Hunting buddy Tom Yones and I drove down to Kerrville/Hunt, Tx area this past Tuesday night to hunt pigs and axis and possible blackbuck. We hunted on the Stowers Ranch with ranch Manager shawn Kendrick. Round trip drive was 1300 miles. Weather was wonderful--80 instead of the usual hundred. The ranch is a working cattle ranch that offers primarily whitetail and bird hunting, and a few axis/blackbuck, aoudad/yr. They have a web-site.

First critter to get it's picture taken--a wild racoon. When he finally saw me, he ran off, spooking two turkeys and alerting two axis bucks.


Tom's first-day hog




Mobile cow-bird catcher. The cowbirds endanger golden-cheeked warblers by switching eggs


Century old stone work around water tank

Tom and his 200 yd DRT hog





Lace cactus


Prickly pear blooming


The WhatIZZIT?


My Axis. Ran 200+ yds after high lung shot:


Shawn. Deer field-dressed 175#


Another view of the WhatIZZIT?


Flower


Black Stripe


Old Stower's Ranch House. Teddy Roosevelt hunted here.


Old corral


VERY Prickly Pear. Look closely:


A drop into the cave:


Within the Cave


2 " "Pearl" growing on cave floor:


Cave Growth


Deeper yet:


Not so deep, but layered with modern-era bones:


We left only tracks in the cave.

Very cool pictures. That cave looks like an interesting place to explore. Nice axis too.

What a cool get-away adventure. Looks like you had a good time and those axis look great and well fed.

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
What a cool get-away adventure. Looks like you had a good time and those axis look great and well fed.

Lots of rain this year, and the pastures are so lush, nothing will come to a corn feeder.

The exotics on the ranch are scarce and wild as can be. They will have to get the coyotes under control to improve fawn survival. The cabins are simple but comfortable, and they have added a "TV Room" with a big screen TV so the Fall deer hunters don't have to miss their important football games.

Those Axis are great looking Deer.I hear they don`t take a back seat at the table to any wild game.I would like to do a hunt like this.On my Bucket List!!!!

Those "what the" animals were porcupine.
Just got back from a ride with 16 other old farts on harleys from that very area.
Great pix. Nice axis stags. The meat is great.
Best
GWB

GWB,
Yeah, that poor old porky looked like he had been in a brush fire and burned the front half of his hair/quills off. I think he had burned his eyelids, too.

There really were a lot of Bikers on the roads around Hunt and Ingram. Shawn said they have lots of Motorcycle accidents--not because of speed or foolishness, but because the Bikers are admiring the scenery and end up drving off one of those curved bridges without side rails.


Close-ups of above



If this is a skin disease instead of a burn, Yikes!

Congratulations and thanks for the excellent pictures. My brother hunted that ranch a couple of years ago. And thank you for killing some pigs!

I have friends that have motorcycles and I love the sound of a Harley...but one at a time. There are so many weekend bikers in the hill country now that sometimes, on a Saturday morning, you can sit on a hill and listen to group after group go by, all day long. Some of them do have one too many cervesas and get back on. Someone goes for a "last ride" almost every weekend.

Congrats on a great hunt and great photos!

I love Axis meat! Those are nice bucks!

We are going out to take a few Axis does for meat in two weeks south of there.

Bob

Great pics, and congrats! Thanks for sharing.

Damn fine Axis bucks.....and great pictures too. I had to shoot a porcupine that looked a lot like that several years ago. I was riding around the lease we had then, and came across the poor fella walking in circles, in a complete daze. One of his rear legs was about 5 times as big as the rest of them, but his skin looked very similar to that one. I shot him with my .44 mag to put him out of his misery.

here is one, though no longer breathing, that is in a little better shape, quill wise.
GWB

You should try turning one of those Whazzits lose out of a # 3 Coil Spring alive.

Porkies can be handled by the tail fairly easily if one knows how to start the process.

One mistake and that tail will fill you full of PAIN.

He looked perfectly normal from the ass-end:


Wonder if Porky's can pick up Leprosy from the armadillos?

Jaeger ,very ,very intersting post as always ,all the nature details are covered ,thanks for sharing with us.Juan

Steve,

Thanks for the report and pics I enjoyed them

I just got done eating some Axis venison....great stuff...SWEET MEAT

quote:

Originally posted by TCLouis:
You should try turning one of those Whazzits lose out of a # 3 Coil Spring alive.

Porkies can be handled by the tail fairly easily if one knows how to start the process.

One mistake and that tail will fill you full of PAIN.

That is something I would like to watch!
________

Here's a stock photo of the golden-cheeked warbler:


This warbler is endangered and is the only bird with a range that is confined to Texas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden-cheeked_Warbler

wiki article on Chital (Axis):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chital

Jim Corbett, who was famous as the slayer of the Rudraprayag Leopard, the Panar Leopard, the Champawat tigress, and other man-eaters-- could tell the difference between the calls of Chitals, birds, and langur monkeys to know which animal--leopard, tiger, or man, they were calling their alarm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Corbett_(hunter)

The Chital has the leanest and argueably the best tasting meat of any ungulate.

great bunch of photos and hunt report!!
porky could have mange also
and what a beautiful axis
looks like the pigs were swelled up with babies

Congrats on the Axis Steve and thanks for posting some great pics. I love those cave photo's.
David

Looks like a great trip all around.