I've made a couple posts here but mostly lurked... Figured I'd share a few pics of my blacktails and formerly introduce myself as a hunter
My name's Javin, 27, located somewhere near Tacoma. My dad grew up a meat hunter, and I started hunting with him at 13. Nothing gets me more excited than a good storm system in October/November in western Washington!! I hunt hard every weekend of deer season, up around 4 a.m., and try to get at least a half mile off the road in steep country before light.
I hadn't filled a tag since 2003 -- that year I shot my nicest blacktail on opening day (the bigger head mount below, 4x3 about 18.5" widest spread)... After getting one like that, it's hard to shoot a smaller one, and I challenge myself to find the mature bucks. I don't consider myself a trophy hunter, I just like the challenge that the mature bucks offer. I passed on several smaller 3-points in '04, '05 and '06, just cuz those little guys are so cute and stupid -- it's hard to pull the trigger when they're looking at you from 30 yards away and not even scared!
Anyways, I passed on a smaller 3-point during general season, and come late-buck, I was getting anxious, and told myself I'd shoot any 3-point with eyeguards. I had to stop my 3 year drought! The last day of late buck was pretty stormy. My dad had other plans that day, so I took off alone. Got my truck up in the high country in a few inches of fresh powder in the middle of a blizzard. Made a slow mile long push below a ridge, spotted a doe bedded under a small hemlock, and by the way she was looking below her I thought she might not be alone. After eyeing her for 10 minutes, I couldn't sit still in the cold anymore, so I started towards her and off she went. Sure enough a decent buck track was right below her. I tracked them a ways, but after a half hour, both tracks already had an inch of snow in them and they were going the wrong way
So I looped back to the truck, a little worried about getting stuck in the snow.
By then it was noon and I was already wet and cold, so I reluctantly said goodbye to the alpine country for the season. Drove down below the snow level, and decided to make a push through an area where I'd never seen a decent buck, but had seen lots of does and smaller bucks. I climbed straight up the spine of a ridge about a thousand feet vertical back above the snow level. I started side-hilling slowly through a system of benches in between several cliffs (nice natural funnel if ya know what I mean). No fresh sign anywhere. I was starting to get the "last day depression", and wasn't paying as much attention as I normally do. I was crossing a steep open gully, ten feet out of the timber, when I look down and 40 yards below me, there's a deer staring at me -- "oh **** that's a buck!". Surprisingly, I didn't do anything wrong
In about a 5 second span, I flipped off the safety, flipped up the scope covers, saw 3-points, decent eye-guards, lowered the crosshairs behind the shoulder and fired. He lurched and took off like I do when I step on a hornet nest
There was a mess of blood and hair, and I knew I'd got him good, so I didn't wait long to follow his trail. I don't know how he went as far as he did
2-300 yards at least, before I lost his trail. Down below me I spot a bloody mess of skid marks going over a 30 foot cliff. Then another 15 foot cliff below that. Blaaaah. Took me a half hour to get down there! Luckily it was a downhill drag back to the road, and I got him in my truck easily.
Moral of the story: Don't ever give up on the last day of the season!
Anyways, I made a plaque for the rack this weekend to match the other ones my dad has made for me in the past. I just hung some racks up on the wall, which has me all anxious for October to roll around now.
Pics:
And here he is visiting with some of his relatives:
Top left 2007; bottom plaque 1995 (first deer); right plaque 2000; head-mount 1998 -- I was 17, he was the biggest buck I'd ever seen so I had it mounted
And the other side of the room:
Head mount 2003; little fork sitka blacktail I shot in 1997.
