Awesome sight

[Rugburn]

Greetings Folks... 

I'm A newb here although I have been a lurker for a spell. I wanted to share something I am sure some of you have come across, however, for me this is a first.  I was out Saturday for the last day of Black powder hunting in the Kitsap Peninsula with my buddy from this forum,  MayMobileMarine. We started early and hit an area we have spent some time in only to find it was literally overloaded with people. Strike one, were outa here... We're not waiting for strike two OR three

Off to another area we go and ten minutes off the road we stop and an aging clearcut. From the top we stop and start glassing... after a few minutes my bud calls out a doe, straight ahead low, about 50 yards out slowly moving away from us towards the treeline. I drop my glasses to size up the distance and some movement catches my eye, about 70 yards to the left and about 70-80 yards out. I catch what initially looks to be somebody, or something, in white camo moving from left to right towards the doe we initially spotted.  After my bud and i quickly make a few guesses as to what we are looking at, a hunter, a dog...  we were clueless.  When it comes into full view we are shocked to see an Albino Doe.  I think my heart nearly exploded with excitement and shock at what I was seeing. 

Off to the tree line with these two does and we lose sight. A quick trip down the road to the left where the tree line curves semi circle back towards us we spot the Albino about 30 yards into the tree line and up the moderate hill, just in view. My bud stands up and puts glass on her while I slowly make my way down the clear cut to close the range a bit. She is about 160 yards at this  point and just staring at my bud, looking occasionally down and too the left at what we think was her running mate somewhere in the thickets.

About five minutes, or what seemed an eternity, I get to about 90-100 yards from her. I think OK, I can make that shot (first time ever iron site or black powder hunting for that matter). Maybe it was the excitement, my heart rate, maybe a bit overzealous... I don't know, but whatever the reason, it wasn't meant to be. After glassing her three different times waiting for my heart rate to come down, I took a shot and missed.  She was oriented nearly straight on, barley 5 degrees front left shoulder visible. I lined up right beneath her nose in the area I was sure her chest was... BAM... Miss... Ten seconds later she slowly turns and without a care in the world, she saunters up the hill. We give chase but she is gone....

While this was a fun day and we came home empty, it was  a wonderful day, even with the constant rain squalls...  The company was good and the day was great. Couldn't ask for more. Especially with what I saw that day..

How many of you have seen an albino deer I gotta know !

Thanks for lettin' me ramble !

[huntnphool]

Thanks for the story Rugburn, wish you could have gotten some pics.

[Rugburn]

Thanks for the story Rugburn, wish you could have gotten some pics.

Another downer for an otherwise great day, neither of us remembered to bring a camera !

[boneaddict]

Cool story!  I have pics of one on here somewhere.  I have seen a couple.  Mostly piebald, or partially brown and white.  There are two theads on here that I know about.  One of our taxidermists' wife nailed one, and I posted pics of the whitest deer.

[boneaddict]

Here's the link to pics f one of the ones I've seen

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,625.0.html

[jackelope]

thats cool. back in NY at the gun club property i used to hunt on, there were 2 albino whitey does running together. there was an agreement made in the gun club that nobody would shoot them.

[Rugburn]

Those are some awesome pics boneaddict.  The girl we saw was a partial. A great deal of white across the body but her head was normal, or as normal as I could tell.  The only reason we found her the second time was the white, total white, backside. Truly an awesome sight ! Thanks for posting boneaddict !

[jackelope]

she was piebald then...no such thing as partial albino.
there's albino, pure white...pink eyes, ears etc. then piebald which is partial white here and there, then there's the melanistic which is black or bordering on black, like that idaho deer the other day.

[ICEMAN]

We saw a half albino, half "regular" (?) blacktail in Matheny years ago. Our deer had a difinite line of demarcation at mid ribcage, front half of the deer white, back half tan with a few blotches white. Enjoyed your story....

[Amsdad]

Great story..and great secondary pictures(Thanks boneaddict)..I have never seen one of these in the woods, but I remember seeing an albino Whitetail buck one time in a city park up around Iron Mountain, MI.

[addicted]

on 152nd st in arlington/marysville there was a cow farm  that had one albino doe in the herd that must have thought it was a cow. it was there for years.

cool story rugburn.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Here's the link to pics f one of the ones I've seen

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,625.0.html

  Boneaddict I'd have to vote NO on that being an Albino.  Albinos lack all pigment.  That deer has dark eyes and a black nose.  On albinos they should be PINK.  That is the whitest pieblad I have ever seen though!

[jackelope]

I'm going with michelle on that one...not an albino.
very piebald piebald though.

[jackelope]

albino...

[jackelope]

not albino....