What a blast I had at Brady Ranch. My son got a 140 class Axis deer that night we arrived at the ranch, a 150 yard shot and a 1 shot kill with a Browning A- bolt 243 with 87 gr. Hornady SP bullet. We also did some spotting for some Water buffalo to get an idea of the heard.
The next morning the son slept in and my taxidermist and I went out with our guide and did a early morning set up for another Axis deer and it did not pan out, we did another set up and had about 10 extremely nice Axis bucks come in. They were about 400 yards out and we glassed for the best buck and made a stock on them and my buddy took a 200 plus shot on the Axis buck and dropped it with one shot from his 270 with a 130 gr. bullet.
We went back to the lounge and had a late breakfast and went back out for my Water Buffalo hunt. We found the heard and spent awhile glassing the heard to find the Big bull I was looking at the night before. After about 40 minutes we spotted him and tried to make a approach on the swamp buggy and the heard had nothing to do with use even getting close and bunched up and ran off. We followed them from about a hale mile away and lost them in the palm meadows. We spotted the heard in the palm meadows and started a ground stock. We got to within 30 to 40 yards of the heard and could not find the bull I was looking for. We waited and followed the heard and we headed to try and cut them off. As we approached an opening in the palm meadows the heard was bunched up and a shot at my bull was not going to happen.
The buffalo started making there way to the open area and got about 125 to 150 yards out in the field. We snuck up to the edge of the palm meadows and my bull stopped and turned to face us like it wanted to charge. Then it started its way back to the heard and gave me an open shot on him. I had my Encore in 416 Rigby with a 300 gr. Barnes X bullet on my shooting sticks and put a shot on the bull. I could tell he was hit good, because blood was borings out of both nostrils and both of his front shoulder weren't working well. He wobbled off about 20 yards and went down. I quickly reloaded a second round but it was not needed. :-D
After many pictures and hand shakes we loaded the Buffalo up and headed back to the butchering area and started working on the buffalo. When it was skinned out we found the bullet loaded between the outside of the shoulder and the hide. The bullet took out both shoulders and lungs. The Barnes bullet was a perfect Barnes mushroom. What make the whole thing great was we got all of out hunts on video and pictures.
We capped out both Axis deer for Shoulder mounts and the Buffalo for a shoulder mount. It sure is nice having a taxidermist as a friend and on the hunt. I would recommend Brady Ranch to anyone that want to do a challenging fenced hunt. I found this hunt harder than any Whitetail hunts I have been on, but not a taxing as my Alaskan Caribou hunt.
I plan on going back to Brady Ranch for a Axis deer for myself. Not only is it a great looking deer, but I have never had any game meat that taste that good.
:-D
