Quality buck Blacktail tag?

[Pete112288]

So I see they have expanded the number of tags and number of units for the quality blacktail. The tags that connect the early and late season for modern. I have been putting in for Washougal and Souixon since they came out but no dice yet. Now I am excited because my pet unit now has them. My question for you guys that know SW Wa blacktail is what would you hold out for if you drew this tag? I know esp with blacktail it is greatly dependant on area and your personal idea of what buck would be worth it. But just curious what some would say. First good solid 3+ pt? I am not sure. That is most likely what I would stick to unless I got all the way to the general late buck, then it would be to put meat on the table.

[willapawapiti]

For the new late blacktail tags out this way, heavy, mature 3x3 would be a trophy, the rare 4x would be an unusual bonus! My coastal 

[AdnaHunter]

Nothin less than a solid 4x.

[Big6bull]

Definetly would be fun to hunt outside our pumkin patch... Lol. If it were me I would be looking for a mature deer, could be a good forky or better if he's got some mass to him. 

[Pete112288]

Thats along the lines of what I was thinking Big6bull. In my pet area a solid 3 is normally an automatic shooter. I dont think I would be sitting there in the thick wet brush trying to count points. Most of the time when it comes to my idea of blacktail, a fat fork horn with great mass can be a big trophy no matter what it scores.

[Damnimissed]

It's tough to pass a big heavy forky, but you can't kill a monster if you keep killing smaller bucks. That being said, I need to take my own advice. I've killed a LOT of forked horns lol
This one from '09 is my biggest fork to date and I wouldn't hesitate to shoot him again if I drew a quality tag.

[Wolfdog2314]

Couple SW bucks. Good on height and width but not for mass. Really looking for a nice and heavy one this year. Hard to pass up any decent blacktail at any time tho!

[Pete112288]

Mass or not those are some freaking solid blacktail to me haha. My best is a 3 pt that roughly gross scores around 90

[SkookumHntr]

Big 3 would go down. Any 4 point you better dump! Hunt hard first week of November and you will find one, nov 7-11 are the 4 days I would be out all day 

[Wolfdog2314]

Mass or not those are some freaking solid blacktail to me haha. My best is a 3 pt that roughly gross scores around 90

Oh believe me I'm not complaining haha. The 4pt I got last year. The 4x2 the wife got the year before. Roughly a few hundred yards from eachother.

Still want the chance of a gnarly blacktail with mass for days tho!

And what they say about "if u always shoot small bucks, you'll never shoot big bucks" is very true. I followed that rule last year and got that one. Passed up a few bucks and got him on oct 30th.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Tagging

[Pete112288]

The first time I was able to get myself to pass on a legal deer was 2012. the first year i got the multiseason and I had just read Scott Haugen's book about trophy blacktail and had no life and a seasonal job that paid for gas and trail cams. Spent 3-4 days a week from March through hunting seasons up in the same 3 square miles or so. Passed on a spike that would have been my first bowkill. almost took a fork just to have my first bow kill, passed a 3 pt with 1 antler in early modern and rattled in and tagged my 3pt in the late modern. I would love to feel like I could pass on more now but since then I got my own family and have not had the time to spend that I did then so I rush just to fill a legal tag.

[kodiak 907]

I guess it depends on the persons opinion on what is a quality blacktail for their area. Some people think shooting a fork horn is wasting your tag... But I have seen some big old nasty forkys that I would not hesitate to put a tag on. Evaluating your buck for age/weight along with rack size might help you decide on shoot or don't shoot.

[Chesapeake]

I'd run trail cams in your area. Then you'll know what around and you can know what you might want to hold out for.

[bobcat]

I'd take any mature, big-bodied blacktail buck, the number of points doesn't matter to me. I'd definitely hold off on the trigger for a bit though if it was only a 2 point. If I see 4 points on a side, no hesitation. As far as when to put the most time in, I think I'd hunt those first six days hard and try to get it done before the modern firearm elk season starts on the 7th.