Opener Buck Down

BigSurArcher

Banned
Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
292
Location
N. CA
Wow, what a hunt! Began spotting nice bucks waaaaay up in this high country with no roads to it at daylight, including an awesome 140 class 4x4. Possibly the biggest 4x4 Blacktail I've seen on the hoof. Since no roads had been fixed following the winter damage, I loaded up my pack with 2 days worth of gear and made the 4 mile ascent into the honey hole. As soon as I got up there I located a nice 20" 3x3 with eyeguards and a smaller 3x3 that I had glassed up in the spotting scope hours earlier. I closed to 32 yards as they fed on an oak tree below me, but having that big boy on my mind kept me from taking a shot. I moved on the look for the 4x4. I never could turn him up by noon, so I decided to lay low in the oaks where I could glass and possibly ambush bucks moving through during the day. I ended up napping on and off in that spot 6 hours, and in that time I had 4 bucks and 2 hogs come through within 20 yards all on separate occasions. It's amazing how oblivious they become to you when your there first just laying on the ground! I could easily have whacked all of them, but the nicest buck was a 15" 3x2... who ended up bedding down 60 yards away for most of the day. It was awesome to just lay and watch him throughout the day and see how he reacted to noises and other animals. I took a pic of him through my binos (see below). 6:30 rolled around and I decided it was time to traipse around a bit since I could see bucks up and feeding in the distance. I slowly (very) moved out to the point where I'd last seen the big bucks. As I moved along a trail and rounded the corner, I spotted 2 sets of horns above the grass right on the edge of a buckeye/oak filled draw. They were just 18 yards away! One was a 4x3, the other a tall narrow 3x3. I said aww, screw it I'll shoot the 4x3 if given the chance. Just when I nocked my arrow something spooked them, and I don't even think it was me, but they ran into the trees and circled downhill. As luck would have it the 4x3 decided to stop in the only opening in there to have a look around. No time to range at this point. I drew back, took one step to my left, guess 55 yards, and smoked him. He bolted down the steep hill for about 40 yards before running out of gas and laying in a bed where I watched him to the head bob for about 5 minutes before calling it quits. By now it was close to 8pm so I had about an hour of light to take pics, quarter him out, and load up my pack. I got the whole buck and all my gear out in one load, but it was about midnight by the time I got back to my truck.

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luke moffat

Super Moderator
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
111
Congrats man!! You earned that thing no doubt!!! Thanks for sharing your story and way to kick off the season.
 

Travis Bertrand

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
3,888
Location
Reno,NV
Good job BSA! It looks like that arrow is a little shorter than the others. Way to break in that new bow as well.
 
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
1,252
Location
Kitsap Co, WA
Is there a special season I dont know about I was checking out californias website and from what I saw the seasons for deer dont start until 18 of aug?
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
1,252
Location
Kitsap Co, WA
To be clear Im not accusing anyone of anything. Im looking at out of state options to open up my hunting season. In washington you have to choose to hunt with a bow or gun so we dont get the benifit of hunting the different weapon seasons as other states do. I choose modern firearms in washington to hunt with my dad but other states I may use my bow to get out earlier. Thanks
 
OP
BigSurArcher

BigSurArcher

Banned
Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
292
Location
N. CA
To be clear Im not accusing anyone of anything. Im looking at out of state options to open up my hunting season. In washington you have to choose to hunt with a bow or gun so we dont get the benifit of hunting the different weapon seasons as other states do. I choose modern firearms in washington to hunt with my dad but other states I may use my bow to get out earlier. Thanks

LOL gotcha... yeah A zone archery season started yesterday, July 14th. You can hunt with bow and/or gun with the same general tag. Rifle season starts Aug 18th. Now is definitely the time I see the most bucks and have the greatest success, unless I get some rut hunting action of course. I highly recommend CA's early archery seasons if your looking for something different!
 
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
1,252
Location
Kitsap Co, WA
LOL gotcha... yeah A zone archery season started yesterday, July 14th. You can hunt with bow and/or gun with the same general tag. Rifle season starts Aug 18th. Now is definitely the time I see the most bucks and have the greatest success, unless I get some rut hunting action of course. I highly recommend CA's early archery seasons if your looking for something different!

Thanks that california website is horrible. I meam "mammal hunting regulations" really
 
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7mag.

WKR
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
1,412
Location
Buckley, Wa.
Congrats man! Nice blacktail! Wish I was hunting now. I have to wait until September, here in Washington. I'm also glad to see you left the cut off jean shorts at home.
 
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