Well guys, I was blessed to be able to take the Axis buck of a lifetime yesterday. I was hunting with my good friend Curtis Schramm at his ranch near Gonzales, TX.

I started the hunt Thursday afternoon, and got to look at a number of great Axis bucks....but one buck in particular caught my eye. I got a glimpse of an especially tall buck from about 300 yards away on the first evening, and thought he had 8 points (which I was excited about). I spent the next several days trying to kill him, and came up empty handed....until the VERY LAST MINUTE!!

Saturday evening and Sunday morning were uneventful, with no Axis being spotted....and not much activity out of the other animals either. Sunday evening, Curtis and I set up to watch over his front field and a sendero. No bucks worthy of shooting came out, and I had pretty much accepted the fact that I was going home empty handed on this trip. With about 5-10 minutes of shooting light left, I suggested we take a quick spin around the ranch....hoping for a miracle....and that is exactly what happened.

We came out of a thick wooded area, and crossed a wide sendero.....I thought I saw an Axis rack sticking out of the grass around 80 yards off the road. I told Curtis to stop!! One look through the binoculars and I verified it was a good Axis buck. At this point, I was willing to take any decent buck over 30"....so I didn't need to look at him long. I jumped out, chambered a round, threw down the legs of my bipod....and took aim. The buck stood up and was quartering to me, but the grass was very tall, and I couldn't make out the buck's shoulder. Curtis gave me the "OK" to shoot, and I put the cross hairs on the bottom of the white patch on the buck's throat. I squeezed the trigger and the buck dropped like a sack of potatoes.

When Curtis and I walked up to this buck, neither of us had any idea what exactly we were dealing with....until we got closer. We were literally awe struck. With the poor lighting, I thought I had shot a buck in the 30"-32" range....but this buck was MUCH bigger than that. And he had a little something "extra"....as in 5 EXTRA POINTS!! I've nicknamed this buck the "Crown of Thorns" buck, due to the very unique configuration of points around his brow tines and lower beams. This 11 point monster is the largest Axis buck ever taken on Curtis' ranch, with beams measuring 36.5" x 35" and excellent tine length all-around. I realized this was the same buck I had seen the first evening....he is easily recognizable due to the unique shape of his brow tines, which stick out horizontally. Even more amazing, is the fact that no one had ever seen this buck before....not even Curtis!!

To say I am pleased with this buck would be the understatement of the century.....I may hunt Axis for the rest of my life and never top this deer. He is truly a monster, and the trophy of a lifetime!! Thank you Curtis for the opportunity to take numerous animals at your ranch, but especially this Axis. I will always be grateful!!

Here are the photos....I hope you all enjoy them.

Fine lookin' animal there Wade.
Glad you were able to connect. Its always fun when there's no ground shrinkage. Will you be doing a shoulder mount?.
I sure love the capes. And yes you could hunt a long time before you took another one longer beams. Chances are you'll never see another with that kind of character on his antlers.
Good on ya'

Best

GWB

HE IS A STUD!!
Way to keep after it, Damn sure paid off. WoW

Very Nice.

What rifle and bullet did you use?

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
Very Nice.

What rifle and bullet did you use?

I used my Browning A-Bolt chambered in .300 WSM....using 180 gr. Winchester XP3 ammo.

great looking axis Wade.

A dandy for sure! I'm gonna need to add one of these to the trophy room in the future!

Beauty of a buck!

Congrats!!!

Thank you for the kind words fellas...

Very fine trophy - the last minute buck makes it all the more memorable.

Congrats.There is all kinds of kewl stuff coming out of that rack!!!!

Wow, that's a really amazing animal, congratulations!

Orvar

I'm sure money is tight Wade but that one is worth a FBM. Love his coat too, gorgeous animal and what a great trophy! Oh and steaks too!

Outstanding Axis. Your'e gonna hunt long an' hard to better that one!

.

Congratulations, really great buck with lots of character in that rack.

All I can add is "WOW!"

That buck is exceptional...congrats!!!

Wade,

That is one of the nicest Axis bucks I have seen.

Congrats,

Bob

Bob + 1. Very nice buck.

Impressive!!!

What an awesome axis! Congratulations Wade.

Felicidades, Wade. That is the nicest axis I have ever seen. How old do you estimate him? My wife shot an axis last year with similar (but much smaller) characteristics. It had a lot of mass with several kickers around the bases. He was an old axis that probably wouldn't have survived the winter. He didn't have any front teeth in the top or bottom of his mouth.

they never have front teeth on top

VERY nice, Wade! Congratulations!

Magnificent!!!!!!

Damn Wade! That is an awesome Axis. Fallow and Axis are on my list to hunt someday.

Jaws!

That is a fantastic chital trophy - even by indian standards! I hope you do justice to his wonderful coat with the black band!

congratulations.