2020 Blacktail Success Thread

[Tobias]

well done guys! especially love those big monster forkies! one of these days i'm gonna do a backcountry cali BT hunt. i want to kill a blacktail in every region they live in from SE AK to high country california bucks.... one of those big forks would be best case scenario... or a big tall 3 without eyeguards, both of those are what i picture when thinking of the cali blacktail.

season starts here in a couple weeks, due to the dates i'm hunting a rifle tag this year, but plan on packing my bow often too. i'm always torn on weapon for blacktail, i love glassing up bucks from a vantage point with my rifle, and i also love the close encounters targeting them with my bow.... doesn't matter to me.

between my friends and family, there will be a lot of deer to get killed, and i'm excited about the challenge. i will keep my standards at something bigger than your standard 3.5yr old 3pt.... more or less just looking forward to spend some time in trophy country, i love hanging out where blacktail do, their classic habitat is beautiful to hunt.

the cali hunt may be sooner than later, my wife and i are looking for a home in the border town of my state and cali, so i'll have no excuse not to..... and i'll be close to the best blacktail population in my state.

Nothing like bow hunting blacktail. Such cool critters

 

[Sticknstring]

Here are my 2020 California Blacktail. I scouted 20 or so days and I hunted 30 days, saw 6 deer the entire time, only 3 bucks...one just after shooting light opening night, the next 21 days later when I killed the smaller fork... first week of rifle, I hunted close to all or all of archery season no shots. That night I had shots on two bucks and chose the larger of the two.. They were sparring behind me in the brush for 30 minutes and then came walking up the trail....like some of you know, avoiding open spaces like its hot lava. Anyways, I couldnt pass up a shot after 21 days of sitting in different trees tracking deer and meticulously entering and exiting from my trees to avoid scent/pushing deer....So I took a 7 yard shot after letting down once due to bad angle. Hit him quartering away high lung liver and he died 100 + yards down a steep hill. Second buck came also in rifle season, about 10 days before closer...the day after the crazy heatwave let up I decided to hunt a new spot where I had seen him on camera earlier in the season twice...both photos at night and weeks apart, but I knew he lived in there from those photos. So I set up between what I thought was his bedding/water and the trail he used to go feed and check doe bedding areas...he came walking up at 7pm (both deer were shot around 7:15 pm)...and I waited and double lunged him at about 5 yards (I don't use a range finder cause I don't take long shots and can Judge yardage). He died in 2 seconds on his feet, took me 5 hours to get him to my truck. Both deer were killed in central coastal A zone. My equipment was a 58 lb stalker stick bows recurve, hand made sure wood shafts Doug fir arrows I built and fletched with turkey feathers from my spring turkey I took with the same bow. Killed both bucks with different Broadheads, one was an old Simmons head and the other an eclipse glue on. I hunt big timber, its loud and a tree stand or ground blind is about the only way to go with trad. Ive never seen or got a photo of a buck with 3 points or double eye guards in my spot...a few with one eye guard but no crabclaw rears, I know the old bucks are there...I just have to find them. I run a lone wolf assault 2 with 4 sticks and hang and hunt a handful of different trees depending on wind and sign. Hope everyone had a great season and enjoyed their time out in the woods, I know I sure did...and boy was it a lot of work. Im already back out in the woods scouting for next season.

 

[cjdewese]

Here are my 2020 California Blacktail. I scouted 20 or so days and I hunted 30 days, saw 6 deer the entire time, only 3 bucks...one just after shooting light opening night, the next 21 days later when I killed the smaller fork... first week of rifle, I hunted close to all or all of archery season no shots. That night I had shots on two bucks and chose the larger of the two.. They were sparring behind me in the brush for 30 minutes and then came walking up the trail....like some of you know, avoiding open spaces like its hot lava. Anyways, I couldnt pass up a shot after 21 days of sitting in different trees tracking deer and meticulously entering and exiting from my trees to avoid scent/pushing deer....So I took a 7 yard shot after letting down once due to bad angle. Hit him quartering away high lung liver and he died 100 + yards down a steep hill. Second buck came also in rifle season, about 10 days before closer...the day after the crazy heatwave let up I decided to hunt a new spot where I had seen him on camera earlier in the season twice...both photos at night and weeks apart, but I knew he lived in there from those photos. So I set up between what I thought was his bedding/water and the trail he used to go feed and check doe bedding areas...he came walking up at 7pm (both deer were shot around 7:15 pm)...and I waited and double lunged him at about 5 yards (I don't use a range finder cause I don't take long shots and can Judge yardage). He died in 2 seconds on his feet, took me 5 hours to get him to my truck. Both deer were killed in central coastal A zone. My equipment was a 58 lb stalker stick bows recurve, hand made sure wood shafts Doug fir arrows I built and fletched with turkey feathers from my spring turkey I took with the same bow. Killed both bucks with different Broadheads, one was an old Simmons head and the other an eclipse glue on. I hunt big timber, its loud and a tree stand or ground blind is about the only way to go with trad. Ive never seen or got a photo of a buck with 3 points or double eye guards in my spot...a few with one eye guard but no crabclaw rears, I know the old bucks are there...I just have to find them. I run a lone wolf assault 2 with 4 sticks and hang and hunt a handful of different trees depending on wind and sign. Hope everyone had a great season and enjoyed their time out in the woods, I know I sure did...and boy was it a lot of work. Im already back out in the woods scouting for next season.

Man that tall forky is really cool. Good job making it happen with a traditional bow with arrows that you built and fletched with feathers from another hunt. Nice work.

 

[Dsmiley49]

2020 WESTERN WASHINGTON coastal blacktail. My best blacktail yet, taken on September 23rd. Solo for every bit of it. 40 yard chip shot in the sideways rain. Fyi-solo selfies are difficult!

 

[Jason277]

Hell of a Buck!!

 

[brushape]

My Ca b zone buck. Was a short season and my time was very limited to hunt but I got lucky and stumbled into a nice little bachelor group of bucks including this one and another 22-24” crab claw 4 point. This one had him beat in a big way in age and body size so a couple shots (that’s another story) from the little 6.5 creed and he was Down. I’ve shot a lot of good size black tail and I’m sure without a doubt this was the biggest bodied one I’ve ever shot. I’ll be doing a shoulder mount on him this winter myself

His score is hard to see in pics the mass makes him look short in length and the height makes his mass look small I’m super happy with him


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[Cahunter805]

Awesome buck Brushape! What form and pose will you be going with?

 

[brushape]

Awesome buck Brushape! What form and pose will you be going with?

Haven’t really decided but I’m thinking the 90* left turn from research manikins would be slick I already have standard sneak and full sneak left and right turn mounts so a 90 turn would be different


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[Cahunter805]

I had my last deer mounted with the NQ90 offset and really like it. Shows a bit more shoulder which I like a lot.

 

[James W]

View attachment 200270
Heres one from Sonoma County Coastal area.

Nice!

 

[FI460]

California B6. Got lucky with him.

 

[stinkyneighbor]

Drove out to buddies old family homestead, hang out by the truck for half hour, walk for thirty seconds, drag deer for ten minutes. Not an epic hunt, but I'll take it.

 

[ridgefire]

Western Washington Blacktail I shot tonight.

 

[roosiebull]

Oregon coast buck from 2 days ago. Missed a pig a couple days prior due to technical difficulties... easy shot too (140-150 yds from a good rest) I passed this buck the next day, but then decided to shoot him if I had another chance... fun hunt, another noon O’ clock buck... long heavy pack out... all in all a good season

 

[roosiebull]

My wife got her second blackie a couple weeks ago, proud of her, she spotted it and made a perfect shot... she started hunting last year and killed a buck and bull, now this year she keeps her streak going and hoping we can get her on another bull this year. She did great, found the deer in the scope fast, and made a great shot... things we can take for granted after hunting a lot

 

[landis07]

High western Washington blacktail

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[Dsmiley49]

High western Washington blacktail

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Stud buck! Good work, the last few days of the season were tough. Congrats!

 

[MostlyMidwest]

Some great bucks! Congrats everyone.

 

[snowtoy83]

Took this guy on Sunday. 550 yards

 

[Hectocotylus]

Alpine blacktail Washington. Shot it in its bed and it slid/fell a thousand feet busting his pedacles and a bunch of antler off one side. Biggest deer I’ve ever seen.

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