Well, we’re headed down to the Diamond TF Hunting Ranch in Sonora, Texas this weekend to scout for axis and make preparations for next month’s 1st Annual AAE Axis Fan Hunt! 
Trailcams have been out on fields and known travel routes, gathering “Intel” for several weeks now and we can’t wait to see what they have to reveal! We’re also hoping to get some pics and capture some video footage of live bucks that the hunters joining us will no doubt be after in a few short weeks.
The pic you see here was taken by the ranch owner’s son only a few weeks ago while driving the ranch…and, yes, “he’s” still out there! We’re gonna have some FUN! We will be updating this post next week when we return from our scouting adventure.
At AllAboutExotics we pride ourselves in bringing you exciting exotic hunting opportunities around Texas and U.S. From AAE exclusive deals to once-in-a-lifetime hunts from some of the world’s greatest outfitters and hunting ranches. Well, it’s time to raise the bar on amazing deals!
If you have ever dreamed of hunting Trophy Axis in Texas, you may never find an offer better than this one!! This hunt is our chance to say ‘thank you’ for being a part of our exotic hunting community and spreading the word about what we are doing!! Join the AAE Crew as we head South to hunt the famed Texas Axis!!
The 1st Annual AAE Axis Hunt – “Friends, Fans, Good Food & BIG Axis!!”
Teaming up with the Diamond TF Hunting Ranch in Sonora, Texas, AAE will be hosting the 1st Annual AAE Axis Hunt, taking place July 22-24, 2011! Join the AAE Crew as we chase BIG Axis Bucks on one of the oldest family-owned ranches in SW Texas! Booking is limited, so don’t wait to reserve your spot(s)!
Event Details:
- 8 spots available
- 2 full days of 2 x 1 semi-guided hunting by the AAE Crew (4 hunts)
- Transportation on the ranch
- Full Meals & Beverages provided
- Washer Tournament Sat. Night w/ Prizes
- Awards for Biggest Buck, Heaviest Doe & more
Cost – ONLY $1,295.00** for ANY Axis Buck of choice (they have some real monsters!) PLUS 1 Axis Doe!! If a hunter decides not to take a buck, it’s only $600, which is the hunt deposit. Deposit includes the axis doe (or guide’s choice buck), food & beverages, washer tourney entry, AAE Axis Hunt T-Shirt & gift pack, & other weekend entertainment TBA).
**This is an AAE-Exclusive price for this hunt only! Axis hunts at the Diamond TF usually start at $1,500 and can go $2,000+! Don’t miss the opportunity!
Hunts will be conducted from stands & blinds sitting over feeders, irrigated fields & travel routes. An Award-Winning outdoor cook, will be preparing all of our meals – breakfast, lunch & dinner. Expect some AMAZING Texas-style BBQ!! We will be camping on the ranch. Communal “basecamp” will be set up w/ a large tent, firepit, washer pits, etc for meeting & “hanging out”. Campers are welcome. Note: The ranch is located only 5 miles from Sonora, so staying at a hotel in town is an option as well.
The Diamond TF Hunting Ranch
Established in 1883, The Diamond TF Hunting Ranch is one of the oldest family owned ranches in Sutton county and southwest Texas. This 1,970 acre, low-fenced ranch is located just minutes south of Sonora, Texas (pop. 3037) and has been game managed since 1980. The habitat consisting of live oaks, cedar, mesquite, thick draws and planted fields make the ranch ideal for large axis populations. There are over 200 acres of planted fields and food plots throughout the ranch, with 100 acres being irrigated. With almost no hunting pressure, the ranch now holds an axis population nearing 100 animals! Though set up for hunting (almost exclusively close friends and family), this will be the first public hunt for axis deer on the ranch and we want YOU to be a part of it!
Find more info about the ranch on their AAE Page or become a fan of The Diamond TF on Facebook for more pictures and check out this article about Craig Ellwanger’s 30″ axis, featured in the Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters magazine in Oct/Nov 2010!
For more information or to reserve your spot, please contact Craig Ellwanger @ 979.492.6186 or via email – craig@allaboutexotics.com.
We look forward to seeing you there! This is going to be a hunt to remember!!
**Axis hunting only requires a valid Texas hunting license (no tags) that can be purchased over the counter before the hunt.
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Category AAE hunts, AAE News, Find A Hunt, Outfitters | Tags: Tags: AAE events, axis deer hunt, Diamond TF Ranch, discounted hunts, exotic huntig texas, group hunts, hunt special,
by Craig Ellwanger
On a recent scouting trip to the Diamond TF Hunting Ranch in Sonora, the ranch owner’s son a I made a sad discovery. Lying near a cross fence, scattered around, were the bones of a young blackbuck antelope. We determined it was likely the remains of the first blackback ever seen on the 1,900 acre low fenced ranch. First observed, alive, 2 years ago, he had apparently escaped his original home range on a neighboring ranch to find residence on the Diamond TF. As I picked up the sun-bleached and badly weathered skull, my mind was already at work as to how I could manage to give this blackbuck a better (tribute) than having it turn to dust along a secluded field edge.
Having no background in taxidermy, I set out to restore the skull into something (atleast to some of us) “beautiful”! After a little online research and a few phone calls to taxidermist friends, I got to work. Here is the process (you’re going to be amazed how easy this is!) of reviving an old blackbuck skull:
STEP 1: Clean off the skull of any dirt, caked mud or other debris using hot water or a wet rag. If you can’t get it all, don’t worry, STEP 2 will take care of the rest. (more…)
Congratulations to AAE’s very own Craig Ellwanger on his article recently published in the latest volume of The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters magazine! In the 3-page featured article, Craig recounts his weekend at the Diamond TF Hunting Ranch in Sonora last fall when he harvested his first axis deer with a bow and biggest axis to date. The story actually making the magazine came as a bit of a surprise to its writer.
“It has long been a goal of mine to have one of my stories featured…ever since I picked up my first TTHA magazine as a teenager”, Craig says. “I was actually pretty shocked that my story was in there. I sent in the story almost 8 months ago and just assumed it hit the ‘no thanks’ pile with the others. I mention in the story that harvesting a trophy axis with a bow was a thrilling feeling, but this has to be up there as well.”
You can find “Coming Up Aces with Axis” on page 148 of the Sept/Oct edition of “The Journal”. If you do not subscribe to The Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters or have access to a copy, you can read the original full story here:
“Coming Up Aces with Axis”
by Craig Ellwanger, AAE
There are hundreds and hundreds of hunting stories where everything just seems to come together perfectly (just watch the last 10 minutes of most hunting shows). The perfect stand, the perfect wind, the perfect time of year, and then the perfect deer walks out…BOOM. Story’s over. Yet, for most of us, events seldom transpire this way.
Hours, days, and even seasons worth of seemingly “perfect” set-ups may go by without the epic crescendo of a successful harvest. Our hunt in Sonora, Texas on the Diamond TF Ranch this past weekend was one of the best few days of my short bowhunting career, but it definitely did not start out nor appear as though it was headed that way. [To read the entire article, click here]
Trailcams have been out on fields and known travel routes, gathering “Intel” for several weeks now and we can’t wait to see what they have to reveal! We’re also hoping to get some pics and capture some video footage of live bucks that the hunters joining us will no doubt be after in a few short weeks.
