Kilimanjaro Report post Posted August 16, 2007 This trip started with quite the bang, so to speak! I have been back home in TX for the last two and half weeks with my wife... we had our first child last Wed back in our hometown surrounded by friends and family!! She was born a perfect, healthy baby girl at 2:30PM that we named Sydney Lee. She was born 7lbs. 2 oz. and was 20in long with a full head of hair!! It was an expierence that I wouldn't trade for the world! She had me instantly wrapped around her little fingers. My wife had a flawless pregnancy and birth and was outta the hospital in less than 2 days.. the rest of the time was spent hanging out at home and spending time with my two girls.. BUT, as you all know me, I've gotta squeeze in a hunt or 2 if at all possible. And with all that downtime, my wife gave me the go ahead to give the axis deer and hogs heck for a couple of days. That was all the blessing I needed! I had two days of hunting! I have a really close buddy who has a ranch that is loaded with free range exotics down about 2 hours from my hometown.. the exotics in the area have been free range for well over half a century now.. They are so well established in that part of the TX hill country that most folks just consider them as part of the landscape now.. Anyways, I called him up and was given the green light to take an axis or sika buck and all the hogs I could shoot. I made the drive to the ranch and got a last minute look around the place before dark. Saw a ton of axis does and a few small bucks before dark.. I found a good opening that was near a really thick cedar thicket and that was where I decided to sit up in the morning.. I was there well before daybreak on the first morning and man, was it HUMID!! I was being carried off by the mosquitos and gnats! The chiggers and ticks weren't helping matters either!! I sat as still as I could as daybreak came, and as I was fighting the bugs off, daybreak was coming over me.. It got light enough to see thru my binos, and I immediately began seeing plenty of axis deer. There were bucks in all stages of development pouring into the field from the cedar covered hills.. some with fresh, thick velvet, some getting ready to polish off, and a couple in full blown rut! Because axis deer have no set breeding season and breed year round, you can have hard horned bucks at any time of the year.. After about 30 minutes of watching them, the herd began to get really nervous acting and began snorting and stomping and looking back over their shoulders back towards the cedar thicket. Sure enough, out walks a sawggering, pot bellied buck that was showing the whole herd that he was the owner of that field.. he hopped the fence and began to pee onto a spot in the grass, and then would rake it with his antlers.. he was alot darker in color than the rest of the bucks in the field, and had a really big neck on him.. I looked at his rack, and began to size him up.... " Good beams, prolly right at 30", really good fronts, good seconds, carries his mass well out on the beams, and is pretty damned wide!!! " " Why heck, this deer has everything you could want in an axis buck!!" "What are you waiting for....get him!!" I found a good V in the crook of a cedar bush and waited for my shot.. I ranged him about 10 times and kept coming up with either 188 and 190.. I was carrying my brand new .300WSM that I had built for me the past spring.. I had shot it at the range an couple fo times, but this was the first hunt I've got to carry it on.. "Ok, he's broadside, take your time and... breathe... and SQUEEZZZEEE." Smoked him!! He didn't take another step.. The WSM punched a 180 grain hole clean through his shoulder and out his lower neck on the opp. side. I made my way over to him and sat down next to him and admired my first trophy axis buck.. He was everything I could have wanted.. As I sat there, I realized how lucky I was to be able to hunt a really prime piece of TX property, and how lucky I was to be able to take a buck like this.. As I sitting there admiring him, I realized it's getting warm alreay! So I boogy to the truck and get him loaded into the back.. barely!! It must have been quite the sight to see me trying to pull this dude into the back of my truck solo!! Finally, I get him loaded and make my way over to the ranch house and wake my buddy up to take a few pics of me with him before I start cleaning him.. After I got him cleaned, we made a pass thru the ranch and picked up several memory cards from a couple of cameras they had put out in hopes of getting a pattern on the hogs that frequent the property.. Being that was in the upper 90's the past 2 weeks, we soon found out that they were all coming in during the middle of the night to the water hole.. I sat that evening and the next morning in a blind with my Hoyt in hand, but they never showed up.. oh well, there will always be hog hunting back home.. Besides, I really didn't want to clean a smelly ol' hog in the summer heat!! Well, all in all it was quite the trip.. I still can't believe I'm a Daddy now.. I'm beside myself with pride!! I feel like I am on top of the world..a beautiful wife and now a beautiful brand new, healthy baby girl!! It was quite a ride these last couple of weeks!! ( As bad as I want to show her off and share pics with all of you, I'm gonna keep my baby daughter off the WWW.. I guess I'm just a tad bit paranoid with all the loonies out there! Thanks in advance for understanding, guys..) But I'll plaster my mug on there for all of ya to see! A couple of Blackbuck does and bucks.. these bucks haven't quite hit maturity yet as seen by their color.. they'll darken up with age and the onset of cooler weather.. I snapped this pic of him as he lays after the shot.. I was giddy as a schoolgirl right about here!! and here he is... ..with all the rain TX has been receiving, the quail crop is gonna be a good one.. here is a Bobwhite hen I snuck up on that had 6 almost grown chicks with her.. I was amazed at how close she let me get to her! ..and here is a critter that is synonomous with TX.. These little boogers are everywhere and I still get a kick outta watching them.. they can't see worth a darn, but if the get a whiff of ya, they'll start to bobbin' their heads, trying to figure out where the smell is coming from.. I snapped this pic just as the head -bobbing started.. ..and then I snuck up on him and snapped a couple more.. thanks for lookin' guys!! Hope all of you are having as good a month as I am!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Scott, Congrats on both the trophy baby and the nice axis buck. Curious: how much for the deer? -TONY Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted August 17, 2007 That's great! Congrats on the new addition to the family and also for the boomer buck. Great write up and thanks for sharing it with us. It might be pretty tough to beat a month like that. Phil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwoGuns Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Congradulations on the new baby Scott. You are going to love being a dad...no greater gift in the world. Pics?? Looks like a sweet axis as well, nice job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Congratulations Scottyboy!! That's big news! Thanks for sharing. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azyoung Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Congratulations Scottyboy!! azyoung Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Sweet! Congrats all around! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZP&Y Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Congratulations on fatherhood! Excellent deer- first time I saw one of those was on Ted Nugent's hunting show. Your's is much bigger than his that he took on the program! Thanks for sharin' the Texas - Family and Hunt story! AzP&Y Doug Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted August 17, 2007 thanks alot guys!! I really appreciate the kind words.. Tony, fortunately, I was allowed to hunt the ranch for free .. The owner's son has been one of my real good buddies for years.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Guys, I think Scott forgot to mention the 5:18 am wake up call he gave me when he got his Axis buck! He couldnt hear anything i was saying cause of that dang muzzle brake i tried to talk him out of, but he was pumped! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kilimanjaro Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Hey, it was 7:18 in TX and you said to call you if I got anything!! So I did!! And the muzzlebreak ROCKS!! Its only loud the first few times.. then the ringing in your ears drowns out any "noise" you might hear!!!! J/K!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Hey, it was 7:18 in TX and you said to call you if I got anything!! So I did!! And the muzzlebreak ROCKS!! Its only loud the first few times.. then the ringing in your ears drowns out any "noise" you might hear!!!! J/K!! NO UR NOT!!! thats exactly right on with muzzlebrakes!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Huge congrats on your baby girl!!! That's also a magnificent critter you got there........I love how symmetrical it is, is that common to be that symmetrical? Great photos and story as usuall, congrats again JIM> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shortpants Report post Posted August 17, 2007 CONGRATULATIONS SCOTTY BOY!!!!! What a month! Welcome to fatherhood, as you know I just had my first back in Jan. She's 7 months old already! It goes fast. HOLY AXIS BATMAN!!! That is a great Axis Deer. Great write-up, thanks for sharing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron G. Report post Posted August 17, 2007 Congrats on the arrival of your baby girl! Nice Axis also! Ron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
