Great Spotted Fallow Buck Hunt!

Jimmy came to the Patio Ranch to hunt a fallow buck…a seemingly simple request for a Texas exotic that is fairly common. After all, there are a number of large trophy fallow on the Patio Ranch. How it would happen or what kind of effort it would take to make it happen probably were not considerations in the choice. But the world of hunting often places unexpected events into the equation of a simple hunt.
The hunt started with confirming the accuracy of the rifles at the shooting range. With this accomplished, the next step was to start looking for a fallow. The first trip into the section-sized back pasture looked promising in that two larger bodied fallow bucks were sighted across a valley at about 600 yards. We were able to watch them walk up a little rise and disappear into the wooded hillside. A stalk was devised and started. The 3-4 mile stalk over some rough Texas Hill Country terrain taking up the next 3-4 hours was a success in many ways. We were able to watch some large herds of aoudad at 50 yards; some white-tail deer were spotted at close quarters; and a blackbuck antelope male slowly passed within 20 yards of our location at a slow pace. But the fallow were not seen again that morning.
Fast forward to the afternoon hunt. The weather has turned warm (into the upper 80’s), the animal activity in the pasture has come to a stop as far as we can see and Jimmy has had his time schedule moved up to leave first thing in the morning. But, it seems as if luck started turning our way at this point. Jimmy spotted a fallow in a brush line, but it departed before we could get a good look. The weather started to cool a little with the dropping of the sun on the horizon and the lengthening of the shadows of the hills and trees. And then it happened…large fallow buck spotted in some deep brush on the left!! Evaluate the animal, make a decision and shoot took what seemed like an eternity while we were hoping the buck would feel secure enough in his cover to hold. With the picture, you can see that Jimmy’s aim was true and that the fallow did hold just long enough!
We invite you to share a hunting experience with us here on the Patio Ranch. Not only will you have the opportunity to hunt some exceptional trophy animals of many species, but the view of the Texas Hill Country just seems a little better when you can enjoy it first hand on the ground while hunting. Congratulations Jimmy! You now have a great story that you can relate about the day that the great spotted fallow was taken. And, even though Jimmy has hunted a good bit in his life, he can now truly “…tell a different hunting story!”
Good hunting!