Well done on the Chital (axis) stag mate.... looks like it's from Hawaii?
ak.
There must be a story somewhere
nice stag...
Looking forward to the story ...
Nice animal and nice Thunderhorn.
Yes Al, it is a chital (axis) deer from Hawaii. BTW, I just met up with a fellow Aussie toady. He told me about all the different deer there including the Chitals. I'm so jealous!
Here is an old story that I dug up.
In Hawaii, my friends and I regard the axis deer as one of the hardest critters to harvest spot and stalk. My first spot and stalk axis was taken when I was 16, but I shot him with a .308. My first compound harvest came '03, but it was always a dream to harvest a free range axis deer with a stickbow, from the ground!
It was 4:00 am in the morning and our four wheel drive truck had spun out twice already on the rain drenched muddy road. It was not a typical morning in Hawaii to say the least. At 4:30 we parked the truck. It was wet, windy and freezing cold! We both geared up and began our trek to one of our favorite hunting spots. On a nice dry day, it would take us about two hours to the hunting area. We didn't know how long it would take us that morning. After a 10 minute walk, mud clung to our shoes adding extra unwanted weight. We trudged 1 hour though the ankle deep mud. Boy did the day start off miserable! Our full packs didn't make things any easier. By the time we reached the hunting area, 3 hours had passed. We were cold, tired and drenched from head to toe, but there was no turning back now. With all odds against us, we refueled ourselves with snacks and fluids and began our hunt at daybreak. While crossing the first ridge, we caught a glimpse of axis deer walking through a dry river bed below us. There was no way that we could cut them off, so we decided to lay off and let them pass, hoping that we could catch them later in their beds. After crossing two more ridges, we spotted another herd. The wind was in our favor, so we decided to put a stalk. We dropped our packs and adjusted our knee pads for a long crawl. They were about 100 yards away from us and feeding away like it was no one's business. At about 50 yards I singled out a buck. He was feeding away from the herd and he seemed very preoccupied with the grass that he was eating. I crawled to 40 yards. I was trembling like crazy. My mouth was dry and I was short of breath. I sat down and tried to re-group. I had to constantly talk to myself over and over again. "Relax, relax, relax", I told myself. All I could see was his ivory tips swaying back and forth. Talk about adrenaline pumping! I finally made my way to 30 yards. With his head down feeding, I drew my thunderhorn to full draw and released the arrow. My heart sank. My arrow flew right over his back! I sat there and felt like crying. It was a trophy buck, a stalk of a lifetime, and I had nothing to show for it except a disgusted look on my face. I went back to find my friend and my pack. I found him and he asked what happened. After I ran out of excuses, we were on our way again. It was about 10:30am and we made our way over two other gulches. At the top of one plateau, we came across another herd. This time the deer were bedded. We planned the stock and crawled our way to the bedded deer. Taking the path of least resistance, we crawled on the existing deer trail. The animals were all bedded in a small pocket surrounded by Kiawe trees. We finally made it safely to a huge boulder that provided us with cover. I was after another huge buck. He was only 25 yards away but I had no shot. We couldn't move either. I was pinned down behind that boulder. There were at least 10 deer around us. Focusing on the buck, I decided to sit and wait until it stood or moved to give me a shot. Luck needed to be on our side, we were so close that if the wind just swirled a little, it would be game over. After about 15 min, the buck's sixth sense kicked in. He got up and slowly walked away to my left. It was just way too thick to shoot. I couldn't risk the shot. His movement caught the attention of a few other deer. Off to the right, another axis buck got out of his bed and started to walk towards a clearing. I was going to get a second chance. He made it to the clearing which was little over 25 yards away. Once again I came to full draw, picked a spot (white one of course! LOL)! and let her rip. I was so focused, I saw the yellow and white feathers spin beautifully to and through the buck. The four blade Muzzy passed though that deer with no problem! He immediately bolted, but dropped, tumbled and flipped less than 75 yards away. I felt like screaming and jumping for joy, but I knew better because not all the deer had spooked. We waited until all the deer moved on before approaching my downed deer. I hugged my friend as if I'd won the lottery. Although I missed the trophy buck, I had just harvested my dream animal with my longbow. It was now my friend's turn. I'm saving that story for another day. Needless to say we didn't get back home til ten that night! This was one of my greatest hunts of all time. I had fulfilled one of my greatest dreams as a kid hunting in Hawaii.
Aloha!
Ryan
Well-done, Ryan!
Good stuff Ryan !
A more beautiful wary animal you'd be hard pressed to find .
Yes Ryan... Chital are the hardest critter to stalk on foot... getting an arrow into one from a stickbow is something else.
Well done mate!
ak.
:thumbsup: Beautiful animal!
Excellent buddy...enjoy your time up top :clapper:
Thanks for all the kind words guys! I really appreciate it!
Ryan
Congrats.
Hawaii spot and stalk is on the short list for sure.
Have to see what next spring looks like on the calendar...
What a magnificent animal! Well done! :notworthy: :clapper:
Awesome my Hawaiin Amigo! Not only do you make the best bowstrings ever...you can hunt!!!!
Peter
Thanks guys!
Zeke, Year round hunting! The island of Lanai has a great public land bowhunt twice a year. One week in July for muflon and one week in Febuary for axis deer. I always look forward to those hunts!
Pete,
Flattery will get you.........everywhere. :D
BTW, your string is being streched right now. It'll be done by tomorrow! ;)
Ryan
Great pic Ryan and a great story to go with it!! Awesome job!
Awesome story. Congrats
Congratulations, Ryan. I enjoyed your story. Is there a season on the Axis Deer?
Now tell me about these Muflon. Are they open to flatlanders like me or are they only for locals to hunt? Is there a season on them or are they considered feral.
Congratulations Ryan, love your bow-is that cocobolo in the handle? Saw the picture on Duane's site.
How cool is that! Congrats on a terrific hunt. My wife says that someday she would like to travel to the islands - now I'm all for the trip.
Thanks guys!
Gatekeeper, Muflon season is open to everyone on Lanai. You have to apply for tags. The tags are usually available in April. All bowhunters get to hunt for one week in July. The only fee is the Hawaii hunting liscense.
We also have feral, hybrid and muflon sheep on Big Island. There is public and private hunting there too!
Kelly,
Sorry I forget which wood combo that was. I don't think it was cocobolo though. Might be purple heart, but I'm not sure? I don't have that bow anymore. I started shooting a Stalker Recurve.
Congrats on the awesome hunt and thanks for sharing the story. That is quite an accomplishment!
Ryan, do you have any more pics that you could share? I'd love to see more pics of the countryside and wildlife.
Are they rutting like crazy right now? Were all the males in hard horn or were you seeing some in velvet too?
I was hunting in the tx Hill country this past weekend (there are some good numbers of free ranging axis there - mostly escapees that have gotten loose from high fence places during floods, etc). Usually they rut this time of year and they were bellowing like crazy. I think a lot of people do not realize how loud and how huge they can get, to me they seem more like an elk than a deer. Congrats again on the hunt, that is a fine animal. IMO its the best tasting venison out there.
Nice job Ryan! One more reason to live in paradise. Next time I head over to the islands, I'm bringing my bow.
Fishnhunt,
I started a new Hawaii picture thread for you. I love when those axis scream!!!!!! Sure gets the blood pump'n!
South!
I'll be waiting!!!!!!
:campfire:
Sweet Ryan, some beautiful animals looks like you got that down pat and continued success to you. Guess those Muzzy's are working just fine!
Thanks Mark!
Yup, Those four blade Muzzys are wicked! :thumbsup:
Aloha!
Ryan
Great job Ryan. Love the picture. Looks like your strings are gaining in popularity. Keep up the good work. :thumbsup: