With Native Hunt’s annual dove hunt in the wings, and a need for some game meat to feed the hungry hunters at this event, Native Hunt owner/CEO, Michael Riddle generously offered to let me come out and see about putting a fallow deer in the cooler for the event. I guess I’d mentioned how cool I thought the fallows were, particularly the white ones, and Michael, being the generous guy he is, put me on the trail.
Some of you will remember that a few of us CA Hunting Bloggers were just out at Michael’s place earlier this summer where Holly (NorCal Cazadora) and I both took home some pork, while Hunting With Jim’s videographer, John, followed me to catch the quest on video.
This trip was a little different, as the target animal was a little less specific than before. Earlier, the plan had been for me to come out and shoot a buck that couldn’t seem to grow more than one antler. A few days before my visit, though, that buck turned up dead. Michael gave me the news, but then told me to come and just shoot another one. Hey, you don’t have to make me an offer like that twice! But that meant that this time I had to decide what to shoot for myself.
When I arrived, Michael had a couple of other guests at the lodge. These guys were all hard-core dog guys, so their focus for the weekend was to work the hog dogs on some of the “euros” (European wild boar). I’d be on my own to do this fallow-deer hunt. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, I’m just about done wiping off the dust from the Lone Star State, but it’s gonna take a while to get over the fun 11 of us from Jesse’s Hunting and Outdoors just had down there.
Now let me start right off by saying, I know that Texas exotics hunting doesn’t appeal to everyone. It’s a lot like hunting pheasants on a preserve, although it’s not usually quite as easy. But when in Texas, we hunt over bait, and sometimes from vehicles to shoot animals that come from another country… and sometimes an entirely different habitat, although they’re doing quite well in this one. Many species that are endangered in their native habitat, such as the blackbuck antelope, are thriving almost too well in Texas.
They’ve long since escaped the high-fence ranches that held them in, and they run wild across the Hill Country landscape. I would say they compete with the native whitetails, but my eyes and experience tell me that the whitetails are definitely holding their own. Even so, a trip with Shane Hearn, of Border Bandit Outfitters, is a lot of fun and a fair enough challenge as well.
Anyway, I may be a little defensive. When I put up my video from this past weekend, I found it appeared in the company of a whole slew of anti-hunting and “canned hunt” videos. I watched several, and was appalled at the blatant propaganda. Anyway, I’ll save you the posting of one of the anti’s videos, although I was tempted. But here’s my video from the weekend. Hope you enjoy.
And if you have a moment, it may be enlightening to see some of the anti-hunters’ video as well. You might be surprised at how they twist our actions and our words against us, and how they use the actions of a small few to define the actions of many.
Those of you who’ve been around for a while may remember last year’s Texas exotics hunt. Well that was so much fun and the meat was so tasty, I’m gonna hit the road (well, the air) again and head down for some more.
I’ll probably be offline for the duration of the trip, catching a plane out of Oakland this morning, and returning on Sunday night (03/30) with plenty of stories and pictures.
Hopefully there’ll be a little video to share too. At least three of the group will be hunting for trophy axis this time, so there shood be some real good footage. The outfitter, Shane Hearn of Border Bandit Outfitters, said there should be a lot more hogs down there this time too, since there wasn’t a trapping program this past year.
To really top it all off, I sent my Savage 30-06 down to KDF in Seguin to get a muzzle-brake and a Timney Trigger installed. It’ll be ready for me to pick it up when I get there Thursday, so I hope to get a chance to put it to work. I’m really looking forward to easing the recoil on that rifle, since my neck isn’t what it used to be.
In the meantime, ya’ll hold down the fort and don’t get to rowdy around here.
Interested in hunting with Shane? Here’s the contact info:
Shane Hearn - Borderbandit’s Outfitting & Hunting Service 692 County Rd. 203
Uvalde, Tx. 78801
830-275-2199
With Native Hunt’s annual dove hunt in the wings, and a need for some game meat to feed the hungry hunters at this event, Native Hunt owner/CEO, Michael Riddle generously offered to let me come out and see about putting a fallow deer in the cooler for the event. I guess I’d mentioned how cool I thought the fallows were, particularly the white ones, and Michael, being the generous guy he is, put me on the trail.
Those of you who’ve been around for a while may remember