The count hit 400 deer, and we were barely three hours into the hunt. We were on the island of Molokai, hunting axis deer with Pat Fisher, of Hawaii Safaris (www.hawaiisafaris.com). I’d hunted free-range axis on the east end of the island before, but public pressure was high and trophy bucks tough to come by. This time I sought to hunt private land, and I was glad I did. Before nightfall we’d see nearly 500 deer. I closed that hunt with a good buck, and vowed to one day return.
Two years later I was back, this time with good friend Tom Munson, marketing director at Trijicon, and his buddy, Jeremy Vaccaro. For both men it was their first axis deer hunt, for me, my third go-around in Hawaii, though I’d been fortunate to hunt them in other countries, too.
Following a 3/4-mile stalk on a rutting buck, Tom was finally in shooting position. But the buck was bedded down. All we could see were his ivory-tipped antlers barely sticking above the extremely tall grass. Finally, after and hour and 20 minutes, the buck stood and Tom made a perfect shot.
We were hunting grassy meadows on Lanai, where once grew the world’s largest pineapple plantations. More than 90% of this island is privately owned, and the management of its game has led to a staggering amount of axis deer and some big antlered bucks.
Jeremy was up next, and after a long stalk, he made a perfect shot on a buck from over 270 yards. The rut was in full-swing, and this helped keep big bucks active in daylight hours. The shrill “bugle” of a rutting axis deer is something to behold, and when you’re surrounded by hundreds of deer, the calm air filled with rutting sounds, you know you’re in paradise. Jeremy also took a mouflon sheep.
Axis deer are the widest ranging deer in the world and occur free-range in a few places within the continental U.S. But the best hunting for them in the U.S. is found in Hawaii. They yield what many hunters consider to be the world’s finest eating game meat and the most beautiful coat, with adults retaining their white spots their entire life. They are an amazing deer to see, and eat!
Finally it was my turn, and as was the case on our previous two hunts, we hit it hard during the final hours of daylight. We spotted many bucks, some in the prized 30-inch class, that I passed on. I was hoping for something in the mid-30-inch class, or better yet, a buck in velvet.
Being an equatorial deer, the axis rut can last for months, and antlers can be hard or in velvet any time. Less than 10% of the bucks we saw on this hunt were in velvet, so when I looked at a velvet-antlered buck through my binos, I knew what I wanted.
The buck bedded down in tall grass, allowing us to move in. Getting 130 yards from where he bedded, I got set in the shooting sticks. As soon as he stood and cleared the tall grass, I put the dot of my 3×9 Trijicon on his shoulder. The 130 grain Nosler AccuBond hit with a thud, and the buck folded.
The velvet buck carried more than 30-inches of antler on his main beam and we skinned him out for a lifesize mount…simply to beautiful for anything less! We also took home a cooler full of prime game meat, some of the best we’ve ever had.
Great memories, lots of deer and I can’t wait to get back…it’s a truly special deer hunting experience!
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