Mature blacktail down, ‘the broke nose droptine’

[spin05]

The packout is always an adventure when your 4 hours or more from the truck.  I usually hunt with my goats, however, I didn't have them with me this day as I was planning on carefully hunting the bedding areas and cliffs, sometimes the goats kick rocks loose or break twigs and make a little extra noise in this particular terrain and I was mainly 'scouting' so I left them home for the day.  In most hunting scenarios the goats actually put the animals at ease, I've been able to work my way through 'land mines' of feeding does and even had them walk right up to the goats totally unafraid to check them out before.  After boning out the buck I took a portion of the meat and the cape (I packed the cape in the first load because it doesn't fit in a goat pannier) and headed for the truck.  It took about 6 hours for me to get back to the truck.  Day two I was up at 3 AM, loaded up the goats and headed out to retrieve the rest of the meat.  I had a pulled muscle in my hip so I was definitely struggling on day 2.  I carried a light day pack and the goats easily carried the rest of the buck out. Day two was about 11 hours round trip and the goats had a lot more energy left than I did by the time we returned to the truck that evening. My two adult goats weigh 213 ibs & 268 Ib.  The biggest can carry about 75 lbs max load, 60-65 ibs for a really long trek. 

something tells me them goats love going up there
 

[fishnfur]

I'm blown away again.  Old geezer buck - wide, with tons of mass and a dropper to boot! Such a rare deer in the BT woods!  Early success is always bittersweet.  A whole year to pass till you get another chance to feel the adrenaline rush of choosing to aim a rifle at a deer with bad intent.  Really, it seems the only decision to be made when you see a buck of that caliber is whether you are ready to end your fun for the rest of the current season.   No question that this time that you made the right decision though.  Once bucks reach that age, they become impossible to compare.  They are like rare jewels, each one quite different from others of that class, but at the same time, each impressively beautiful on their own merits.  Congratulations on another superlative season!   

Quick questions:  - Do you plan to get a tooth aged? 
                          - Do you ever shed hunt in that area.  I know, it's a light-year or so away from the trailhead, but what an opportunity to find
                             out what other monsters lurk in that darkness.....

[skagitsteel]

I'm blown away again.  Old geezer buck - wide, with tons of mass and a dropper to boot! Such a rare deer in the BT woods!  Early success is always bittersweet.  A whole year to pass till you get another chance to feel the adrenaline rush of choosing to aim a rifle at a deer with bad intent.  Really, it seems the only decision to be made when you see a buck of that caliber is whether you are ready to end your fun for the rest of the current season.   No question that this time that you made the right decision though.  Once bucks reach that age, they become impossible to compare.  They are like rare jewels, each one quite different from others of that class, but at the same time, each impressively beautiful on their own merits.  Congratulations on another superlative season!   

Quick questions:  - Do you plan to get a tooth aged? 
                          - Do you ever shed hunt in that area.  I know, it's a light-year or so away from the trailhead, but what an opportunity to find
                             out what other monsters lurk in that darkness.....

I wasn't going to tooth age the buck, probably too late to do it now.  I am perhaps the worlds worst shed hunter as I don't find them unless I step on them.  some of my spots seem to be totally void of sheds as the deer leave during wintertime, in other areas I have found a few.  I did find one really heavy old buck shed this spring higher up than I expected.  Some of these spots where I have found big ones seem to have low deer densities which can make shed hunting a true needle in a haystack search.

[fishnfur]

 I've heard that story before....  The big ones head back uphill after the rut and spend the winter in the snow zones.   Knowing what bucks are out there doesn't seem to affect your results year-to-year.  Whatever you're doing, it's working pretty well for you. 

I've got some deep family roots in Sedro.  Somehow your stories and spectacular results ring some subsonic chimes deep in my innards.  (Innards  - there's a word you don't hear too often anymore  ). Congrats again on your success.  Can't wait to see what you pull out of those woods next year.