Louisiana native Mallory Morrow came to Texas for a hunt near Yancey with Lone Oak Adventures, in hopes of harvesting her frst big game animal. The hunt was a birthday gift from her boyfriend, Jacob Mouton. After hunting hard for a couple of days with her guide, Dan Bristow, she was able to connect with a mature blackbuck.
Prior to the hunt, Morrow had been whitetail hunting a couple of times, but had yet to harvest one. Her boyfriend had hunted exotics in Texas before and wanted her to be able to enjoy the same experience — which prompted him to plan the hunt for her as a birthday present.
Morrow arrived for her hunt focused on pursuing a blackbuck.
“I just really think the black-buck is a beautiful animal, and decided that it was the species that I wanted to hunt,” she said.
On the frst day of her hunt, Morrow said they spent quite a bit of time covering the ranch in search of a trophy blackbuck.
“We were able to put eyes on a trophy blackbuck and made plans to go after him the following day,” Morrow said.
The following two days involved playing a cat-and-mouse game with the blackbuck.
“We tried several times to put a stalk on him after glassing him in a feld from several hundred yards away,” she said. “He had some does with him, and each time we went to make a move to get in closer for a shot, those does would wind us or see us.”
Morrow didn’t get discouraged, though. She and her guide had decided to try to hunt the blackbuck from a blind one evening, after seeing him earlier in the day, and were headed to the stand when they spotted him in a feld.
“As soon as we spotted him we stopped, but he heard us and moved of out of sight,” Morrow said. “We waited a little while, and my guide, Dan, felt like he had an idea of where he may have moved. Luckily we were able to make amove undetected, and found him in another feld about 205 yards away.”
There was just enough cover at the edge of the feld, so the blackbuck was unaware of their presence. Morrow said she had to take her time and calm her nerves as she took aim at the buck standing broadside.
“Dan told me to put the crosshairs on his shoulder and pull the trigger,” Morrow said. “The 7mm rife fred and the blackbuck dropped in his tracks. From there everything was a blur flled with joy and emotions. I was in total disbelief that I had just accomplished my goal for the trip.”
Walking up to the animal after watching him from a distance and pursuing him for many hours brought new emotions.
“It was unlike any feeling I had ever experienced before,” she said. “It was like being on a super-fast, emotional roller coaster. I can’t wait to do it again.”
