For those that haven't seen the thread with his story, Brady was burned badly two Thanksgivings ago. I posted the following thread updating his miraculous progress on the way to recovery a few months ago...
Shortly after posting, I was contacted by J-J Matt (Matt Hicks). Matt told me about their foundation, Life and Liberty Outdoors, and how they take Disabled Veterans and sick children on hunting trips. Matt told me he wanted Brady (and his brother and me) to come out from their home in Mississippi and hunt exotics at thedroptineranch.com! Wow...was he ever excited!
When we arrived at The Drop Tine Ranch outside Abilene on Friday, we were hit with a huge rain storm that dumped on us for over an hour. It made the red dirt on the ranch nasty, but it cooled the temps down for the weekend and it never really got "Texas Hot" which was awesome.
Brady and Matt talked about what he'd like to shoot and the top 3 on the Hit List were Axis, Red Stag, and Fallow. They sat Friday evening and Saturday morning at a blind that a big Axis had been frequenting. Unfortunately, there were several Aoudad that were hitting the feeder and keeping everything else at bay.
They decided to go safari style after breakfast and see what we could find. He had a couple of close calls including a big White Fallow but never could get a shot off. Brady and Bo are used to hunting thick woods in Mississippi but the Drop Tine has some heavy cover of Mesquite and the high grass made it really difficult.
There were 2 other boys at the ranch that were going through Cancer Treatments and they were both able to harvest some great animals! By Saturday night, Brady was the only one not tagged out.
It was decided Sunday, that they would go Safari style again and try to get Brady on a good animal. Again after a couple of close calls, the right opportunity just hadn't presented itself. Matt was persistent in saying that they were going to make it happen and on several occasions refused to settle on a smaller Axis.
Around 10:30 Sunday, time was getting short as Brady and his brother had to make a flight back to Mississippi. Matt said we were headed to the "Jungle" and thought this would be our best opportunity as it was really hard to get to and no one had been back there due to the high water.
We get to the area and the first thing we see is a big whitetail buck. We go a little further and Brady's brother says "Axis Buck!!!". Brady got in position for the shot and there was a very small window to thread in a shot. Matt waited for another Axis buck to clear and gave the go ahead....BOOM!!!! Brady let the .300 short mag eat! His first time to shoot a gun since his accident. The buck went down immediately and the celebration was on!!!
Huge thanks again for the opportunity of a lifetime for Brady (and Bo). You, your Dad, Britt, and Shea were awesome guides for these boys. The quality and quantity of food from Verinski's Rub Shack out of Amarillo was ridiculous!!! We appreciate Corey and The Droptine Ranch, as well, for hosting this wonderful event.
Pics to follow....
Shortly after posting, I was contacted by J-J Matt (Matt Hicks). Matt told me about their foundation, Life and Liberty Outdoors, and how they take Disabled Veterans and sick children on hunting trips. Matt told me he wanted Brady (and his brother and me) to come out from their home in Mississippi and hunt exotics at thedroptineranch.com! Wow...was he ever excited!
When we arrived at The Drop Tine Ranch outside Abilene on Friday, we were hit with a huge rain storm that dumped on us for over an hour. It made the red dirt on the ranch nasty, but it cooled the temps down for the weekend and it never really got "Texas Hot" which was awesome.
Brady and Matt talked about what he'd like to shoot and the top 3 on the Hit List were Axis, Red Stag, and Fallow. They sat Friday evening and Saturday morning at a blind that a big Axis had been frequenting. Unfortunately, there were several Aoudad that were hitting the feeder and keeping everything else at bay.
They decided to go safari style after breakfast and see what we could find. He had a couple of close calls including a big White Fallow but never could get a shot off. Brady and Bo are used to hunting thick woods in Mississippi but the Drop Tine has some heavy cover of Mesquite and the high grass made it really difficult.
There were 2 other boys at the ranch that were going through Cancer Treatments and they were both able to harvest some great animals! By Saturday night, Brady was the only one not tagged out.
It was decided Sunday, that they would go Safari style again and try to get Brady on a good animal. Again after a couple of close calls, the right opportunity just hadn't presented itself. Matt was persistent in saying that they were going to make it happen and on several occasions refused to settle on a smaller Axis.
Around 10:30 Sunday, time was getting short as Brady and his brother had to make a flight back to Mississippi. Matt said we were headed to the "Jungle" and thought this would be our best opportunity as it was really hard to get to and no one had been back there due to the high water.
We get to the area and the first thing we see is a big whitetail buck. We go a little further and Brady's brother says "Axis Buck!!!". Brady got in position for the shot and there was a very small window to thread in a shot. Matt waited for another Axis buck to clear and gave the go ahead....BOOM!!!! Brady let the .300 short mag eat! His first time to shoot a gun since his accident. The buck went down immediately and the celebration was on!!!
Huge thanks again for the opportunity of a lifetime for Brady (and Bo). You, your Dad, Britt, and Shea were awesome guides for these boys. The quality and quantity of food from Verinski's Rub Shack out of Amarillo was ridiculous!!! We appreciate Corey and The Droptine Ranch, as well, for hosting this wonderful event.
Pics to follow....
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