Some may have read my request for a last minute hunt last weekend. Thank you to all that responded. I ended up speaking with Buck Sunday morning, drove 6 hours, and was hunting Sunday evening. We ended up on a large, scenic ranch near Bandera. Buck said he was covered up with big blackbuck so we decided to try and get a good one. He also mentioned axis as a possibility.
Yesterday, it all came together. We stalked within 300 yards of my blackbuck and just hunkered down until he fed close enough. This was after 3 close calls with others. He ended up taping out at 20" and busting 100lbs. His bases were 5 1/8", which easily pushed him into Gold Medal. That evening we hunted just to see what we would see. As was the norm, blackbuck, axis, and whitetail were all plentiful. My axis stepped out and started walking down a fenceline. I wasn't really planning on shooting anything else but after seeing the axis and Buck's reaction, that all changed. If you guys can pass on an axis like that, you have more willpower than me. He ended up averaging 33". After shooting, we saw one right behind him that was at least as big.
We hunted 2 1/2 days. I would guestimate that we saw 40+ blackbuck over 18", with probably a dozen over 20". We saw 3 that would bust 22-23". We also saw alot of axis. We saw about 10 that would go over 30". I know there are at least 3 more that are 32"+ and 1 that is at least as big as mine. I couldn't have had a better hunt. There was a ton of game and they were not pressured. Buck is a great guide and really went the extra mile to make sure I had a good time. With a hunt like I had, I can promise you I will be back. Buck, that wide, heavy horned, 35" axis already has me wanting to plan another trip.
