Axis deer native range
Hanging above the door is the axis deer, native to India, but endangered there. In
1935 they were introduced to Texas and are now found in much of that state. In fact
there are far more axis found in Texas than anywhere in the world. Axis deer are
very gregarious, often found in herds of over fifty animals. The males have beautiful
white spots covering the body. Interestingly the mating season can be all year round,
though April and May seem to be peak breeding periods. Because some mate year-round,
fawns can be seen in every month. Another interesting fact about axis deer is that
once the bucks reach two years of age, the antlers always have the same number of
points. The antlers will grow in size as the buck’s age, but the number of points
remains the same. This particular buck is old and quite large. It came from Texas
in 2002.
HUNT DESCRIPTION
This record-book axis was taken on a large, unfenced ranch in Texas in 1999. He
was with 30 females and gathered at a staging area around 400 yards from an alfalfa
field where they fed at night We put a tri-pod stand on the staging area that afternoon
and the shot was taken around 5 in the afternoon. The shot was only 25 yards and
the meat I brought home was excellent.