HunterofWa's 2020 Blacktail

[HunterofWA]

Hey guys, here's how my hunting season went: 

So, the long and short of it is that I spent a total of 12 days out in the woods (not all full days, but some) to get my deer this fall. Two of those times were spent out scouting in-between seasons. Throughout my hunts, I rarely saw any deer, and if I'm not mistaken, the only deer I was able to scope was this buck I shot! So yeah, it's been a really tuff season this year for me. It wasn't that I was hunting a bad spot, but just that the deer were not moving at all. Plus the weather made it next to impossible to still hunt the areas I wanted to.

The closest opportunity I had in the general season was when I had a hunter shoot a spike buck right in front of me. I just wasn't in quite the right position to see the deer so he saw it before I could. It felt a little like combat hunting and it kind of shook me up for a split second as I had no clue there was another hunter that close to me. His shot path was only 20 yards in front of me crossing from my right to left so it was a little uncomfortable to realize how close he had shot next to me.

Anyway, that pretty much sums up the first part of the season for me. I was pretty bummed and burnt out after seeing little to no action at all while afield. So during the off-season, I went out on two scouting missions to try to figure out where the bucks were hanging out. On the first trip, I bumped into two really nice ones in a spot I would not have expected. With this new data, I felt a ton better (and way more excited!) about my chances for the late buck hunt.

I then started strategizing and coming up with tactics specific to targeting that spot as I anxiously awaited the morning of November 19th.

That brings us now to the story of the hunt. Here's how it went:

I hiked into my spot just before shooting light and then waited a little while for more light before heading down along the edge of the cut. It was super foggy and also raining slightly as I worked my way down into the thick fringe of the timber. I forced myself to go super, super slow, regularly stopping for several minutes at a time every hundred feet or so. The wind wasn't exactly ideal but thankfully it never completely blew my cover. I kept sneaking my way along this edge until I came close to the spot where I had seen those bucks previously while scouting. It was just at that moment that I saw movement right in front of me at 25 yards. I quickly recognized it was a nice buck and I thought he was trying to sneak away. I then realized that he had no clue I was there but just kept walking out of a thicket in the timber towards the cut.

I let out a mouth grunt to get him to stop and he promptly gave me an opportunity at his neck through a tangle of Vine Maple. I scoped him and squeezed the trigger. The rifle roared and I caught a glimpse of him throw his head back as he crumpled in his tracks.  My adrenaline kicked in and let out a whoop and short prayer of thanks as I ran up to where he lay. I got some pictures and then quartered him up and packed him out in one trip back to the truck. I ended up getting 61 pounds of meat off him. Anyway, super stoked to get this buck, and the experience! It definitely taught me a lot about what it means to persevere and not give up. 

[HunterofWA]

EDIT: Well, it'll be a while before I upload more photos! Internet is just behaving so nicely today... 

[2MANY]

Congrats on your deer.

[highside74]

Yes. I love it when a plan is executed and is successful. Very gratifying. Can't wait to see your buck so hurry up.

[Sundance]

It definitely taught me a lot about what it means to persevere and not give up.

IMO that is the key element to being a successful blacktail hunter. Congrats and I'm sure you will encounter many more in the years ahead.

[OutHouse]

Nice job man! Successful solo hunts are very gratifying (so are the unsuccessful ones but great to tag out).

[HunterofWA]

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[HunterofWA]

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[HunterofWA]

...and one more

[WapitiTalk1]

Good job 

[h20hunter]

Very nicely done all around. Cool pics, thanks for sharing.

[highside74]

Beauty

And I think you might have to update your profile pic

[pianoman9701]

That's a beautiful buck. 

[h20hunter]

Beauty

And I think you might have to update your profile pic

Hmmmmm...looks good to me! 

@HunterofWA

[highside74]

Beauty

And I think you might have to update your profile pic

Hmmmmm...looks good to me! 

@HunterofWA

Haha he changed it already.