I thoroughly enjoy bowhunting for exotics. Last summer I made the two
hour drive from my home near Ft. Worth, Texas to bowhunt them at Squaw
Mountain Ranch. At the ranch, the manager Mike Moore reviewed the many
exotics that were on the ranch and where I might bag one. There were Axis
Deer, Rams, Goats, Black Buck Antelope, Nilgai Antelope, Red stag and many
other exotics. I put my gear in my cabin and went hunting.
Squaw Mountain Ranch is 3,000 acres of rough and hilly Texas terrain.
Scrub oak, cedars, cactus and boulders are plentiful. While scouting I
located a water hole on the saddle of a canyon. The tracks indicated that
exotics watered there regularly. I put up my portable treestand in what
I felt was a slam dunk location.
Three hours of daylight remained. I waited. In two hours three Black
Buck Antelope--two does and one buck--came to the water hole. The buck
was nice but not what I wanted. This was my first close sighting of a Black
Buck. I could not get over how beautiful they were. They were also very
spooky. They watered thoroughly, but nervously. . .and hooked 'em. Ten
minutes later a big Nilgai antelope approached the water hole. But, after
a long period of deliberation, he reconsidered and left. I decided to call
it a day. I no longer could see my sight pins clearly.
I told Mike I wanted to try for a Black Buck Antelope. I was in awe
at how beautiful they were. We ate a great home cooked meal and discussed
the prognosis for the next days hunt.
The morning was a hot Texas 95 degrees at dawn. Nothing came to my water
hole. After lunch I told Mike I wanted to stalk so I could cover more territory.
He loaded me in his four wheel drive pickup and dropped me off in the craggiest
area imaginable. I hunted uphill and glassed a deep canyon. In the bottom
was a narrow grassy area by a creek.
As I picked my way downhill something moved by the creek. I stopped
dead in my tracks and watched. The suspicious movement turned into a beautiful
Black Buck with two does. They grazed peacefully, 100 yards ahead. I considered
the lay of the land and decided to use a line of mesquite trees to shield
my approach. In twenty yards I discovered that Black Bucks have excellent
eyesight. A Doe picked up my movement. She snorted and all three were gone
in a heartbeat.
The rest of the afternoon I moved around the ranch trying to make something
happen. I saw lots of Rams, Goats and other African exotics, but not the
Black Buck I hoped to see. When only an hour of good daylight remained,
I walked up on a stand that Mike had pointed out to me earlier. It was
productive for Russian Boars. It was prime time for hogs so I decided to
give it a try.
After twenty minutes on the stand I couldn't believe what I observed.
Two Black Buck Antelope Does made their way right toward me. They were
coming fast. Suddenly a Buck appeared, trailing them. The buck was the
biggest I had ever seen.
For some crazy reason, when the Does were thirty yards from me, they
headed into the thick brush. The Buck hesitated at the place where the
Does veered off. I felt sick.
All I could do was sit and watch. The brush was too thick for a shot.
The Buck started moving. . .toward my stand!!!
There was no way I was going to blow this opportunity. I eased my HIGH
COUNTRY SAFARI into shooting position and picked my spot. The buck was
fifteen yards away and closing. I sent my THUNDERHEAD 160 tipped arrow
through his ribs. The buck turned and bolted down his back trail. I was
confident I had a good double lung hit and felt he was down.
It would be dark soon. I hustled to the last place I saw him and quickly
picked up his blood trail.
I blood trailed for twenty yards and there he lay. I inspected my trophy.
His colors were beautiful. His horns were long and spiraled. They had four
curls. The upper half of his body was jet black. The lower portion was
snow white. Definitely, this was one of the most gorgeous animals I have
ever seen.
At the ranch, Mike asked to score my buck. He scored #3 in the official
Record Book Of Exotics. (Black Buck taken with a bow.) They sent me an
award and invited me to their banquet. But all that was just icing on the
cake. Having an animal score in the book is nice, but it's only academic.
The true satisfaction comes from the hunt.
For information on exotic hunting in Texas, contact: Squaw Mountain
Ranch, P.O. Box 155, Jacksboro, TX 76458. 1-800-825-4956. The ranch is
3,000 acres of small mountains and deep canyons jammed with Texas scrub
oak, cactus and cedars.. The cabins are comfortable. The home cooked meals
are awesome. And exotics abound.
Exotics
On The Mountain