Black Buck Antelope Hunt - Sonora Texas

We were back on the “McPherson 4M Ranch” which is 16 miles south of Sonora Texas.  It is a short 3 hours from San Antonio and the Ranch is over 12,500 acres in size.   This time on the ranch we were searching for an exotic animal called the Black Buck Antelope.  Black Buck’s are from India and parts of Pakistan and Nepal.  

Daniel Sowell, a great friend of mine, and I were making an afternoon hunt and we left the McPherson 4M Ranch headquarters at 2:45pm.  Cody, the Ranch Foreman took us to the Exotic hunting area and set us up in a blind that was raised 10 feet into the air.  From that vantage point we could see for miles.  We were only there for about 30 minutes and there were animals far in the distant field.  They were female black bucks, there must have been 20 of them and they were crossing the valley is a moderate pace.  Males were probably there but we did not see them.   The Mesquite trees had lost their leaves and we could see them fairly clearly.

 While we were looking to the East at these animals crossing the open area, another herd of Black Buck moved in behind us.  They were much closer to the blind and we quickly saw two nice Males in the group that were dark brown and or black in color on their backs with two horns that twist or corkscrew to sharp points.   These males were very distinctive, they were dark colored over their backs and shoulders.  Their bellies and the inside of their legs were white.  They had white rings around the eyes and mouth.   There were only two Black Bucks with these characteristics.  The does are reddish brown in color and they do not have these impressive horns.  There were 15-20 does in this herd.

 

We quickly changed our positioning in the blind which included moving our camera equipment.  Cesario Garcia was our cameraman and we shot the entire hunt on HD Video.   We were tracking the dominant male and he was strutting across the area, and then around his herd of females and then back across the area in front of us.  He was essentially herding his animals and letting them know that he is the top of the hierarchy.   

  

We made plans to take the shot the next time he came across the area in front of us.   I was ready, kneeling on my right knee and aiming the 30-ot-6 thru the narrow opening of the window.  Daniel was glassing the area and he and I could feel the growing anticipation of the next moment.   A younger reddish brown male with 8 inch horns walked into view from the thick Mesquite trees.  He stood there for 20 seconds and looked directly at us.  We waited, he then began moving right to left and as predicted the shooter Black Buck Male came strutting into view.  He was walking steadily and we knew that we could not make a shot while he was on the move.   Daniel knocked twice on the wood wall of the blind and he stopped and looked directly at us.  We were 130 yards from him.  He told me to take the shot and I did.  It was a good shot and the animal jumped into the air and then went to the ground.  It was a good kill.

 Hunters Notes:

Black Buck Antelope inhabit open grasslands.  During mating season, the males will strut with a comical mincing gait with the head tossed upward and their horns flattened along their backs.  We did not see this dramatic activity but we did capture the strut on video.   Black Buck herds prefer open grassy areas and tend to avoid heavy forested areas or really rugged terrain.  They graze the edges of patches of low brush and trees so they have access to cover if needed.  In India and Nepal, they are the fastest mammals.  They can outrun all of their predators.  They can reach speeds of 50 miles per hour and sustain those speeds if needed.  They are very wary animals, have excellent eye sight and hearing  and therefore they can spook easily.   As we targeted these animals on this hunt, often they would stop their grazing and look up directly at us.  We were quiet but they were alert and very aware of their surroundings. 

It was a fantastic afternoon hunt.

Visit the McPherson website at www.mcpherson4mranch.com.    Contact the McPherson Ranch at (210) 822-2915 or via Email: info@mcpherson4mranch.com.   

They can provide you a great adventure and with the hunt of a lifetime.

Thanks for your Time Today………………. and I’ll see You in the Outdoors !!

Dave

White Tail Buck Hunt - Sonora Texas

Daniel Sowell and I hunted the “McPherson 4M Ranch” in search of a nice White Tail Buck.  We were 16 miles south of Sonora Texas.  We left the ranch house at 6:30am and the mercury was at 26 degrees Fahrenheit.  We were hunting toward the end of the mating season, the rut.   During the rut, males will spar, or fight, to determine a dominance hierarchy.    Bucks will attempt to copulate with as many females as possible.  

The area we hunted offered some longer shots, up to 175 yards, and an average shot of 100 yards.   Today we shot the hunt on HD video and Cesario Garcia was our in-field cameraman.    We set up in a blind and waited for the black of the morning to turn to day-break.  As we slowly were able see what was in front of us, we realized that there were already animals in the field.  We had 4 doe and 3 younger bucks in the field of vision.  The bigger bucks were staying in the back, behind the tree-line.   

We know that because they came in from far behind the feeder in front of us.  Three mature deer with nice racks slowly came into our area.  They were weary and moved in very slowly.  We identified that one of the animals was more mature and he proved to be the dominant buck in the group.  The others gave him space and he even had some backing up as he changed his direction of movement.   

 

 He was leaving the field we were hunting in a quick pace and we were concerned that we would lose our opportunity.  Daniel and I tracked him with the 30-ot-6 and binoculars.  He finally stopped and turned broadside toward us.  Deer around him had cleared and I took the shot.  It was a clean shot and he dropped right where he stood and remained motionless.   I drew a deep breath after the shot and thanked Daniel for the opportunity to hunt the McPherson Ranch again.  

 

Hunters Notes:
White Tail deer can run up to 36 miles per hour, they can jump up to 8.5 feet and they can leap as far as 30 feet.  They are a truly amazing animal.   The 8 point buck that we shot had been fighting during the rut.  One of his brow tines was broken but the remainder of his antlers were intact.  He was the dominant buck in this area.  There are many factors that determine how intense the rutting season will be.  Air temperature is one of the major factors for this intensity.   Whenever the air temperature rises above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the males will do a lot less traveling looking for females.  This morning was cold and the prior 5 days were in the mid teens in the early am hours.  Deer were active and they were near the end of the rut in this part of Texas.    All in all, it was a great hunt.

Visit the McPherson website at www.mcpherson4mranch.com.    Contact the McPherson Ranch at (210) 822-2915 or via Email: info@mcpherson4mranch.com.   
They can provide you a great adventure and with the hunt of a lifetime.
Thanks for your Time Today………………. and I’ll see You in the Outdoors !!
Dave

Aransas Pass – w Billie Kocian—Pre-Front Fishing

Billie Kocian and I left Aransas Pass to find some Redfish and Trout.  We fished with soft plastics from Mister Twister.   We worked the flats drift fishing and covering water.  This proved to be a solid day on the water.  

  

We caught nice trout and some really great Redfish as well.   The wind was strong in the morning and it tapered off in the late afternoon as the Northern Blew in.  The plan was to make parallel drifts across the flats of Steadmans and Dagger.  Both produced fish of caliber but the schools of Redfish were predominately inside Dagger.   

 Billie has a Haney Bay Boat---A Cat Boat that will run skinny.  We worked from the raised aluminum decks that enabled us to really find the fish and sight case some of them along our drift path.  We shot it all on HD and Cesario Garcia was our main cameraman.

 Anglers Note---

When fishing in front of a front, the fish can really be active.  We looked at Underground Weather and looked for the hour-by hour-forecast.  It showed that the northern would blow in sometime on Saturday evening.  Fishing just ahead of a Northern can be rock solid.  The fishing was excellent until the glassy water showed up.  What I mean by that is the wind died down and ultimately stopped blowing out of the predominant direction of the South-West.  The winds are generally always out of the South-West in this part of the Texas coastline.  Once they stopped blowing and went lull, we experienced a shift to the winds out of the North.  When that happened, the bite was off like a light switch.  If you can plan you fishing around pre-front fishing, you will catch more fish.  Knowledge is power on the water.

Contact Captain Billie Kocian at 1-361-688-8859 and she can put you on fish too.

Thanks for your time today and I’ll see you on the water !!

Dave