Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Austin Archery Country

Today Austin Archery Country is celebrating their 1 year anniversary. They are showcasing a lot of local talent, Mathews pro staff, taxidermists, food preparers and some awesome deals on bows and equipment. Right when we walked in the door, the Governor of Texas was also taking part in the celebration as he is an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He's a great man and took several photos with us to prove it!

 

Can't find the kids!

The Governor and Lauren talk archery/hunting.

All together for this one.

Axis hunt was a no-go!

I said I would post an epilogue to the story posted last month, and this is it.  I did get out to the Gurra Ranch the middle of August and again, the last weekend in August.  I never saw any bucks, just one Axis doe and yearling; I guess the rest were staying cool somewhere.  Well, there is always next year!  I know he is around from April to May (in velvet) and maybe I'll see him then with another year's growth added to that rack?

In the meantime, I challenged myself to learn all I could about the Axis species and now I will forever have that knowledge which I hope makes me a better hunter.

Axis Hunt is a GO!

3 months in the planning just ended 5 minutes ago.  Now it's time to find this monster and get him to the Taxidermist and the Processor!  Will post a followup on this saga either way it turns out.

Wish me LUCK!

Chronic Wasting Disease appears in Texas

Chronic Wasting Disease appears in Texas

"It was found in two mule deer in an area truly sparsely populated with deer. And the deer didn't show signs of the disease, they had been shot and had their brains removed for testing for CWD."

Port A Update

Sitting by the pool, got bested in salt water fishing by Anders again. We both caught our limit of snapper, I even caught my first shark! However it was a Night Shark, a protected species and it was tossed back. The boat had a great overall catch. 



Heading to Port "A"

Tomorrow I will be heading to Port Aransas, Texas for some R&R, beach with the family  and of course, fishing with my "Bro."  My friend Anders always kicks my ass in salt water so I wonder if this streak will hold true another year?  I will post back with pictures of our catch when I return.

Show Some Respect

I have been meaning to write about this subject for some time now, when I ran across this photo on a message board about Axis Deer, I felt it was about time to get it off my chest.  (I am not dissing the hunter, I wasn't there; he may have been alone when he took this photo, but he could have taken a few moments to “clean up” the shot (photo) that would have yielded a much more respectable photo. 

Not too long ago I read an article in some publication about the best methods for a great after photo of your whitetail.  What the article didn’t address in any depth was posing the animal in a respectful manner; after all, this animal just gave its life so the hunter could experience the thrill of the sport and put meat in the freezer. 

Last season one of my hunting buddies took his first Texas Whitetail buck and was getting ready to dress him when I said, “Hey, did you get any pictures?”  “NO” they replied.  They got ready to snap a few photos and I interrupted.  “Hey, don’t take a picture with him lying on his side with his head all down on the ground.”  I proceeded to “pose” his victory in a manner that displayed a bit more R*E*S*P*E*C*T for God’s animal he had just harvested.

Now that I look back on it I feel bad that I intervened in the matter; that was his business.  I couldn’t help myself though.  It’s now one of those things that I am really passionate about; even more so now that I am solo filming my own hunts.  Why, because I am guilty of doing just that on the first deer I hunted, and the photos make me feel somewhat ashamed.  I got overly excited and forgot to think about the animal. I was more concerned about taking a "proof of kill" photo thinking that I needed to document a point in time, I was just trying to help my buddy from ever feeling the same way and also have some great photos that would remind him of the thrill of the hunt and the magnificent animal he had harvested.