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LoneOStar Outdoor News
One raffle ticket, busy hunting weekend
Holly Reilly took advantage of one lucky raffle ticket to take an axis buck on a Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation hunt with L&L Adventures. Her brother, Asa, took an elk cow. Photo by Darrell Cox.
By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News Holly Reilly bought one raffle ticket for $20 at the Lone Star Outdoor News’ Wild Game Supper on Oct. 4. She was definitely surprised when her number was drawn for a Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation hunt at L&L Adventures’ Calhoun Ranch in Wimberley. During the weekend of Nov. 4, she took the hunt with her 20-year-old brother, Asa, tagging along. “It’s the one thing we have in common,” Holly said. “We like to hunt together.” Both are avid hunters and long-range shooters and hunt on a family ranch in Red River County. Holly, though, had only shot whitetails. “I had never even seen an axis deer,” the 24-year-old said. “They were really cool, but they were wild. They ran like crazy whenever they saw you.” The first day of the hunt, guided by Darrell Cox, they had seen some axis, but they were running away. “We found them again and finally one of them stopped for a second to look at us,” Holly said. She made the 75-yard shot and had her first axis deer. “You couldn’t take very long shots,” she said. “The brush and trees were so thick.” The hunt wasn’t over, though.
“My brother wanted some meat, so we hunted for a cow elk. He made a good shot, the elk didn’t go far,” she said. “Now we have entire coolers full of meat.” Ranch owner L. Ray Calhoun told Cox to have Holly try to get of the 4-horn sheep on the ranch. “I asked if she was confident taking a long shot,” Cox said. “Holly said she was very confident.” They found the sheep from the top of a hill on the rugged ranch. Using her 6.5x-.06 rifle with an exposed turret scope and suppressor, Holly and Asa dialed in the scope, adjusted for the wind, and she took her first shot from 408 yards, which was low. “We made an adjustment and I got him,” she said. “They are weird-looking animals, they look a lot bigger than they actually are, they have about 2 feet of fur.” The 4 horn, also called the Jacob sheep or the Devil sheep, is an ancient breed, unique due to its two sets of horns. “Mine wasn’t very cute,” Holly said. The sister and brother enjoyed their brief stay at the Calhoun Ranch. “It was real pretty and hilly,” Holly said. “The lodge was a big, converted barn and two stories. It was really nice and they treated us very well.” L&L Adventures, Calhoun Ranch (512) 940-5111
November 10, 2017
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