My Texas Bucks

[Outdoor Writer]

Just returned from picking up the double pedestal of the two TX bucks I killed last winter. Chris Krueger, Krueger's Creations, did the work. Note how he matched the "habitat" to the area where I hunted, as seen in the second photo. The buck on the left had a 3" hole where the 180-gr. bullet from my .300 Win. mag exited. It's now invisble. Also, at my request, he repaired the broken crab claw on the right antler of the same buck. The bottom rack in the third photo shows what it looked like broken.

 

 

 

[Chef]

Nice mounts Tony!

(and Chris)

[GameHauler]

Sweet Tony and looks great

[MangeyJoe]

Really Nice Mount!!!

[bowhunter4life]

beautiful

[draggingnuts]

Those look good he did a good job

[CouesWhitetail]

Those mounts look great!

[Ernesto C]

Wow! OUTSATNDING MOUNTS Tony! Congratulations.

 

Tell us the story of the hunts Tony, I always see on T.V. that they hunt from elevated blinds. How you get your amazing bucks?

 

Ernesto C

[The Coues]

Great mounts!

[Outdoor Writer]

Thanks all.

I'm quite pleased with the mount. In fact, I had two old Coues deer racks laying around and decided to have Chris do a similar set up with them. One of the bucks is the one pictured on the back of the book that has about 6 inches broken off one main beam. Chris will repair that. Right now he's working on a bobcat/snake combo for me, though.

Ernesto,

I don't "do" elevated blinds, feeders or bait piles. We hunted these TX deer just like I hunt Coues deer. Here's a few messages I had posted elsewhere back in Dec. and Jan.


*******
From my first trip:

Here's a photo of the oryx bull I shot last weekend in TX.

 

 

 

I also killed a very nice, heavy-beamed 9-pt. buck. Unfortunately, I won't have a photo of the buck until I get the antlers sent to me, likely this week or next.

I hit the buck too high just before dark on Sun., and he ran off into the thick cedars. We tracked him for a couple hours that night, then came back the next morning again. We eventually lost any blood trail and gave up since I had to leave for home and the ranch manager had to go to his other job.

He went back to the area the next day and found the buck dead. He was lying about 20 feet from a water hole. So he recovered the antlers and will be shipping them to me. Now I'll have to get a cape somewhere.

****

From my 2nd trip two weeks later:

Here's the buck I tagged this past weekend north of Uvalde. It's a legit 10-pt. without the broken point on the crab claw of the left main beam and a little kicker point coming off the right brow tine. Inside spread is 16 inches.

The other buck I shot two weeks ago is a good heavy 9-point with an 18" inside spread. I got another cape for him, too.

I need to go drop the capes off at the taxidermist right now. I'll take a couple of photos with both sets of antlers together and post them later with a few other terrain photos. etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*****

These are a few pix of the terrain.

The first one -- taken at 3X from where I shot -- is where I killed the buck this weekend. We were glassing from a ridge about 600-800 yds. away, and I found him with my 12X binocs. He was bedded with three does where the left arrow is pointing.

I stalked within 200 yards when one of the does nailed me. The buck popped up and trotted to the opening where the arrow on the right is pointing to him on the ground. He stopped, facing almost dead away and looking back at me.

Because I thought my .264 was shooting too high, I had left it in camp and used my custom Robar .300 Win. mag (in the photo above). I nailed him low in the neck -- bang-flop, DRT. The 180-gr. TBBC blew through the neck, leaving about a 3" exit hole for the taxidermist to patch up.

Other than the different types of vegetation, the terrain was very much like the areas where I hunt Coues deer. Since I refuse to hunt over feeders, it was an ideal situation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doug, the ranch manager, looking over one of the valleys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ernesto C]

Thanks Tony, that oryx is also outstanding!!

 

Ernesto C

[Coues Sniper]

I enjoyed the "Disco Camo" the most.

 

Vintage baby, vintage.