After having my hip replaced a few months ago, I finally made it out to hunt again. I was released by my doctor last month and finally by my wife (Cindy). We made a last minute plan to head to North Texas Outfitters yesterday & hunt in their “Outback” area. I didn’t have anything in particular in mind ~ just wanted to get back to the outdoors. After arriving at the lodge about 6:15 AM, we decided that we would hunt from a two man ladder stand so that Cindy could video. I was hoping to get a look at their goats & rams to see if there was anything I liked & then try to get a shot opportunity.
We got in the stand right at daylight. The sky was overcast, the winds were calm, and the temperature was comfortable – life was good! We immediately had hogs come in and hang around the feeder and spent the next hour watching them and just enjoying being outside. I finally got tired of watching the hogs & called our guide (Don Wade) to pick us up to try something different (like spot & stalk). I wanted to get the hunting time in before the temperature heated up.
When Don arrived, he said there were some rams just around the corner from our stand. We hoped in the truck to take a quick look. There was one Corsican in the group that had “mouflon” type horns that were pretty wide. I decided that I liked him and since they were headed towards our stand, we went back & climbed in again.
The rams came in and spent the next half hour moving and feeding behind us. The “mouflon” looking one would not present a clear shot and a clear video. Finally they all started heading back the way they came, except for one. He walked in to a dried up pond in front of us and appeared to be feeding on something. As the one I wanted started to leave, he suddenly made a left turn and headed out in front of us with one of his buddies. This meant that Cindy & would have to trade sides of the stand. As they went behind some trees, we quickly swapped sides. Now I was standing and she was sitting down & videoing past my leg. He cleared the trees & Cindy said she had him on the camera. I ranged him at 20 yards. I drew the bow, settled the pin behind his shoulder, and waited for the other ram to step forward out of the way. The second ram cleared & I sent the montec through both lungs. He ran about 20 yards & piled up beside a cactus. As I walked up to him I could see the tracer nock winking through the cactus even in the bright daylight. It was so awesome to be able to go hunting again and not be in pain just walking around. Actually getting the ram & on video was just a bonus.
Afterwards we rode around & took pictures of the other animals & checked out the Blue Wildebeest that Cindy will be hunting with her crossbow in a couple weeks. He has gotten so light that he looks almost silver. We even got video of him butting heads with a water buffalo! Cindy’s getting real excited about hunting him now ~ it’s going to be tough to get close though! Come on Sept 5th!
We got in the stand right at daylight. The sky was overcast, the winds were calm, and the temperature was comfortable – life was good! We immediately had hogs come in and hang around the feeder and spent the next hour watching them and just enjoying being outside. I finally got tired of watching the hogs & called our guide (Don Wade) to pick us up to try something different (like spot & stalk). I wanted to get the hunting time in before the temperature heated up.
When Don arrived, he said there were some rams just around the corner from our stand. We hoped in the truck to take a quick look. There was one Corsican in the group that had “mouflon” type horns that were pretty wide. I decided that I liked him and since they were headed towards our stand, we went back & climbed in again.
The rams came in and spent the next half hour moving and feeding behind us. The “mouflon” looking one would not present a clear shot and a clear video. Finally they all started heading back the way they came, except for one. He walked in to a dried up pond in front of us and appeared to be feeding on something. As the one I wanted started to leave, he suddenly made a left turn and headed out in front of us with one of his buddies. This meant that Cindy & would have to trade sides of the stand. As they went behind some trees, we quickly swapped sides. Now I was standing and she was sitting down & videoing past my leg. He cleared the trees & Cindy said she had him on the camera. I ranged him at 20 yards. I drew the bow, settled the pin behind his shoulder, and waited for the other ram to step forward out of the way. The second ram cleared & I sent the montec through both lungs. He ran about 20 yards & piled up beside a cactus. As I walked up to him I could see the tracer nock winking through the cactus even in the bright daylight. It was so awesome to be able to go hunting again and not be in pain just walking around. Actually getting the ram & on video was just a bonus.
Afterwards we rode around & took pictures of the other animals & checked out the Blue Wildebeest that Cindy will be hunting with her crossbow in a couple weeks. He has gotten so light that he looks almost silver. We even got video of him butting heads with a water buffalo! Cindy’s getting real excited about hunting him now ~ it’s going to be tough to get close though! Come on Sept 5th!
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