2023 Blacktail Success Thread

[Oregonhuntrboi]

Blessed to punch my tag yesterday. I glassed up a doe and fawn feeding and this guy was trailing about 50 yards behind. It took me about 10 minutes of working into a good position to shoot. The pack out was a bit rough but so worth it.

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Congrats man that’s awesome !!

 

[Rogue Bay]

Blessed to punch my tag yesterday. Saturday, I did a 15-mile loop in the crazy weather and only saw 8 does. Yesterday I went up in the same area and this buck was the 5th deer I saw. I glassed up a doe and fawn feeding and then I glassed up this guy's rack over a small rise trailing about 50 yards behind. It took me about 10 minutes of working into a good position to shoot. The pack out was a bit rough but so worth it.

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Great buck! Those tough packs are certainly memorable. Miserable at the time, but make for great memories. Congrats!

 

[roosiebull]

Blessed to punch my tag yesterday. I glassed up a doe and fawn feeding and this guy was trailing about 50 yards behind. It took me about 10 minutes of working into a good position to shoot. The pack out was a bit rough but so worth it.



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Nice work!!! He has an insanely beautiful cape for an old guy. What a cool buck! One of the most unique capes I’ve seen… I bet his face was glowing

He would be a very interesting to send a tooth in, he has some age on him for sure

 

[TripleJ]

Nice work!!! He has an insanely beautiful cape for an old guy. What a cool buck! One of the most unique capes I’ve seen… I bet his face was glowing

He would be a very interesting to send a tooth in, he has some age on him for sure

Probably the prettiest deer I’ve seen on the hoof. I’m definitely gonna send in a tooth I’m interested to see how old he was.

 

[<cascadehunter>]

Blessed to punch my tag yesterday. I glassed up a doe and fawn feeding and this guy was trailing about 50 yards behind. It took me about 10 minutes of working into a good position to shoot. The pack out was a bit rough but so worth it.



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Gorgeous buck congrats!

 

[roosiebull]

you sure arent the first guy to make that mistake.

Never seems to happen on flat ground, not sure how that works

Yeah… about that

I’m going to be bitter about my season until it opens next year, but I can testify that it can happen. Fog and rain, 175 yds following a big track (that I’m very familiar with) and spot him… can tell it’s not a young deer, short Roman nose, big body, but flat out couldn’t tell exactly what he had for antlers… big double throat patch… whop! Walk over… you’ve got to be kidding!!!!

Gave up my last 8 days for that and have a miserable trip back to my rig… wtf?

I would have been stoked with my buck today, he produced a dandy meat pile but I certainly didn’t want to be done a week early… all signs pointed to good buck, but he drew the short straw with antlers, haha… oh well, I will never make that mistake again…

 

[JParsons]

Oregon blacktail

 

[IdahoBeav]

Oregon blacktail View attachment 625699

Wow, that's some great mass! Did you send a tooth in? I'm curious to know how old he is.

Side note, what type of stock is that on your Ridgeline?

 

[Quicksilver]

Oregon blacktail View attachment 625699

Man that’s a unit, always refreshing to know monster blacktail are still out there.

 

[JParsons]

Wow, that's some great mass! Did you send a tooth in? I'm curious to know how old he is.

Side note, what type of stock is that on your Ridgeline?

I did not, I always forget.

The stock is a AG composite, alpine hunter

 

[Rogue Bay]

Oregon blacktail View attachment 625699

That’s a dandy! Congrats on an incredible buck!

 

[TripleJ]

Oregon blacktail View attachment 625699

Such an awesome buck. That’s the second huge 2x3 I’ve seen taken this season.

 

[JParsons]

Such an awesome buck. That’s the second huge 2x3 I’ve seen taken this season.

Just the angle. He’s a 3 pt.

 

[roosiebull]

Just the angle. He’s a 3 pt. View attachment 625888

Heck yeah! Love the monster 3’s! Great buck

 

[TripleJ]

Just the angle. He’s a 3 pt. View attachment 625888

Ha ha my bad, sorry about that. Freaking stud of a 3 point! Congrats.

 

[DawnPatrol]

Amazing deer everyone, thanks for sharing!!

Oregon blacktail bucks eluded me (again), but I’m grateful to have found a nice fat doe to hang my doe tag on—good to put some meat in the freezer.

One round of 00 buckshot to the head at 12 yards, and got her out whole. Even got to hunt with my dad. Sometimes, simple is good.

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Amazing deer everyone, thanks for sharing!!

Oregon blacktail bucks eluded me (again), but I’m grateful to have found a nice fat doe to hang my doe tag on—good to put some meat in the freezer.

One round of 00 buckshot to the head at 12 yards, and got her out whole. Even got to hunt with my dad. Sometimes, simple is good.

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my grandpa swore by 30-06 to the head for fawns and does. good on you for getting the job done. beautiful area to hunt.

 

[DawnPatrol]

my grandpa swore by 30-06 to the head for fawns and does. good on you for getting the job done. beautiful area to hunt.

Thanks man! Buckshot at close range in the head puts them down hard. I’m not skilled enough to try it with my 30-06, though.

 

[roosiebull]

Well, I’m getting over my pity party not hunting the last week due to poor judgment. I had been all over this day, pretty much walking from 6am until I shot just after 4pm

I started by going straight up the road system just shy of 8 miles and it was terrible weather, blowing super hard and dumping rain… no glassing to be done and hard to even look into the weather… felt somewhat pointless but I know that time of year, weather doesn’t stop bucks from moving, but I wasn’t seeing anything.

Around noon or 1 the wind let up and I was able to glass up a doe, she had no company and she fed out of sight

I came back down and crossed to the next road system to the north and hunted that whole road system with no fresh sign or deer, but it was getting pretty foggy so visibility was limited

I walked down the face of a cut to get out of there and when I was getting out of that zone I cut a big buck track crossing and going up the next canyon, I knew this track well but hadn’t put eyes on the buck, I was tired and wet but there was no walking by that track knowing it was fresh and knowing he was going to be somewhere in the big cut across the creek

I fought my way through the bottom, it was all brush and blowdown, but finally got into the bottom of the cut, and planned on working my way up the ridge on the east side, and getting up to the landing and hunting around the top to keep my wind good… I knew the buck was in there and just hoped I could spot him before he saw me with the fog.

I get 3/4 to the landing and his track goes down into the draw, and shortly after, I spot him bedded 175yds across… he has no idea I exist

I find a place to get set up and take my tripod off my pack and get it set up, mount my binos and try to figure out exactly what he is… it’s a big deer, short muzzle, big double throat patch, gray face, but I can’t make out what he has for head gear… dark antlers, dark background and fog and that soaking misty rain… I can see little flashes of his antlers but can’t tell what they are as they blend in with the slash behind him, and now my binos are full of water

I decide he has to be a pretty good buck, and I’m going to shoot him. Get my gun setup on my pack, feel steady, put crosshairs on his neck and start applying pressure… boom whop! Work the bolt but there was no need, I saw the underside of his face go up and fall back down.

I cross this nasty draw and get over to him and my heart sinks… ugh. Well, he has a lot of meat is the only positive thought I can think. I was bummed out that I just gave up a week of hunting, but you can’t unshoot them… I would have been completely stoked with this buck on the last day or two, but I was not planning on letting my tag go on anything but a good buck until the last couple days… very few people I know well had a tag left, so that really put the brakes on my hunting. I thought for sure this buck was going to be a much bigger antlered buck, he was the big track in the area, and historically there is always a dandy in this area… if there was this year, he had little feet

Lesson learned, I have never had that happen before, and there were a couple other bucks I was really wanting to look at, but they are both still alive, and will be a step ahead next year. Only got 3 less packages of meat out of this one than my wife’s dandy, which made me happy… I prefer deer meat over elk and we did good in that regard… it’s bittersweet for me even when it’s a big buck if there is some season left, but it stung a little more this year killing the smallest antlered buck I remember with 8 days of November left to hunt

It certainly beats not filling the tag, and if it wasn’t such a mess to get out of there I would have loved to save the cape for a later use, he had an awesome cape, but I was in a hurry not wanting to navigate the bottom of this canyon in the dark

 

[DawnPatrol]

Well, I’m getting over my pity party not hunting the last week due to poor judgment. I had been all over this day, pretty much walking from 6am until I shot just after 4pm

I started by going straight up the road system just shy of 8 miles and it was terrible weather, blowing super hard and dumping rain… no glassing to be done and hard to even look into the weather… felt somewhat pointless but I know that time of year, weather doesn’t stop bucks from moving, but I wasn’t seeing anything.

Around noon or 1 the wind let up and I was able to glass up a doe, she had no company and she fed out of sight

I came back down and crossed to the next road system to the north and hunted that whole road system with no fresh sign or deer, but it was getting pretty foggy so visibility was limited

I walked down the face of a cut to get out of there and when I was getting out of that zone I cut a big buck track crossing and going up the next canyon, I knew this track well but hadn’t put eyes on the buck, I was tired and wet but there was no walking by that track knowing it was fresh and knowing he was going to be somewhere in the big cut across the creek

I fought my way through the bottom, it was all brush and blowdown, but finally got into the bottom of the cut, and planned on working my way up the ridge on the east side, and getting up to the landing and hunting around the top to keep my wind good… I knew the buck was in there and just hoped I could spot him before he saw me with the fog.

I get 3/4 to the landing and his track goes down into the draw, and shortly after, I spot him bedded 175yds across… he has no idea I exist

I find a place to get set up and take my tripod off my pack and get it set up, mount my binos and try to figure out exactly what he is… it’s a big deer, short muzzle, big double throat patch, gray face, but I can’t make out what he has for head gear… dark antlers, dark background and fog and that soaking misty rain… I can see little flashes of his antlers but can’t tell what they are as they blend in with the slash behind him, and now my binos are full of water

I decide he has to be a pretty good buck, and I’m going to shoot him. Get my gun setup on my pack, feel steady, put crosshairs on his neck and start applying pressure… boom whop! Work the bolt but there was no need, I saw the underside of his face go up and fall back down.

I cross this nasty draw and get over to him and my heart sinks… ugh. Well, he has a lot of meat is the only positive thought I can think. I was bummed out that I just gave up a week of hunting, but you can’t unshoot them… I would have been completely stoked with this buck on the last day or two, but I was not planning on letting my tag go on anything but a good buck until the last couple days… very few people I know well had a tag left, so that really put the brakes on my hunting. I thought for sure this buck was going to be a much bigger antlered buck, he was the big track in the area, and historically there is always a dandy in this area… if there was this year, he had little feet

Lesson learned, I have never had that happen before, and there were a couple other bucks I was really wanting to look at, but they are both still alive, and will be a step ahead next year. Only got 3 less packages of meat out of this one than my wife’s dandy, which made me happy… I prefer deer meat over elk and we did good in that regard… it’s bittersweet for me even when it’s a big buck if there is some season left, but it stung a little more this year killing the smallest antlered buck I remember with 8 days of November left to hunt

It certainly beats not filling the tag, and if it wasn’t such a mess to get out of there I would have loved to save the cape for a later use, he had an awesome cape, but I was in a hurry not wanting to navigate the bottom of this canyon in the dark

Cmon man, just admit that you didn’t want burst your wife’s bubble after she killed such a dandy.

Just kidding. That’s a beautiful deer, though.