First Axis buck that I've personally taken since 2006. Forgot how tasty these things are. Gonna Grill up a tenderloin here in just a min.

Here is the story:

I've been watching these axis for about a month. Typically they have zero pattern to them, if and when you see one it would be a totally random occurance, in a years time you may only see a handful of axis. I guess due to the drought, they are concentrated along the lake and creek feeding on all the green grass and weeds. 3 weeks ago i was hog hunting and saw two good bucks, but it was getting dark and i didnt have alot of confidence i could drop it with s .22-250. I hunted wednesday afternoon but never saw one in hard horns. I did see a very nice shooter buck as I was walking across the dam of the lake but I didn't feel right shooting a deer the first 10 min of the hunt. That night I could hear them roaring so I knew they are actively searching out does. I woke up thursday morning as the front blew in and waited till daylight to start glassing. Seeing no deer I went to my set up that i hunted the night gefore but there was nothing. At this point I could sit and watch a trail and hope something comes down it or keep walking and hope to see one.

I chose to move farther up the creek, in a clearing I saw a group of axis does feeding along the creek. I figured there would be a buck in there with them and I was right. This buck went from right to left across the clearing never offering me a shot. There was another axis with poor horns in the group as well, he started to push the herd farther away, leaving me out of options as the creek has 3' of water in it. I guess I was not being as still as I should have been because a doe barked at me and ran off....taking all the deer with her. Pretty bummed at this point, I walked to the waters edge to see if I could get across the creek to go after them. after dipping my shooting sticks in the water confirming that the water was impassible,I happened to look up and see this buck walking back across the road. He stopped right at the edge of the brush, I had to make a quick decision so I slung my rifle off my shoulder and made an offhand shot at 70 yards. Buck hunched at the shot and I knew I had him. Ran about 35 yards

Our axis arnt as big horn wise as some other ranches. Majority of the sheds I find are in the 26"-27" range. Occasionally we will have a buck over 30",but it's rare. Due to the reclusive nature of the animals and our terrain, it's very hard to hunt them. They don't come to feeders and live in brush so thick you can't sneak up on them, so when you see a mature one you can't afford to be too selective.

I had passed up two prior in velvet that were bigger but I'm very happy with how this hunt turned out

where he fell:

Great buck, congrats

Great looking buck! They have their best antler color right after shedding velvet. He is really nice and dark horned. Congrats.

real nice

Nice Axis

we have had hard horned bucks since the beginning of april. some are still in velvet though

maybe you can help me out...I've come to understand that a axis bucks lifespan can be from 9-12 years.

any idea on how old this buck is? at what age do they "peak out"? we killed a buck once that was 3 years old that had 31" horns.

They age by teeth wear pretty close to whitetails. Their best antler growth age is similar a WT also. Of course rainfall and genetics effect it a lot. I know of one that was 10 yrs old that I got a look at on a ranch at Eden. They new him by a white patch of hair so they could age him year to year. He does not look that old and I am not great aging them anymore since I am not around them. I would guess he is 4-5 yrs old from those pics. Most of the ones I have seen that were old get more white/gray hair on their neck and face area. Have them save his jawbone and post a pic.

Very nice

Trophy, that is a BEAUTIFUL buck. Nice dark horns. Gorgeous.

Nice axis! Congrats!

great buck. what did he end up measuring?

Congrats nice buck

Got to get me one of those...one of these days.

Outstanding!! Great Shot and nice story.

Outstanding!!!

Good looking animal

BEAUTIFUL Axis Great offhand shot too BTW!!

i was thinking around 5 years old. I'm gonna get the taxi to age him for me since the jaw is at his shop.

one guy told me he was a pretty old buck, but I don't think so. I do think he is a mature buck. I saw one buck that had a 30+ spike on his right side that was ancient. almost solid white face with a black neck. he looked so old.

29 1/2" X 30 1/2 "

X2

Great Axis. I'm jealous!

Congrats!

Axis live much longer than whitetails and are tough to age. In "captivity", they can reach 18-20 years of age - or more! On well managed HF properties, they will easily reach 13-15 years - although they are usually shot before then.

In free range, it largely depends on the terrain - but you can figure at LEAST 10-12 years. It is very hard to track and age free range animals or animals on very large HF properties because they can be so reclusive.

I had a rancher once tell me he bought about a dozen axis for his 1280 acre HF place. For two weeks they did nothing but walk the fenceline - then they up and disappeared. He didn't see ANY for about 4-5 years and thought they must have all died. Then one day he came around a corner late in the evening and there were about 100 axis standing in the field.

They can be THAT elusive.

They will reach 90% or more of their maximum horn LENGTH by 5 years. They can add a small amount of length after that based upon range conditions, and are more likely to add mass. The reason they "holy grail" of axis - a 40" - is so elusive is that you have to let those 36-37" walk for many years to gain those last few inches - AND you have to have good conditions.

Axis that are 36-37" might add a little in perfect years, and then give those gains back the following year. If you run across a 40", you better shoot it then - because he might give up 2" the following year if conditions are poor.

A 30-31" axis is a good free range animal, and that is about average size around the world. For some reason, it seems that Texas has a higher number of 35"+ axis than any place I've found or read about - or maybe it's just because I am closer to places and people that have seen them here in Texas. There are some isolated pockets of free range axis here in Texas that have numbers of real large (35"+) axis, but they are few and far between. It seems the 4 or 5 places I know about all have large, lush alfalfa fields to frolick in.

Incidently, I have a confirmed photo of free range axis near the river in south Dallas county - within sight of the downtown skyscrapers in the metromess.

Awesome! I want one of those one of these days.