I have a huge passion (maybe even what some would call an addiction) for hunting and the outdoors, as does my great friend and taxidermist Frank. Both of our boys, Riley and Hunter, are close in age (9 years old) and have the same enthusiasm about nature. Over the past year, they have been practicing their shooting skills and matured in age to where Frank and I believed them to be ready to take on the challenge of pursuing their first big game animal.
We were extremely grateful to be invited to a beautiful 15,000-acre ranch between Brackettville and Del Rio to chase blackbuck antelope. I knew we had our work cut out for us, as the boys aren't quite ready to shoot 300 yards and we would need to get them somewhere in the ~150 yard range. Spotting the right one and getting into shooting position was definitely something that I underestimated. We drove for miles and miles across the ranch searching for the right opportunity for both boys. It seemed like any time we would get within eyesight of a good buck, it would also spot us and disappear. However, after much failure, we were lucky enough to have the stars line up and both Riley and Hunter made incredible 1-shot kills on really solid, mature bucks. Both bucks taped off right at 20", which is an outstanding representation of the blackbuck antelope species.
With the pressure off to get their bucks, the rest of our weekend was filled in a more relaxing manner with some dove hunting, bass fishing, grilling, cornhole, and good camaraderie. The boys caught several dozen bass off a small tank. But, they couldn't beat their dads in cornhole .
Frank hooked us up with some swag when we showed up
Quick trip to the range to get the boys a few shots prior to hunting
Riley's buck….
For whatever reason, he wasn't overly thrilled about putting blood on his cheeks, but that wasn't negotiable. He will appreciate it later.
The dove hunting was fast and furious and the boys managed to shoot the Texas dove trifecta (mourning, white wing, and Eurasian collared).
A few other pics….
We were extremely grateful to be invited to a beautiful 15,000-acre ranch between Brackettville and Del Rio to chase blackbuck antelope. I knew we had our work cut out for us, as the boys aren't quite ready to shoot 300 yards and we would need to get them somewhere in the ~150 yard range. Spotting the right one and getting into shooting position was definitely something that I underestimated. We drove for miles and miles across the ranch searching for the right opportunity for both boys. It seemed like any time we would get within eyesight of a good buck, it would also spot us and disappear. However, after much failure, we were lucky enough to have the stars line up and both Riley and Hunter made incredible 1-shot kills on really solid, mature bucks. Both bucks taped off right at 20", which is an outstanding representation of the blackbuck antelope species.
With the pressure off to get their bucks, the rest of our weekend was filled in a more relaxing manner with some dove hunting, bass fishing, grilling, cornhole, and good camaraderie. The boys caught several dozen bass off a small tank. But, they couldn't beat their dads in cornhole .
Frank hooked us up with some swag when we showed up
Quick trip to the range to get the boys a few shots prior to hunting
Riley's buck….
For whatever reason, he wasn't overly thrilled about putting blood on his cheeks, but that wasn't negotiable. He will appreciate it later.
The dove hunting was fast and furious and the boys managed to shoot the Texas dove trifecta (mourning, white wing, and Eurasian collared).
A few other pics….
