Any #218/#224 quality tag pictures ???

[greenhead_killer]

Good grief! That thing is built like a linebacker.

[JakeLand]

Great pic bigmacc !! I know I know but more pics !!

[boneaddict]

Awesome photo!

[teanawayslayer]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Back then every tag was a “quality” tag or at least had a good chance to be one and you didn’t need to be drawn for it! Back then the real “Game Department” actually tried to manage the heard for hunter opportunity and quality, the heards were the top priority.👍

good grief that thing is a tank! Thanks for sharing!

[Alchase]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Back then every tag was a “quality” tag or at least had a good chance to be one and you didn’t need to be drawn for it! Back then the real “Game Department” actually tried to manage the heard for hunter opportunity and quality, the heards were the top priority.👍

Killer photo 

[C-Money]

Such a great photo!

[HntnFsh]

Friggin eye popper buck!

[bigmacc]

Thank you all for the comments, I appreciate them.👍

It was truly a special time, up until the 90,s/early 2000,s, that’s when, imho, the decline started to very slowly happen, hardly even noticeable to some. Numbers we were seeing started becoming more sporadic in quantity. Dwindling every year going forward. Herds of 100,s when all the stars aligned during migrations that would last for days, maybe seeing 5-700 total deer moving through a particular saddle slowly became dozens then a handful here and there, then to a migration that is pretty much unnoticeable. Sure they end up in lower elevations eventually when Mother Nature gives em a kick but the numbers in no way warrant the big migrations we had pre-90,s. Some on here remember, they were truly something to see, being in the right spot at the right time would put you in a front row seat of watching 5,6,7 hundred deer move through an area in a 2-3 hour period. Our “Game Department” was done away with in the mid 90,s, then predators became coddled and now we have a WDFW that takes its direction from politicians and folks who are not hunter friendly. I truly fear for what my grandkids will have as far as hunting goes in this state. The way it’s going, it looks bleak. As hunters, and firearms owners we must realize what’s happening and vote accordingly.

[bigmacc]

Another “quality” buck that a person never had to be drawn for. I think I’ve posted this one before  :dunno . Another buck that went over 400lbs, for perspective my great uncle was 6’5” tall and weighed over 280lbs. this was a year that just my clan had 23 bucks hanging, my dad said Little Bellingham had over 70 bucks hanging all together, our bunch plus another 4 clans(about 60 more people). Some folks talk of the good ole days, believe it or not, they reall did exist in this state once upon a time. Like I’ve said numerous times, there was a time that I would put this state up against any other mule deer state for quality and quantity. For instance, believe this or not, the Methow herd at one time was the largest migratory mule deer herd in the country, numbering around 40,000 head (give or take) I remember my dad saying that it wasn’t far fetched to hear some folks say the numbers were closer to 45-50k in the hay days. Theres some perspective for what they’ve let happen to this herd.

[MADMAX]

Mac
I love your pictures
Thank you
You should take a try at writing a book sir 👍
Can’t imagine how good the Methow was back then


I first hunted it in the early 80s
We were seeing good amounts of deer, 100 deer days up in the timber

[bearhunter99]

Thank you for sharing bigmacc!  Love seeing your pictures.   


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HntnFsh]

I dont know whats more incredible. The size of that deer or the fact that it came out whole!

Love those pics Bigmacc!

[hunter399]

Mac
I love your pictures
Thank you
You should take a try at writing a book sir 👍
Can’t imagine how good the Methow was back then


I first hunted it in the early 80s
We were seeing good amounts of deer, 100 deer days up in the timber

Yup, your pictures are awesome.
Thanks for sharing.
That buck is a giant,stud,bigin.
The body size dwarfs the rack. Which if you seen it in real life,or on the hoof.
The rack on that buck is huge,just the body size makes it look small.
Great picture,just proof that an over the counter tag back then was great.

[bigmacc]

I dont know whats more incredible. The size of that deer or the fact that it came out whole!

Love those pics Bigmacc!

My dad used to joke the “good ole days”, for him it was the 30,s and 40,s , he would say back then when the weather hit and the migration was in full tilt there were so many deer that you only shot them uphill, just keep walkin if they were downhill I know he was joking cause there’s a lot of pictures of bucks that we have that are cut up into a variety of configurations that were killed in areas that were/are ridiculously close to impossible to get out of. There’s a story of a big buck that our camp killed in one of these areas that took 3 guys almost 11 hours to get him out, the distance, a little under a mile!! I know it’s a fact, I was one of the 3 guys on that “death march”

Where this buck eventually died, consisted of all the “fun stuff” all rolled into one. A river, a creek bottom, jack pine thickets, thistles, an area full of blowdowns, two rockslides complete with shale AND boulders the size of cars and about a foot of snow and ice with temps in single digits. Yep!

[Fidelk]

1960,s. This buck weighs in over 400lbs the way it’s hanging. My great grandpa, 86yo, for perspective he was 6’3” tall.

Obviously.....that's a bear.