South Texas Hunt

I just returned from a trip to Corpus where I got to spend time with some of my very best friends (Josh and Sheridan) and their kids as well as go on an amazing hunt. Unlike most Texas hunting we didn't sit in a stand and wait for the deer to come to us. We formed a line of seven hunters and pushed South thru through brush trying to stir the deer up and get them moving. It worked very well. We brought home seven deer and one Nilgai - an indian animal from the antelope family that is about the size of an elk.
I killed the biggest deer of my life and had a blast. I killed an 8-point buck that broke from a stand of trees about 30 yards from me. I pulled up on it with - using a .257 Weatherby - a popped it in the right shoulder from about 75 yards while it was on a dead run. When I got over to it the deer was laying on its back and had flipped head-over-hoof when I shot it. I thought it was dead but it was only playing opposum. Once I got within about 10 feet and was about to crouch down to make sure it was dead the deer opened it's eyes, looked deep into my soul and grunted loudly - apparently he had other plans. The buck proceeded to flip over, get up and come after me at which point I high-tailed it away yelling at Matt to "shoot that deer". It was pretty funny. The deer then turned and ran away from me and dropped after about 50 yards at which point I shot it twice with my pistol and put a knife through it's heart and still had to wait about 20 minutes for it to stop kicking so I could clean it. Enjoy the pics. I can't wait to go back.

Our deer at Andy's house. Mine is the one on the left. Andy's is on the right - a 13-pointer.

Posing with our kill. Jason and his Nilgai, Josh, me and Andy with our whitetails.

Me and Josh with my buck.

Posing with my buck. You can come visit my house in about six months and see it haning on my wall. :)

Sunrise over the Gulf as we headed to our hunt. God definitely blessed us with a great day and a blessed hunt.

I had to put a knife in his heart in order to bleed him out so I could field dress him.

Disembarking from the boat for the 1/3 mile trek over to the hunt.

Andy and his 13-point. This was the first kill of the day and really got everyone excited for what was to come.

Me and Andy with my buck.

My Nephews Make Me Laugh

I have four nephews that are constantly saying the funniest things. As all of you with kids know, kids insights are hilarious and so often catch you off guard. Anyway, I recently took my nephew Klayton to work with me. He was hanging out in the neighboring office and would come in to "check on me" in my office every so often. After a few visits this is the conversation we had. I am not sure what put this in his mind but it really made me laugh as it does everyone I share it with.

Klayton: "Uncle Stephen, do you want to be a dad one day?"
Me: "Yes, I do want to be a dad one day, when I find the right person to marry."
Klayton: "So right now your are just a man living with a dog?"

This is the point I just started laughing. I mean, really, what do you say to that. I am not sure where this train of thought came from but it sure caught me off guard and still makes me laugh.