There will be a full version of this story later. Due to limited time I am posting simply one of the evening hunts I experienced on this trip.
Life had been rough as bow season opened. I hadn't been on a vacation in over a year, and the local hunting did not look very optimistic. A nice hunt in south Texas sounded really really good. With my fingers crossed I called Jim down at Bowhunter's Paradise, and fortune smiled on me. Due to cancellations there was a pretty empty week toward the end of bow season. I jumped at the opportunity and started my mental packing list.
I never feel like I am a visitor when I pull up to the Paradise gate; instead it is like I am simply returning home. My main focus for the next four days was a whitetail over 125", but I had told Jim, "Big is big. If a 36" Axis wonders through a shooting lane, I'm smoking him." So while whitetail was at the top of my list there were several species on the ranch that I still didn't have a trophy of. My last hunt at this ranch had seen me bring home a very nice blackbuck. After whitetail, I was secretly hoping for maybe a giant axis.
My first evening I rode an ATV out to a remote blind and settled in for a warm afternoon/evening hunt. About 15 minutes after sitting down I heard the clattering of rocks indicated something hurriedly making its way across the slope. The sounds of rocks clicking in that terrain carries a surprising distance. I've heard it before and thought "that's right in front of me" only to realize it was a pig rooting on the opposite canyon wall. Well this clattering was shortly followed by two black pigs who came barreling in, did one lap in the clearing in front of the blind then continued on their mad dash to somewhere else. I had already made a pact with myself that cull bucks, does, and pigs would not be shot at till I had a trophy on the ground.
An hour later as I was finishing my bottle of water, a family group of Aoudad wandered in. The ram was about 2" short of being a shooter, but they provided some interesting entertainment. Shortly thereafter a whitetail doe and spike showed up. This was more entertaining as the aoudad sheep constantly tried to run the whitetails off. At this point I'll admit the frustration was building. One animal 2" small and another that I had promised myself not to shoot yet. Adding to the small circus in front of me a sika doe sauntered through abjectly ignoring the sheep. The drive down, the stress of life the previous weeks, and the frustration of the scene in front of me left me with quite literally my head in my hands, eyes closed, trying to relax a little. A few minutes later I slowly opened my eyes and scanned the clearing. My jaw dropped and my heart almost jumped plum out of my chest.
In a pose from some sporting calendar standing 20 yards away was the largest Sika buck I had ever seen. It was one of the moments when you see an old mature animal and as a hunter you just think, "that thing is a hauss." It didn't take me long to decide that I had no Sika on the wall, and that would be a dandy to fill that spot. Despite a very rattled mind, I tried to recall the ranch minimums for Sika bucks. I've never been a big fan of Sika; because, I'd never really seen one that impressed me. As a result I hadn't paid the minimums much attention. I remembered some species being the main beam as long as from the animals mid shoulder to the ground. Conveniently the Sika dropped his head to feed, and his rack easily cleared the top of his shoulders. Now I was nervous. This was the first truly trophy caliber animal I had ever been confronted with.
Fate is cruel sometimes. I drew on the buck who was quartering away slightly at 20 yards. My right hand settled into anchor and I settled into a shot sequence.... only to see nothing but red aoudad hair in my sight picture. I let down and waited for a clear shot. My heart was racing, my breathing was erratic, and I almost felt dizzy. Long story short I drew 4 more times only to have the Sika buck turn to a bad shot angle or another animal step in front of or behind him. It was like some sort of bad joke. As the minutes ticked off the buck had worked his way out to 26 yards or so. Finally there was a clear shot. I drew, found my anchor, centered my peep. Slowly I added some pressure to the thumb trigger on my release. Then I felt the intense desire to punch it before anything else got in the way. A feeling of dread hit me, and I let the shot down before I panic jammed my release trigger. The rapid let down let the broadhead bump the front of the blind. Everything within 20 yards jumped about 5 feet and froze. The Sika had just frozen, head swiveling fast. I drew, and repeated my sequence. His hindquarters dropped an inch or so and I could see muscles tensing. He had had enough and he was getting the heck out of Dodge any second. I preloaded the release and let my back muscles take over. I concentrated on a dark spot just behind his nearside elbow. I started slightly as the arrow launched from my Switchback XT. My eyes easily followed the lit nock as it arced well up and then began floating back down and into the exact spot I had been looking. The buck bolted, and I knew without a doubt I had made as perfect of a shot as was possible. With approaching darkness, and absolute confidence in the shot I only waited about 10 minutes before edging out of the blind to check for blood.
There was a large splatter of almost florescent red blood where the buck had been standing. A few feet later was a generous trail of bright arterial blood. I crept down the hill trying to be patient and not just rush the easily followable trail. Then I looked up and saw him. He was a mere 40 or 50 yards from where the arrow had passed through him, and it looked like he had slid the last 10 yards down the steep hill. There was no ground shrinkage here, this animal was impressive, and I was in awe.
Well it turns out the ranch minimum was 16". My buck.... came in at 21.5" main beams which had a circumference of 5" at the base. A very very nice Sika buck. It had all come together. A last minute trip, a remote stand, shot discipline, and then a perfect heart shot. I guess the good Lord knows what we need sometimes, and I have to give all the thanks to Him. I felt revitalized, like maybe life wasn't going to blow me over quite yet. He's going on the wall, and I won't forget watching that arrow arc into his chest for a very long time. It was a point in time that is etched in my memory.
Having said all that here is a LDP.
Life had been rough as bow season opened. I hadn't been on a vacation in over a year, and the local hunting did not look very optimistic. A nice hunt in south Texas sounded really really good. With my fingers crossed I called Jim down at Bowhunter's Paradise, and fortune smiled on me. Due to cancellations there was a pretty empty week toward the end of bow season. I jumped at the opportunity and started my mental packing list.
I never feel like I am a visitor when I pull up to the Paradise gate; instead it is like I am simply returning home. My main focus for the next four days was a whitetail over 125", but I had told Jim, "Big is big. If a 36" Axis wonders through a shooting lane, I'm smoking him." So while whitetail was at the top of my list there were several species on the ranch that I still didn't have a trophy of. My last hunt at this ranch had seen me bring home a very nice blackbuck. After whitetail, I was secretly hoping for maybe a giant axis.
My first evening I rode an ATV out to a remote blind and settled in for a warm afternoon/evening hunt. About 15 minutes after sitting down I heard the clattering of rocks indicated something hurriedly making its way across the slope. The sounds of rocks clicking in that terrain carries a surprising distance. I've heard it before and thought "that's right in front of me" only to realize it was a pig rooting on the opposite canyon wall. Well this clattering was shortly followed by two black pigs who came barreling in, did one lap in the clearing in front of the blind then continued on their mad dash to somewhere else. I had already made a pact with myself that cull bucks, does, and pigs would not be shot at till I had a trophy on the ground.
An hour later as I was finishing my bottle of water, a family group of Aoudad wandered in. The ram was about 2" short of being a shooter, but they provided some interesting entertainment. Shortly thereafter a whitetail doe and spike showed up. This was more entertaining as the aoudad sheep constantly tried to run the whitetails off. At this point I'll admit the frustration was building. One animal 2" small and another that I had promised myself not to shoot yet. Adding to the small circus in front of me a sika doe sauntered through abjectly ignoring the sheep. The drive down, the stress of life the previous weeks, and the frustration of the scene in front of me left me with quite literally my head in my hands, eyes closed, trying to relax a little. A few minutes later I slowly opened my eyes and scanned the clearing. My jaw dropped and my heart almost jumped plum out of my chest.
In a pose from some sporting calendar standing 20 yards away was the largest Sika buck I had ever seen. It was one of the moments when you see an old mature animal and as a hunter you just think, "that thing is a hauss." It didn't take me long to decide that I had no Sika on the wall, and that would be a dandy to fill that spot. Despite a very rattled mind, I tried to recall the ranch minimums for Sika bucks. I've never been a big fan of Sika; because, I'd never really seen one that impressed me. As a result I hadn't paid the minimums much attention. I remembered some species being the main beam as long as from the animals mid shoulder to the ground. Conveniently the Sika dropped his head to feed, and his rack easily cleared the top of his shoulders. Now I was nervous. This was the first truly trophy caliber animal I had ever been confronted with.
Fate is cruel sometimes. I drew on the buck who was quartering away slightly at 20 yards. My right hand settled into anchor and I settled into a shot sequence.... only to see nothing but red aoudad hair in my sight picture. I let down and waited for a clear shot. My heart was racing, my breathing was erratic, and I almost felt dizzy. Long story short I drew 4 more times only to have the Sika buck turn to a bad shot angle or another animal step in front of or behind him. It was like some sort of bad joke. As the minutes ticked off the buck had worked his way out to 26 yards or so. Finally there was a clear shot. I drew, found my anchor, centered my peep. Slowly I added some pressure to the thumb trigger on my release. Then I felt the intense desire to punch it before anything else got in the way. A feeling of dread hit me, and I let the shot down before I panic jammed my release trigger. The rapid let down let the broadhead bump the front of the blind. Everything within 20 yards jumped about 5 feet and froze. The Sika had just frozen, head swiveling fast. I drew, and repeated my sequence. His hindquarters dropped an inch or so and I could see muscles tensing. He had had enough and he was getting the heck out of Dodge any second. I preloaded the release and let my back muscles take over. I concentrated on a dark spot just behind his nearside elbow. I started slightly as the arrow launched from my Switchback XT. My eyes easily followed the lit nock as it arced well up and then began floating back down and into the exact spot I had been looking. The buck bolted, and I knew without a doubt I had made as perfect of a shot as was possible. With approaching darkness, and absolute confidence in the shot I only waited about 10 minutes before edging out of the blind to check for blood.
There was a large splatter of almost florescent red blood where the buck had been standing. A few feet later was a generous trail of bright arterial blood. I crept down the hill trying to be patient and not just rush the easily followable trail. Then I looked up and saw him. He was a mere 40 or 50 yards from where the arrow had passed through him, and it looked like he had slid the last 10 yards down the steep hill. There was no ground shrinkage here, this animal was impressive, and I was in awe.
Well it turns out the ranch minimum was 16". My buck.... came in at 21.5" main beams which had a circumference of 5" at the base. A very very nice Sika buck. It had all come together. A last minute trip, a remote stand, shot discipline, and then a perfect heart shot. I guess the good Lord knows what we need sometimes, and I have to give all the thanks to Him. I felt revitalized, like maybe life wasn't going to blow me over quite yet. He's going on the wall, and I won't forget watching that arrow arc into his chest for a very long time. It was a point in time that is etched in my memory.
Having said all that here is a LDP.
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