Extreme Whitetails - a.k.a Boone Ranch
I headed out this past weekend to hunt with Lewis Duncan at the Boone Ranch for a couple of days. I arrived around lunch and quickly settled in and Lewis took me out to the bow hunting only pasture to a quick tour.
As soon as we got throught the gate we immediately saw a couple of axis bucks. On the tour we saw ram's, oryx, blackbuck and several 30" axis. So we decided to set me up the first evening in a ground blind where Lewis corn's the road in an attempt to bring in the axis we saw. Around 6:30 a nice meat hog came trotting into the corn and quickly met up with my G5 montec. After a quick trail job, we loaded him up and headed back to camp right at dark.
The next morning I sat in a ladder stand and had 12 blackbuck's and an axis that had dropped his horns come in. The largest blackbuck was easily 20" with unique markings, one eye was completely black, the other was brown. I finally decided that I needed to take this animal (I really wanted an axis for the meat). He came back in at 5yds and I needed him to take that one last step, except he and his buddies decided to turn around and walk off.
I headed into town around lunch with several friends that were hog hunting on the gun side of the ranch (very inexpensive -- $250/weekend for 2 hogs). When we came back, we drove down the county road that runs next to the bow pasture and saw 6-7 axis bucks near a double bull Lewis had set up. As we pulled up to the blind 2 large Catalina goats were already at the feeder, then Lewis says "big axis buck just behind the feeder". So I grab my bow and literally jump out of the truck as it was still easing along and get in the blind. I barely had time to get an arrow nocked and settle in when the axis came back. He was acting skittish and didn't act like he was going to commit to coming in, so when he gave me a broadside shot I eased the Bowtech back and cut loose only to see the arrow skip under him (or so I thought). Then the feeder was over run with pigs, including a couple that would go well over 200#'s.
When I recovered the arrow we discovered blood all the way past the fletching's but not much of a blood trail. We finally cut a blood trail and thanks to Lewis' fantastic tracking and knowledge of where the animal would probably head we recovered the axis. He was 24" and extremely heavy mass, but was missing one cottle tine. Unfortunately it was an axis that had been shot by another hunter in the hindquarter and it was obvious that he had been suffering (ribs and hip bone showing and no backstrap at all). We both decided the meat would not be eatible but I'm thankful the Lord allowed me to put an end to his suffering.
Being the class act they are, Lewis offered to go out into the gun pasture and shoot me an axis doe and the owner would take it up to Syracuse for me to be processed. I passed, but it was an incredible gesture that many ranches would offer.
If you are looking for an inexpensive bowhunt for pigs and exotics, you would hard pressed to find something better than the Boone ranch. I had shot opportunities on every sitting, they have quality animals (rams, axis, blackbuck, sika, fallow and pigs) and Lewis will work his tail off to make sure you have a great experience. They are currently working on a new lodge but the accomodations were more than adequate. The bunkhouse sleep's 8, kitchen with all the utensils and cookware you'll need, gas grill, firepit, smoker, satelite TV for football, storage room for your animals with AC. Also, as I mentioned before , if you have friends that don't bowhunt, they can gun hunt for hog's while you bowhunt in a different pasture. They also have exotics in the gun pasture for a very reasonable price and I saw one axis that has to be pushing 40", if I could have come up with the $1800, he would have come home with me. We finished the weekend with 6 pigs and the axis buck.
Here are a few pictures from this weekend:
As soon as we got throught the gate we immediately saw a couple of axis bucks. On the tour we saw ram's, oryx, blackbuck and several 30" axis. So we decided to set me up the first evening in a ground blind where Lewis corn's the road in an attempt to bring in the axis we saw. Around 6:30 a nice meat hog came trotting into the corn and quickly met up with my G5 montec. After a quick trail job, we loaded him up and headed back to camp right at dark.
The next morning I sat in a ladder stand and had 12 blackbuck's and an axis that had dropped his horns come in. The largest blackbuck was easily 20" with unique markings, one eye was completely black, the other was brown. I finally decided that I needed to take this animal (I really wanted an axis for the meat). He came back in at 5yds and I needed him to take that one last step, except he and his buddies decided to turn around and walk off.
I headed into town around lunch with several friends that were hog hunting on the gun side of the ranch (very inexpensive -- $250/weekend for 2 hogs). When we came back, we drove down the county road that runs next to the bow pasture and saw 6-7 axis bucks near a double bull Lewis had set up. As we pulled up to the blind 2 large Catalina goats were already at the feeder, then Lewis says "big axis buck just behind the feeder". So I grab my bow and literally jump out of the truck as it was still easing along and get in the blind. I barely had time to get an arrow nocked and settle in when the axis came back. He was acting skittish and didn't act like he was going to commit to coming in, so when he gave me a broadside shot I eased the Bowtech back and cut loose only to see the arrow skip under him (or so I thought). Then the feeder was over run with pigs, including a couple that would go well over 200#'s.
When I recovered the arrow we discovered blood all the way past the fletching's but not much of a blood trail. We finally cut a blood trail and thanks to Lewis' fantastic tracking and knowledge of where the animal would probably head we recovered the axis. He was 24" and extremely heavy mass, but was missing one cottle tine. Unfortunately it was an axis that had been shot by another hunter in the hindquarter and it was obvious that he had been suffering (ribs and hip bone showing and no backstrap at all). We both decided the meat would not be eatible but I'm thankful the Lord allowed me to put an end to his suffering.
Being the class act they are, Lewis offered to go out into the gun pasture and shoot me an axis doe and the owner would take it up to Syracuse for me to be processed. I passed, but it was an incredible gesture that many ranches would offer.
If you are looking for an inexpensive bowhunt for pigs and exotics, you would hard pressed to find something better than the Boone ranch. I had shot opportunities on every sitting, they have quality animals (rams, axis, blackbuck, sika, fallow and pigs) and Lewis will work his tail off to make sure you have a great experience. They are currently working on a new lodge but the accomodations were more than adequate. The bunkhouse sleep's 8, kitchen with all the utensils and cookware you'll need, gas grill, firepit, smoker, satelite TV for football, storage room for your animals with AC. Also, as I mentioned before , if you have friends that don't bowhunt, they can gun hunt for hog's while you bowhunt in a different pasture. They also have exotics in the gun pasture for a very reasonable price and I saw one axis that has to be pushing 40", if I could have come up with the $1800, he would have come home with me. We finished the weekend with 6 pigs and the axis buck.
Here are a few pictures from this weekend:
Attached Files
Comment