2024 Blacktail bucks

[roosiebull]

I can almost feel the heartbreak, but understand the caution too.

I messed up this year. I spotted a beautiful, mature, orange antlered 3 point that made his way into a draw. I moved up hill to get a better view of the draw and spotted the head of a white faced buck staring me down at 103 yards, a little left of where I expected the 3 point to be. I thought maybe he had circled back around. I could see this buck’s face, the base of his antlers and one side of his frame, but not much else. I convinced myself it had to be the same buck and put one under his eye. I made my way up to him and found a large bodied, goofy antlered forky.

I was a little disappointed at first but I have a Walla Walla any bull tag coming up soon so I was going to miss the best part of blacktail season anyway. So I’m grateful to have filled my tag. The 3 point I spotted first was a gorgeous deer. He looked like a Prince of Whales buck. Hopefully I can help my wife find him before I take off to chase elk.

I hope you get another crack at that buck roosiebull!

The walla walla tag probably takes some of the sting away from filling your tag early

Today has potential, it’s raining pretty hard currently and is supposed to back off for a few hours

The part that bugs me the most is just not knowing what he was exactly, I don’t know if it was just a nice dark horn tall wide 3 or bigger than any bucks I have killed, and I know the rarity of seeing a big mature buck this early… I just hope he kept going and didn’t bed down and see me sneak back out of there, or a little bit of my wind got to him after I couldn’t see him.

To me, the best part of blacktail hunting is seeing new bucks, or bucks I’ve seen before that are older. Awhile before I saw that deer, I was walking out a huge track, and it turned up into the direction I saw him… when watching him, he was obviously really big bodied, and surely the buck that made the big track.

Not shooting a buck will never bother me that much, I just want to know what he is, even if he’s huge and I don’t get a chance to kill him

It’s exactly like hooking a really big fish, fighting it around, knowing it’s huge, but losing it just out of sight… I don’t care if I lose the fish, I just want to see the damn thing so my imagination doesn’t haunt me

 

[Rogue Bay]

The walla walla tag probably takes some of the sting away from filling your tag early

Today has potential, it’s raining pretty hard currently and is supposed to back off for a few hours

The part that bugs me the most is just not knowing what he was exactly, I don’t know if it was just a nice dark horn tall wide 3 or bigger than any bucks I have killed, and I know the rarity of seeing a big mature buck this early… I just hope he kept going and didn’t bed down and see me sneak back out of there, or a little bit of my wind got to him after I couldn’t see him.

To me, the best part of blacktail hunting is seeing new bucks, or bucks I’ve seen before that are older. Awhile before I saw that deer, I was walking out a huge track, and it turned up into the direction I saw him… when watching him, he was obviously really big bodied, and surely the buck that made the big track.

Not shooting a buck will never bother me that much, I just want to know what he is, even if he’s huge and I don’t get a chance to kill him

It’s exactly like hooking a really big fish, fighting it around, knowing it’s huge, but losing it just out of sight… I don’t care if I lose the fish, I just want to see the damn thing so my imagination doesn’t haunt me

I understand completely. I’m afraid my imagination always haunts me though hahaha.

Please keep us posted on this journey. Sounds like you’ve got some good weather. The meteorologist keeps lying to us. It’s supposed to rain every day but the forecast keeps getting pushed back and the chance of precipitation keeps decreasing. My wife still has a tag and I’m helping a coworker who is a first time hunter so I’m watching the weather forecast with great interest. Emotional updates and downs! Lol

Best of luck!

 

[slvrslngr]

Finally put my tag on a buck. Just before dark this guy and a buddy were dogging a doe, chasing her and grunting like crazy. My partner took the other buck, his first blacktail, and I took this one. Unfortunately he jumped up and got into some thick reprod and I decided to leave him overnight as I wasn’t sure of the hit. Took my young pup in to search in the morning and she led me straight to him! Not bad for her first tracking job.

 

[Taudisio]

I saw 17 deer and 4 bucks this morning. 2 forkys and 2 spikes. The bigger of the forkys had his nose up a does ass and was pushing the spike away. Fun to see. After I saw the first forky, I had a jeep with a woman driving and 3 kids in the car and I told them where the small forky was. Hopefully she knocked him down with all the kids. I talked to her and the deer couldn’t have been 300 yards up the hill.

I got a photo of the bigger forky/spike behind him/doe to the left.

 

[Blcktail56]

Nor cal bow season

 

[antipositive]

Awesome pictures. Thanks for sharing

 

[Jamr]

Here is a buck I got last night.

 

[TripleJ]

Glassed up a couple bedded down forkys 1st thing Saturday morning and my 73-year-old dad got the bigger of the 2.

 

[Taudisio]

Saw 21 total deer today. 2 unknown (I would guess both bucks, running away when the does were stopped looking at me), 5 were bucks. One buck was a monster that popped out in the headlights 10 minutes before shooting time. Following a doe. I only saw a running side profile and he was tall, heavy, chocolate horned. Looked like a big 3, but it’s very likely he had more points. No other bucks worth shooting. Saw one doe by herself, the rest were in groups of 3-7.

 

[Rogue Bay]

My wife got it done Saturday morning with a nice coastal buck. I’m super proud of the shot she made. He was hot on a doe and it was really steep and brushy. This is her best blacktail to date. He didn’t strike me initially as being ridiculously old but his teeth were sure worn.

Best of luck to those who still have tags. The best is yet to come!

 

[landis07]

Washington high cascade buck , limited time to hunt

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[roosiebull]

It’s certainly picking up

Young bucks are acting like it’s full rut chasing, lip curling, etc. haven’t seen another big buck since passing the one in the fog that I couldn’t tell exactly what he was.

 

[roosiebull]

My wife got it done Saturday morning with a nice coastal buck. I’m super proud of the shot she made. He was hot on a doe and it was really steep and brushy. This is her best blacktail to date. He didn’t strike me initially as being ridiculously old but his teeth were sure worn.

Best of luck to those who still have tags. The best is yet to come!

Congrats to you both!! It’s extra cool when the lead up to a nice buck is memorable. I can picture the anxiety you were having hoping the buck presented a shot for her

It wrecks me when my wife is behind the gun trying to shoot something because I just want her to gain confidence rather than lose it, and I know how stuff can go, and a lot has to go right in the moment

Last Night my wife and I were glassing this little grown up hillside and it was the best we had to work with… it doesn’t shake my confidence watching the same spot for hours, I know that they just materialize, but my wife hasn’t seen that unfold so many times like I have, so I was happy when all of a sudden there was a doe feeding, and then a forky. She didn’t want to shoot him, but it was a success in many regards, and she’ll be more confident in the future glassing the same chunk of real estate knowing deer just materialize. It’s super fun hunting with my wife, and it’s a great way to spend quality time together

Nice work!

 

[WRO]

My wife got it done Saturday morning with a nice coastal buck. I’m super proud of the shot she made. He was hot on a doe and it was really steep and brushy. This is her best blacktail to date. He didn’t strike me initially as being ridiculously old but his teeth were sure worn.

Best of luck to those who still have tags. The best is yet to come!

Black tails are super interesting age wise, there’s a thread on Ifish with ages and pictures.

A lot of deer that were way older than they looked.


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[Rogue Bay]

Congrats to you both!! It’s extra cool when the lead up to a nice buck is memorable. I can picture the anxiety you were having hoping the buck presented a shot for her

It wrecks me when my wife is behind the gun trying to shoot something because I just want her to gain confidence rather than lose it, and I know how stuff can go, and a lot has to go right in the moment

Last Night my wife and I were glassing this little grown up hillside and it was the best we had to work with… it doesn’t shake my confidence watching the same spot for hours, I know that they just materialize, but my wife hasn’t seen that unfold so many times like I have, so I was happy when all of a sudden there was a doe feeding, and then a forky. She didn’t want to shoot him, but it was a success in many regards, and she’ll be more confident in the future glassing the same chunk of real estate knowing deer just materialize. It’s super fun hunting with my wife, and it’s a great way to spend quality time together

Nice work!

Thank you so much! It was a nail biter for sure. She couldn’t spot him for the longest time and I knew he wouldn’t present a good shot for long. I was trying hard not to cause her to panic, which I’ve done many times in the past LOL. When she finally did spot him she executed the shot quickly though.

I’m glad you and your wife had a good opportunity. Sometimes those lessons are the best. That’s a reminder I can use from time to time as well LOL. I’m excited to see how the rest of the season goes for you both. I always look forward to your posts!

 

[Rogue Bay]

Black tails are super interesting age wise, there’s a thread on Ifish with ages and pictures.

A lot of deer that were way older than they looked.


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I think I’ve seen that post but will definitely check it out again if I can find it. I find deer age to be fascinating. It’s always fun to guess the age and compare. I’ve certainly been fooled before LOL.

 

[roosiebull]

Black tails are super interesting age wise, there’s a thread on Ifish with ages and pictures.

A lot of deer that were way older than they looked.


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Yeah, most genetic driven deer for sure. I think it’s fairly easy to tell up to 3.5, and consider anything else in the “mature” category and it gets harder after

They are an interesting creature in many ways

 

[BRTreedogs]

My 34 yr old niece asked me to take her hunting for her very first time.
She was pretty flooded with emotions and thankful to provide for her family.
I gave her my little buck as well.
She’s hosting dinner for part of the family this Saturday and providing deer steaks.

 

[Rogue Bay]

My 34 yr old niece asked me to take her hunting for her very first time.
She was pretty flooded with emotions and thankful to provide for her family.
I gave her my little buck as well.
She’s hosting dinner for part of the family this Saturday and providing deer steaks.
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There are few things more rewarding than helping a first time hunter find success. Congrats to you both!

 

[WildHart1]

Kiddo finally killed her target buck after 7 days of morning and evening sits waiting for him to show up.