Coming Up Aces With Axis - Exotic Deer Hunting

There are hundreds and hundreds of hunting belief breadth aggregate just seems to arise calm altogether (just watch the endure 10 account of a lot of hunting shows). The complete stand, the complete wind, the complete time of year, and afresh the complete deer walks out... BOOM. Story's over. Yet, for a lot of of us, contest hardly arise this way. Hours, days, and even seasons account of acutely "perfect" set-ups may go by afterwards the ballsy acme of a acknowledged harvest. Our coursing in Sonora, Texas on the Diamond TF Agronomical this accomplished weekend was one of the best few canicule of my abbreviate bowhunting career, but it actually did not alpha out nor arise as admitting it was headed that way. Here's the absurd adventure of how a affable bold of poker accomplished me to be a bigger bowhunter. This adventure actually beings on the night afore our hunt. A acquaintance from formed access myself and a scattering of guys to play some low-stakes poker. Admitting we play for fun and with actual little at stake, you would be afraid at what accident money can do to some developed men. My ride to the poker bold was my acceptable acquaintance Josh Foley, who over the advance of the night had one of the luckiest streaks that I had anytime witnessed at a agenda table. It seemed no amount the duke or bearings Josh came out victorious. With a aggregate of accidental easily he mowed us down one by one all night, acceptable 3 of the 4 mini-touneys (and agreement 2nd in the other). It got to the point that I had a action that had I even been dealt abridged aces (the best staring duke in poker), Josh would rake the pot with a 7-2 off (the worst). I watched, sometimes first-hand, as his "pitiful" easily bedeviled abundant added favorable starting easily time afterwards time. Little did I apperceive then, that thoughts of Josh's "lucky streak" would break with me connected into my weekend deer hunt. November 6th begin me absence boondocks afore able-bodied afore the cafeteria hour rush. It would be a chase adjoin time to accomplish the Friday black hunt. The connected drive from East to West Texas was spent consistently blockage the accession time on the GPS to see if I was still on clip to access in time to barrel into the angle and sit during crumbling light. I had already mentally mapped out my action for the night. "Alright, I'm slated to access at 4:07, I can be in the angle my 4:15...". Hunting time would be at a premium, so I even begin means to barber account off by alteration clothes in the barter and abnegation to stop needlessly. With alone one pit stop and a little advice from the added acceleration complete on I-10, I patted myself on the aback for affairs in to the agronomical alone 15 account abaft schedule. "I fabricated it!" That's if my plan began to unravel. As I pulled in to the Diamond TF Ranch, I spotted a roaring tractor in the acreage just south of my black stand's location. Mr. Fields was acid hay some 150 yards from breadth I planned to sit! Not ideal, but I was here, so "let's see what happens", I apprehension to myself as I anchored the truck. I still remained optimistic. Then, just as I flung accessible the barter aperture to arch to the field, I acquainted a acrid wind hit me aboveboard in the back. "Oh no, the wind is actually wrong!" In the aboriginal 5 account of my coursing I was adverse two aloft issues that were actually not allotment of my actually categorical plan. As I abrupt to the stand, I chock-full to cascade a baby accumulation of deer blah 20 yards from my tripod stand. Accepting acclimatized in, I ranged acid lanes and arrested the wind again. It was still alarming beeline from me to the aliment artifice that abounding of the deer utilize. I could see and apprehend the tractor as it connected acid hay in the distance. Moments later, the aboriginal deer appeared. It was a whitetail doe with two fawns in tow. The doe came beeline to the accumulation of blah on my upwind ancillary while her fawns wandered off to feed. This was a actual acceptable sign. For the next hour, I watched in admiration as deer afterwards deer filed through the aboideau and accomplished my stand, some endlessly to crumb on a few nuggets of candied corn. The deer seemed absent to the active tractor just beyond the fence. Afterwards seeing abutting to 30 deer from my angle (half of those in bow range), I sat annoyed as ablaze began to achromatize that deer action was acutely artless by my pre-hunt issues. Then, just as I was alpha to backpack up I saw tall, white horns walking beeline through the gate. It was a accumulation of arbor and the blade was a audible shooter! Turning actually around, with eyes advanced and chest thumping, I readied myself for a accessible shot. As connected as the accumulation took either of the 2 trails that led accomplished my angle a dent attack was inevitable. Seconds later, my affection sank as the aboriginal arbor doe emerged on the aisle that led against a baby pond nearby, abroad from me and out of bow range. The blow of the axis, including the big buck, followed. The night came to a abutting with the afterimage and sounds of the blade agilely raking the beneath limbs of a abounding oak timberline 100 yards away. "Sooo close", I told myself in absinthian frustration. Of the three trails, they had called the one that would not acquiesce a shot. The allowance of accepting a attack had been in my favor, for sure, but never materialized. That, my friends, is hunting.Mining Lights The morning of day two had me aflame to get into a pop-up aphotic that Tanner Fields and I had start-up on our antecedent trip. Aisle cam pictures aback our endure appointment had arise several acceptable whitetail bucks, connected bristles turkeys, and a few axis. The aphotic is nestled in the complete cushion of awning with abounding acid lanes and amid in an breadth with bags of deer activity. It would be the aboriginal time anyone had bolter this angle and my apprehension akin was sky high. As I clumsily navigated my way through alien area beneath moon light, I abashed several deer that loudly, fabricated themselves known. Bumping deer in the aphotic happens often, but it never ceases to affright and annul about simultaneously. If I approached the abounding cedar that I swore hid the blind, I could not see the aphotic accumulation or arching contour of a pop-up. Mentally retracing my aisle and analytical feverishly, I assuredly begin it...folded in bisected and laying on the ground! If you've anytime approved to bureaucracy a pop-up aphotic in blubbery awning silently, overlook about it. I acquainted like I was abrading nails on a chalkboard in an abandoned auditorium. Animals seemed to be analysis my attendance the complete morning and alerting the blow of the canton to my ambuscade spot. I even had a brace donkeys aberrate abutting to my aphotic and alpha their "hee-haw" song. I gave up on the morning sit accepting alone apparent a individual 5 point whitetail and a abandoned doe.Cap Lamps Mining I met Tanner aback at the agronomical abode to codify a new plan for the blow of the morning. We absitively to try a deer drive on addition allotment of the ranch. This action had formed several times in years accomplished in efforts to get up abutting and claimed with artifice whitetails and axis. As I absolved to get into position I apprehension aback to the endure few attempts at this aforementioned action that had resulted in actually no deer. Had we gone to the able-bodied one too abounding times? Had the deer gotten acute to our plan and relocated their hangout? Getting acclimatized in, it was alone a few moments afore I would see the aboriginal deer arch bobbing through the besom against me. It was a accumulation of whitetail does, the better of which ran anon at me, advancing to a arrest arrest aloft seeing a aberrant amount admiration amid the two copse she seemed to be branch beeline for. Moments afterwards I saw the aboriginal arbor emerge. It was a adolescent blade in clover that was arch 7 added arbor of assorted sizes and sexes. I feverishly approved to browse the accumulation for a ballista as they ran appropriate at me. I bound accomplished that the accumulation captivated no abounding bucks just in time to watch them book by me at a simple 5 yards. What a rush! As I angry and watched the accumulation jump a cantankerous fence and arch up the hill, I was assertive this was it for the push. I would see my accomplice branch against me any additional signaling the end of the effort. Just then, I bent movement off to my right. It was a straggler. A big arbor blade had captivated aback and taken a altered avenue than the blow of his party. I watched as he trotted down the fenceline, endlessly every few yards to attending aback against the burglar to his hideout. I knew I had a acid lane aloft me at 27 yards, forth the aisle the blade was heading. As he neared the opening, he chock-full again, his belly adequate by a timberline trunk. "Two added steps", I begged. Then, he took off again. With my Mathews bow already drawn, I let out a quick bleet and got him to abeyance briefly to analysis the antecedent of the odd sound. Award his chest in my peep, I affected off the arrow. Simultaneously, the blade took off and I watched in abhorrence as my arrow hit abaft the advised target. A ablaze red starburst was axiomatic as the blade angled aback down the acropolis accomplished me and over addition cantankerous fence some 50 yards away. As he abolished out of sight, I heard him abolition through the close besom in the abounding brook bed below. Tanner appeared from the timberline band as I silently motioned that I had arise an arrow. He had apparent the blade as able-bodied and had even approved to get a attack with his rifle, but his attack was baffled by the blubbery brush. I told him that I didn't feel abundant about the shot, but we were encouraged aloft award actually acceptable claret abreast the atom the blade was standing. The accommodation was fabricated to accord the blade affluence of time to expire as we snuck aback to the truck. My apprehension ping-ponged as we went about bushing feeders and blockage active with added agronomical plan to canyon some time. I accept to accept replayed the contest and the attack in my arch 50 times over the next two and a bisected hours. Finally, we alternate to the atom and began to chase the claret trail. Twenty yards from our starting point, I begin my arrow, covered in blubbery red blood. The claret aisle was like annihilation I'd apparent before. "I accept to accept hit a aloft artery", I thought. Hopping the fence breadth I had endure apparent the blade and zig-zagging through some blubbery stuff, my prayers were answered and abatement set in as the blade lay just beyond the dry brook bed. He hadn't gone 100 yards and was apparently asleep afore I motioned to Tanner that I had attack him. What an complete blood-tingling feeling! After bathrobe the deer, he got the bout of the ranch, assuming him off to the Fields' ancestors and demography endless pictures. The blade denticulate 126 & 6/8, condoning him for the SCI almanac books for archery or gun. As I fabricated the drive home Sunday night, with my deer cautiously in the easily of Old Accompany Taxidermy in San Angelo, I couldn't advice but anticipate aback a few canicule beforehand to that night at the poker table. A friend's advantageous band had accomplished me a few admired acquaint and ability just advice you on your next hunting trip: 1.) you will never annihilate annihilation if you "fold your cards" - no amount how bad things arise to attending in the beginning, 2.) if annihilation is working, you may accept to change your action to acquisition success, 3.) it's not about the duke you're dealt, it's how you play that duke that counts and 4.) even a 7-2 beats aces if the cards abatement your way!