My Ram Hunt

By Athan Rodriguez, Age 8

I was seven years old when this happened. I was coming back from school one day when my dad asked me, "Do you want to go hunting in the hill country?" I said, "Yes! Who wouldn't?" We were going to hunt for blackbuck, but it didn't turn out that way. 

We started our trip early the next morning. It was going to be a super long, seven-hour drive until we made it to camp. Finally, we got there about 3:00 in the morning. It was hard to go to sleep that night thinking about all the excitement I was going to have this trip. I did not have much time to go to sleep, only about five hours. So, I tried to go to sleep quickly.

The next morning, I was exhausted and excited at the same time. I had a feeling that the day was going to be lucky day.  It was a long and tiring walk to the ground blind my dad and I were going to use, but finally we got there. It was damp and cloudy that morning.  It looked like the perfect place and time for a blackbuck.

When I got in the blind, I looked out the window and saw a field. Beside us, there was a river about 300 yards long. We sat there in the blind for about two hours until two very big axis deer came out. They were about 200 yards out so I could not shoot. So we sat there and watched two big deer walk off. Man! That day was exciting to me.
Soon after that, our ranch guide came to pick us up. We got in the truck and went back to the campsite. 

When we got to camp, we cooked a delicious sausage. Mmmmmm—it was good. At about 9:00, we went to bed. I was very tired, so that is how I went to bed real early. 

The next day was another tiring and exciting day. I hurried to get ready. I could not wait to get in that deer blind.

This time, the hunting guide drove us to the ground blind. We were going to the same place we went the day before. I really thought we would not see anything. The only thing we had left to do was to sit and wait. We sat there and waited for two hours, until one very big blackbuck came out. It was chasing a doe. It was really exciting! It was walking on the other side of the fence. We were sitting there hoping it would jump the fence so we could shoot. But the doe decided to walk away from the field.

An hour later, the hunting guide came to pick us up. That day for dinner we cooked a deer backstrap from a deer that another hunter had shot. That was really good too!

About eight hours later, it was time to get up. I thought, "The last day! I was hoping to get something before we left." When I was getting dressed my teeth chattered nonstop. It was a chilly morning. My dad asked me to take my gun and tripod outside and lean it against the RV, and I did. It was quiet and all I could hear was crickets chirping in the distance. 

All three of us crammed in the front seat of the guide's truck and went to a totally different blind. Before we got in, we took a sneak peek of our surroundings. There was a shady drop-off where the hunting guide said the deer like to come down. 

Five minutes after the hunting guide drove away, a tiny yearling doe came running down the drop-off without its mother. It stayed there for about an hour, then climbed up the high drop-off and started making its way down the other side. 

We waited about three more hours…then a herd of rams came storming down to the feeder. First there were only little ones, but then there were a lot of them! 

Then, came a big, huge ram with a full curl. It went running to the feeder last. My heart was pounding. The ram was about 60 yards away from the blind. My dad got his binoculars out to see if the ram was tagged. It wasn't. I got my .30-30 out. I aimed through my sights and looked through the crosshair right on the ram's shoulder. I slowly pulled the trigger, because if I jerked I would go off target. Then, it seemed as if time stopped for a moment. BOOM! Suddenly, all the little rams ran off. I thought I missed because all the little rams covered my ram up. When the little rams cleared off, I discovered that the big ram I shot at was lying on the ground. 

My dad and I celebrated! I was so happy that I shot my first ram ever. I could not wait to get my hands on that ram. We went down to the feeder where I shot the ram. I put my hand on its horns. I was thrilled. It was the biggest animal I ever shot. My dad took a picture of me with the ram. That was the end of my best hunt ever.

Editor's Note: Are you interested in hearing more about hunting exotic animals like axis deer, blackbuck and rams? If so, you'll love our June issue. Keep your eyes peeled for it next month!