3 day hunting trip...

[1pLUs44]

Got up at 3AM, have to be there at noon (8 hour drive), exotic hunting 3 days... All free!

I love youth hunts, and the place I'm going has a 103% chance of success. (which means everyone atleast gets one, and some get 2 or 3)
We don't know what's out there, but we know it's other than hogs...

[Spikes]

Whatcha shootin?

[1pLUs44]

Alright, just got back, got a great story.


We're in Val Verde county, in South West Texas, at this place called "Devils River State Park." It used to be a very very nice exotic hunting ranch, till the state obtained it one way or another (I don't know how though.), and the place is full of Axis Deer, Sitka Deer, Audads, Fallow Deer, and Hogs. They want to move in Bighorn sheep because of how hilly it is, and how many mountains there are there.

We show up, and the last group did pretty well, all had gotten Audads, the largest being like 31" and weighing a lot. I had never seen an audad, so I didn't know what it was, or what it looked like (basically a huge goat).

The Warden showed us our hunting grounds, and what the Audads liked to do (be up on the top of hills, because of their great eye sight.) and the best way/places to get them. Well, I found a spot, basically, a sheer cliff in our 2200 acre section. I set up there, where I think it's like 200-300 yards away from the base, it's mid morning the first morning, it's about 11AM, and I'm about to leave. I call up my dad on the radio, tell him to pick me up, and I get up, go to a rock, and take just one good look at the place. I see what catches my eye, what looks like a deer, it's an Audad! The thing must be like 3/4 of a mile away! I had gotten my distances mixed up big time! I start remembering what the warden tells me, about how they will fall down the cliffs if you shoot them some times, so I walk over to them. 3/4 of a mile, is really like a mile. I get to the edge of that cliff, and see them, but don't get a shot

This morning, I'm waiting where I first spotted them, and the same group comes by again. I slowly sneak up on them from the bottom of the cliff, and get about 400-450 yards away. I rest my rifle on a tree, and try to get a shot, but "buck fever" hit me, and I started shaking. I took some deep breaths, and decide this isn't the best for me. I see a big rock at the bottom of it, just next to me, I go prone, take a look through the scope, perfect. The scope isn't moving when I'm sighted on them, and it isn't hard to shoot at all. The way the rock is, it naturally presses it tight to my shoulder, another thing that can't mess up my aim. BUT, I have my rifle ranged only at about 100 yards, and I'm making atleast a 350 yard shot (I can't get any closer, they'd see me like the morning before) so I try to distinguish the rate at which I should aim up. (I'm using a .270 Rifle) I take a deep breath, aim about 3 inches above him, and slowly pull the trigger. I watch the bullet hit about 2 INCHES below him! He stood up and ran off, but the other two, ran up the hill a little bit, but didn't really worry too much. So, I go for the one that gives me the easiest shot, I aim about 8 inches above him this time, I shoot, too high!

This time, they're starting to run off, but I hadn't given up yet, so while they're running I yell "AY!" as loud as I could(almost like "OI!"), they hear, but still keep going. I yell again "AY" and they stop and look for me. I find the perfect mark on the larger of the two, and slowly, squeeze the trigger. He dropped on the spot...

BUT, dropping on the spot is the problem, the last group to shoot an audad, spent about 7 hours only to drag him about 2 miles, and mine is atop a sheer cliff, but I didn't want to give up! I told my dad to look for another way to the top, and to tell me if there's an easier way. There isn't, I didn't give up!

Instead, I started my trek up the huge cliff. It wasn't that hard, I got almost 4/5 of the way up there, then, it dropped off. I could see where I had gotten him, about 50-60 feet above me, and I couldn't get to it.

It was the coolest/most letdown trips I've ever had. I doubt a helicopter could even get it. I'm getting pics to put up to show the sheer size of the cliff. (I'll show in hunter orange)

[1pLUs44]

Well geeze, I go through all that trouble, working through my edjumacashun in texas, only to get no respond?

[Golfer]

You shot an animal where you couldn't collect it.  That's disrespectful and I don't have an atta-boy for you.

Part of taking a good shot is being aware of where you're shooting including what is between your target, what is beyond your target and where your target is.  Hopefully you learned a lesson that you won't repeat.

[uptown]

It appears the audad got the ditch 

[culero]

Tough room

[trax1]

That sucks you couldn't get to him, but unlike some other people here, I understand that the last shot you took wasn't the shot you had first lined up for, so you not being able to get to the kill was just because you were on the move & caught up in the moment of the hunt.

Post those pics when you get a chance, I'd like to see the area you were hunting in.

When I was younger, my father, my grandfather, uncles & myself would go up to Canada on a fly-in hunting & fishing trips.  We would stay at these cabins on a lake about 4 hours north into Canada, the only way in was by pontoon plane.  The cabins had no electricity, no running water, no plumbing, the lights and stove ran on propane, the only issue could be that if something happen, like an emergency you had no way to get help until somebody flew in to check up on you, which was about every couple days, but it's alot of fun to be up there with none of that stuff.  We were up there for fishing walleye & northern pike, and hunting black bear.  I know exactly what you mean when it comes to buck fever, I had the same problem when I was hunting black bears, 3 times I had shots on them, and all 3 times when it came time to fire buck fever would kick in, I was also shooting from a small boat as we would hang bait bags up on a tree, then sit across the way in the boat waiting for a bear to come up.  I still kick myself for missing on the second one, it was a cinnamon black bear, which meant it's fur had a slightly reddish tint to it, the Indian guide(Alfred) I had with me got all excited when he saw it, he said that he had only seen a hand full of them in his life, when I took the shot buck fever kicked in & it hit the rocks right between his legs and he took off.  Didn't end up getting a bear, my father did though, the first day we were there, still got in alot of great fishing.

[Rich46yo]

You shot an animal where you couldn't collect it.  That's disrespectful and I don't have an atta-boy for you.

Part of taking a good shot is being aware of where you're shooting including what is between your target, what is beyond your target and where your target is.  Hopefully you learned a lesson that you won't repeat.

Its unfortunate but probably could happen to any of us. Whats far worse in my opinion is taking irresponsibly long shots and crippling.

Last time I was in CO. for elk I got disgusted by a lot of the shooting I both saw and heard. Worst was the shot volleys I heard coming from the guys, and I have no doubt of this Ive been hunting so long, who dump out from a vehicle and empty out their rifles on elk. I know what 21 shot volleys mean when I hear them. They are coming from truck loads of fools who jump out and spray elk herds with their .270s and .300 mags. Back in the '60s when I first started going west with my old man you never heard such things.

And on the same trip I hunted with one of those guys that tape bullet drop figures onto the butt of his .300 weatherby. I know what that means when I see it and sure enough he took a 600 yarder, shot the bull in the arse, not even trying to recover it after. To make matters worse he had brought some yuppie bonehead who had bought a weatherby as his first rifle and had spent all of 8 rounds on learning it. When we sighted in our rifles I knew he was going to be a disaster and sure enough he crippled the best bull of the trip when he gophered a 125 yard chip shot. Even worse he didn't seem all that bothered when we couldn't find the elk. So no, Ive seen far worse then this sheep story. Tho the shooter should have made sure the animal was recoverable before touching off.

[1pLUs44]

You shot an animal where you couldn't collect it.  That's disrespectful and I don't have an atta-boy for you.

Part of taking a good shot is being aware of where you're shooting including what is between your target, what is beyond your target and where your target is.  Hopefully you learned a lesson that you won't repeat.

No, the thing is, the warden told us, where the Audads where, they were almost certain to fall down, he had hunted there 2 years in a row on guided hunts before becoming a warden, he told us they'd always just fall down the little cliff.

Its unfortunate but probably could happen to any of us. Whats far worse in my opinion is taking irresponsibly long shots and crippling.

Last time I was in CO. for elk I got disgusted by a lot of the shooting I both saw and heard. Worst was the shot volleys I heard coming from the guys, and I have no doubt of this Ive been hunting so long, who dump out from a vehicle and empty out their rifles on elk. I know what 21 shot volleys mean when I hear them. They are coming from truck loads of fools who jump out and spray elk herds with their .270s and .300 mags. Back in the '60s when I first started going west with my old man you never heard such things.

And on the same trip I hunted with one of those guys that tape bullet drop figures onto the butt of his .300 weatherby. I know what that means when I see it and sure enough he took a 600 yarder, shot the bull in the arse, not even trying to recover it after. To make matters worse he had brought some yuppie bonehead who had bought a weatherby as his first rifle and had spent all of 8 rounds on learning it. When we sighted in our rifles I knew he was going to be a disaster and sure enough he crippled the best bull of the trip when he gophered a 125 yard chip shot. Even worse he didn't seem all that bothered when we couldn't find the elk. So no, Ive seen far worse then this sheep story. Tho the shooter should have made sure the animal was recoverable before touching off.

I was almost certain the animal was recoverable. Like I said, the warden told us, don't hesitate to take the shot. They want to move in Bighorn sheep and they want to get rid of all the Audad they could. I'm pissed, because it was my first ever exotic, and 1, I couldn't take the meat, an 2, it's still up there  


That was about as real as hunting gets. You didn't sit in a deer stand by a deer feeder waiting for some poor sap to come in and get killed while he's trying to eat. I spent hours looking for them, trying to see their movements, and then chasing after them. I'll admit, 5 shots was a bit much, but the scale of the thing from your perception, to real life was amazing. When I got to where I thought I was only like 150 yards and looked through the scope, it was more like 400 yards...


Here is the picture, I'm not sure where I am in this picture, but look for a tiny hunter orange spec. (This was when I climbed up it to get the Audad)


The thin red line, is where the Audad is

The thick red line is where I made it up to, the arrow shows from where I shot. (can't see from where I shot)

[gwano]

if you walk around far enough, you could have gotten to him.

If he found a way up there, you could have too.
no reason to leave an animal unrecovered.

hopefully lesson learned, or refrain from hunting.
What you did is just killing, not hunting.

sorry for the negativity, but that is what the anti hunters use for propaganda.

[Golfer]

The word "recoverable" didn't even enter your head when you took the shot.  I've been in your shoes and I know exactly what you think when you see your game animal of the day.  I started deer hunting at 7 and haven't missed a season in 18 years.  Youth hunts, been there.  Buck fever, been there.  Shots that might be a little far, been there.  I learned something from every single experience as I hope you will too.  Looking at your photograph there is no reason not to get to the animal.  While there might not be a paved road or red carpet staircase there are most certainly options.

The words "always" and "never" do not apply to hunting.  Also "almost certain" does not equal "always."  Animals don't get the memo on what they're supposed to do when their survival instincts kick in.  They do extraordinary things and their book of conventional habits go right out the window when rounds start flying.

[Maverick]

Well I am glad that you got to go hunting but that's about it.

You left unprepared for the hunt without sighting in the rifle at a realistic hunting range. Game is taken at farther than 100 yards with a high powered rifle. You also failed to realize that shooting uphill and downhill affects the impact point of the round. It takes practice to learn how to over come that.

It seems that you might also want to practice range estimation more than you have or carry a laser range finder. That way you'll have a better idea if you can really make the shot instead of just lobbing rounds into the area and hoping you get a vital hit.

The shots you took you risked wounding and not taking the critter because you lacked the preparation to hunt responsibly. The location you showed on the picture certainly looks like it was a recoverable location. There were plenty of game trails visible there and it wasn't a sheer vertical cliff face that you'd have to rappel  down to.

There's more to being a responsible hunter than just going out to a location and flinging shots at critters. Part of that is that if you aren't sure you can recover it, you don't shoot it.

[Tom5572]

I am glad you are interested in hunting.  Looking at the photo (and I have done a lot of photo reconnaissance) you could have recovered the animal.  On one of my first hunts I learned the truth of "The fun stops and the work begins when you pull the trigger".  My Dad dropped a large mule buck (220 dressed) in some thick scrub oak on the in a steep spur.  It was steep enough that we did not have to pull the innards out when gutting him, they fell out.  He and I heaved and pulled that deer for about four hour and only went about 400 feet.  Do not quit on an animal because it is going to be hard work. 

[1pLUs44]

if you walk around far enough, you could have gotten to him.

If he found a way up there, you could have too.
no reason to leave an animal unrecovered.

hopefully lesson learned, or refrain from hunting.
What you did is just killing, not hunting.

sorry for the negativity, but that is what the anti hunters use for propaganda.

You werent there, you have no clue the sheer size of the cliff, belive it or not, that way was the easiest way up the top, I got stopped at the brush after climbing god knows how high, the sides went sloped, but went straight up for about 200 feet, I am not allowed to leave the property.

I am glad you are interested in hunting.  Looking at the photo (and I have done a lot of photo reconnaissance) you could have recovered the animal.  On one of my first hunts I learned the truth of "The fun stops and the work begins when you pull the trigger".  My Dad dropped a large mule buck (220 dressed) in some thick scrub oak on the in a steep spur.  It was steep enough that we did not have to pull the innards out when gutting him, they fell out.  He and I heaved and pulled that deer for about four hour and only went about 400 feet.  Do not quit on an animal because it is going to be hard work. 

You weren't there, you didn't see the sheer size of the cliff, I never quit, I couldn't get it down. I thought it was recoverable, but it wasn't, I busted my bellybutton climbing that thing.

Well I am glad that you got to go hunting but that's about it.

You left unprepared for the hunt without sighting in the rifle at a realistic hunting range. Game is taken at farther than 100 yards with a high powered rifle. You also failed to realize that shooting uphill and downhill affects the impact point of the round. It takes practice to learn how to over come that.
That way you'll have a better idea if you can really make the shot instead of just lobbing rounds into the area and hoping you get a vital hit.

Only range in central texas is an indoor range, and I was certain I could make the shot. It was at a 110% killing range within a .270's field of fire, and I knew exactly where to shoot the Audad. (In the neck, because the shoulder blade is so thick, it can stop bullets)



Please understand, you didn't see the cliff, I'm getting the last photo uploaded today, just to show you how big the thing is. (I should show up as like a dot of hunter orange as I'm climbing up it.

Where the thick red line is at the picture, the oaks there were about 30-40 feet tall.