joelbiltz
WKR
Some of you may remember last year I hunted out of Roseburg OR to try to kill my Columbia Blacktail. Well I happens to hit a poison oak branch on a big 2x3 buck and with passing a few to many bucks and some bad luck I came home empty handed. I was determined to kill my Columbia Blacktail so I immediately started to looking at options. I learned about a hidden gem in Northern California called the Cottrell hunting ranch. They offer a PLM tag which basically lets you hunt from July 15 until early December. I have always wanted to kill a velvet animal so I decided my hunt on the Cottrell would be the first week in Aug to have a chance at a velvet deer.
I arrived on the ranch at about 6:00 PM on Sunday July 31 and immediately got organized and headed to the rifle range to check the Zero on my MOA 300 Win. We didn't even go up the road 200 yards and there stood a real nice 4x3 but he had a deformed side. We spent the rest of the evening glassing and many deer were found but not the one. On Monday AUG 1st we glassed up and came across 12 bucks but none that really got me excited. Monday night we hunted a pasture where four great 4x4 bucks had been hanging out but only the little bucks and some dies and fawns decided to show up. The next morning found us at another ranch looking but not finding any deer. My guide decided to head back to the main ranch and we immediately started seeing deer. First a few does then two 3x3 bucks that were to small. About 20 minutes later we came across a very nice but young 4x4 that we decided to pass but that was hard to do. About 30 minutes later we were looking in a area that was a big pine and fern forest. About halfway through I spotted this amazing buck in his bed at 100 yards. He had no clue we were around. We looked at him for almost ten minutes through binoculars trying to see if he was the one. We decided to take a real close look through the spotting scope and I immediatly knew he was the one. I got a solid rest settled the crosshairs on the high shoulder and squeezed the trigger on my MOA rifle 300 Win mag. The 215 Berger hybrid bullet smacked the buck and he never left his bed. I was in disbelief when we got to the buck. He is a beautiful 4x4 with eye guards and grosses 132 6/8. I am still in disbelief and am very proud of this great Columbian Blacktail. A world class buck for sure.
I arrived on the ranch at about 6:00 PM on Sunday July 31 and immediately got organized and headed to the rifle range to check the Zero on my MOA 300 Win. We didn't even go up the road 200 yards and there stood a real nice 4x3 but he had a deformed side. We spent the rest of the evening glassing and many deer were found but not the one. On Monday AUG 1st we glassed up and came across 12 bucks but none that really got me excited. Monday night we hunted a pasture where four great 4x4 bucks had been hanging out but only the little bucks and some dies and fawns decided to show up. The next morning found us at another ranch looking but not finding any deer. My guide decided to head back to the main ranch and we immediately started seeing deer. First a few does then two 3x3 bucks that were to small. About 20 minutes later we came across a very nice but young 4x4 that we decided to pass but that was hard to do. About 30 minutes later we were looking in a area that was a big pine and fern forest. About halfway through I spotted this amazing buck in his bed at 100 yards. He had no clue we were around. We looked at him for almost ten minutes through binoculars trying to see if he was the one. We decided to take a real close look through the spotting scope and I immediatly knew he was the one. I got a solid rest settled the crosshairs on the high shoulder and squeezed the trigger on my MOA rifle 300 Win mag. The 215 Berger hybrid bullet smacked the buck and he never left his bed. I was in disbelief when we got to the buck. He is a beautiful 4x4 with eye guards and grosses 132 6/8. I am still in disbelief and am very proud of this great Columbian Blacktail. A world class buck for sure.
