I mentioned this kill in another thread "1 day, 2 record book rams", but that story was mainly about the Mouflon I took in the morning. This is the second ram I took on that day. First, let me say it was truely an honor to take this old warhorse. Rickey, the owner of Hunts Bowhunting Ranch, had told me about all the hunters who had tried to get this animal with no results. He had been on the ranch over 5 years and had eluded many good hunters, so I figured my chances were slim, but I still wanted to try. I hadn't seen him on my morning hunt and even touring the ranch later with Rickey, we didn't locate him. Anyway, after a good lunch at the bunkhouse, I was ready to try my luck at getting either a Black Hawaiian or a Corsican, both of which I needed for the texas slam. Yeah, this old Missouri boy is doing his best to get a texas slam. Don't get me wrong, I love my home state of Missouri, but I lived in Texas for several years while in the Air Force and I really like the state and the people. But, back to the hunt. Picture it, 4:00 PM in East Texas. Sitting in a ground blind waiting to see what might come by, hopeing to see some animals. At this time, I'm just enjoying being outside and feeling blessed just for having the opportunity to hunt in this nation's great outdoors. Well, there wasn't much came by for a while. A few fallow bucks and does, some rams, but not corsican or hawaiian rams, a 4X4 red deer stag (a dandy animal) and some axis does. Beautiful animals all. Then the feeder went off. A lot more animals came within shooting range, to include one of the most beautiful sika bucks I have ever seen. He was a regal animal, 4X4, and stood proud. If I didn't already have a sika buck, I would have definitely tried to take him. Anyway, I sat there for a while longer but no hawaiian or corsican. I called Rickey and he said he had seen the old black hawaiian in a pasture not too far from my stand if I wanted to try to take him. I couldn't resist. I made my way to the pasture he mentioned and there he was, about 150 yards out in the pasture and was all by himself. No other animals around. This was definitely going to be a challenge. I walked to where I almost had the wind in my favor, but there was still dry grass on the ground that made some dreaded crunching noise. My chances were slim!!!! But this old man had to try to take that old ram. HA!! I inched my way toward the prey, heart pounding with every step. You know the feeling. That's one of the feelings that makes us keep hunting. Step by step I was getting closer and the old feller knew I was there. He would turn slightly, take a look at me, and then move on. It was as though he was just trying to tempt me. Finally, I got to within about 50 yards. It was as though we were playing cat and mouse. He would stand still until I got about 50 yards from him and then he would move off to keep that 45 to 50 yards distance. I could understand how he had stayed alive for so long. I had a decision to make. I could take a shot at 50 yards, a moving shot at 40 yards, or let him go. Well, since I had practiced with my crossbow a lot at 40 yards, even at moving targets, I decided to take a moving shot. I walked toward that beautiful animal and at the same time drew up the crossbow and released the safety. I got the ram in my scope and he started moving, but not too fast. I lead him a little and fired. Not a perfect shot, but a respectable one. A little to the rear, basically a high gut shot. It was enough to slow him down to take a quick second shot. This one was from about 25 yards and it did the trick. I was so happy that this hunt ended this way. It was just like two old warhorses matching wits and wisdom. It was one of the most enjoyable hunts I have ever been on. And this old, honorable ram is going to look good in my trophy room. Thanks for looking!!!!!!
/IMG_0089.jpg
/IMG_0089.jpg
Comment