11th hour blacktail

[bow4elk]

Well, not the the buck of my dreams but I was very happy to rattle in and tag this forky on Sunday.  NOTE: Seeing as though we have a lot of new members who love to poke holes in people's hunts, let me be very clear.  I was bowhunting with a rifle tag, during rifle season, which is LEGAL in Washington.  And yes nay-sayers, I took my ORANGE off for this photo because I don't like photos filled with orange.

Now that we have all the technical details out of the way and everyone understands the details of this hunt and photo, here's the story:

In total I called in and passed shot opportunities on about 6 bucks during the last week in October and the recent four-day late season.  Doe bleats were more effective than rattling for me this year but I was in action on every hunt.  I encountered only two bucks that got my heart rate up.  Neither presented shots, both were still-hunting spot and stalk, both about 110" class bucks. One was dumb luck and I literally walked up on him in the rain to about 10 feet behind some brush.  I stepped out and dang, there's a shooter blacktail feeding 10 feet away.  End of that deal  

The next big deer was encountered on Saturday in a different area.  I called him into about 30 yards after closing to an initial 60 yards but he expected to see a doe and hung up.  As he turned to move away I slipped up on him and got to full draw at 22 yards.  The only issue was some small limbs that I felt would deflect my shot.  I let down and backed off hoping to find him on Sunday.

I got into the area and set up for some calling. I tried to locate him Sunday by rattling and calling with doe bleats when a doe came barreling into my location looking for the source of the ruckus.  She was pacing around me while I crouched in some blackberries. Within a few seconds I heard another deer approaching and got ready.  I think I spooked the doe as I turned but I wasn’t about to pass this buck given there was only a couple hours left for the season.

I love blacktails.  I witnessed some incredible action including snort-wheezing for the first time and sparring just 3 yards in front me on the ground.  Both forks but a great learning experience to see how my calling turned a quiet morning into two bucks sparring at point blank range within about 10 minutes.  I love creating action from thin air.  For me, this is what makes hunting so special - getting into the minds of the animals I hunt.

The best part now is the weather - dang thing is nearly frozen solid!  Might have to thaw him in the garage today so I can begin processing tonight.

[NWBREW]

Very nice......Congrats. 

[Skyvalhunter]

Congrats on putting in your time and geeting a nice buck for yourself.

[rb2506]

congrats, way to get after it

[dscubame]

Looks dark in the picture.  Did you have enough light to be shooting?  I am totally kidding.     Nice buck and thanks for the story.

[Skyvalhunter]

Or how about this. Looks like a benchleg buck do you have a picture of its tail so we can tell if its a blacktail?

[Bean Counter]

Well, not the the buck of my dreams but I was very happy to rattle in and tag this forky on Sunday.  NOTE: Seeing as though we have a lot of new members who love to poke holes in people's hunts, let me be very clear.  I was bowhunting with a rifle tag, during rifle season, which is LEGAL in Washington.  And yes nay-sayers, I took my ORANGE off for this photo because I don't like photos filled with orange.

Congrats on the harvest.

Yep, I don't post my kills.

[steen]

Any deer is good in the freezer.  But I don't mind the pictures with orange it is a beautiful contrast to the forest or sage hills.

[840dc]

Congrats man. Sounds like a good season for sure. I appreciate all the tips on blacktails. That blog site you got is awesome for sure. Yeah I don't like orange in my field photos either.

[carpsniperg2]

congrats on your hunt! still a very nice buck and meat in the freezer.

[Tony 270]

Sounds like a great hunt, congrats

[archery288]

Congrats Tom!! Nicely done! 

[bow4elk]

Congrats man. Sounds like a good season for sure. I appreciate all the tips on blacktails. That blog site you got is awesome for sure. Yeah I don't like orange in my field photos either.

Thanks, and thanks for the compliment on my blog.  I try to post useful information that will help the average guy become more successful here on the west side in addition to other topics of interest.  I will be writing up a pretty detailed summary of my blacktail season with a retrospective view on what happened, why I believe it happened, and information to take forward into next season.  Later, I will start my post season scouting and post a whole summary about how to go about it so you can find productive rutting areas and prep stand sites well before the season.  More to come there...

I'm not an expert on blacktails by any stretch, but I constantly try to learn and develop strategies and tactics to produce results for the short few days I get to hunt each season  

[bobcat]

I'm not an expert on blacktails by any stretch

Congrats on the nice buck! I'm hoping to try some rattling on Thursday (first day of late muzzleloader.)

[carpsniperg2]

i am with bobcat on this one

bow4elk i think you are one of the best blacktail hunters on this site! you are a wealth of knowledge on this subject. the tactics that you have learned, and shared. have saved a lot of people time, by reading your info. i do not hunt blacktails "well i hunt benchlegs " but have enjoyed reading your posts! i am sure they have helped more then 1 or 2 people on here.
thanks for sharing with us.