I, a 17 year old boy has had the privilege to grow up doing I believe is about as hands-on as you can get. I live on an extoic breeding ranch in the hill country; I fill protein feeders, bottle feed babies, and cut and stack firewood to sell so I have money to do things. My ranch is HF however we have a creek that is LF. Here I do all my hunting from hogs, axis, WT, predators, and varmints.
Two summers ago, I spotted the biggest axis I have ever seen. (35 in +, 24 in wide, just estimates) That afternoon I went out and bought a feeder, 5 bags of corn, a game camera, and a bale of alfalfa with my own money. I set up everything I bought and have maintained it to this day.
two months ago, the axis made their presence known on my game camera and wiping out my alfalfa. I caught a male on my camera and knew he would be a trophy. Over the next few weeks I would go and sit in a brush blind I made and watch this axis. He was growing. Brow tines were coming out, as well as extra points at the base of his brows and main beams, his main beams had also started. Time had gone by and his brows were about 12 inches long in velvet and main beams still growing. A week ago his caudals had shown. He was going to be a wall hanger I had watched for what seemed like ever.
Two days ago, I went out to academy with my money from Christmas and bought a Game Winner 2 man quad pod to hunt out of. I set it up with the help of my cousin, with intentions of shooting this trophy axis in mid May-June for when he comes out of velvet.
This evening I was out with my father replacing burnt out light out bulbs that light our main gate entrance and heard a gun shot. I knew immediately where the shot came from. The 100 feet wide and 10 acre long "property" you own. Matter of fact, a state, land granted easement, granted in the 1800s for ranchers to heard their cattle to the creek for water, that you claimed squatters rights on. Due to the fact your blind and feeder are so close to my property I went to make sure all of our exotics were accounted for and you hadn't shot them.
I drove up to your feeder, that pretty much lays on top of the HF, that is filled a month out of the year, and saw an axis laying there, in velvet. "Are there extra points at his bases?" I asked you hoping to identify whether or not it was the axis I had watched for so long. Then came the answer I dreaded to hear, "Yes."
"You know this axis would have a big one?" I questioned.
"There's no doubt he would. With 12 inch brows and 28 inch main beams at least just at the bottom of it's caudals."
"I've been dying for one of these, my wife told me next time I see him to shoot him. There's another one anyway."
You've ruined hunting for me for a good while. There will be no shoulder mounted axis above my bed anymore thanks to you shooting him. This rant is more of based on the fact that you shot him in velvet and not giving him a chance to grow. Now please, do me a favor take your feeder of my fence line before the fence "moves" and knocks it over.
Sincerely,
Your newest fence driver.



EDIT: After much speculation I went to investigate where the deer was shot because the deer's feet looked wet, I decided to go look for blood on our side or the creek. Sure enough a found a drag line mixed with blood and hair. The deer was shot on the opposite side of the creek, which we own, and drug across the creek bottom on to his strip of land. Pics this afternoon.

I can't say anything that will make a difference, but I'm sorry this type of thing goes on.

Yea, I hate it when people shoot wild animals on their own property before I get a chance to shoot them.

Wow sounds like a spoiled child and the world owes him a trophy because he worked hard...

Lesson to learn here is the the world is not fair even when you work hard. Success is never guaranteed.

So a guy shot a wild animal on his property and you're mad? Get over it. That animal didn't belong to you. Sounds to me like a spoiled little brat whining because someone beat him at something.

Sucks, man, but not really sure the guy did anything wrong whatsoever if he shot the deer on his property. If it's only 100 feet wide, there's really nowhere he can put a feeder that won't be close to a fence. He has just as much right to that buck as you do.

Sounds like you should have HF all the sides if you were worried about it...then again, folks on here argue that a HF doesn't keep them from traveling

Sucks, but not every hunter is the same and not every animal will stay on your property.

Your place is HF right? I am confused and sorry I am not a real good reader. He shot your axis deer off of your place or his place?

Sorry you didn't get your axis. But at the end of the day your still more "privileged" (as you put it) than most folks that are reading this, myself included. Let this experience build character in you and don't let it get you down.

Sounds like you need to buy a new one.

Is this 10 acre "property" for sale by any chance

I can bet alot of money I know where this 10 acres is at. Maybe off of Wenegroth ( prob misspelled) road??? Is it a landowner or a leaser?

Ya know I have felt what you are feeling. You put in the time and effort to harvest that beautiful animal that you have on camera. Only to see someone else get the good fortune to take it. It doesn't feel good but wild animals are wild and they don't belong to either of us.

I have a hard time knowing exactly what is going on since I am not fluent in whatever language that is you posted in, but I get the idea that someone killed a free range axis on their property and you're sore about it because you somehow think you are the only one entitled to shoot that free ranging animal. If that's the case, then I don't really care, other than hoping he shoots the rest of them.....because he can.

Another crazy thread

He is legal to shoot what is on his property. Sorry you missed your opportunity but look at the facts, if it is on his property then he can shoot it. That may be tough for you to swallow but it is free game as long as it is legal and honest.

dont think this one is turning out quite as he expected...

Thats why you are supposed to shoot everything the first time you see it before your neighbor gets a chance to.

You guys are what makes management tough, we feed them and let them age and grow and your cheap asses shoot them as soon as they jump the fence. It's tough luck kid, but don't quit trying.

^^^if you don't like the inherent risks that you assume when you invest time & money in something you don't own, get a High Fence Some folks would call you out for being cheap by griping about your low-fence issues. Just sayin...

I read it again and had to laugh, how naive one is at 17. First off it's your dads ranch, not yours. He killed it by your HF, not the LF part. If you raise exotics, shoot one of your pet Axis deer, surely you can grow them bigger (plus they can't escape the HF). And maybe you need a new HF by the creek and you can just fix it if it ever floods again. Also welcome to the hill country where small tracts of land dominate the whole. One more thing I thought of, if your ranch is mostly HF except one little piece, you are killing the neighbors whitetail. How dare you!

I'd be willing to bet a lot of people posting on this thread spend more time and money managing their places than you do. I've let many a buck I could have killed with a throwing knife walk because they were too young only to find my neighbor skinning them later on. Don't get me wrong, I definitely gave him my two cents afterwards, but it didn't change anything, and I didn't expect it to.

It's a very simple point to take home: What you do with your land doesn't get to dictate what others do with theirs. The guy was well within his rights to shoot that animal.

That's hunting... Hunt his fence line.