall before I could get the camera going. The ram didn't go 30 yards and Mark had his first exotic with his bow.
We were about out of daylight, so we threw the dall in the truck and headed across the ranch to a place that we had seen a group of nice catalina. I have never shot one and was wanting to get some blood on my new bow. I couldn't close the distance before dark on them, but as we were driving out, we looked up on the hill and skylined perfectly was a nice catalina billy. I told Frank that if he wanted him, to go ahead and take him and I would get on another group in the morning. He didn't hesitate long, and when the goat was in a good spot, he hammered him.
The next day, we hit it hard looking for Mark another ram and me a big catalina. It didn't take long and Mark and I found a small group of sheep down by a pond. We snuck up to the edge of the brush and Mark made a 44 yard shot and collected his second ram, a very nice corsican.
We loaded him up and went back to where we had seen the catalina the day before. They were down the hill a bit, bedded up by another small pond. I circled around them and got as close as I could. After a short wait, they stood up and fed out in front of me and I was able to get a shot on the biggest one. He ran about 40 yards and piled up in some brush.
It was a great weekend with very good friends. Thanks for reading.
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