If you haven't already read about this enormous hunting weekend with us, check out the story behind my axis deer (here and here)!
And if you have, let's get into some final thoughts about hunting for exotics on a high fence ranch.
It's kind of funny, thinking about writing a blog post about how to prepare for something you've never done before. I got some great advice from Court, but no matter how much you prepare, you're never completely mentally prepared for what you're about to experience when you try something new.
In my mind, both of these animals would be an easy harvest from a blind, but they would be so unique and special because we had wanted them for so long. We would go hunt, get our animals, and then relax at the cabin the rest of the time, or go on little safaris to observe all the different animals running around out there, maybe even sleep in a little bit.
Ha. I could not have been more wrong!!
This was one of the hardest weekends of hunting that I've ever done. Court and I have done long sits and hunted hard at the family ranch, sure, but not like this. There were no afternoons spent spot-and-stalk hunting for a sign of our target, or literal full afternoon sits through the heat and weather in the hopes that the animals would come out at the right spot. Sometimes, we wouldn't even get up crazy early like we did on these hunts.
We hunted hard for both animals; we earned every bit of those trophies and that meat, and it didn't feel like the the stereotypical high fence hunt that we hear about all the time in the best way. It has completely changed how I feel about hunting and I'm going to try to explain as clearly as I can through my excitement and the lingering adrenaline as I'm writing this a long time after!
Here are a few of my thoughts after my first high fence and exotic hunt.
Hunting a New Species is an Exciting Challenge
Read that heading twice. No species is the same, no matter where you hunt them!
The way that our guides hunted with us was drastically different both based on our skills/experience and the animal that we were hunting. Axis deer are notorious for being very skittish and sticking to cover until the very last bit of light if they can help it. Blackbuck, however, are very territorial and the mature males will often stick with their harem of does in a specific area. My guide, Kate, and I stuck to stealth and the areas where the axis deer were commonly seen, while my husband and his guide kept an eye out for their quarry and his little herd in a specific area.
But that didn't mean that the blackbuck was in the place he was supposed to be, and the axis deer still didn't come out where they had originally expected. That's the beauty of hunting that carries into targeting any species; just because you think you know what they're going to do doesn't mean that they'll do it! (And usually, they don't!)
Beyond our weekend hunting, Court's hunt for his fallow deer back in December was a very different hunt. Fallow deer aren't very skittish and behave a little more like whitetail deer. He didn't see one at a feeder, but they found one that he liked and he was able to do a mini spot-and-stalk to get a good shot on the animal. The red deer at this ranch were known to behave similarly, too.
Within the bounds of one ranch and comparing four different species, the methods of successfully hunting them were wildly different! I feel that when it comes to hunting whitetail and wild hogs (which are the most common native big game species in Texas), the hunting strategy is very similar. In fact, you'll often come across one while hunting the other, whereas the animals on the exotic ranch seemed to follow their own rules.
This was the first time since hunting my first deer that we really took a different approach to harvesting an animal (we took a few different ones, actually), and it felt like we had to be more strategic about our hunts. If you know, then you know I love a good challenge, and targeting axis deer has been one of the biggest challenges of my hunting career so far! (Other than spring turkeys. They still hold the title of Most Difficult Species For Jess To Hunt lol.)
The middle axis deer with his head down is actually the one I ended up harvesting! I would love to be able to watch them more sometime, I was a little preoccupied at the moment when this was taken…
Wonder All Around
One of my favorite things about hunting is just watching animals be animals. Yes, you can go to the zoo, but it's not the same! Watching whitetail deer just live their lives out in the wild, doing their thing and completely unaware of anyone observing them is a pretty magical experience. I've seen bucks grunt and chase does, spikes play-fight, yearlings plop into the grass for a nap, does kick at each other, big bucks poke their heads out of the trees, and more. Honestly, it's those moments of watching animals that stick with me longer than pulling the trigger.
And with exotic hunting this weekend, it was x10. This time, I got a peek into the world of creatures I had never seen live outside of a zoo.
We saw all kinds of amazing animals just doing their thing:
- A baby gemsbok slowly wandering across the clearing to their parents up on the hill
- A turkey coming in to Kate's call and chatting back to her
- That same turkey having it out with some screaming axis bucks hidden in the trees
- Listening to those same axis bucks fighting each other, the clack of their antlers like a clash of swords
- A pregnant red deer hind that glared at us when she wouldn't cross the road
- Gemsbok. Just all the gemsbok, but especially when they came down towards the feeder with all the axis deer
- Axis deer bucks swiveling their heads to look like dancing trees in the shade of the wooded areas
- Too High prancing around his little harem of does after getting shot at without a care in the world
- Also Too High getting chased by a younger buck, both with a little gleam of mischief in their eyes as they sped past us
- Oryx galloping like strange horned horses into the sunset
- An enormous red deer stag lumbering through the trees
- A kudu peeking up at us from over a hill, careful not to be easily spotted
These are the moments that have always stuck with me while hunting, and it's the part I wish more people understood. For every shot taken, there are hours spent wandering in the woods or watching from a blind where hunters get the unique opportunity to catch a glimpse of those animals' world. I hope I can speak for all or most hunters when I say that this part is one of the best parts of hunting, and one of the reasons we advocate so much for protecting these animals, their food, and their habitats.
I asked Kate as we watched some gemsbok if she ever got used to seeing all of these exotic animals while guiding. She simply said no, and that it would be time to stop if she ever did. I hope I never get over watching animals in the wild, too.
High Fence Hunting Is What You Make It
Alright. Let's address the elephant in the room on this post.
Or rather, the stupidly-huge-whitetail-deer-that-gets-harvested-from-a-stand-in-an-acre-sized-pen-with-nowhere-to-go-now-that-he's-out-of-his-cage in the room.
This is the stereotype that is commonly attributed to high fence hunting, and they especially love to pin that stereotype on ranches in Texas. It's hard to be Texan sometimes, y'all.
And you know what? I'm sure there are ranches out there like that, where you tell them what you want and as along as you can pay, they can guarantee that you will get that animal, and you probably won't have to work very hard to get it. It's a thing, unfortunately.
But the RANCH NAME HERE Ranch and Double S Outfitters is not that way. They have two 300 acre pastures with high fences that are meant to separate some of the species and because both pastures are at slightly different elevations; and within those pastures, the animals run free. There are no "pens", and the stands are spread out to accommodate multiple hunters safely and without putting too much pressure on the animals at once. Even if Court's blackbuck hunt had gone according to expectations, it was still a challenging hunt trying to spot and stalk a fast moving herd through 300 acres.
High fence hunting is real hunting. Say it with me: high fence hunting is real hunting.
It's all about what you make of it, and that has been the golden rule that I have heard from multiple hunters who have gone on high fence hunts and had a blast. (Myself now included!)
For example, I could've told the guides that I wanted to sit in a deer stand, that I didn't want to get up early, and I didn't want to stay out too late. I probably wouldn't have come home with an axis deer, but I could have made the actual hunting part way easier. Instead, I got up crazy early and got to see some amazing animals while seeking out an axis; I did my first spot-and-stalk hunt in my life and got to spend almost an entire day chasing chital through the hills of Texas. It's become one of my favorite hunting experiences of all time, and it's because I was up for anything and everything that we needed to do to be successful.
High fence hunting is real hunting.
I think the other side of making your high fence hunt what you want is going with a reputable outfitter and property (if you find the right outfitter, you'll probably end up on the right ranch, too). Court had already hunted with Double S Outfitters back in December when he went with a group for a big hunting weekend, so he already knew that he was getting quality guide services from good people on a beautiful property.
Going on these hunts is a substantial financial investment, so do your homework! Ask around, and when you get recommendations, do some more digging; what are their reviews like? Check out their social media; what kinds of animals are they posting? Do you know multiple people who have hunted with them? What did they think?
Take those recommendations, reviews, and observations from your research and carefully choose the outfitter that you think will give you the best experience based on what you want. Court and I wanted a challenge, and that's what we got! We also got two guides that worked extremely hard to get us on our target species and created a fun, welcoming atmosphere for the weekend.
I'll say it one more time, just in case you didn't get it; high fence hunting is real hunting AND it's everything that you make it. Know what you want out of your exotic hunt and go find an outfitter that will make it happen!
In hindsight, I am so glad that I was wrong in pretty much all of my expectations of my first high fence exotic hunt. This easy "harvest" turned into a real challenge pitting us against the axis deer and blackbuck to see who would win the weekend. Even though we both walked away with animals, I wouldn't say we "won"! Those exotic species were unlike any creature I've encountered on previous hunting trips in the most exciting way.
It'll be awhile before we do another hunt like this, but I'm hopeful that I can say "when" we do another exotic hunt, and not "if". These trips aren't cheap, but they're absolutely worth it. Besides, now that I've got my axis deer, I'll have to come up with a new species to obsess over and target for our next exotic hunt!
In the meantime, we've got a freezer full of great meat and walls full of beautiful creatures that will be sure to start the exciting and wild tale of our first exotic hunt together.
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