Hey y'all, hope everyone is well. I went on my Blackbuck hunt that my fiancé and his friend worked together to make happen for me for Christmas. It was awesome! I will include the story here for anyone interested. It is a 4,200 acre low fence place that blackbuck immigrated to naturally, never been stocked. They've had a good breeding population there for at least 30 years.

We went Thursday night, did a little predator calling and saw lots of fox but couldn't close the deal on any of them. The next morning, we went out looking for a blackbuck. The landowner knew a spot where one mature male lives, and we went to check it out. Sure enough, he was there and busted us immediately. We tried to pick up on him again, keeping in cover and glassing. No dice, he had virtually disappeared. I had the guys take me back at about 1:30 to scout and walk by myself.

I set out with my 308 and a pair of binos, and while I didn't find the buck I did find other interesting things, including what I believe was the blackbuck's latrine site. A whitetail doe bedded down that I was able to move past quietly and slowly enough that I didn't scare her up, saw some beautiful birds and just enjoyed the scenery. The guys came back to get me once the sun set. I was disappointed I didn't find the buck, but I really enjoyed just being on the land and seeing the sights.

That night I got to use a FLIR which I have never seen before. Talk about a wild experience! It was fitted to a suppressed 22 magnum, and I shot an armadillo of all things, haha!

Fast forward to the next morning, we go set up before sunrise and hope that the known blackbuck shows. Come about 9 we decide it's time to change tactics. We went back to the cabin and got the Polaris, and set out to see if we could find another buck.

We came across a young male with very short horns and a golden coat. I watched him briefly and decided I would like to keep looking. About 1000 yards away I could see the shape of animals through the binos. I got out of the Polaris and spot and stalked. I was able to come within about 75 yards of them, which were indeed blackbuck, by staying in the brush. There were seven females, I glassed for awhile and saw no males anywhere. I backed out and snuck back to the Polaris. I have never done a spot and stalk, so even though the buck I wanted wasn't there, it was pretty exciting to try that style and know had I wanted one, I could have!

About an hour or so later we are headed up to a hill to do some glassing, and we come around the corner and there was a herd of a few does and TWO males! I'm not sure what they were all doing together, but I saw horns and said I'd be happy with either one.

The chase was on. It was incredible how FAST they were! They got about a 200 yard lead on us and got out of view. I was sure they'd cut off to the left but my fiancé decided quickly that they probably took the path of least resistance and passed the trail I and the landowner thought they'd taken. Good thing he did, we caught up with them running flat out in the Polaris. As much as a spot and stalk on them would have been nice, we decided right there if I could take a shot from the Polaris and wanted to, I needed to. I had the scope on 7 power and was so focused on watching the males bodies I couldn't keep track of which one was the bigger of the two. They were constantly switching sides and weaving. I asked the land owner "Which one?!" and he said "Right!" I took a deep breath and decided to take the shot. He caught every bit of the Barnes triple shock and hit the ground hard. Both my fiancé and the landowner cheered and I was just dumbfounded and amazed. I knew it wasn't the perfect kill shot, so quickly got the 22.250 out (didn't want to put another 308 round in him) and put him down. He was immobile and gasping, was on his way out, but I wanted to make it as fast as possible. Once the job was done, it was cheers and hugs and high fives all around.

I am SO proud of this blackbuck. I realize that his horns are considered on the smaller side (he is probably 13-14 inches) but his transitional coat is the most beautiful thing I could have hoped for. His horns are perfect too, both tips intact. He may not be trophy sized, but to me he is as amazing as any blackbuck I have seen. He is so beautiful I am hoping to have him shoulder mounted with the full cape on (I have seen this referred to as a fan mount) I am so thankful for this blackbuck, for my fiancé and our friend for making this happen. A hunt to remember!