By: Ted Nugent
Well Happy February everyone! As winter throttles on across the hinterland and we plow head-first into 2018, I hope everyone who is able to wrangle some time in their busy schedules to attend some of the various hunting shows around the country are enjoying themselves. They are always great fun.
Over many years I have attended the amazing SHOT show, ATA, Boone & Crocket, Pope & Young, SCI, North American Wild Sheep Association, NWTF, DU, NRA, Michigan United Conservation Clubs events, Texas Trophy Hunters Extravaganza’s and all sorts of various state’s deer classics and sporting symposiums and have thoroughly enjoyed myself everytime.
For all practical purposes these well-organized hunter gatherings are basically big, expansive, well attended deercamps and it warms the inner cockles of my predator heart to hang with, communicate with, share hunting stories and swap lies with armies of dedicated spirit BloodBrothers from around the world.
Talking about a hardcore microcosm of a gungho microcosm demographic! These are my people!
That being said, I have backed off attending such events over the years because, ultimately, why would I want to go to a hunting show when I can actually be hunting!
With the nonstop amazing hunting we have here in Texas, it is a rather ridiculously easy choice to make, and coupled with my 50 plus years of nonstop rock-n-roll touring insanity (I will perform my 6,729th concert this summer!) I have become more and more allergic to travel.
For example, while all my buddies are in Las Vegas (man I hate Las Vegas!) wrapping up SHOT & SCI, I was once again in a killer oak tree on our home SpiritWild Ranch here in Texas bowhunting for backstraps! With the phenomenal blood moon shining down upon my magic land, I was titillated with a nonstop parade of whitetails, blackbuck antelope, fallow deer and axis deer to keep my spirit aroused.
Though animal activity was at a very rare high, the critters were mostly off in the distance well out of range of my new Mathews Triax bow, but exciting nonetheless.
About to wrap up my somewhere near 150th SpiritWild Ranch bowhunting vigil for the season, a bachelor herd of magnificent axis stags emerged from the thick mountain cedar puckerbrush and ultra-cautiously eased their way near my ambush tree.
Rarely even seeing these crazy elusive ghost deer (it has been over a year since I’ve had an axis buck show up anywhere near me) I was intensely cocked, locked and oh so ready to rock when the big hard horned stag abruptly paused at 25 yards.
I said my little killer bowhunting prayer in my feeble attempt to calm down, picked a spot, and sent a beautiful 400 grain Gold Tip arrow with a 100 grain DeadRinger Butcher broadhead right there in that magical crease behind his shoulder, and it was over in a flash.
Even though I only shoot a lightweight 50# Mathews, my arrow sliced clean through this bulky 250-pound mature beast like butter and he only ran 100 yards before coming to rest in the cedar sanctuary beyond.
Now that beats the hell out of walking the floor fondling sporting goods, checking out new technology and talking about hunting!
These stunning and delicious deer are running wild all over Texas and in fact have taken over the vast Hill Country region, outnumbering the native whitetails. Axis deer breed all year so their numbers explode accordingly. In both Texas and Hawaii, it takes yearlong serious hunting effort to keep the axis population under control and we shoot does on sight throughout the year.
Axis are known for their superior venison and the gorgeous lifelong spotted hides make beautiful clothing and assorted garments and accoutrements.
Like the amazingly well-adapted Chinese ringneck pheasant, Hungarian partridge and European chukar, the mighty Indian axis deer is here to stay and provides 100% wonderful deerhunting opportunities for the many sporters looking for great sport and killer venison when the other deerseasons end.
There is nothing that will keep us deadly ready for next fall’s deerseason like hunting deer all year long! More and more die hard deerhunters from across America are going for it, and if you ever get a hankering for off-season deer-fun, think axis and keep that predator spirit alive! Fun, sport, meat, trophy perfection!