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So I couldn't think of a subject title so I went for that one :'(
Here's a short version of the hunt where I was able to take my first big game animal about 7 or so years ago I believe.
There is a place that my dad and myself would buy into with a friend and his sons that was in the Sheffield, Tx area. It was a day lease and you would lease the ranch for 3-5 days at a time. With big finger draws that were 100-200 yards down in some spots....it made for some neat hunting compared to the relatively flat lands around the Permian Basin.
During the days that we had picked the weather was naturally calm. The past times that we had been on the land there were short spurts of rain but this year seemed reasonably good for us.
There were about 10 blinds on this lease, all on the edge of the humongous draw that went through the lease and all the feeders down in the draw. Everyone had gone through and picked their blind and I decided I wanted to hunt the Tripod stand that is about 500 yards from camp. I have always had a love for a Tripod stand at the time although I had never hunted out of one. I think it was because I had watched people hunt out of them before on RealTree on the King Ranch lol.
So the first morning of the hunt we all awoke with the thoughts of big bucks and for myself, the thought of me getting my first animal. ;D Our buddies went ahead and drove to the other side of the lease as that is where they all chose their blinds at....while I cautiously walked to mine since it was nearest to camp.
The sun was slowly coming up as I heard multiple (3 maybe) gun shots coming from one of my friends blinds. I hadn't seen anything since I had been in the blind (even though I had been in the stand very little) and #1 was also starting to hit me so I decided to get out of the stand and walk down the road to the edge of the draw and find a place to climb down the dangerously steep and rocky edges to see if they needed help finding what they shot at.
Upon arriving at the edge I quickly noticed that there was no chance I could get down the draw where they were at unless I had a glider or a parachute. So I started walking back to camp....it was only 9:30am !!!! :
I was so interested in seeing what they had shot that I totally forgot about hunting my stand as I was suppose to.
Nearing my blind I could hear a distinct chewing of something....SOMETHING WAS AT THE FEEDER I slowly started walking toward my tripod while using my True-Talker :-[ :-[ and climbed up in the blind. My first thoughts were a coon as they had been a problem on previous hunts here but the noises the animal was making it also made me think it could be a whitetail. Once in the blind I was able to make out that it was a Javelina. The plump female had gone from feeder to feeder for quite sometime as she was pretty heavy compared to some I have seen. I quickly calmed my nerves and made a perfect behind the shoulder shot on her with my .30-06. The 150gr. Power-Points had done their job; dropping her in her tracks.
Once I was down in the draw and tried moving her I found out why some people decide not to shoot animals because they do not know how to get them out of there! Luckily one of our buddies had heard the report of my rifle and came down to see what happened. It took both of us to get the heavy female out of the draw and up near the road. I was tired of having the legs slipping out of my hands while walking with her so we found a big piece of wood near the camphouse and ziptied her legs to it (like an indian tribe would do) and put the wood inbetween her legs and had the wood over our shoulders and walked her out of there!
Here is a picture of her up near the road with the bracelets on and the wood nearby
Hope you enjoyed the story. After a while I plan on putting up stories of most of my hunts.
Justin
p.s.- The only thing I regret about my earlier hunts is that I didn't take as many pictures as I should. And although a disposable is better then nothing...I love my pictures that I have taken and had taken with my Digital Camera.
Here's a short version of the hunt where I was able to take my first big game animal about 7 or so years ago I believe.
There is a place that my dad and myself would buy into with a friend and his sons that was in the Sheffield, Tx area. It was a day lease and you would lease the ranch for 3-5 days at a time. With big finger draws that were 100-200 yards down in some spots....it made for some neat hunting compared to the relatively flat lands around the Permian Basin.
During the days that we had picked the weather was naturally calm. The past times that we had been on the land there were short spurts of rain but this year seemed reasonably good for us.
There were about 10 blinds on this lease, all on the edge of the humongous draw that went through the lease and all the feeders down in the draw. Everyone had gone through and picked their blind and I decided I wanted to hunt the Tripod stand that is about 500 yards from camp. I have always had a love for a Tripod stand at the time although I had never hunted out of one. I think it was because I had watched people hunt out of them before on RealTree on the King Ranch lol.
So the first morning of the hunt we all awoke with the thoughts of big bucks and for myself, the thought of me getting my first animal. ;D Our buddies went ahead and drove to the other side of the lease as that is where they all chose their blinds at....while I cautiously walked to mine since it was nearest to camp.
The sun was slowly coming up as I heard multiple (3 maybe) gun shots coming from one of my friends blinds. I hadn't seen anything since I had been in the blind (even though I had been in the stand very little) and #1 was also starting to hit me so I decided to get out of the stand and walk down the road to the edge of the draw and find a place to climb down the dangerously steep and rocky edges to see if they needed help finding what they shot at.
Upon arriving at the edge I quickly noticed that there was no chance I could get down the draw where they were at unless I had a glider or a parachute. So I started walking back to camp....it was only 9:30am !!!! :
I was so interested in seeing what they had shot that I totally forgot about hunting my stand as I was suppose to. Nearing my blind I could hear a distinct chewing of something....SOMETHING WAS AT THE FEEDER
I slowly started walking toward my tripod while using my True-Talker :-[ :-[ and climbed up in the blind. My first thoughts were a coon as they had been a problem on previous hunts here but the noises the animal was making it also made me think it could be a whitetail. Once in the blind I was able to make out that it was a Javelina. The plump female had gone from feeder to feeder for quite sometime as she was pretty heavy compared to some I have seen. I quickly calmed my nerves and made a perfect behind the shoulder shot on her with my .30-06. The 150gr. Power-Points had done their job; dropping her in her tracks.Once I was down in the draw and tried moving her I found out why some people decide not to shoot animals because they do not know how to get them out of there! Luckily one of our buddies had heard the report of my rifle and came down to see what happened. It took both of us to get the heavy female out of the draw and up near the road. I was tired of having the legs slipping out of my hands while walking with her so we found a big piece of wood near the camphouse and ziptied her legs to it (like an indian tribe would do) and put the wood inbetween her legs and had the wood over our shoulders and walked her out of there!
Here is a picture of her up near the road with the bracelets on and the wood nearby
Hope you enjoyed the story. After a while I plan on putting up stories of most of my hunts.
Justin
p.s.- The only thing I regret about my earlier hunts is that I didn't take as many pictures as I should. And although a disposable is better then nothing...I love my pictures that I have taken and had taken with my Digital Camera.
