Axis buck, 33+!

[Tom]

He's a good one. I got him at Thompson Temple's Cowboy ranch. Its not far from Rocky Top where he has the economical ram hunts. He'll score like 145-150 based on some rough measurements and it only takes 134 to be gold level.

Here's the hunt. I drove to the ranch. I set up in the cabin. I scouted some and put out some alfalfa in a clearing that I know the axis like, walked about 1/2-3/4 mile total. He came in to the scent of alfalfa or maybe just walking around. I shot him. He ran a little but I saw him fall. I drug him out of the trees he was in and gutted him. Getting him up into the jeep was the hardest part. I've been there maybe 50 times guiding people and this axis this early in the season, followed the pattern well.

I came back home, after dropping him off at the meat processor/taxidermist, and got a limit of doves on sunday morning. It was a good weekend!

 

[FEW]

Nice critter!

 

[Calif. Hunter]

Nice Axis buck, Tom. Congrats! (But he ain't a full a curl...)

 

[Nut]

Cool Tom. Glad you had a great time!

 

[Kraven]

Tom that is a great Axis you got yourself.Congrats to ya bud.

 

[Calif. Hunter]

It says 33 inch - is that height or spread? How do you measue Axis deer?

 

[Tom]

The max inside spread is 20.5, the length on the outside of the antlers is 33 and a little maybe, I have to redo it in the daytime. They're like 8-10 tines, and one mass measurement was 4.25. You add up all the lengths, the width and two mass measurements on each side for a total. If its 120 it makes Records of Exotics bronze level and if its 134 it makes gold level. He's like 145 but less than 150 probably. It was late and I was a little tired so I just rough scored him. SCI and TGR score them a little differently. Here's a red stag, i.e. King's deer or European elk I saw there but he was out of my range at $2500.

He has nice 4 point crowns, and looks pretty good even though the picture is a little out of focus.

 

[kiwi hunta]

Axis along with chital and Sika gotta be the prettiest deer I think, this ones a real honey good length and spread and no broken tines which happens a lot when fighting

 

[Kraven]

Tom how much was your Axis deer hunt??

 

[Tom]

Kraven, Those Axis there are $1500 plus $125/day for a guide. Since I've been a guide there off and on for over 5 years, I was the guide. That's why I'm not in the picture, there was nobody else there to take it. I have worked on that ranch for Thompson for years too and to help me like to take care of it, he let me have an axis on there to watch grow up. The Axis started as a spike and for several years I caught a few glimpses of him growing up and getting bigger. Last year someone shot him by mistake as he looked pretty good, before I could get him with my bow. That was fine with me, because its hard just hunting one axis on a ranch. Thompson let me hunt any axis I wanted this year because he collected the fee on the one last year. He has good animals there, they are all silver or gold level usually, this is high gold level in ROE. He would have been #2 in Vol.X of ROE if he was shot with a bow, with the rifle he would still be in the top 40 in that volume. Thompson and others are great to have this kind of hunting! He has those rams on the economical end, and many of those are pretty big, but he doesn't charge that much, compared to lots of others, for the high end animals either.

 

[Kraven]

That is great.Thompson knows what he is doing for sure.Glad he treats you good for guiding for him.