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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting Articles Archives > JHOers Round Up Texas Exotics - JHO Hunt Part II
JHOers Round Up Texas Exotics - JHO Hunt Part II
Chris Fullilove - JHO ProStaff
- Houston, TX
May 22, 2007
“In that area over there, we saw a nice 30-plus inch axis buck yesterday”, said our guide, Shane Hearn, as he pointed at a cluster of oak and cedar trees.
He continued to drive slowly down the rocky ranch road in an attempt to identify some axis herds in the surrounding hills and ravines. Finding axis roaming the hillsides and creek beds didn’t take long, and understandably so, since this part of the Texas hill country is chock-full of free ranging exotics such as the axis deer, blackbuck antelope, and sika deer.
Shane Hearn, of BorderBandit’s guide and outfitting (http://www.jesseshunting.com/site/iframe.html?href=http://www.jesseshunting.com/reviewpost/showproduct.php/product/2154/cat/237 ) , was hosting five hunters from Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors website and forum. This was the first time most of us had hunted exotics, and a first experience with safari style hunting. Rumor has it that exotic venison (axis, blackbuck, sika, and others) is excellent table fare and we were out to validate that claim.
As the truck eased along the rocky, limestone roads, our eyes lit up when we started seeing subtle movement within the trees. There were several groups of axis scattered throughout the brush, some at a distance too far to shoot and others were too concealed by the trees. Our hunting party, composed of Manny, Brad, Shane, and myself got out of the truck quietly to try and get closer to the deer in the brush.
Manny saw some deer lower down the hill, and started sneaking through the trees in an attempt to bring down what would be his second axis deer of the weekend. Brad and Shane started stalking closer to another group of axis that were around the hillside. The herd was a long way off and was separated by a large span of open ground which would make it challenging to stalk undetected. After stalking and eventually spooking several deer in the area without any opportunity, Brad and Shane decided to head back to the truck so that they could go to the next hill to glass and look for game. Manny was already waiting at the truck, as an opportunity never developed while he was stalking his group of axis does.
We followed the road along an exposed ridge, as our eyes scoured the brush, trees, and canyons below looking for game. We saw several groups of axis, one of which had a couple of large bucks, a long way off and we kept a mental note to get closer if nothing in the immediate region turned up.
Manny and the Hog
Manny was after his second axis doe when this hog made the mistake of showing up. |
After a good bit of searching, we started venturing into some new territory that we didn’t hunt on the previous day. It was still early in the morning, and a large percentage of the 5,000 acres was still untapped, so we were eager to see what was in store each time we turned down a new road, crawled up a creek bed, or traversed a hillside.
Anticipation was finally answered when we turned onto a perimeter road and saw a dark spot 400 yards away. Shane raised his binoculars and declared, “that’s a pig!”
Eager to take advantage of the opportunity, Manny got out of the truck and began slipping in and out of the brush line trying to get closer. He would walk within the tree line and then poke his head out to check on where the pig was. As he came upon a large cedar tree that was protruding out beyond the rest of the brush he looked down the road and noticed the pig was starting to trot towards him.
Fortunately the wind was in his face, but still, he was concerned that the pig was going to bust him, so he kneeled down and prepared to take a shot. At less than 100 yards, Manny put the pig down with one shot in the ear. Afterwards he raised his rifle to salute the chase and the wild pig. It was a nice 60 pound sow, a perfect compliment to the axis venison that he harvested the day before. The pig was a nice bonus to the hunting package, since pigs were free if you shot an exotic.
After loading the pig into the truck, Brad was up next to find an axis doe. We drove the ranch truck to the other property line which was contained by a barbed wire cattle fence in a valley and continued to search for game. As we drove out of a large oak mott, Shane was glassing some of the hills and tree lines with his binoculars when he spotted two axis does across a canyon on an adjacent hillside. Jim, the ranch owner who was also with us, ranged the does at 207+ yards across a small canyon. Brad got out of the truck and prepared a steady rest, using Shane’s pack, across the hood of the truck and gently squeezed off a well placed shot with his 7mm mag on the larger of the two does. It ran a little ways and was then concealed within a clump of oaks at which point we were pretty sure it went down.
Success!
Shane congratulates Brad on a great shot and a nice axis doe. |
Shane and Brad headed off across the hillside and down into the canyon to collect the doe. After walking about 250 yards, they found the doe, right where they thought it went down. Handshakes and congrats were exchanged and then Shane field dressed the doe and proceeded to carry the axis back to where the truck could come pick us up. We loaded up in the truck and started heading in as we concluded another successful day of hunting.
The hill country is one of the most scenic places to hunt in the state of Texas. In addition to the landscape, the opportunity to observe and hunt the abundant free range exotic species such as axis and blackbuck antelope truly opens one’s eyes to a new and different experience. While I’m not accustomed to seeing large concentrations of free range wildlife, or hunting with a group, it was very enjoyable to share the time scouting, stalking, searching, and hunting with friends. Watching Brad enjoy his hunt and observing Manny sneak up on a hog and make the decision to shoot when he did was just as enjoyable as if I were doing it myself. I’ll definitely be looking forward to the next JHO Texas Exotic Hunt.
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