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.

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.

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. 

STEP 2

STEP 2 - after H2O2 soak

STEP 2: Soak the skull in a bucket (something just large enough to contain the skull) of hydrogen peroxide 3% (available at WalMart for around $0.99/bottle).    Make sure that you have enough peroxide to cover the shull completely.  Leave the skull in the solution for 24-72 hours.  The longer the soak, the more bleached the skull will become (to a point).  Remove the skull and allow it to air dry for a day or so.  Check for any teeth that have fallen out and reset w/glue.  If the color is to your liking, skip to STEP 4.  I was looking for a brighter white look, so I moved on to STEP 3.

STEP 3

STEP 3: Next, wrap the horns with newspaper or tin foil to protect them.  Once the horns are wrapped, take some flat white spray paint (again, around $1.00 at WalMart) and coat the skull lightly.  Repeat this process one or two more times to coat the skull evenly.

STEP 4: During my research, I found this gem.  Most suggestions involve finding a good wood stain along w/ some paint thinner.   Remember, we’re trying to make this quick and painless…try this instead. Cover the skull or areas just around the horn bases.  Now, take WD40 (yes, WD40) and spray the horns thoroughly and evenly.  I was skeptical at first, so I only sprayed one horn tip.  When I saw the results, I was sold.  The chemicals really revive and bring out the NATURAL colors of the horns.  Check out the results!

Final Product

There are dozens of suggestions of ways to restore animal horns and antlers.  This combination of several was the most affordable and easiest in my opinion.  Best of luck on your future restoration projects and I hope this will shed some light on a quick and easy way to give some life to that old, weathered skull from the “field edge”.

“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]

Diamond TF trailcam pic of a non-typical axis buck known as "Half & Half"

This 1,900 acre, low-fenced ranch, is home to a large and ever-growing herd of free ranging axis deer that seem to find the large irrigated fields and brushy draws of the Diamond TF irresistible.

“We have a great combination of food, water and available cover that seem to keep them here year after year” - Tryon Fields, Diamond TF

Couple that with extremely low hunting pressure from a only a select few of whitetail hunters each season and you have all the makings of a true axis deer  mecca.

As AAE staff members, we have hunted on the Diamond TF for the past 2 years and the axis never cease to amaze.  The shear number of bucks has to be the most impressive aspect of this axis herd. The buck to doe ratio is an amazing 3:1…if not better. — Craig Ellwanger, AAE

'09 axis buck taken by AAE's own, Craig Ellwanger

The trailcam photo of “Half & Half” (above) is just one of many mature, trophy-quality axis bucks that roam the ranch.

Whether you’re hunting with rifle or bow…hunting true, free range axis deer is a challenge that any hunter should experience atleast once.

Booking has just begun and openings are limited for the 2010 season, so call today to be one of the first to take a ‘crack’ at trophy axis.

For more information or to schedule an axis hunt on the Diamond TF Ranch this Spring (or Fall), visit their AAE webpage.  **Special Note: Mention you found them on AllAboutExotics.com to receive a special AAE member discount!

Success in Sonora

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.  Here’s the unlikely story of how a friendly game of poker taught me to be a better bowhunter.

This story really beings on the night before our hunt.  A friend from worked invited myself and a handful of guys to play some low-stakes poker.  Though we play for fun and with very little at stake, you would be surprised at what losing money can do to some grown men.  My ride to the poker game was my good friend Josh Foley, who over the course of the night had one of the luckiest streaks that I had ever witnessed at a card table.  It seemed no matter the hand or situation Josh came out victorious.  With a combination of random hands he mowed us down one by one all night, winning 3 of the 4 mini-touneys (and placing 2nd in the other).  It got to the point that I had a feeling that had I even been dealt pocket aces (the best staring hand in poker), Josh would rake the pot with a 7-2 off (the worst).  I watched, sometimes first-hand, as his “pitiful” hands dominated much more favorable starting hands time after time.   Little did I know then, that thoughts of Josh’s “lucky streak” would stay with me long into my weekend deer hunt.

November 6th found me skipping town before well before the lunch hour rush. It would be a race against time to make the Friday evening hunt.  The long drive from East to West Texas was spent constantly checking the arrival time on the GPS to see if I was still on pace to arrive in time to scurry into the stand and sit during waning light.  I had already mentally mapped out my strategy for the night.  “Alright, I’m slated to arrive at 4:07, I can be in the stand my 4:15…”.  Hunting time would be at a premium, so I even found ways to shave minutes off by changing clothes in the truck and refusing to stop needlessly.  With only one pit stop and a little help from the increased speed limit on I-10, I patted myself on the back for pulling in to the ranch only 15 minutes behind schedule.  “I made it!”  That’s when my plan began to unravel.

As I pulled in to the Diamond TF Ranch, I spotted a roaring tractor in the field just south of my evening stand’s location.  Mr. Fields was cutting hay some 150 yards from where I planned to sit!  Not ideal, but I was here, so “let’s see what happens”, I thought to myself as I parked the truck. I still remained optimistic. Then, just as I flung open the truck door to head to the field, I felt a harsh wind hit me square in the back.  “Oh no, the wind is completely wrong!”  In the first 5 minutes of my hunt I was facing two major issues that were definitely not part of my precisely outlined plan.

As I hurried to the stand, I stopped to pour a small pile of deer corn 20 yards from my tripod stand.  Getting settled in, I ranged shooting lanes and checked the wind again.  It was still blowing straight from me to the food plot that many of the deer utilize.  I could see and hear the tractor as it continued cutting hay in the distance.  Moments later, the first deer appeared.  It was a whitetail doe with two fawns in tow.  The doe came straight to the pile of corn on my upwind side while her fawns wandered off to feed.  This was a very good sign.

For the next hour, I watched in amazement as deer after deer filed through the gate and past my stand, some stopping to nibble on a few nuggets of sweet corn.  The deer seemed oblivious to the running tractor just across the fence.  After seeing close to 30 deer from my stand (half of those in bow range), I sat satisfied as light began to fade that deer activity was seemingly unaffected by my pre-hunt issues.  Then, just as I was beginning to pack up I saw tall, white horns walking straight through the gate.  It was a group of axis and the buck was a definite shooter!

Turning completely around, with eyes wide and chest thumping, I readied myself for a possible shot.  As long as the group took either of the 2 trails that led past my stand a chip shot was inevitable.  Seconds later, my heart sank as the first axis doe emerged on the trail that led toward a small pond nearby, away from me and out of bow range.  The rest of the axis, including the big buck, followed.  The night came to a close with the sight and sounds of the buck vigorously raking  the low-hanging limbs of a large oak tree 100 yards away.  “Sooo close”, I told myself in bitter frustration.  Of the three trails, they had chosen the one that would not allow a shot.  The odds of getting a shot had been in my favor, for sure, but never materialized.  That, my friends, is hunting.

The morning of day two had me excited to get into a pop-up blind that Tanner Fields and I had set-up on our previous trip.  Trail cam pictures since our last visit had revealed several good whitetail bucks, long beard turkeys, and a few axis.  The blind is nestled in the perfect cocoon of cover with ample shooting lanes and located in an area with tons of deer activity.  It would be the first time anyone had hunted this stand and my anticipation level was sky high.

As I clumsily navigated my way through unfamiliar terrain under moon light, I spooked several deer that loudly, made themselves known.  Bumping deer in the dark happens often, but it never ceases to startle and frustrate almost simultaneously.  When I approached the large cedar that I swore hid the blind, I could not see the dark mass or arching silhouette  of a pop-up.  Mentally retracing my path and peering feverishly, I finally found it…folded in half and laying on the ground!  If you’ve ever tried to setup a pop-up blind in thick cover silently, forget about it.  I felt like I was scratching nails on a chalkboard in an empty auditorium.  Animals seemed to be sensing my presence the entire morning and alerting the rest of the county to my hiding spot.  I even had a couple donkeys wander close to my blind and start their “hee-haw” song.  I gave up on the morning sit having only seen a single 5 point whitetail and a lone doe.

I met Tanner back at the ranch house to formulate a new plan for the rest of the morning.  We decided to try a deer drive on another part of the ranch.  This strategy had worked several times in years past in efforts to get up close and personal with evading whitetails and axis.  As I walked to get into position I thought back to the last few attempts at this same strategy that had resulted in absolutely no deer.  Had we gone to the well one too many times?  Had the deer gotten smart to our plan and relocated their hangout?

Getting settled in, it was only a few moments before I would see the first deer head bobbing through the brush toward me.  It was a group of whitetail does, the biggest of which ran directly at me, coming to a screeching halt upon seeing a strange figure kneeling between the two trees she seemed to be heading straight for.  Moments later I saw the first axis emerge.  It was a young buck in velvet that was leading 7 other axis of various sizes and sexes.  I feverishly tried to scan the group for a shooter as they ran right at me.  I quickly realized that the group held no large bucks just in time to watch them file by me at a mere 5 yards.  What a rush!  As I turned and watched the group jump a cross fence and head up the hill, I was certain this was it for the push.  I would see my partner heading toward me any second signaling the end of the effort.  Just then, I caught movement off to my right.  It was a straggler.  A big axis buck had held back and taken a different route than the rest of his party.  I watched as he trotted down the fenceline, stopping every few yards to look back toward the intruder to his hideout.  I knew I had a shooting lane above me at 27 yards, along the path the buck was heading.   As he neared the opening, he stopped again, his vitals protected by a tree trunk.  “Two more steps”, I begged.  Then, he took off again.  With my Mathews bow already drawn, I let out a quick bleet and got him to pause momentarily to check the source of the odd sound.  Finding his chest in my peep, I touched off the arrow.  Simultaneously, the buck took off and I watched in horror as my arrow hit behind the intended target.  A bright red starburst was evident as the buck angled back down the hill past me and over another cross fence some 50 yards away.  As he disappeared out of sight, I heard him crashing through the dense brush in the large creek bed below.

Tanner appeared from the tree line as I silently motioned that I had released an arrow.  He had seen the buck as well and had even tried to get a shot with his rifle, but his attempt was thwarted by the thick brush.  I told him that I didn’t feel great about the shot, but we were encouraged upon finding really good blood near the spot the buck was standing.  The decision was made to give the buck plenty of time to expire as we snuck back to the truck.  My thought ping-ponged as we went about filling feeders and staying occupied with other ranch work to pass some time.  I must have replayed the events and the shot in my head 50 times over the next two and a half hours.

Finally, we returned to the spot and began to follow the blood trail.  Twenty yards from our starting point, I found my arrow, covered in thick red blood.  The blood trail was like nothing I’d seen before.  “I must have hit a major artery”, I thought.  Hopping the fence where I had last seen the buck and zig-zagging through some thick stuff, my prayers were answered and relief set in as the buck lay just across the dry creek bed.  He hadn’t gone 100 yards and was probably dead before I motioned to  Tanner that I had shot him.  What an absolute thrilling feeling!

After dressing the deer, he got the tour of the ranch, showing him off to the Fields’ family and taking countless pictures.  The buck scored 126 & 6/8, qualifying him for the SCI record books for archery or gun.

As I made the drive home Sunday night, with my deer safely in the hands of Old Friends Taxidermy in San Angelo, I couldn’t help but think back a few days earlier to that night at the poker table.   A friend’s lucky streak had taught me a few valuable lessons and might just help you on your next hunting trip:  1.) you will never kill anything if you “fold your cards” – no matter how bad things appear to look in the beginning, 2.) when nothing is working, you may have to change your strategy to find success, 3.) it’s not about the hand you’re dealt, it’s how you play that hand that counts  and 4.) even a 7-2 beats aces when the cards fall your way!

Thanks again to the Fields family and Diamond TF Ranch for an amazing trophy and an awesome hunt to remember.