Nice !!
Very nice deer, thanks for sharing the story!
I have a buddy who owns property west of San Antonio, somewhere around Comfort or Junction, TX. They have Axis deer there, and he usually shoots one every year. Where I hunt, NE of Austin, there are no exotic game ranches to 'supply' anything fancy. I get to shoot hogs whenever I can find them though, and I'm good with that.
It surprises me that someone would get in trouble for shooting an exotic (non-native) animal as long as they were in an area where they had a right to be. Oh well, just another reason I'm happy to be living in Texas. And yes, I can shoot a dog if I see one running free on my property in the country. There's a $500 fine for allowing one's dog to run loose in an unincorporated area. That's not to say I shoot every dog I see. I don't need to create unnecessary difficulties with the neighbors, but if one is causing trouble (chasing cows or game or acts in a menacing manner towards me) it's gonna catch a bullet.