Hunting

Hunting

Tagging Out at the VF Ranch!

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As you can probably tell from the title, I tagged out! I am now done with Whitetail for the season! We were back at the VF Ranch in Sonora this past weekend. Some special moments happened at this hunt, and most took me by surprise.

The first special moment I want to discuss was when I had a face mask on with Emily and another girl hunter. Oh, and the huntmaster! That was a blast! It was about 22:30 and we were all very giddy. Giddy + face masks = laughing. Laughing + face masks = scary faces! We looked kind of creepy with only our teeth showing! That was one heck of a night to remember.

The next moment was when we were all helping a girl search for her doe. I was in a group with two other girls (one of them was the girl we did face masks with). All three of us found antler sheds and that was my very first shed! Usually, I love finding things. When I found the antler, I think I was more excited about finding something other than deer poop and cow patties! When we walked under a tree, I saw bones on the ground and some in the tree. I’m not too superstitious or anything but I was spooked. When we turned around and started walking out from beneath the tree, I saw antlers sticking up from beside a log. At this point, I’m practically shaking! I walked over to the log and saw it was a skull. I jumped up and thought, “heck naw!” When I decided to be brave, I used my antler shed to drag the skull towards me. Bam! I have my very own Axis skull! The skull and shed was not the only special thing about this tracking event. Not only did we learn about tracking but it was the perfect time for the hunters to become friends. I had a great time tracking with my crew!

The next special moment was when I tagged out. After every deer I harvest, I feel more like a successful hunter. Now we have 13 deer in our freezers!

I cannot forget to mention when I found a mesquite branch that made a perfect triple marshmallow stick! Marshmallows for everyone!

Now let’s talk about when I was in the blind. On Saturday morning, both my sister and our dad was with me. I had several bucks come out at the feeder, but we were hunting for does. I had several yearlings come out and finally a few does. I took the shot on a doe and she dropped where she stood. To add, she did not have a yearling with her. After she had died, a yearling came up and drank some of her milk! Later on, another small doe came and drank from her. I waited to see if I could get my last doe but I only had yearlings after that.

During the evening time, we were out at the blind at 15:30 After a buck and several does came out, I had to make the decision of which doe to get. Almost all of them were about the same size so I chose the one that looked older. I shot her and she ran about 10 yards. When the feeder went off at 16:30, we stayed and watched the buck. After a little while, we decided to check on the doe and head back to the truck. When we were walking to the truck, a herd of humongous Aoudad started running off! They were big enough and close enough that I wished I wasn’t on the ground! Although they weren’t right up on me, it was still scary seeing how big their horns are. By the way, Aoudad run like gorillas. Figured that out!

This hunt was a total blast! I wore my Hunters HD Gold Velocity glasses, and I used my Vortex Optics Viper scope. Like always, they were a great pair! 

Hunting

TYHP Hunt: VF Ranch in Sonora, Texas

cunninghambridget 1 Comment

Well y’all, I finally did it! I shot a deer without blasting the shoulders off! You see, I tend to feel more comfortable taking heart shots, but I decided to make my dad happy by doing lung shots. As of now, I have harvested seven deer. Most of those were shoulder shots, and I have a good reason for loving shoulder shots. The first reason is because deer usually drop with heart shots. The second reason is because I know the shoulder is farther from the gut. It’s just a mental thing, really.

On Saturday morning, my dad and I went out to our blind. Before the sun was up, I saw something white just hopping around our view. I assumed it was a Blackbuck because I know Whitetail deer don’t have that much white on them. I guess Blackbuck does like jumping before sunrise…? Anyway, when the sun came up, we had several Whitetail bucks come out. I’m talking mature eight pointers to small spikes. We were loaded! Sadly, our job at this hunt was to shoot does. After watching the bucks act like bucks, I heard trampling. It sounded like a herd of tiny elephants were coming from behind us. Sure enough, several Aoudad came out. Because the bucks were chasing off does, I was glad that they gave the bucks a hard time. Imagine this scene: about 30 Aoudad under the feeder acting like hogs, an Axis spike being bullied by the Aoudad, and several big Whitetail bucks being scared of the Aoudad. It felt like I was watching National Geographic! After watching several does that never came into sight, I finally saw three Blackbuck does that were heading to a perfect spot. There was a big one, slightly smaller one, and one was the smallest. As I was aiming at the big doe, my dad told me to wait because he wasn’t sure they were grown. We’re used to Whitetail does and those Blackbuck does were tiny. He googled their size to make sure they were grown. By the time we were sure they were grown, the biggest and smallest Blackbuck doe had gone into the tree line and out of sight. I decided to go for the only one in view. We were elevated so I tried to take that into consideration while aiming at her. I took the shot and she dropped. I was happy to see the Aoudad stayed at the feeder! I also scared off the bucks. The shot was at 0830 and she was about 100 yards away. After calming down, I was back to business and ready for another. At 0925, I shot a Whitetail doe. She was around 120 yards out. This is the doe I shot perfectly!

At this hunt, I decided to try not blasting off the shoulders. I had two chances to prove I could do it and on the second deer, I did it. While I was shooting the first deer, I kind of forgot about my plan… At least I remembered for the second one! When I was aiming for the shot, I tried to aim about one inch from the shoulder. When I shot her, I swear she jumped up several feet and arched her back like a cat! I was scared that it was a bad shot, but my dad assured me it was a good one. He saw the exit and a lot of blood. When we went to find her, we had one heck of a blood trail. She spurted so much blood from the exit wound- blood was everywhere. I also saw pink foam which I knew meant a lung shot. This relieved me a little. We found her laying by a tree and I was worried. I legit asked my dad if she was for sure dead! I get spooked when my deer run off because my first four deer dropped on the spot. After learning that she was dead, I was thoroughly relieved.

Just like the other TYHP hunts I have gone on, this hunt was a blast. We were on the VF Ranch in Sutton County, Sonora, TX. I appreciate the owners for allowing us to hunt on their ranch!

I wore my Hunters HD Gold while hunting and I absolutely love them. Throughout our hunting time, I was looking at the deer with and without the glasses. Every single time I put them back on, I was amazed! The leaves were greener and the deer fur stood out more with the glasses on. Alongside Hunters HD Gold, I was hunting with my Vortex Viper. The Viper is clear and makes hunting easier. Both of the products paired together make a perfect team!

Now it’s time to debone the meat and grind it up; burgers, sausage, and jerky, here I come!!