Hunting Washington Forum
Washington State Hunting Forum and Northwest Resource Site
Please
login
or
register
.
1 Hour
1 Day
1 Week
1 Month
Forever
Login with username, password and session length
News:
Free:
Contests & Raffles
.
Home
Help
Calendar
Advertise
Login
Register
Hunting Washington Forum
»
Big Game Hunting
»
Deer Hunting
»
2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
Advertisement
Advertise Here
« previous
next »
Print
Pages: [
1
]
2
3
All
Go Down
Author
Topic: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats (Read 7169 times)
skagitsteel
Non-Hunting Topics
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Scout
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 466
Location: skagit
2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
on:
November 12, 2020, 12:20:52 PM »
The weather certainly kept things both interesting and frustrating this year
. I didn't get quite what I was hoping for in a buck, but did fill a tag, hiked a lot of miles, and spent quit a bit of time on the mountain, solo the whole season. I choose to hunt deer where I do not because it's easy, but because every year is an adventure with memories I won't forgot.
Last fall I had a really nice buck in one of my areas, he looked to be right in his prime, so I was anticipating would be back this year. I had a few cameras in the area and suprisingly no bucks this year on them, I wasn't too worried because some of these blacktail dodge trail cams as well as bigfoot does
I had a few back up plans and at least 2 nice bucks in another area. The plan was to hunt the main spot 2-3 days at a time, rest it for a few days and hit other spots, then come back. I had the pack goats take my camp and gear along with some firewood in before the season opened.
Logged
Advertise Here
skagitsteel
Non-Hunting Topics
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Scout
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 466
Location: skagit
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #1 on:
November 12, 2020, 12:30:25 PM »
I decided to hike in the day before season, the weather forecast said something about 50 mph winds and 2"-3" of rain that day, followed by colder and snowier, just typical October stuff In Western WA high country. Weather forecast was not wrong! I got pounded on the way in and it was a good test for the new Kryptek rain gear which held the water out for the 4+ hour hike to camp. First couple days of the season were slow, I turned up a couple of does and one younger buck that I passed on day 2. Deer were unusually spooky and the mountain lion was on trail cams again. Visibility and weather began deteriorating on day 3 so after hunting till dark I packed back to the truck to rest the spot a few days. All that wet ground froze solid, along with my pack and gear
Logged
h20hunter
Trade Count:
(
+16
)
Legend
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 20872
Location: Lake Stevens
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #2 on:
November 12, 2020, 12:33:22 PM »
Logged
skagitsteel
Non-Hunting Topics
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Scout
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 466
Location: skagit
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #3 on:
November 12, 2020, 12:38:53 PM »
We got a good round of snow and I was anxious to get back up and see some tracks. The oldest and best bucks I have taken, all have had one thing in common: I have seen their tracks and that's how I knew they were there. I went in to a different area right after the snow and discovered that unfortunately, the deer had been pushed out of the area with the snow. I headed back to my camp in the other area the next day found the same 4 does again, 1 set of tracks from a buck, but not monster size tracks like I had hoped to find.
proof that blacktail really do climb trees!
Logged
skagitsteel
Non-Hunting Topics
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Scout
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 466
Location: skagit
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #4 on:
November 12, 2020, 12:54:53 PM »
The season continued the weather got colder, the snow got deeper, the hikes took twice as long and my hunt began to feel more Like an Everest expedition than a deer hunt. One morning while hiking into camp in the dark the low was 7 degrees, with a nice breeze. Took my sweaty gloves off to water a bush and they froze solid and stiff in about a minute. Water bladder was useless and water bottles in my pack were freezing up. I hunted hard each day daylight to dark. I turned up the same 4 does again and again, I started to come up with ideas for names
I knew a buck had to come by and check them out at some point, however it was very apparent with the lack of tracks in the snow that the deer population in this area had taken a major hit from the previous year. One evening as I was headed back to the truck after being in for a few days, I cut two sets of lion tracks with about 20 minutes of light left. I had promised myself if I saw lion tracks at any point the deer hunt was temporarily suspended and it would become a lion hunt. The cat was close, I didn't track it very far before I bumped it. I stayed on the trail until I was just looking for eyeballs in my headlamp, hoping it might decide to go up a tree. didn't happen, so I called it off. Given the size of these tracks neither one were large enough to be the Tom I had on cam, unfortunately that made at least 3 cats in the area.
Logged
skagitsteel
Non-Hunting Topics
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Scout
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 466
Location: skagit
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #5 on:
November 12, 2020, 01:06:56 PM »
The days were adding up and it was getting late into the last week of October, weather was not letting up much. Most of the days were some form of reduced visibility: rain, snow or fog made it tough to see. Some days I would get lucky and find a few hundred yards of visibility, some days were 50 yards. I did have a late tag in my pocket, however my wife's work schedule would make it very difficult for me to hunt after Nov 1st. I had to come to the realization the top buck I was after had probably either not made it thru the previous winter or had relocated due to the influx of predators, either way it was slim pickings! I hunted another spot within striking distance of my camp and one foggy day after hunting through the timber, managed to catch three decent looking bucks feeding together. It was raining and blowing so hard, optics were just about useless because it was like driving down I-5 in the rain with no wipers! I watched them for about half hour trying to decide if I wanted to take one and which one I would take.
Logged
skagitsteel
Non-Hunting Topics
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Scout
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 466
Location: skagit
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #6 on:
November 12, 2020, 01:20:40 PM »
I finally decided the middle buck needed a closer look (on the ground :chuckle:0) and I had to risk the fact that I could not judge features I would normally look for, like mass, bases, shape of the face, ect.. I pulled the trigger and it appeared that all the deer were still standing there feeding like nothing happened. It was very difficult to see through the fogged, rain covered scope so a miss was certainly possible. It was blowing so hard, none of the deer even heard the shot. I waited about 5 minutes and made sure I was lined up on the same buck I previously fired at and shot again. This time the buck moved about 10' behind a tree, he was still standing there but I could not tell if he was hit. The other two kept feeding, totally clueless. The bucks worked around the the tree and shuffled positions then came out from behind the tree together, creating the dilemma of which one is hit? Blacktail can be pretty relaxed sometimes when they feel bad weather conceals there presence. The fog lifted momentarily and I finally got a good look at the bucks just as one them bedded down and I noticed the blood in the snow. I realized seeing him he was younger than what I had anticipated and that I probably should have taken the larger bodied 2 pt, but at that point it was over, so I sent one more and rolled him down the hill, at which point the other 2 bucks had enough and took off. Pretty wild as I have never seen 3 bucks that anywhere close to maturity together feeding like that this time of year.
Logged
skagitsteel
Non-Hunting Topics
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Scout
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 466
Location: skagit
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #7 on:
November 12, 2020, 01:22:15 PM »
more lion adventures to come on the packout, I'll get to that a little later
Logged
fishngamereaper
Trade Count:
(
+6
)
Old Salt
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 8758
Location: kitsap
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #8 on:
November 12, 2020, 01:24:14 PM »
Good read so far...
Quality mountain buck. Well earned.
Logged
h20hunter
Trade Count:
(
+16
)
Legend
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 20872
Location: Lake Stevens
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #9 on:
November 12, 2020, 01:25:25 PM »
Sweet. Big bodied deer and worthy of a shot I'd say.
Logged
bigbore40
Trade Count:
(
+9
)
Hunter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 117
Location: Pierce County
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #10 on:
November 12, 2020, 02:08:13 PM »
Excellent read and good buck 👍
Logged
WapitiTalk1
Business Sponsor
Trade Count:
(
+9
)
Old Salt
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 7902
Location: Wet Side, Rainier, WA
Groups: RMEF, NRA, US Army (R)
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #11 on:
November 12, 2020, 02:10:48 PM »
Quote from: skagitsteel on November 12, 2020, 12:38:53 PM
Proof that blacktail really do climb trees!
I knew it (been thinking that for years)!! Great write up Skagit, an epic hunt, and of course....congrats on a GREAT buck!
Logged
Darton Archery Maverick II
Traditions Vortek StrikeFire Smoke Pole
Weatherby VG-2 Boomstick
"Poking at a campfire with a stick is one of life's great satisfactions." Patrick F. McManus
Fl0und3rz
Forum Sponsor
Trade Count:
(
+7
)
Legend
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 51553
Location: E. WA
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #12 on:
November 12, 2020, 02:13:24 PM »
Awesome story. Nice buck. Love the goat packing.
Logged
brokentrail
Non-Hunting Topics
Trade Count:
(
+7
)
Longhunter
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 525
Location: Graham, WA
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #13 on:
November 12, 2020, 02:51:14 PM »
Thanks for sharing your story, I enjoyed the read. Congrats on your buck!
Logged
MountainTracker
Trade Count:
(
0
)
Hunter
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 157
Location: Blaine, WA
Re: 2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
«
Reply #14 on:
November 12, 2020, 03:07:24 PM »
Following along, good stuff, congrats on the BT
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Logged
Advertise Here
Print
Pages: [
1
]
2
3
All
Go Up
« previous
next »
Hunting Washington Forum
»
Big Game Hunting
»
Deer Hunting
»
2020 Blacktail Adventure- Rain, snow, wind and hungry cats
Advertisement
Advertise Here
Quick Links
Front Page
Donate To Forum
Advertise on H-W
Recent Posts
Articles
Forum Rules
Recent Topics
KODIAK06 2025 trail cam and personal pics thread
by
pianoman9701
[
Today
at 11:39:26 AM]
Archery Elk Advice
by
nelsonfirst
[
Today
at 11:08:32 AM]
DR Brush Mower won't crank
by
EnglishSetter
[
Today
at 11:05:03 AM]
Oregon special tag info
by
Judespapa
[
Today
at 10:56:27 AM]
MA-10 Coho
by
Sneaky
[
Today
at 10:53:12 AM]
Ever win the WDFW Big Game Raffle?
by
Big6bull
[
Today
at 10:10:07 AM]
Ground blind for blacktail
by
kyle_higg
[
Today
at 10:09:34 AM]
Bow mount trolling motors
by
Angry Perch
[
Today
at 09:50:16 AM]
Unknown Suppressors - Whisper Pickle
by
pickardjw
[
Today
at 09:12:31 AM]
10 kokes
by
206
[
Today
at 07:51:31 AM]
Hoof Rot
by
fowl smacker
[
Today
at 06:28:53 AM]
Honda BF15A Outboard Problems
by
Sandberm
[
Yesterday
at 08:18:08 PM]
Idaho General Season Going to Draw for Nonresidents
by
JDArms1240
[
Yesterday
at 08:16:36 PM]
Eastern WA-WT hunting from tree stands??
by
addicted1
[
Yesterday
at 06:47:44 PM]
A question for any FFL holders on here
by
ryan2202
[
Yesterday
at 05:01:26 PM]
I’m on a blacktail mission
by
addicted1
[
Yesterday
at 12:10:11 PM]
SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2025, SimplePortal