Adjam5 Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 I am back a few days from my Texas Hill country visit. I must say that state makes me fall in love with it more and more each year I go. Everyone is so friendly and curteous. Strangers cannot do enough for you. I know it ain't my good looks with folks being so nice to me. So it must be the Lone Star state. I flew into San Antonio and the very first evening my good friend Herbie had me posted in a tripod stand in South Texas...Gonzales to be exact. This place has a hog problem and the land owner has given my friend permission to shoot hogs here. I heard them snappin jaws and snorting in the brush, but I couldnt hold on. They had soo much rain in that area the bugs came back out and I was getting eatin alive. If I'd have known...would have brought the therma cell. Next year. We drove closer to Kerrville, ate and stayed the night in Flatonia. Then off to the Hill country in the am. My friends ranch is in Harper. About 30 miles north of Kerrville, where I will be hunting free ranging Axis later. Herbie raises Exotics and monster whitetails for sale at auction. He has a deer breeders permit and I was able to partake in some darting of animals for transport. All I can say is...HOLY MOLY! Darting deer is no walk in the park. A few Axis bucks ran into the hi fencing and got caught up in the fence suspended a few times. The Sika buck(4x4 17") he sold was goring up all the other animals as they ran and congregated. It made for quite intense moments getting these animals out of the fencing and sedating them for transport. The dart gun is a modifed Marlin .22bolt gun propelled by blanks. Darting is not for the faint of heart. The first sitting at the Axis honey hole (as they call it) did not let me down. We have this joke that, I say "I'm not gonna shoot the first buck that comes along...incase there is a bigger one on its way."...Right. I am hunting in the parking lot of a meat processor/taxidermist, roughly 75 yards off a main road on a 9 acre parcel where my friend Herbie maintains two feeders down in this bowl 100 yards off along the Guadalupe river. Whitetail, Axis, Rio Grand Turkeys, a Nutria and 2 house cats were my vistors over a weeks worth of hunting these two stands. As the turkeys were roosted about 50 yards off to my right. Gobbling their heads off at the noise of each passing truck. I settled in my box blind and set up my vid cam, still cam and got comfy waiting for light and the feeder to go off. 7:10 the feeder goes off. But all of the turkeys( I counted 35) already flew down and were waiting for the corn to be flung out the feeder. The sound of the feeder brought the deer wheich I could not see before out of the brush and the competition began for the corn on the ground. The Turkeys were bullying the deer away from the corn and the deer were backing off. As the commotion at the feeder was going on a few more deer stepped out of the brush and one of them was a shooter 3x3(18") Axis in hard horn. I took a few pics, got some video and shot him. he ran about 30 yards over a berm and piled up. Hunting over a feeder is something that I was not used to, but I am becoming more comfortable with. In NYS we cannot feed deer or bear. The deer us NYers shoot are all hard earned deer. Very different from the way hunters can hunt in states that allow feeding and hunting over feeders. The Axis deer are bigger than the Whitetail I saw. The Axis are an invasive species(intro'd in the 1930's) and the Texas Parks and Wildlife makes it quite affordable for non residents to buy a tag to help shoot these critters. $48 for a 5 day non res exotic tag. Axis can be hunted day/night/any weapon/without limit. Texas primarily regulates Whitetail, Mule deer, Turkey and Javelina. These are their main 4. I did touch base with Charlie(DoubleA) while I was down there, but we were unable to get together. Maybe next year Charlie! I appreciate the call. This was my 5th trip to Texas in as many years. My friend Herbie has come to NY and hunted with me in NY's Catskills. As I hope he will again this year. Texas is a place I am very hard considering retiring to. I call it a sportsman paradise. A lot of Texas pride where ever you go. Did I mention you can hunt year 'round? Now the pics. My video set up. A typical setting. A boss Tom that rarely broke strut. My buck alive. My buck dead. My friend Herbie helping me with the haul. One of his breeder bucks(Shooter 6.5 old). Was bottle raised. Shed his antlers a few weeks ago. Two of Shooters brothers who have not yet shed. A injured Whitetail and Axis at the feeder. It is a 30sec vid. The darts they used for sedating the exotics. A sedated Sika buck. You have to keep their heads up after they are darted or they axphysiciate. This is the company my friend Herbie and his son Aaron run in the Hill Country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Andrus Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 very nice buddy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 nice pictures anthony. definitely different hunting over corn then hunting back here at home. we've raised a few whitetails from when they were fawns and got partially tagged by hay equipment. unless you keep them in a pen they will increase their range and then eventually don't come back. definitely neat to have a whitetail right there like a pet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 Awesome story and pics again this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 Thanks for sharing the pics and story Anthony. Nice pics. Congratulations on the buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 Very cool Anthony as always. I don't think I've ever seen you take your bow though or have you? I need to get an exotic hunt up sometime just to do something different. Got plenty of hogs around here, been plenty of times hearing them slap their tushes together making that clapping noise you talked about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastTnHunter Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Looked like an awesome time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Great recap and pics Anthony! Easy to see why this has become such an addictive trip for ya! Congrats on another fine buck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Great story and pics Anthony, sounds like you had a blast as usual! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92xj Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 I think you need a hunting buddy for next year! Awesome story and pics, I am jealous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NS whitetail Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Looks like you had a blast :cool2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted February 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Very cool Anthony as always. I don't think I've ever seen you take your bow though or have you? Thanks everyone. I did have fun. I am still shaking my head about the whole darting of the animals. The animals are unpredictable. No John, I have not taken my bow to Texas...Yet. All of the stands my friend has set up in the Axis bowl are for gun hunting. It is possible to bow hunt Axis, but very hard. This months bowhunter magazine has an article on just that. Bowhunting Axis in the Hill Country. But mainly I try to travel lite with as little baggage as possible. The airlines really give it to you with baggage fees. It cost me $115 to take a 70lb cooler home full of Axis meat, plus my checked bag...$35. Not to mention I missed my flight on Tuesday and they got me for another $180 for a one way to NY weds morning. Forget about they way they beat the crap out of your luggage. So I'd rather not deal with a scope or bow that has been banged around by baggage gorillas. The bow might be the way to go in the future. This type of hunting has become way too easy compared to, hunting the way I have to here back home in NY. But I think my trips are more about spending time with my friend and absorbing the whole feel of Texas than the kill. The hunt/kill/meat/horns are a bonus. I see my friend only once a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawg Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Sounds like another great trip. Congrats!! I will agree, Texas is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 I'm going to have to check this when I get home Anthony. Sounds like you had another good time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 Congrats on another great Axis buck, Anthony. Great story of your adventure. Sounds like you really had a great time once again. Thanks for sharing the great pictures. The video was pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 Thanks everyone. I did have fun. I am still shaking my head about the whole darting of the animals. The animals are unpredictable. No John, I have not taken my bow to Texas...Yet. All of the stands my friend has set up in the Axis bowl are for gun hunting. It is possible to bow hunt Axis, but very hard. This months bowhunter magazine has an article on just that. Bowhunting Axis in the Hill Country. But mainly I try to travel lite with as little baggage as possible. The airlines really give it to you with baggage fees. It cost me $115 to take a 70lb cooler home full of Axis meat, plus my checked bag...$35. Not to mention I missed my flight on Tuesday and they got me for another $180 for a one way to NY weds morning. Forget about they way they beat the crap out of your luggage. So I'd rather not deal with a scope or bow that has been banged around by baggage gorillas. The bow might be the way to go in the future. This type of hunting has become way too easy compared to, hunting the way I have to here back home in NY. But I think my trips are more about spending time with my friend and absorbing the whole feel of Texas than the kill. The hunt/kill/meat/horns are a bonus. I see my friend only once a year. Totally understand that. You'd have to build a plywood box to halfway ensure your bow didn't get demolished the way they treat luggage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 another year of great pics and story. i agree with ben.... you need more help. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddyboman Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 Awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing. I have visited some of my family in Texas a time or two and I agree it is a fun state! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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