TEXAS HILL COUNTRY WHITE-TAILED DEER Trophy Shots

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"Wildlife photography supplies all the primeval satisfaction of the hunt, from the stalk, to the strategy, to the trophy shot. You don't need a license; you don't need a gun, a butcher knife, or a taxidermist. And if you shoot another photographer with a 500mm lens, no harm done!"             Wildlife Photographer George Lepp

"Hill Country Whitetail" Driftwood Texas, November 25, 2012. This is my first, nice, close up and colorful shot of a buck and therefore one of my favorites. I have a large canvas print on my office wall. Nikon D7000, 300mm, f/5.6, 1/500sec. (#201211118)

From 2000 to 2016, my parents live in Driftwood, Texas in the Hill Country Trail Region between Austin and San Antonio; Hays County. Their property sat on acres of former ranch land turned residential. Hunting pressure from surrounding areas drive the deer into this “refuge”. It is here that I got many of my "tropy buck" shots during annual Thanksgiving trips to visit family. 

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Texas Hill Country Whitetailed White-tailed Deer Buck, eight point antlers; Driftwood Texas, south of Austin. November 23, 2016.

Although I can understand "the thrill of the hunt", I myself am not a hunter... not with a rifle, that is. I believe it can be just as satisfying and challenging to photograph the big bucks as it is to hunt them. Of course, with a camera I am not limited to seasonal, daylight, or no hunting area restrictions, which makes the task a bit easier. And by not using a gun, I have the joy of re-hunting that big buck season after season. 

Texas Hill Country White-tailed Deer Trophy Buck;, Driftwood, Texas, south of Austin. November 20, 2016

Axis Deer

“Wildlife photographers combine naturalists’ insights and hunters’ patience.” 

Axis Deer Chital Buck with velvet antlers in Driftwood, Texas. Texas Hill Country Trail. November 24, 2012.

As I was walking through the scrub oaks in Driftwood, Texas, a puzzling sight came before my eyes. I could see it was a deer, but something strange was going on. It had spots like a fawn, but was gigantic; its antlers were large and curved, with a long brow tine; and although it was November, it was still in velvet. I knew “everything is bigger in Texas”, but this was one heck of a fawn. Axis Deer, or Chital, are native to India. In the 1930’s they were introduced to hunting preserves in Texas and have since grown to self-sustaining herds throughout the state.  

Axis Deer Chital Buck, velvet antlers, Texas Hill Country. November 24, 2012.

Axis Deer Chital Buck, velvet antlers, Texas Hill Country. November 24, 2012.

Texas Hill Country Whitetailed Deer Buck, eight point antlers trophy buck, Driftwood Texas, south of Austin. November 24, 2016.

The Rut

As my daughter and I were driving through LaVentana early one morning “hunting” for deer during Thanksgiving week 2014, we came around the corner and spotted a large buck. He was snorting and stomping his feet while staring into the scrub.  My first thought was he was focused on an intruder or predator. But in a moment the source of his stomping was revealed: rut!
As he pushed into the bush a bit further, a doe ran out full speed into the clearing and the chase was on.  The two darted in a large circle at breakneck speed! I did the best I could to track them and fire off shots.  Since I hadn’t been prepared for a high-speed chase, my shutter speed was a bit slow and most of the series of shots were blurry. But it was quite an exciting chase! It only lasted a minute until the doe found safe refuge again in the scrub. 

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Texas Hill Country Whitetailed Deer Trophy Buck, Driftwood Texas south of Austin. November 20, 2016.

Texas Hill Country Whitetailed Deer Buck, eight point antlers trophy buck, Driftwood Texas, south of Austin. November 24, 2016.