HuntingNut
HuntingNut
   Login or Register
HomeCommunity ForumsPhoto AlbumsRegister
     
 

User Info

Welcome Anonymous


Membership:
Latest: RichardZ
New Today: 0
New Yesterday: 0
Overall: 13126

People Online:
Members: 1
Visitors: 86
BOT: 1
Total: 88
Who Is Where:
 Members:
01: Aloysius > Forums
 Visitors:
01: Home
02: Home
03: Forums
04: Home
05: Home
06: Home
07: Home
08: Photo Albums
09: Forums
10: Forums
11: Forums
12: Statistics
13: Home
14: Home
15: Forums
16: Forums
17: Home
18: Home
19: Home
20: Home
21: Home
22: Forums
23: Photo Albums
24: Forums
25: Your Account
26: Forums
27: Home
28: Home
29: Forums
30: Forums
31: Forums
32: Forums
33: Home
34: Your Account
35: Forums
36: Forums
37: Forums
38: Photo Albums
39: Home
40: Forums
41: Home
42: Home
43: Home
44: Forums
45: Home
46: Home
47: Forums
48: Forums
49: Photo Albums
50: Your Account
51: Home
52: Home
53: Home
54: Forums
55: Home
56: Home
57: Home
58: Forums
59: Home
60: Forums
61: Home
62: Home
63: Forums
64: Your Account
65: Forums
66: Forums
67: Forums
68: Your Account
69: Home
70: Home
71: Forums
72: Home
73: Home
74: Forums
75: Forums
76: Your Account
77: Forums
78: Home
79: Forums
80: Home
81: Home
82: Home
83: Forums
84: Statistics
85: Home
86: Home
  BOT:
01: Photo Albums

Staff Online:

No staff members are online!
 

Coppermine Stats
Photo Albums
 Albums: 308
 Pictures: 2451
  · Views: 820725
  · Votes: 1316
  · Comments: 86
 

Sika, Fallow, Axis and Blackbuck
Big Game Hunting topics that dont fit other categories
Post new topic   Reply to topic   Printer Friendly Page    Forum Index » Big Game Hunting

View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
guncollector
Member
Member


Joined: Apr 25, 2006
Posts: 68
Location: Houston, Texas

PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 7:20 am    Post subject: Sika, Fallow, Axis and Blackbuck Reply with quote

I recently signed on with a hunting lease in the Texas Hill country that has a good population of exotic (non-native) game along with the standard fare. I would like to learn more about these deer cousins. When is their rut? How do you know when you are looking at a trophy? What unique habits might they have?

Anyone have experiene with these critters?

Anyone know of a good book?
Back to top
View user's profile
Daveyboy
Member
Member


Joined: Jan 22, 2006
Posts: 143

PostPosted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 2:09 am    Post subject: Re: Sika, Fallow, Axis and Blackbuck Reply with quote

Dear Mr Gun Collector

Fallow {Cervus Dama or Dama Dama} are French in origin, but that was a long time ago. Brought to this country (UK) by William the Conquerors lot about 1000 years ago. Good eating and don't smell that bad. You get a lot of meat off a carcase, lots of fat on them by the end of summer – they eat a lot! They are transient, herding deer that keep to themselves – they don’t like to mix with any other deer, horses, cattle etc. The big bucks are impressive and the herd is typically led by the dominant doe. They are happy out in the open fields and usually go to the woods for the night. Very rarely fall where shot – unless you do a head shot. They run like a headless chicken and then drop which always brings that “Where the hell did that go?” and makes you wish you owned a good dog. They really benefit from being bled straight away and good handling of the meat makes all the difference. I hang them with the skins off for about 2 weeks. There are pictures of fallow deer on this site.

Sika (Cervus Nippon} come from Japan and are related to Red deer. They can interbreed. Difference is a gland on the hind leg. Big, spiky, forward pointing antlers and quite an aggressive deer. There are stories of them having a go at people in the rut (or the roar, depending on where you come from). They prefer to live in woodlands, quite shy, very hard to stalk and a tendency to run in the general direction of 'away' very quickly. Wouldn't want to carry a big buck out of the scrub - they are big and heavy.

As for the others, we don’t have them here so I can’t help you. Sorry!

D

_________________
Why, in films, don't they just kill it?
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Photo Gallery
guncollector
Member
Member


Joined: Apr 25, 2006
Posts: 68
Location: Houston, Texas

PostPosted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:10 am    Post subject: Re: Sika, Fallow, Axis and Blackbuck Reply with quote

Dear Mr. Daveyboy:

Thanks for the info. BTW, you can call me gunny for short. Mr. Guncollector is a bit over the top.
Back to top
View user's profile
Vince
Site Admin
Site Admin


Joined: May 25, 2005
Posts: 15704
Location: Brisbane AUSTRALIA

PostPosted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:37 am    Post subject: Re: Sika, Fallow, Axis and Blackbuck Reply with quote

G'Day Gunny and Daveyboy. How are ya guys?

Don't know anything about any but the fallow, which is the deer I hunt.

Here in Australia I find that the fallow are active at night and tend to come out of the scrub into the open country to feed.....opposite to what they obviously do in the Old Country (UK). They are not a particularly large deer and once bedded down are very difficult to see, especially if the bush is thick. The meat is very nice and as Daveyboy says there is no shortage of it on the carcass.

I am not in a position to hang the carcass for a couple of weeks, we hang them overnight and butcher in the morning. Doesn't seem to affect the flavour of the meat, its a little gamey, but I rather like that anyway.

I'm sure that there are a number of people on this website that can give you more info, especially about the other species of deer and the habits of those in the US.

Cheers, Vince

_________________
Cheers, Vince Cheers

Illegitimi non carborundum
(Never let the bastards grind you down)

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

"Nulla Si Fa Senza Volonta."
(Without Commitment, Nothing Gets Done)
Back to top
View user's profile AIM Address MSN Messenger Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
Daveyboy
Member
Member


Joined: Jan 22, 2006
Posts: 143

PostPosted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:13 am    Post subject: Re: Sika, Fallow, Axis and Blackbuck Reply with quote

Vince.

Go to www.trademe.com and find one of those display drinks fridges with a glass door - the ones you find in the gas station full of coke and other rubbish.

Strip out the shelves and punch holes on either side at the top. Pass a steel bar through it and attach to two verticles. You're making a frame to hang a deer on - you can figure out the rest. Squirt the builders type foam into the holes that you made for the horizontal bar to insulate it and lo and behold, you've got a larder.

Re-gas the fridge and set it to about 3 degrees above freezing. Shoot deer, bleed gut and skin the little fella. Put the legs in a gambrel, hang on an S hook and pop him into your cold store.

Leave it for 2 weeks with a tray at the bottom for the drips and you've got well hung venison. Go on, treat yourself - you kow you're worth it!

Daveyboy

_________________
Why, in films, don't they just kill it?
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Photo Gallery
Elvis
Super Member
Super Member


Joined: Jul 27, 2008
Posts: 9239
Location: south island New Zealand

PostPosted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 1:33 am    Post subject: Re: Sika, Fallow, Axis and Blackbuck Reply with quote

sika are of siomalar size to white tails and fallow they whistle at you when spooked and taste fantazmalastic have great spotted coat and a head with 8 points is considered good.

_________________
You shot it You pluck it !
Them who eats the most duck eats the most feathers!
Back to top
View user's profile
bradking1
Member
Member


Joined: Mar 03, 2005
Posts: 53

PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:17 am    Post subject: Re: Sika, Fallow, Axis and Blackbuck Reply with quote

Gunny

You received good info on the Sika and Fallow deer. I used to guide in TX and have some knowledge of Axis and Blackbuck.

The Axis deer is originally native to central Asia and is also known as the Chital. Quite a fun animal to hunt and probably one of the best eating of the exotic deer (truth be told, most all of the exotic deer/antelope are tasty, with the exception of Waterbuck). The Axis normally have 3 points each side and you want to look for heavy main beams, long and heavy brow tines and long secondary points. The trophy size starts at about 30" on the main beam and you really want the whole package with good brows and secondary points. Remember, mass counts for alot with these deer. Pretty much hunted the same as you would whitetail but also can make a great spot and stalk animal depending on the terrain. Probably the best time to hunt these critters is May to June, maybe early July...great to fix the summertime hunting itch.

The Blackbuck antelope is originally from India/Pakistan and are prolific breeders...can drop fawns twice a year. Also another fun one to hunt. The trophy length starts at 18" and you want good deep curls. It is not unusual to see ones beating 22". They can be difficult to judge but if you remember that their ears are about 3" long, you can make a good estimate. During the summer the Blackbuck are not black but pretty much the same fawn color as the does. In the fall and winter is when they turn black. The blacker they are, usually, the more mature they are (they usually get black when about 3 yrs. old). When you start seeing more of them you will know what I'm talking about. I love their black color with the white markings but also find the summertime coat handsome as well. The biggest one I've seen shot was by my buddy and his went 25" with broomed off tips! Absolute monster. These are good eating as well but you will notice that the meat is really dark red...lots of blood in it. Not a bad thing and it doesn't taste bad (might be a little stronger smelling than whitetail when you cook it but tastes good). One way to mitigate the really bloody steaks is to soak them in milk overnight...the bloody steaks don't bother me but might someone else. If you want to marinate them then just do it. As for hunitng them, I think the best way is spot and stalk (depending on terrain). Can be quite challenging if there is a good population of them...lots of eyes. I have found that if you "bump" them when hunting they will normally run off to about 200-300 yards and then stop to look back. If they can still see you they seem to always try to keep about 300 yards between you and them. Also, if the lease has a large population of these make sure you are harvesting plenty of does or they will overrun and overpopulate the place in pretty short order unless the lease is of very substantial acreage.

Well that's just about the most important stuff to know about the animals...you will have a great time hunting these.

Brad
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
frontier
Rookie Member
Rookie Member


Joined: Jul 05, 2008
Posts: 12
Location: Maui, Hawaii

PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 1:55 pm    Post subject: Re: Sika, Fallow, Axis and Blackbuck Reply with quote

Gunny,

I have been hunting Axis deer here in Hawaii for a few years now. I get to go a few times each year and these deer are very hard to sneek up on until you find out where they are hanging out. The one thing that I can tell you is that the big Bucks will be the last ones in a herd of Axis deer. They seem to send all of the rest ahead to see if the coast is clear for them to come out or not. When you meet a herd, watch them for a while (if they don't see you first) and look into the cover around the main herd that is where the buck will usualy be.

Frontier
Back to top
View user's profile
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic   Printer Friendly Page    Forum Index » Big Game Hunting
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT - 7 Hours



Jump to:  


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum


Valid CSS! Valid HTML 4.01!
Click to check if this page is realy HTML 4.01 compliant for speed :)

All logos and trademarks in this site are property of HuntingNut.com.
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest © 2011 by HuntingNut.com
Interactive software released under GNU GPL, Code Credits, Privacy Policy

.: Upgraded to DragonFly 9.2 by *Dizfunkshunal* :.