Nice write up, good to hear the story. It's interesting to realize just how much bone it takes to equal 95" on a blacktail. I thought for sure the buck I got this year would go between 95 and 100" but ended up just shy of 90" green scored.
That's definitely a unique buck you got there and Tom's looks like a trophy when it comes to age class and body size. Blacktail sure are cool critters.
Tom is a great guy he helped me when I first started to get serious about hunting Blacktail a few years ago. Lots of great tips but most of what I remember is sit in the stand from light to dark because lots of times during the rut or secondary rut bucks will be on their feet mid day. Not surprisingly since then I've found his words to be true!