Hey Guys,
I just posted this on BDOutdoors and thought I'd share it here also. I'm loving reading all the local deer reports here.
Just got back from a super fun trip with Nate aka El Toro and Brent aka Fresh One. They invited me to hunt a private ranch near Sonoroa Texas. We would be chasing Whitetail, Axis, Pigs and Turkeys for 3 days.
I have seen the pics from past trips and I was stoked to get the invite! I've been bow hunting for two seasons now and apparently I'm not very good at it. After 15 sits in the Laguna Mountains, I've seen plenty of deer but haven't had a shot at killing one.
A couple weeks ago I was lucky enought to connect with a whitetail doe in South Dakota. Since then I have been looking forward to this trip because I knew I could learn a ton from Nate and Brent and get a bunch of experience since the place is crawling with game. I was right. I learned a ton, had a bunch of fun and got to see a lot of animals.
We landed on Thursday around noon, stopped at a Walmart and then hauled ass out to the ranch. Within an hour of arriving we were in the blinds and hunting. On this night we would also see animals but no bucks. We all wanted to shoot either a nice whitetail or Axis buck and a doe for the freezer. Just before dark I did see one really big buck and I even tried to draw on it, but got busted by a weary doe.
We hunted both AM and PM on Fri and again we saw plenty of does and small bucks/spikes. Nate had a Javelina come in the AM that he took. Nate also had one nice buck come in that he missed with the recurve and that was it. We had all passed on a couple nice animals that we started to have second thoughts about. I also shot a little piggy.
By Saturday we were all ready to kill. In the AM I shot an axis doe at about 27 yards that ducked as I let my arrow go. I ended up hitting her high and back and she ran off like a bullet. We looked for her for about an hour and finally Brent and Mike (ranch owner) bumped her and didn't have a gun to finish her off. They quietly backed out of the area to let her die in piece and we would come back after lunch.
Back at the lodge we learned that Nate had shot a really nice Axis buck in velvet but after an hour of tracking he couldn't find it. We all decided to have lunch and go look as a team.
We spent another hour looking for Nates animal and despite finding a ton of blood, we came up empty. We decided to go look for mine since we had a good idea where it was.
I was absolutely sick about losing such an awesome animal. Fortunately after a quick 15 min search we found my doe dead just a few yards from where they bumped her. I can't described how relieved I was.
With my doe handled, we went back out looking for Nates buck. After several hours of searching we came up empty. We were all really bummed.
That night we all sat again and Nate took a revenge doe and Brent missed a nice buck at long distance.
On Sunday AM, our final hunt we all wanted to make the trip by killing the "right one". I sat in the same stand I started in hoping to see the big buck I got busted by.
Just as the sun was coming up, I see a big body buck in front of me. I knew right away this was a shooter and I waited for more light to make an ethical shot. Just as I convinced myself there was enough light to shoot, another nice but smaller buck came in. The bigger buck quickly chased him off and stopped at almost 40 yards. I was absolutely beating my self up mentally for not taking a shot earlier. The bucks don't like to hang around and I was sure this guy was gone.
After about 15 minutes (that felt like 500), the big buck put his head down and started to feed towards me. I can't tell you how happy I was. He kept coming and coming, head down right at me. I let him work in to 18 yards and knew I had only one shot. The plan was to hit him in the spine at just in the front of the shoulder and hopefully catch vitals if that didn't do the trick. The timing was perfect as there was only one other small buck and doe around to bust me.
I drew and couldn't beleive that no one even flynched. I took my time readying myself and lining up the shot. I can remember the rush of adrenalin like it was two minutes ago. It came pumping out of my chest to my head and down my arms and made me smile from ear to ear. I took a second to enjoy the feeling, steady myself and I let it fly. It hit with a loud CRACK and the deer rose up a bit and flopped over twitching! F YEAH!
The animal was still breathing and I wanted to put it down so I sent another arrow but I was shaking so bad I jerked it and just skinned it leaving a 6" cut down to the rib cage. Shit! I knocked another,steadied myself and let it go. This one found it's mark going in under the ribs and out the spine. Good night!
I've gotta say this I get goose bumps just typing this out. I have worked my ass off just to kill my first deer and now I've got my first buck down and it's a nice fat 10 pt!
I call the boys at the lodge and they came and scooped me and my new friend up after several photos, high fives and breakfast beers.
Back at the lodge we quickly processed the animal. They caped him and he's going on my wall!
An hour later we go get Nate who had whacked a fatty Axis spike for the freezer. A few minutes later Brent rolls up with a really pretty and wide 8 point he also shot that morning.
We all chipped in to get the animals processed and in the coolers. We packed, threw down a massive breakfast in record time and headed to the airport.
To be clear, this was an open range hunt under feeders (no high fence although the property did have a high fence area we didn't hunt). I wasn't super excited about the feeder thing, but after doing it, I see why it's necessary. There is so much cover and terrain you would never be able to find a deer, let alone kill one with a bow. I expected this to be a super easy hunt to gain experience and I was wrong. Trying to kill the "right" animal with 2-10 other deer around from 20 yards is not easy. It really was challenge to stay hidden, then draw and get a quality shot off. Actually going and doing it first hand was eye opening for me.
For a newb like me (or anyone really) this type of hunt is a great experience. I saw more deer in 3 days than I have seen in 2 seasons. I got a real good idea how they interact, move and what I can or can't do when in the stand. I really think the experience was priceless.
I had an absolute blast and can't wait to do it again.
Cool mount in the owner house.
Our guides pet Lamb Sid. He was cool as hell. Followed him around like a puppy.
I just posted this on BDOutdoors and thought I'd share it here also. I'm loving reading all the local deer reports here.
Just got back from a super fun trip with Nate aka El Toro and Brent aka Fresh One. They invited me to hunt a private ranch near Sonoroa Texas. We would be chasing Whitetail, Axis, Pigs and Turkeys for 3 days.
I have seen the pics from past trips and I was stoked to get the invite! I've been bow hunting for two seasons now and apparently I'm not very good at it. After 15 sits in the Laguna Mountains, I've seen plenty of deer but haven't had a shot at killing one.
A couple weeks ago I was lucky enought to connect with a whitetail doe in South Dakota. Since then I have been looking forward to this trip because I knew I could learn a ton from Nate and Brent and get a bunch of experience since the place is crawling with game. I was right. I learned a ton, had a bunch of fun and got to see a lot of animals.
We landed on Thursday around noon, stopped at a Walmart and then hauled ass out to the ranch. Within an hour of arriving we were in the blinds and hunting. On this night we would also see animals but no bucks. We all wanted to shoot either a nice whitetail or Axis buck and a doe for the freezer. Just before dark I did see one really big buck and I even tried to draw on it, but got busted by a weary doe.
We hunted both AM and PM on Fri and again we saw plenty of does and small bucks/spikes. Nate had a Javelina come in the AM that he took. Nate also had one nice buck come in that he missed with the recurve and that was it. We had all passed on a couple nice animals that we started to have second thoughts about. I also shot a little piggy.
By Saturday we were all ready to kill. In the AM I shot an axis doe at about 27 yards that ducked as I let my arrow go. I ended up hitting her high and back and she ran off like a bullet. We looked for her for about an hour and finally Brent and Mike (ranch owner) bumped her and didn't have a gun to finish her off. They quietly backed out of the area to let her die in piece and we would come back after lunch.
Back at the lodge we learned that Nate had shot a really nice Axis buck in velvet but after an hour of tracking he couldn't find it. We all decided to have lunch and go look as a team.
We spent another hour looking for Nates animal and despite finding a ton of blood, we came up empty. We decided to go look for mine since we had a good idea where it was.
I was absolutely sick about losing such an awesome animal. Fortunately after a quick 15 min search we found my doe dead just a few yards from where they bumped her. I can't described how relieved I was.
With my doe handled, we went back out looking for Nates buck. After several hours of searching we came up empty. We were all really bummed.
That night we all sat again and Nate took a revenge doe and Brent missed a nice buck at long distance.
On Sunday AM, our final hunt we all wanted to make the trip by killing the "right one". I sat in the same stand I started in hoping to see the big buck I got busted by.
Just as the sun was coming up, I see a big body buck in front of me. I knew right away this was a shooter and I waited for more light to make an ethical shot. Just as I convinced myself there was enough light to shoot, another nice but smaller buck came in. The bigger buck quickly chased him off and stopped at almost 40 yards. I was absolutely beating my self up mentally for not taking a shot earlier. The bucks don't like to hang around and I was sure this guy was gone.
After about 15 minutes (that felt like 500), the big buck put his head down and started to feed towards me. I can't tell you how happy I was. He kept coming and coming, head down right at me. I let him work in to 18 yards and knew I had only one shot. The plan was to hit him in the spine at just in the front of the shoulder and hopefully catch vitals if that didn't do the trick. The timing was perfect as there was only one other small buck and doe around to bust me.
I drew and couldn't beleive that no one even flynched. I took my time readying myself and lining up the shot. I can remember the rush of adrenalin like it was two minutes ago. It came pumping out of my chest to my head and down my arms and made me smile from ear to ear. I took a second to enjoy the feeling, steady myself and I let it fly. It hit with a loud CRACK and the deer rose up a bit and flopped over twitching! F YEAH!
The animal was still breathing and I wanted to put it down so I sent another arrow but I was shaking so bad I jerked it and just skinned it leaving a 6" cut down to the rib cage. Shit! I knocked another,steadied myself and let it go. This one found it's mark going in under the ribs and out the spine. Good night!
I've gotta say this I get goose bumps just typing this out. I have worked my ass off just to kill my first deer and now I've got my first buck down and it's a nice fat 10 pt!
I call the boys at the lodge and they came and scooped me and my new friend up after several photos, high fives and breakfast beers.
Back at the lodge we quickly processed the animal. They caped him and he's going on my wall!
An hour later we go get Nate who had whacked a fatty Axis spike for the freezer. A few minutes later Brent rolls up with a really pretty and wide 8 point he also shot that morning.
We all chipped in to get the animals processed and in the coolers. We packed, threw down a massive breakfast in record time and headed to the airport.
To be clear, this was an open range hunt under feeders (no high fence although the property did have a high fence area we didn't hunt). I wasn't super excited about the feeder thing, but after doing it, I see why it's necessary. There is so much cover and terrain you would never be able to find a deer, let alone kill one with a bow. I expected this to be a super easy hunt to gain experience and I was wrong. Trying to kill the "right" animal with 2-10 other deer around from 20 yards is not easy. It really was challenge to stay hidden, then draw and get a quality shot off. Actually going and doing it first hand was eye opening for me.
For a newb like me (or anyone really) this type of hunt is a great experience. I saw more deer in 3 days than I have seen in 2 seasons. I got a real good idea how they interact, move and what I can or can't do when in the stand. I really think the experience was priceless.
I had an absolute blast and can't wait to do it again.
Cool mount in the owner house.
Our guides pet Lamb Sid. He was cool as hell. Followed him around like a puppy.
It sounds like it was a great time for all that were there and the photos are great too. Thanks for sharing. 
