Bow Hunting in Paradise
Four of us, three members of the Alamo Chapter SCI, traveled to Bowhunter’s Paradise for an adventure and a hunt. The archers were Roger Clem, Allen Prough, Worth Davis and yours truly, Ray Allred.
Paradise is located about 2 hours west of San Antonio and 16 miles north of Brackettville, Texas. This location is in the Texas Hill Country and just west of the Nueces River where the terrain is rough, hilly, and covered with an abundance of heavy brush that provides excellent cover for the numerous game animals that include goats, rams, hogs, axis, oryx, blackbuck, red deer, whitetail, sika and fallow deer.
Hunting at Paradise is done a couple of ways: from elevated tri-pod stand and by stalking. They have cut over 20 trails throughout the property and have carefully placed numerous blinds to accommodate the bow hunter. Game must be taken with hand-held bows without draw-locks (hunters with disability are exempt in accordance with state regulations).
It is often said that getting there is half the fun. As you leave Bracketville heading north and out to Paradise you travel through Alamo City. This was the filming site of the very popular movie “The Alamo” which featured John Wayne and an excellent supporting cast. The facilities include, but are not limited to, an Old West country store, jail, bar, chapel, museum, and other rather old and authentic looking buildings. Browsing them is time well spent.
Upon arrival at Paradise we were warmly greeted, shown our living quarters, given a tour of the hunting area, and given the opportunity to use the range. This was followed by a hearty meal of beefy hamburgers and fries.
Then it was off to our rooms to prepare for our first day of hunting and a good night’s sleep in these most comfortable surroundings. Before we turned in for the evening we went out to the cedar trees and stripped some tines for the scent boxes. Once the scent boxes were loaded with fresh cedar tines, we filled them with our boots and clothes (including our hats and gloves) and then turned in for a good night’s sleep. The clothing rule is to keep your hunting clothes in the scent box or hanging outside on the front porch when not hunting. The dress code in the house is casual, but when hunting it is human scent-free attire.
Early on this Monday morning Jim Titchenell, the owner and operator of this hunting facility, woke us to some hot coffee, toast and cereal. While we were eating this brief snack we could hear the rain hitting the roof of our lodge, and it was coming down hard. In fact, it was pouring down rain and showed no sign of letting up. We watched the heavy rain for a while and pondered what to do. It did not take long before the decisions were made. I headed back to bed and the rest decided it was a good time to run some errands.
It was about 1400 hours when we all linked up and prepared for our first day of hunting. We finally loaded out about 1530 hours and headed to our assigned blinds. I had to walk about 200 yards down a clearly marked trail to find the feeder and blind. The blind was a 10-foot high tripod that was well hidden in some dense cedars and about 20 paces from the feeder.
I did not see any game animals during this hunt, but I did hear some noises that were coming from the area behind and to my right. While I could not make them out, it was my guess that the animals were picking up my scent and alerting; therefore they would not be coming into the feeder.
By 1953 hours darkness set in and I climbed down from my perch. Once safely on the ground I found my way back to the pick-up point and met the truck. We then picked up the other members of our party and headed home.
Except for me, everyone saw game animals, but no shooters. All I saw during this outing were birds, mostly white-wing doves feasting on the corn that the feeder released about 1800 hours.
Back at the lodge we again packed our hunting clothes into the scent boxes and briefed one another on the afternoon’s hunting activities. We then cleaned up, showering without scented soap, for dinner that was good ole Texas chili and beans. After making calls to our love ones, we headed off to bed and for another early wake up call.
That wake up call came at 0500 hours; after a quick snack and a little coffee we were again on our way to the hunting area. Once I reached my blind I tried to climb up the tripod. When I was about half way up the tripod began to lean a little to the left because the legs were sinking into the rain-soaked ground. I went back down and tried to steady the footing. I thought that I had done a fair job, so I started up again. When I reached the top and tried to turn around and sit, the tripod tilted to the left again and I was on my way to the ground in a not-so-graceful manner. In falling, I grabbed nearby tree limbs and that broke my fall, but I still hit hard knocking my bow off of another limb. So there I sat, wondering what was going to happen to me next.
I decided not to again try that tripod, but rather build a hasty ground blind about twenty yards from the tripod site. This took a few minutes to construct, but it was quickly finished and I was back in action, using a log for a stool.
The feeders are programmed to go off at 0700 hours and feed for only three or four seconds. Soon after my feeder went off, a nice-looking fallow doe and fawn walked directly to the feeder and began eating the corn. I watched them for about 10 minutes and they had no idea that I was in the area. I then raised my bow and put her in my sights. It was then that she realized that there was something unusual in the cedars. We played the “ I Got You Game” for another five or ten minutes. She would look at me and cock her head and then stomp the ground with her front feet. Then she would prance around making a very unusual call that was more like a grunt. I could tell that she was not comfortable with my presence. However, her fawn paid no attention to what was going on because it was enjoying a good meal of corn. Finally, the doe broke off our contact and she and the fawn headed down a game trail.
Another 30 or 40 minutes passed and out of the corner of my eye I saw a large dark colored animal moving from my left to right. He was about 50 paces, had his head down and was walking along making a lot of noise as he crossed the rocky terrain. He was walking at an angle away from me. At first I thought it was one of the red deer that are abundant at Paradise. I could not really tell – so that was my best guess.
He continued to walk for another 40 or so paces before he stopped and looked to the right and then to the left before proceeding. It was then that I could better see his antlers – he was carrying palms that were at least four inches wide. Accordingly, this was a chocolate fallow buck of the highest quality. What a neat animal and a beautiful sight to see!
When we returned to the lodge we again shared our experiences of the morning hunt. Because I had fallen off of a 10-foot tripod I was in no hurry to try another tripod for the afternoon hunt. So I unpacked my portable blind and announced that I would be hunting from a ground blind that afternoon and would report out on how effective is was or was not.
We all headed out to the hunting area about 1630 hours. I was placed in an area that was somewhat flat and open. Not only was there a feeder in place, but also a stock tank that offered a place for the animals to water. I had my blind in place by 1700 hours and felt very comfortable in this ground blind. At 1720 hours I saw my first action.
A whitetail doe and fawn came to the feeder and enjoyed a snack. I observed them for a few minutes then I mounted my bow and took dead aim at the doe’s shoulder. I held this position for about a minute before she noticed that I was something that she did not want to continue to associate with any longer. She and the fawn bolted back to the west and into the sun.
At 1735 a herd of mixed rams approached the watering tank. There were several different varieties in this herd, the Barbado, Apricot Texas Dall, and the Desert Painted Ram. The most dominant male in the herd was a Barbado and he was the last animal in the group.
I held my breath as they approached. When I thought that the prize ram was in range I took good aim and just as I was about to release the string he saw me and bolted back several yards, stopped and stared at me. I then took this opportunity to take the shot that struck him in the left shoulder area. Because I was looking directly into the setting sun I could not clearly see the flight path, but from his reaction he was well hit. He and the rest of the herd took off in a dead run back in the direction from which they came.
I remained in my blind for a very long hour before I decided that I best try to locate this ram before nightfall. I started from where I had shot at him – it was clearly marked by a fletch that had come off during this pass through shot. The initial problem was that there was no immediate blood trail.
I proceeded in the direction they ran for about 500 paces and came upon a tree line where I stopped and glassed the area. I located the herd and glassed them for several minutes and could not find the ram that I had shot. As I moved closer to the herd they bolted and it was then that I saw the ram that I was after. He had been laying down in a wooded area about 30 paces from the herd and when they bolted he too moved out, but very slowly and stayed in the far tree line. I did not press them for fear that I would just drive them further.
When Jim met me with the truck I told him of what had happened and he recommended that we pick up the rest of our group and head back to the lodge for some dinner and take up the search later.
After a delicious dinner of Italian sausage and spaghetti, Jim, his tracking dog Bell, and our group loaded on the truck for what would turn out to be an unforgettable evening of tracking a wounded ram through some very rough terrain on a very dark night. Bell is a two year old tracking dog that has 170 tracking finds to her credit. She is well trained, has a good nose, very fast afoot and most agile.
We started this tracking operation about 2100 hours. Bell started with the scent of a single fletch and was on her way. During the next four hours we would encounter this ram several times but could never bring closure to this event. Finding this ram was going to have to wait until we had some daylight. We returned to the lodge about 0120 hours for some much needed rest.
The next morning we were again up very early, but slow to eat a light breakfast and to dress. We were off to our blinds in good time, but we were all moving a little slower than usual.
I was assigned a blind that I had never seen before so I sat my portable blind up in a temporary location because I knew that I was probably going to have to wait until daybreak and I could see before I could find a good location to set up for the morning hunt. Once there was enough light, I quickly relocated the blind so I could guard a couple of game trails, had good cover and settled down to await some action.
Soon a herd of seven or eight Barbado Rams moved down one of the game trails that I was guarding. I had an opportunity to observe this group for several minutes before I picked the ram that I thought had the best visible character. His horns were well developed, however, one had been damaged from what I suspected to be a fight. He face carried many scars and there was somewhat of a gash above his right eye that was also probably caused by a fight.
I let them settle down a bit before I took my first shot which hit in the left shoulder area and passed thru this big fellow. Once hit he stayed on his feet for several minutes then laid on his side within a few feet of where he was shot. I thought that it was all over at this point. However, his buddies kept prodding him until he again was on his feet. Then they all started moving out and the wounded ram was not quick to follow, but finally he did. It was then that I thought I best give him another shot to keep him from running off and causing us another long hunt. The second shot was low and caught him just below the ribs -- it too was a pass through. We found him at about 75 paces from where he had been shot.
Later that day Roger, while shooting from an elevated stand, shot at a ram and reported that the arrow was high and went across his back without inflicting any damage. He was very disappointed for having not connected with that shot.
The others reported seeing many game animals, but none of them presented a fair shot. That is what hunting with a bow is all about, getting very close to and observing these beautiful creatures and occasionally taking a handsome trophy. If we wanted to take a lot of animals we would not be hunting with a bow.
It was on my final hunt that I had my most exciting experience of this adventure. I set up in the same location where I took the first ram. This time, however, I set the blind directly across from the tripod. It was early afternoon when I saw this beautiful fallow buck approach my position. First, he went behind the tree line where the tripod was located and once he satisfied himself that no one was there he proceeded to the feeder and began to nibble on some corn that was left over from the morning feed. I waited until he was comfortable and settled down, I then raised my bow and just as I was getting the correct sight picture, the feeder went off, startling the buck, which immediately turned in my direction and saw me getting ready to fire when he bolted. The last time I saw him he was heading west at a dead run. I have seen whitetail deer do much the same thing, but after a while they would return to the feeder to again feed on the corn. Not this big fellow, he was too smart. What a handsome guy. I never saw him again.
Those are the highlights of a hunt that was a fun but taxing event. We all enjoyed the hunt, food, accommodations and opportunity to observe and possibly collect some great trophies. Later, I did confirm with Jim that he found the first Ram that I had shot. Collecting two Rams on a hunt like this was icing on the cake.
Ray & Barbado Ram
Monday, November 6, 2006
Bow Hunting in Paradise . . . in Brackettville, Texas
