Filling the Freezers and Thanks to some ETHD members

[Circle C]

The day after thanksgiving I headed out on a hunt with my friend Richard, Mandi's dad, and her uncle. After hitting a couple of black Friday sales, we headed to Seymour,Tx for a couple days of hunting whitetail through a local outfitter. We got there late Friday afternoon, met the outfitter and his son, and promptly headed to the field for an evening hunt. Mandi's dad shot a small buck, her uncle shot a nice 8, and a doe. We got back to the lodge a little after dark, and met with the outfitter again. None of us were real comfortable with the guy running this outfit, and we decided that this hunt would be cut short. I made a few calls to see about salvaging the weekend, and finding somewhere else to hunt. One of the calls was to Cody aka Slimpickens, he told me to head west and that we would do a little hunting the next afternoon at his place. I thought it sounded like a great idea, but my friend pointed out how much further west that would put us, giving us a 10+ hour drive home. Unfortunately we had to decline his invitation, and we just decided that we would head home early rather than deal with the outfitter anymore. After speaking with Cody, James aka Longshot returned my phone call from earlier. I explained our "situation" with the outfitter to him, and asked if he thought one of his friends who has a game ranch might have some openings. A couple calls later we learned that his friend was booked ,so Longshot gave me another number to call. That man was booked, so he gave me another number to call. I had to leave a message and felt like I hit a dead end. We decided we would stay at the lodge that night, then pay the man his money and leave in the morning. I was pretty bummed out that a hunt we had been looking forward to, and drove 500 miles to get to had turned out to be a joke.   

    The next morning I received a phone call from the man I had left a message for. He said he thought he had some ranches he could guide us on near Kerrville, so we headed that way. We stopped in Mason for lunch, and the man called me and said his ranches were either occupied with hunters, or the had already shot their quota for the year, but that he had another guy who could help me out. I called the number, and spoke with the man who happened to need hunters as bad as we needed a place to hunt. We made the short drive from Mason to Mountain Home, and met up with our guide. After exchanging names and handshakes and discussing what animals we were looking for, we headed out for some hunting.    First up was Mandi's uncle, he wanted to shoot an Axis, after driving around for about 20 minutes, we found a group of axis, and there was a shooter in the group. One shot, one axis down. Loaded him in the truck, and we next went in pursuit of a Fallow for Mandi's dad. Another 20 minutes, and we had a nice Fallow loaded in the truck. Next up was Richard, he wanted a Fallow as well. While out looking for his Fallow, we ran across a coon, who received a lethal dose of lead. A little bit later, we ran across a Grey Fox, who also received a lethal dose of lead. We spotted a group of Fallow in the distance, and while headed in their direction we ran across a fat little boar. Got him loaded in the truck, then continued toward the Fallow. Another shot, and another deer in the truck. Now it was my turn. I wanted a Red Stag Bull, we had seen a few earlier and headed back in their direction. When we found them, they were in and out of a shin oak mott, We found me a shooter, and I had to quickly squeeze off a shot. The bull humped up and took off into the shin oak. We knew he was hit, but I think I might have hit him a little too far back. We found a nice blood trail of dime sized deep red blood, then the trail just stopped. Nothing, we looked for an hour and a half, and no dice. I was bummed big time. We made a few calls for a blood dog, then after some discussion, we decided we would continue looking for him in the morning. We got back to camp, and quartered the hog, axis, and fallow, then we headed to Kerrville to get some shuteye. This morning, we went back out to look for the Red Stag, another hour looking for him, and I gave up. Not wanting to go home empty handed, I told our guide that I wanted to shoot another Red Stag bull. We got in the truck, and drove for quite some time, until we found another group of reds under some nice oak trees. They were not going anywhere, and I was able to take my time getting a good shot off. Squeezed off another round, and he went less than 20 yards. We got the beast loaded into the truck, and I was in a killing mood, so I told the guide I wanted a Fallow too. About 30 minutes later, we were on a group of Fallow, and another shot, another critter in the truck. My wallet was telling me it was time to quit hunting, and that I better start heading home.

Total for the weekend.
Whitetail - 3
Fallow - 3
Axis - 1
Red Stag - 1 in the cooler, one in the woods
Hog - 1
Grey Fox - 1
Raccoon - 1

Thanks to some ETHD members, we were able to salvage a hunt gone bad.
Slim and Longshot, thanks again for all the help this weekend, it is truly appreciated.

[slimpickins]

Sounds like a heck of a trip, after hearing this story, I guarantee you, you would have been disappointed in just a deer/hog from my place. Glad all worked out well, save me a package of red stag steaks.

By the way, like I said, my offer still stands, next time you come north west.

[Circle C]

Slim,
   Remind me before expo and I will bring the red stag steaks with me.  We ended up driving a little over 1200 miles this weekend, and got to see some sure enough nice country along the way.

[matt_aggie04]

I am a skeptic....I need pics 

[Circle C]

 Mandi's uncle took pictures this weekend, I will have to get pics from him. All I have is a bunch of coolers full of meat. The capes are already headed to the taxidermist, and the coolers are in route to Midway in Katy.
Gonna do it again in January, you might need to schedule a weekend, and bring plenty of ammo

[matt_aggie04]

One shot one kill over here man.....I only take enough bullets for what will fit in the freezer hahaha

All joking aside I would like to kill an Axis, ever since James cooked me a hamburger out of axis I can't get enough of the stuff.
MG

[Circle C]

One shot one kill over here man.....I only take enough bullets for what will fit in the freezer

I have a similar philosophy, only problem is my shell holder on the rifle holds 9 rounds, and I have 4 freezers.

[matt_aggie04]

HAHA

[longshot]

Chris,
I had seen that little boar you shot and I was saving him for next time out with the dogs so You are gonna have to quite shooting my hogs........LOL
Glad you got on some good hunts.   I just wish I could have been home and had a hot shower and a bed for you to sleep in.

Maybe we can hook up next time you are in the area.    I will cook some Axis Burgers

Longshot

[hammerhead]

Whenever your ready to hunt again give me a call. We offer whitetails,and 7 different exotics. We have a 6200 square foot main lodge and 14 seperate bedrooms. Check out our website at www.4-dguestranch.com.

[Circle C]

James,

    I saw that little 125# hog, and I was afraid he might wreck your pack, so I decided to go ahead and take him out Actually, my friend shot him, I would have rather grabbed some dogs.

   I will call next time I am headed that way. I am hoping to head that way in January to to some predator calling, and maybe shoot some more tasty critters.

Thanks again!


hammerhead,

      Some sure enough nice deer y'all have out there.

[Mr. HG]

Sounds like you all had a time but it all worked out it sounds like a good story you will never forget.

[Circle C]

When we found them, they were in and out of a shin oak mott, We found me a shooter, and I had to quickly squeeze off a shot. The bull humped up and took off into the shin oak. We knew he was hit, but I think I might have hit him a little too far back. We found a nice blood trail of dime sized deep red blood, then the trail just stopped. Nothing, we looked for an hour and a half, and no dice.

       Found out yesterday that the bull was found a few hundred yards beyond the last place we looked. He was hit in the last rib. Sure is a waste of good meat, but at least he is not running around wounded. Might still do a euro mount.