Flintlock Axis....

[Sam Stephens]

Got to go on another turkey scouting trip out at my friends ranch just outside or Kerrville Tx over the weekend. As usual any thing is fair game if given the chance and I'm always am ready for a good stalk. The ranch is about 2400 acres of the most beautiful ground found in Texas with abundant water it is a game rich area and you never know what you will run across. This ranch is not high fenced but is full of exotic animals from axis to fallow and too many others to list. The roughness of the land lend it to hold them with little hunting pressure they are always around. Our turkey opener is not far off so we went to scout and do a little hunting also. Over a few days we saw plenty of birds and it should be a good year for us. Made a few stalks on some hogs that never panned out but it's always good just being in the woods. Yesterday I lit out with my 54 and 32cal ( in case I found some squirrels or rabbits ect. ) so with my hunting bag a gun in each hand , ol hat on ect. My buddies were poken fun at me asking if I was going to tame the hills of of the hill country. I said I would do my best and off I went , crossed the river and up the rock cliff to the spot I wanted to be. It turned out to be a good choice because before I knew it I could see about 25 axis deer feeding on the edge of a field. A quick study of the ground and a strong wind in my favor I made my plan. Dropping down and out of sight with a quick half mile of footwork , I peeked over and there they were about 200 yards out. A little crawling and well placed steps got me under 100 steps from em , and found an old stump for a solid rest and settled my sights on a large buck. At the shot his front end hit the ground then he was up and slowly walked into a thicket. After a wait of good while I went over where I saw him go in and only saw one small drop of blood ( not good ). I sat down to ponder my next move and mentally beat myself up , dang the shot felt good I was thinking when I looked up and saw him down not 50 steps away from where I sat. The shot had been right on the money he was just a big tough ol boy.......

And that's how I tamed the hill country of central Texas yesterday....

,,,,,,Sam,,,,

 

[Sam Stephens]

 

[Sam Stephens]

 

[trent/OH]

I went grocery shopping Saturday too. I like your way of getting the groceries better than mine.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I went grocery shopping Saturday too. I like your way of getting the groceries better than mine.

:thumbsup: YEP

 

[Patocazador]

That's a nice heavy-horned axis. I'd guess it at ~27". Is that close?

I love to see successful hunters posing with their quarry. :hatsoff:

 

[Sam Stephens]

30 1/4 & 31 1/8 , guess about five years old , been after one on this place for 3 years with my Trad bows , both my shoulders are in bad shape now hence the BP guns I have been hunting with the last several months now. Still love my bows just giving the shoulders a break for a while , and the flintlocks are fun for sure....

,,,,Sam,,,,

 

[Wes/Tex]

Good for you...you tamed the heck out of them hills! Smothered deer steaks over hand-made noodles at your house! :thumbsup:

 

[lonehunter]

Congrats, Pretty deer! :thumbsup:

 

[Snakebite]

Nice!

What kind of load did you use to bring him down?

 

[Kapow]

That is a really nice even head. We have them here as well but call them Chital. We also have three other deer species from India/Asia - Sambar, Rusa & Hog deer but the chital wins the beauty prize hands down. They are all wired to avoid tigers so can be tricky to stalk. You are making me think about up coming deer hunts. Nice work on your trophy & pics.

 

[gsday]

Nice Stag!!

Dam you guys getting to hunt in February!

I shoveled snow off dad's porch roof.

Congratulations

Greg

 

[Rifleman1776]

Congrats on a great hunt. Beautiful trophy. Plus, it only counts if ye were using a flintlock. :wink: :applause:

 

[Sam Stephens]

The load is 90gr FFF , 535 RB , .015 patch , out of my GPR....

Heading out the door with my 32 to look for a squirrel , haven't ever killed any with my BP guns wish me luck. Only have a few hours before I head into the big city for my tour of work and oh how I don't want to go.....

,,,,,,Sam,,,,,

 

[Spikebuck]

What a beautiful animal! Congratulations! :hatsoff:

You're truly a lucky man to have a friend who allows you access to such a great property full of wildlife. So many things to hunt...so little time!

 

[smo]

Congrats and Thanks for posting the photos :thumbsup: Keep em' coming,Good Luck on the squirrels, I hear there are some mean ones down that way. :haha:

 

[Silex]

:hatsoff: Waidmannsheil!

Nice hunt and pictures, and a full freezer, too ”“ what's not to like!

Silex

 

[roundball]

That's a pretty deer, don't have them around North Carolina...and good execution on that stalk & shot
:thumbsup:

 

[don hepler]

You ought to be writing, or doing hunting tapes or TV series, Your talents, seem endless. And I can ensure it would be better than anything on there now.
Sam, you are the hunting man, for sure.

 

[Sam Stephens]

Thank you sir I do love to hunt , I have done a little wrighting about Traditional bowhunting and have many many hunts filmed of bowhunts. I hope at some point it can get used , might start filming some smoke pole stuff. I just love to be in the woods on the trail of some critter or another and about all we eat at my house is wild game...

,,,,Sam,,,,