this is from a place called the shack my dad and I set up. have seen lots of axis this year after floods have all the fences down on the big dollar john ranches. been watching this guy he is in velvet now and not gonna be huge this year but mayby in a couple of years.

Hopefully he will stick around. He'll certainly add an extra degree of excitement to your hunting.

As I am sure you know, axis is some of the finest game meat anywhere -- if not THE best.

yeah im still eating the one shot last month or he would be toast. he is kinda in the pantry right now so no hurry he is not going anywhere. always another one will come along if he gets it.

Can they crossbreed?

I think so but some disagree The deer in the front is either a hybryd or a very lightly marked axis doe the one in the rear is a whitetail

I was thinking interesting rack and a slightly spotted coat if they could!

Nice! It's good (at least in my non-resident opinion) to see those critters running around free. I love to hunt, shoot, and eat axis deer. And though I've never killed a bick buck, their hides make wonderful trophies for display. They're just nice to look at on the hoof too!

if this keeps up I might know where you could shoot one

This is very typical activity between the species at our place at Junction Texas until food becomes involved. The Axis always win that battle.

quote:

Originally posted by 30378:
This is very typical activity between the species at our place at Junction Texas until food becomes involved. The Axis always win that battle.

That's interesting. Though I've seen axis and whitetails interact near food, I suppose there was never enough of a shortage to prompt fighting over it. I'm not surprised that axis win though. From what I've noted, the large axis bucks do have a size advantage on whitetails. Do they seem more aggressive? Do they put up more of a fight, pound for pound, than whitetails do? How do they respond to hogs? I've seen hogs run off pretty much everything (or at least all the other critters often leave, whether from intimidation or simple dislike of hogs I don't know).

We have free roaming Axis, Sika and Hogs. All are very aggressive to the whitetail. The whitetail get their food thru persistence. Hogs rule the roost over everything. I had a big sow with some little ones that early on I named her Hillary. She was self corrinated queen of the feeders.

I wish we had axis on our place. I love the way they taste and the texture of the meat.

Alan

quote:

Originally posted by CRUSHER:
... The deer in the front is either a hybryd or a very lightly marked axis doe ...

That is a Fallow Deer doe in that photo (left side). (They are tasty too BTW!) Fallow come in four colors. That is a light spotted Fallow doe. They are much lighter colored than the Axis that has a more reddish coat and very prominent spots. The Fallow Deer in this color has faint spots.

Axis and Whitetail can not cross. As far as I know a Whitetail can only cross with a Mule Deer.

Fallow Deer are of the Genus Dama
Axis Deer are of the genus Axis
Mule Deer and Whitetail Deer are of the Genus Odocoileus.

If memory serves me correct species from the same genus can cross (WT and Mulie), but not with a different genus (WT/Axis).

we have seen and shot lots of fallow but Im not sure this is one maybe so tell me more about what they look like when they are not white. I was only ever sure they were non native and very tasty so whack jack in tha back and its barbque. we had a small group of about 5 axis does show up 2 years ago with tags in their ears watched them for two years and then asked the warden and he said the were free range tag or not after 2 years and go ahead and whack em. we are surounded by lots of high fences you never know what is next but I never get suprised any more after the emu incident.

I took this one 2 years ago on our place. At 34" he is not the biggest but he is nice on the wall.

30378, Dang, that is a horse of an Axis. Very nice!

CRUSHER,

That is a Fallow, no doubt.

There are four color phases Fallow have; White, Dark (Rust) Spotted, Light spotted and Chocolate.

I have seen the color of the two spotted phases change from summer to winter, at least mine do, they can appear grey or dull brown, or keep their normal colors. Maybe mine are different because they are in a colder climate. I don't know.

The dark spotted Fallow will resemble an Axis more than any other color phase, but they are still quite different, once you know what to look for. Axis tend to look thicker, if that makes any sense. Axis spots are quite vivid, while a Fallow can be more faint. The Axis head is very different from the Fallow Deer, and then there is the rump. When in doubt look at the rump.

Two white fallows can breed and have a chocolate fawn, or vice versa. Any color Fallow can breed any other color Fallow and have a totally different color fawn.

Wendell is correct.

I have been looking at a bunch of choclate colored deer and could not tell what they were but it seems clear now. what about their rump in particular givs away what they are.

The Chocolates could be Sika, or chocolate Fallow. Either way, yummy!

With the spotted Fallow, their rump looks ... well .. .exactly like your picture!

The chocolate is probably Sika. I took one this year but he is at the taxidermist. The Sika are usually dark with lots of hair on their neck like a small elk.



That's him just before I shot him. Early foggy morning. Yes the does have a very small beard and a very short stubby head.

quote:

Originally posted by 30378:
The Sika are usually dark with lots of hair on their neck like a small elk.

I don't have Sika Deer, so my only reference is one I shot in New Zealand that had an incredible mane. The does don't have the same mane do they?

In any case, they are legal to shoot, Sika or Fallow.

yeah they look just like a 3/4 scale elk only have seen does but they seem to be more red than dark chocolate color

30378, That is a Sika, and a pretty decent one at that. I can see his mane. The Fallow does are "slick" looking, no mane, and the males have an adams apple.

I've shot a few sika, does and bulls on a deep canyoned place here in the Texas hill country. A couple of weeks ago I could have shot a couple of more when they jumped up a few yards away. They bark. I whistled, like the African PH's do sometimes and the bull stopped and barked back. I guess he thought he was leaving a doe he'd forgot ever having behind. I kept whistling and he kept barking back while trying to decide whether to follow the doe he could see or wait for the one that was whistling. Classic "bird in the hand" scenario. I had the safety off, but he was young so I let him walk. I think a cow elk call could be interesting with these guys. In this area the axis seem to prefer gentle rolling hills and the sika stick to the rugged, steep, rocky canyons. Neither hardly ever come to a feeder.