Post by: KillerBeee on November 19, 2012, 09:52:40 PM
My buddy Jeff nailed it with a 12 gauge first thing Saturday morning. He used an old Ithica Deer Slayer with a Federal True Ball slug. Probably a 60 yard shot and the deer took off another 100 or so yards after the hit. Liver and partial lung shot, so he didn't go right down. All in all a tough hunt. No gimme at all. Not the biggest plot of land and patience is required. There were a lot of nice deer out there and we have been averaging 1 a year between us for the last few years.
First a few shots of some rubs...
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi89.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk216%2Fdaveybeee%2FDSCN2371.jpg&hash=cabff0278efa8fc62f6533f71dc3465f88ac4d8d)
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Jeff waiting at the scene of the crime:
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Ground shot:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi89.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk216%2Fdaveybeee%2FDSCN2375.jpg&hash=f7896a1ca8d61c76dd48ea95bedbd94c07ff8360)
Jeff with his prize:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi89.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk216%2Fdaveybeee%2FDSCN2383.jpg&hash=921fe35f2887b89521300e382d61bbfcd44d5635)
I had to pose with his deer as well:
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Caped out:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi89.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk216%2Fdaveybeee%2FDSCN2390.jpg&hash=027e7fe86299c902f2ec950ce85b2506e6c223bf)
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi89.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk216%2Fdaveybeee%2FDSCN2391.jpg&hash=5090af0193eddc9a3f0c54f462375f500575d9a6)
Big bodied dude that was a bit beat up from brawling...
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi89.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk216%2Fdaveybeee%2FDSCN2389.jpg&hash=bf907d274f0fb0eeb88ba9595f03ac865199bb47)
Ready to roll home:
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi89.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk216%2Fdaveybeee%2FDSCN2393-1.jpg&hash=d28f0fc8a771d636177d8ac36573a517402f440c)
Post by: deerslyr on November 19, 2012, 09:55:40 PM
Post by: runningboard on November 19, 2012, 09:55:52 PM
Post by: MLBowhunting on November 19, 2012, 10:20:04 PM
Post by: RoyBoy on November 20, 2012, 12:43:37 AM
Awesome buck. What island?
:yeah: :yeah:
Post by: Pilot_Hunter on November 20, 2012, 01:34:16 AM
Post by: Rooster1981 on November 20, 2012, 07:25:53 AM
Thats a great Island deer way to go :tup:
Post by: coastie hunter on November 20, 2012, 07:30:48 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on November 20, 2012, 07:32:27 AM
Post by: big J on November 20, 2012, 08:21:33 AM
Post by: 400out on November 20, 2012, 08:25:29 AM
Post by: C-Money on November 20, 2012, 08:50:13 AM
Post by: elkoholic1 on November 20, 2012, 08:54:44 AM
Post by: finnman on November 20, 2012, 09:02:17 AM
I have seen bucks like that working on Anderson and Vashon islands.
Post by: doyourtime89 on November 20, 2012, 09:05:16 AM
Post by: KillerBeee on November 20, 2012, 12:21:56 PM
Post by: cem3434 on November 20, 2012, 01:55:02 PM
Post by: blackveltbowhunter on November 20, 2012, 08:41:32 PM
Post by: RuttinWapati on November 20, 2012, 09:45:27 PM
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post by: JDHasty on September 16, 2015, 04:21:21 PM
Post by: predatorG on September 16, 2015, 05:23:00 PM
Post by: Mark251 on September 16, 2015, 06:15:34 PM
Post by: Watimberghost on September 16, 2015, 06:24:13 PM
Post by: JDHasty on September 16, 2015, 08:19:03 PM
He is an old deer, look at how grey he is. His right ear is split almost half way down to the skull. Going to be a neat looking mount. Charlie Smith has him.
Opening weekend last year we didn't see much at all in the way of nice bucks.
It was on the Saturday that the weather was totally crap, I think it was the second weekend.
I was hauling an antlerless in to the butcher earlier in the day and saw one that makes this one look common.
This one came in with another, or I should say they came in about the same time but from different directions. The other one had deeper forks, but was not as wide or heavy.
I was picking up stands in November and decided to just chill out in a stand until dark and then tear it down, saw another really super nice one, but I don't think it was the monster I had seen while taking the doe to the butcher. The body on that first one was absolutely huge and the second one didn't really impress me as that big. But he had a rack that was a real dandy.
There are a lot of mature island blacktail bucks, but seeing one on a road is not something that is all that common. Particularly the real monster bucks. They are pretty cagey.
We got another four point last year that was large, but the rack is only about ten inches wide. Heavy, tall, deep forks, each antler had nice conformation, but really a ridiculous looking deer. I will try to dig up a photo of that one.
I'm bad for not taking pictures. I almost forgot to get a photo of this one.
Not much fat on this one either, but from what I hear he ate pretty good. As the guy who posted above stated, these really big bucks are not child's play. They can really hunker down and wait out the entire hunting season.
Filling tags isn't to much of a problem for us, especially our antler less second tags. Figuring out how to close the deal with the big ones is pretty tricky though. They won't come out to feed until way after legal shooting hours most times and will hang back. The best bet is to catch them after they get out of their beds moving toward the areas in which the does are feeding but still back in the heavy cover.
Since we started using ladder stands our success has went way up. We now have about eight or ten. Pre season scouting for rubs like the first gent has pictured is the right idea too, if you ask me. If there are any on the property you have access to I kinda like to concentrate on hunting over larger three or four inch alders that have been rubbed, but you can't argue with their success.
As long as the rubbed trees are fresh there are bucks frequenting the area. If I find rubs I will keep them in mind to check year after year. I have found times when I never saw the culprit, but knew he was getting pretty darn big because of the size trees he tore up kept getting bigger.
Post by: JDHasty on September 16, 2015, 09:16:00 PM
Awesome buck. What island?
The one that has water all the way around it.
Post by: crowinghen on September 16, 2015, 09:56:58 PM
Post by: JDHasty on September 17, 2015, 04:10:10 AM
Post by: Elkpiss on September 17, 2015, 08:44:29 AM
Post by: JDHasty on September 17, 2015, 09:00:12 AM
We were focused on a real Jim dandy of a buck and passed this one up many times. Finally took him out very late in the late season and it is probably for the best to get a dominant buck with these faults out of the gene pool.
Post by: elkfins on September 17, 2015, 04:22:32 PM
Post by: KillerBeee on September 17, 2015, 04:39:30 PM
Good luck to the hunters out there and be safe.
Beee
Post by: JDHasty on September 17, 2015, 06:49:54 PM
I am after big blacktails, but will shoot an antlerless too just because they need to be thinned on the properties we have access on. We have an elk in the freezer already and will have one more decent size deer made into Italian sausage and probably give one away. It's not hard to find a taker for good blacktail venison.
I'm busy with a couple white oaks and a madrona that went down in the wind and as soon as I get my heat situation for this winter taken care of, hopefully this weekend, we are going to get our stands up and do a bit of scouting.
I have been behind all year, new baby in May, and have been playing catchup all year. I'm not going to have time to scout for particular deer, but I will be able to get myself up to speed on what the general population is up to by checking the sign.
We use Deerslayers too, I have a DSII and a DS and a rifled 20 inch barrel that I use on my Model 37 Ultra Featherweight frame with reduced recoil Lightfields for still hunting. The DSII is good for an inch at 100 yards and the DS about 2.5 inches. My buddy uses a Hastings barrel on a model 37 frame and an 18 inch barrel he cut off and put chokes in for still hunting w/buckshot. I hate buckshot, I won't use it.
My shorty barrel shoots into a couple inches at 50 and probably better, but I just take a shot once per year to make sure the sights are on. We also use Excalibur Matrix 355 crossbows and compounds depending on where we are hunting.
Good luck!
Post by: KillerBeee on September 20, 2015, 03:47:56 PM
In the Nova, I like the Hornady SST. Those things fly straight and do a fine job.
Post by: JDHasty on September 20, 2015, 08:39:06 PM
Most of our shots are pretty close, but I like my firearms to put a round right exactly where I want it to go and the Ithacas most certainly get that done. We have taken a few that we're pushing a hundred yards though, and when you do have a shot that is out there... you don't want any surprises.
Best of luck to ya.
Post by: highhunter on September 25, 2015, 04:47:17 PM
Post by: highhunter on September 25, 2015, 05:55:14 PM
Post by: tgomez on September 25, 2015, 09:05:12 PM
I put a rifled barrel on my Bennelli Nova and a scope to make those longer shots a little more confidently. That being said, the longest shot we have taken is less than 75 yards, with average being about 40.I agree 100%, I LOVE Hornady but use the GMX Superformance out of my 30-06 and get right around 3000 fps! Takes the power of the 06 and gives it the speed of a 270! Hornady definetly makes the best factory hunting ammo for sure.
In the Nova, I like the Hornady SST. Those things fly straight and do a fine job.
Post by: fishnfur on September 26, 2015, 10:22:51 PM
The only question I can come up with is: How do you place your stands in relation to the rubs that you're hunting. 30 yards or so downwind in the direction of the prevailing winds, (NE of the rubs) or some other method?
Perhaps one more: Many of Puget Sound's islands have significant human populations living side by side with the bucks in question. Do you feel like you need to get as far away from those residential areas to improve your opportunities to see bucks? Are the bucks less nocturnal than you might find in more remote off-island areas or area with less deer per square mile? (yes, I know. That is two questions, not one.) I get the feeling from reading your posts that the big bucks are really hard to locate until the rut is in full swing.
Thanks! Have a great season. Look forward to your posts this year.
Post by: JDHasty on September 27, 2015, 01:48:00 PM
If there is ONE tip I can give is visit the islands in the spring when people are really pissed off about their gardens being wrecked.
If you find a property owner whose young fruit stock has been wrecked by bigger bucks, when you see it you will know it - they ravage them, you are really in. The young bucks just rub them, the biggens fight them to the death and leave them absolutely devastated.
I shoot a compound on some properties because of proximity to occupied dwellings, same for crossbow. The crossbow is better for stands, but miserable to still hunt with. Both are equal in range and substantially so for accuracy.
Anytime the stand location allows it I prefer a Deerslayer II w/Lightfield 2-3/4 Hybrid Elites, but my Deerslayer w/Foster slug is just as capable. The DSII gives me ~25 yards more range though. Both have Nitrex 1.5-5 scopes. I use a rifled 20 inch DS barrel on an aluminum frame Ithaca 37 Ultra Featherweight and Lightfield reduced recoil slugs and open sights for still hunting. My buddy uses an 18inch barrel and Flight Control 00 Buckshot for the same. I hate buck, he prefers it.
We both usually have a revolver in stands because when a buck comes in from behind your right shoulder it is much easier to get in position to shoot. That is if we are far enough away that we are in the stands with our shotguns. He uses an Ithca w/Hastings rifled barrel and Lightfields.
These bucks are there, but rarely seen. They hole up in the smallest, thickest patch they can find and archery season happens before the General and they go to ground as soon as hunters are in their home range.
I try to have stands up where I can catch them on the move and really like crappy weather.
A biologist gave me an estimate of the blacktail densities on the islands and it flat boggles the mind when you hear it. There are a lot of deer out on the islands. I suppose I probably focus on hunting in between fairly densely populated areas. The deer are a bit more used to people there.
The big bucks are so secretive that the property owners don't see them that often. They are right there, back in the thick crap watching though and only come out after dark normally. The pre-rut and rut is the exception. They are on the move looking for does to breed.
If you can locate the secondary trails that the bucks travel to feed you can catch them moving to feed, but catching them in the open when the rut activity is not started is not something that I would bank on.
They will move close, but will hang back and watch does and small bucks feed until well after shooting hours.
Even Island residents have a difficult time with these guys. They are tough. What you want to do is locate where they will be moving to feed or to hook up with the herds of does.
Access is hard to gain on all the islands, the earlier in the year you meet people and start to develop relationships the better.
Another thing - an 8x42 or 7x50 binocular is what you need in the stands in heavy cover at the times you will catch them moving. I use a 6x32 for mid-day still hunting and it is all but worthless in the stand situations.
Best of luck.
Post by: JDHasty on September 27, 2015, 04:42:25 PM
By secondary trails, I mean that the does and small buicks will utilize the major trails, but I don't find the bucks on them BUT I do find their rubs along them. So they don't avoid them altogether and visit them pretty regularly when they are making the rubs but me thinks they are sneaking up on them by way of what I call a secondary trail. Make sense?
Usually you can locate a few secondary trails that converge to rubs or funnels, such as fence corners and to orchards or lone "abandoned" apple trees, there will be many of them anywhere you are on any of the islands. Lone apple trees that are back in the crud and do not get visited by humans any more are all over on the islands and if you find one set up a ladder stand seventy yards or so from it and make certain you have a clear shot to the trails leading to it.
We had a guy on his first hunt w/us shoot a big mature three-point w/eyeguards w/my DS and knocked him off his feet but couldn't find it. By the time I got there the place the buck was standing was shot was all trampled and I had to chase the shooter away and had him start making bigger and bigger spirals looking for any sign of blood. After a half-hour on my hands and knees I found a dime sized piece of leather w/fluffy white hair on it. He must have just knicked the brisket and scared him off his feet. Had he stayed put and kept his scope on the spot he probably would have seen him jump back to his feet and could have flattened him for sure. We have took a few bucks from that very location over the years, three and four points, but nothing really spectacular. The big three is still there, if he hasn't kicked the bucket from natural or vehicle causes. I saw him late last year. He is a dandy, but he won't be shot coming to that particular tree.
I am not as wind cognizant as I probably should be, except I like hunting in hell-weather. The wind swirls so much on all the islands that trying to set up to take advantage of it drives me nutso. So what I do is set up tall stands. They are 17 feet to the shooting rail. I buy Big Game Steath Deluxe on sale and they are fine. I think we also have some other similar Big Game that goes on sale every year and just bought a couple two-man Guardian XL stands on sale. They are fine. Others are obviously more comfortable, but what we use is just fine.
Every year I threaten to set up the stands early and just let the archery tag holders sit in them if they stumble across them. But every year I get too busy until I have no time left and we will get them in next week. The fact that we are near human activity probably takes some of the bucks "seeing something new and avoiding it" away. Humans change things all the time where we are hunting.
The small chair blinds are great and I will set them right out in the middle of an open area instead of back next to cover. My reasoning that they WILL be noticed either way and I personally feel they are less threatening that way. The deer will look at them for a while, but then decide they are just a pile of branches or something and I think they contain scent well enough. Just my thought on them. I have had better success by doing this than trying to secret myself inside or under an evergreen w/branches that go almost to the ground. Probably because I am comfortable and able to glass from back inside the thing w/out being busted. I don't really know, but it works fine. You do give up about 270 degrees in one though. I know there are side windows, but...
Keeping warm is the key to not getting fidgety too.
Post by: fishnfur on September 27, 2015, 10:40:31 PM
I wish I could justify spending the money on a DS shotgun. I was practicing with slugs and buck shot in an old 16 gauge side by side, which I don't think I would push much past a 40 yard shot without putting some sort of sight on it. It would still probably never be too accurate past about 60 yards or so (I'm guessing).
I did a little still hunting in reprod on an island this morning that the locals say is full of deer. I'll be darned if I could find more than a single doe in 5 trips of driving the island over the past few weeks though. While it was down in the 30's this morning, the full moon must have given the deer enough reason to go to beds early with a full stomach, 'cause once again, I got no sightings. Need the weather conditions to worsen a bit I think - I'm fishing for the next two or three weeks. while I wait.
Thanks again for taking the time to post some great techniques and thoughts on island deer.
Post by: JDHasty on September 28, 2015, 08:42:50 AM
You can make a cheap peep sight out of a piece of sheet metal and duct tape it to the rear of the action and then use a rubber protected hose clamp to do the same for a front sight. Start high and file the front sight down for elevation and loosen the clamp and move it side to side for windage. Yep, looks like hell, but that should give you a solidly reliable eighty yard slug gun and in all honesty I can't remember any of our crew shooting over that range more than once and that was a hundred-thirty yard offhand shot that I witnessed.
Actually, once you have sights you will be surprised how accurate Foster slugs can be.
"I'll be darned if I could find more than a single doe in 5 trips of driving the island over the past few weeks though." Yep, been there.
Last year we hunted opening weekend and didn't see a deer. The following weekend I saw thirty or more including three really nice bucks and a couple heavy beam high rack two points w/brow tines.
I like steady rain showers pretty well. I really like hell weather. That big wide buck was heading in to an apple tree at the same time another was coming from another direction. The other was taller, but not as wide or as heavy. I saw a monster of a buck earlier in the day, crossing the road, when I was taking a doe to the butcher. That evening the weather was absolutely terrible, it was raining and the wind was blowing down trees across the streets and all hell was breaking loose.
Post by: JDHasty on September 28, 2015, 10:20:33 AM
Post by: KillerBeee on September 28, 2015, 10:36:26 AM
Between my buddy and I we have taken 1 deer per year and split it. After 1, we just do the cleanest processing we can do and try to get another but the effort is not that great. Half a deer usually does me just fine.
We have both had success still hunting as well. The cover is getting very thick so it's tough to get decent visibility. As with all blacktail hunting, patience and ultra slow movement is key.
Post by: JDHasty on September 28, 2015, 01:29:57 PM
Most years we will try to wack a good sized doe right off the bat, like by noon on opening day, and get them into the butcher for processing before settling in and hunting for bucks.
That third photograph down in your original post. Oh yea buddy, that looks like a great place to have a stand over. It would not surprise me one bit if you post another photo this year of another big buck that comes out of that very spot.
I bought a buck decoy last year in The Bargain Cave and had a copy of this book : http://www.amazon.com/Decoying-Big-Game-Successful-Tactics/dp/1585747467 that I picked up at Half Price Books for a couple bucks. I am going to try to pick up a doe and fawn decoy and follow the author's instructions for setting them up. You can bet the farm that I will not be setting them up anywhere there is any chance what so ever that they are visible from a road though.
One of my friends bought a life like 3D archery target and only had it a couple days before a big buck absolutely destroyed it one night. I mean it was beat into pieces and had been stomped into the ground afterwards. I have heard that blacktail bucks are the most aggressive of our deer species and will run much larger whitetail and mule deer bucks off of a doe in heat if given the chance.
That got me to thinking that if they are hanging back, especially during the rut that seeing a doe with another big buck may bring the big ones out of the cover. The fawn decoys I have seen are made of very light weight weight foam and would just be there, maybe a little off to the side, to add movement.
Post by: fishnfur on September 28, 2015, 10:50:20 PM
- I don't know about whether BTs are the most aggressive of the three, but I read a study done in CA in which the authors were trying to get precise deer counts, bucks and does in a specific region of hills. They attempted using dogs to find the deer, but the bucks defended their territories to the point that they frequently chased the dogs out of the bush. That's pretty darned aggressive!
More good info on the gun sights and loads. I'll work on it. I'm still not committed on where I'm hunting during prime time. I bought a nice old Marlin 336 30/30 last spring that I've been looking forward to putting back in action. Can't use that on the islands......
Post by: JDHasty on October 10, 2015, 09:44:52 PM
Did a bit, not as much as we would have liked, of scouting too. Really didn't see as much mature buck sign as we were hoping to. :(
But what I did see was a really nice two point. Really nice. I first saw him this morning and then we caught him later about a quarter mile away with a herd of five does. If I get a chance, I may go for him. He has a lot of mass and height and width as well. He is a classic example of a big two point blacktail.
He isn't going to make it through the season acting like he was today. The first time I saw him ths morning was from the road as I was towing my trailer out to my buddy's place.
I saw that massive buck that I had seen last year again today, but only caught a glimpse of him and also saw a couple mature bucks together at about 7:40 pm as I was just heading home. I would take any of the three of them in a heart beat.
I cannot ever remember seeing this many nice blacktail bucks in one day. I would have loved to hunt today in the rain and wind. Next Saturday the weather is supposed to be mild, I wish it was forecasting rain and heavy wind.
I am going to hunt deer next weekend, but am really getting amped up about the following weekend.
Post by: fishnfur on October 11, 2015, 08:57:20 AM
- I was planning on a late bow hunt yesterday, but the rain portion of the storm never really hit and high winds in the woods always freaks me out when tree tops are knocking and limbs start falling. I took the family out to dinner instead. I ended up not hunting at all during the muzzle loader portion of my MS tag. Kind of the plan this year - save my energy and positive thoughts for the late pre-rut last days of October, then hunt hard.
- I'm taking my boy out on the opener to see if we can scare up a doe for him in Stella unit. I wish he had a better mentor!
I'm going to get more serious around the following Wednesday, but like you, think that Sunday the 25th (or thereafter) may be a really good day to be out on stand all day.
- RE your spot: I keep thinking that perhaps a bit of brush sculpting and/or removal to create a hidden alcove type area, similar to the shape of a question mark, might be a good setup for a decoy. Leaving a corridor of brush that the buck can travel through or next to, while allowing him to feel hidden as he moves out to investigate a decoy placed in a hidden (but with shooting lanes available) semi-circular (ish) brushy area surrounding your decoys might bring him in a bit earlier before dark. My idea is to create a situation that looks safe with plenty of cover from his level, but that allows you to see him coming in and gives you opportunity for shots from your stand in two or three areas. You may not need to go this extreme this year though. Sounds like your bucks are not totally nocturnal. The season opener may change that if your area gets a lot of pressure, and might be a reason to hunt next Saturday.
Good luck getting a great buck. Looking forward to positive reports.
Post by: JDHasty on October 11, 2015, 01:19:37 PM
That two-point would make a fantastic mount. I saw him a couple times last year, but on property we don't have access to. What I did not see yesterday was any fresh rubs, but they are rubbing alder somewhere. Their racks are just beautiful, the way that nothing but alder stains them.
I know what you say about the winds, I was in a tree stand last year that was going a foot either way.
As of yesterday we are back on a property we lost access on about three years ago. :) It pays to never hold it against a property owner whose situation changes and they have to deny access. Didn't scout it much yesterday, we had a heck of a lot of work to get done, but the property owner said: oh God yes, please shoot a bunch of them, they are totally out of control since you quit hunting here. We lost access because a tenant objected and the property owner said he doesn't gove a hoot what they think anymore, the deer are trashing the place.
Lotta action on that property and big bucks move through it quite a bit. I'm really happy to have it back.
I have a waterproof shockproof camera and have it in my pocket when hunting and I just never remember to take photos. That big wide buck was nearly caped before I remembered to get a few shots. I'm just bad that way.
Post by: KillerBeee on October 12, 2015, 05:03:44 PM
Looks like our zone is ready to roll and it's almost party time.
Post by: JDHasty on October 12, 2015, 08:46:28 PM
The wife and kids took a ferry ride on Saturday while I was out setting up camp and stands. Her best friend is looking at some serious island property on another island that I have never hunted. I like the sound of that.
This friend of the wife is always first in line for the beggers banquet i.e. left overs from last season's meat. Her husband doesn't hunt too.
I think it's going to be a great season, or at least has the potential to be. I sure don't like the weather forecast for next weekend, but there isn't anything I can do about that. I am going to hunt it, but my focus is really on the following weekend and the rut activity.
By God, if I had been hunting last Saturday I would have taken any of those big bucks, but that happening again without the weather we had last Saturday is a fifty-thousand to one shot.
Sure hope to see ya' post a picture of one like your buddy's.
We have a fella with us who just missed a nice buck last year. After a half hour on my hands and knees I found a dime size piece of fresh deer leather with white fluffy hair on it. He just nicked that buck in the brisket and knocked him over, and if he had jacked another round in and kept his scope on where it went down... But it got up and away it went. We never found a drop if blood, he just barely ticked it.
I'm really hoping he gets a big one this year.
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on October 12, 2015, 08:59:08 PM
Post by: JDHasty on October 19, 2015, 05:54:26 AM
Another buddy bagged a big doe @ 65 yards, right in the heart, with an Excalibur Matrix 355 crossbow.
We got another smaller three point, two point w/brow tines. Actually a quite large bodied buck, with a mediocre rack. Nice looking rack, but not large.
Another guy who was with us on his first hunt ever got a small three point.
The big three point had his nose right in a a doe's hooha, and bucks were definitely cruising for does. The rut is on early.
I had a little problem w/my Excalabur Matrix 355 and will see if I can get the parts and get it back together, if not I will probably shoot a doe next weekend w/my compound.
We asked the guy that got the big buck: Why didn't you shoot the doe too? He was using my Ithaca Deerslayer, he had a second tag, and the doe gave him a shot, but he isn't a bird hunter and just sat there after pulling the trigger. It isn't like he hasn't seen how its done, he was with me when I dropped a double on blacktails a couple years ago.
Post by: Watimberghost on October 19, 2015, 05:59:22 AM
Post by: JDHasty on October 19, 2015, 09:03:43 AM
He took the big one w/my Ithaca Deerslayer and Remington 3" Slugger. I took the smaller one w/a Deerslayer II shooting Lightfield Hybrid Elite.
I talked to Danny Miller @ Horizontal Archery @ 01:00 in the morning, Ohio time, and he only needs my crossbow for one day. I dialed the number just to get it in my phone @ 22:00 after I got done loading the washing machine, and was pretty surprised when he picked up.
Post by: KillerBeee on October 19, 2015, 01:00:37 PM
That first one is thick and purty...Well done!
Post by: JDHasty on October 19, 2015, 03:10:07 PM
That really is a pretty nice three point buck. I saw him last Saturday w/another four point that is about the same size. Maybe the four-point is a bit bigger, but they are close. Last Saturday he was not that far from where my buddy got him at.
That smaller three-point I shot came in by me on Saturday, but not where I could get a shot w/my crossbow. I really didn't want him Saturday anyway though and even if he was "right there" I would have let him walk Saturday.
My crossbow blew up on Saturday when I was about to shoot a doe and that was the final straw for me. From what I found looking online the Matrix 355 has had issues with limb tips, so maybe it wasn't my fault after all. I thought I had not noticed that the arrow fell forward and had what is known as a "partial dry-fire," but others have said that they had a limb tip failure that sounds exactly like what happened to me Saturday.
Things that transpired in the last week left me not even in the mood to hunt deer this year. I was pretty excited about deer season until about a week or so before and then just hoping that the guy that got the big three-point would get a nice buck this year and other than that by Saturday morning I really didn't care if I went deer hunting or not.
I should have just packed up my stuff on Friday and left the island and come back next week when my mood was better, or not even went over in the first place. I would have done better by going out to the island by myself w/my compound next week. I would have to wear blaze orange, but it really isn't any big deal what you are wearing so long as you stay motionless when they are looking your way.
By Sunday morning I just wasn't in the mood to hunt and had told myself that I was going to take the first decent buck that I had a chance at. I caught this one again on Sunday about a half-mile from where I had seen him Saturday. He was screened when I first saw him and then he moved off behind some brush and standing timber and toward a property I don't have access to.
I reached in my pocket and pulled out my Primos can, turned it over three times and kicked back and waited and got lined up and when he checked back in I punched his ticket.
I've still got an antlerless second deer tag and depending on my mood I may take my bow out and shoot a doe. Don't need the meat, but I know a lot of folks who do. The property owners want the deer thinned out a bit more too.
Post by: KillerBeee on October 20, 2015, 10:21:18 PM
Again, nice work for you and your buddy. Perhaps we'll cross paths out there sometime.
Post by: JDHasty on October 20, 2015, 11:00:39 PM
I have never cold called in a deer with it, but it works great for turning them around and getting them coming your way if they are not where you need them to be.
I think that a person probably cold call one in with it though. I have just never tried to use it that way, but there is no reason for me to believe that if any buck hears it he would not come to it. In my experience every one I already knew was right there was brought in closer and "looking" when I tipped it a couple times.
I have my fingers crossed for you to post a picture of a real wall hanger blacktail buck this year. I got to enjoy my buddy getting one this year now if you can get a picture of one up here too, that would be pretty special.
Post by: KillerBeee on October 21, 2015, 08:20:10 AM
Thanks for the encouragement. It's the opposite of hunting in the forest or mountains over there and very relaxing. Add great opportunity to that and being close to home. Voila!
Post by: saylean on October 21, 2015, 01:06:04 PM
Post by: fishnfur on October 21, 2015, 08:25:33 PM
If it was me, I'd still put in one more day in the stand on the 31st, or perhaps the late season with your decoys, just to see what happens. Depending on the results, you may hold off on a lesser deer next year in hopes of scoring the monster.
Congrats on the kill!
Post by: JDHasty on October 21, 2015, 09:08:53 PM
I was excited about deer season this year up until about two weeks before the season, but by a week and a half prior something came up that made me not even really want to go over to the island this year. Let's just say: this situation will not repeat.
Once my one buddy got that nice three point I just didn't have any desire to be hunting on the island and decided to just shoot a decent buck. I really wanted him to get a nice big buck this year, but other than that I really didn't care whether I was over there or not. Honestly, I should have stayed home last weekend and gone over to the island this weekend by myself instead of with a party.
I'm going to make some big changes next year and may just walk away from the access I have today and start over altogether. My wife's best friend and her husband are buying significant acreage on Anderson Island and they love to eat deer, but neither one hunts. She is always first in line at what I call the "beggars banquet" i.e. when the wife gives away last year's left over meat.
The blacktail populations are very dense on all of the islands in south Puget Sound. The mature bucks are there to be had, it is just a matter of figuring them out. Even people that live amongst them don't see much more than a small percentage of them during hunting season, if ever. But they are there if you know how to find them.
Post by: Natures Way on October 21, 2015, 10:18:29 PM
Post by: crazywednesday on October 21, 2015, 10:23:17 PM
Thanks for sharing.
Justin
Post by: JDHasty on October 24, 2015, 01:23:08 PM
We got another decent buck yesterday evening. This one came off the south end of the Kitsap Peninsila. I'm wanting to see you post one that makes this one look common.
Post by: JDHasty on October 24, 2015, 01:26:36 PM
Post by: Natures Way on October 24, 2015, 01:46:18 PM
Post by: predatorG on October 24, 2015, 02:59:00 PM
Post by: JDHasty on October 30, 2015, 09:12:20 PM
I can walk up to a camp fire and have someone tell me to go look in the bed of a truck or have them throw me an iPhone with photos and then tell me pretty much where, when and how.... but let me show up with someone they don't know and the dynamic is really different. The conversation is just about "deer hunting."
Me thinks that most of that revolves around the fact that there are those who appreciate other's company who are of like mind and the conversation just naturally goes that way. It really doesn't impress me about not having a horde encroach on their special spots so much as the topic of big bucks is more intimate in nature. All access is private and TIGHTLY controlled anyway.
I know I am guilty, if the topic is not big bucks I am not taking the conversation in that direction unless I am chatting with someone who has something to share that interests me, and I am not interested in their special spot other than what it is other than the exact location that makes that spot special.
Every year a few someones take a real bragging buck off their deck or a meat hunter jumps a big buck, but there are islanders and off islanders who target the big bucks and they pretty well all know each other. We share what it is about our spots that keep big bucks coming back year after year and then take that knowledge and apply it to fine tuning where we set up on the properties we have access to or to or for looking to develop access that will provide proximity to like situations.
Really, in all honesty, there isn't a square mile on any of the islands that doesn't have a half dozen wall hangers. Most of these bucks are perfectly safe and we know that and accept that as fact. What we are looking for is how to find the few spots with a 270 degree view of the hundred-yard radius in which to set up our stands that a couple of these bucks will be moving through or visiting during the season.
Here is an interesting factoid: a biologist I talked to said there are north of 150 blacktails per square mile on the islands, 40% of them are bucks and 30% 0f them are three point or better mature bucks. If we accept that any mature three point, or big fork horn, is a trophy blacktail buck... as I do - there is a lot of untapped potential to shoot a trophy blacktail out there on the south sound islands.
I don't sit and type this in order to see an invasion of trophy blacktail hunters invade every island in the south sound next year. What I have written applies to every hunt able acre of ground around Vail, Newakum, Winston Creek, Scatter Creek, Lincoln Creek etc. without paying north of $20 to get across every evening.
The guys that target big bucks on the islands set up camp, just like elk camp, and hunt hard all season if they are not islanders and if they are islanders they hunt just as hard as we do when we are in elk camp and they do not, for whatever reason, take a good buck every season.
They do know the bucks are right there though. I hunt the islands and south Kitsap because of proximity to home in Tacoma, but there are just as many big bucks in the Nisqually and Newakum and Chehalis drainages all the way from Mt Rainier Park to Monte. I know that for a stone cold natural fact.
I have had this topic on my mind for a couple weeks and just kinda got on a roll this evening.
Post by: predatorG on October 30, 2015, 09:21:05 PM
Post by: JDHasty on November 04, 2015, 07:49:58 PM
I will post pictures as soon as I get them.
Here's the photo and I told ya' it is a real Jim Dandy of a blacktail off the lower KP
Post by: JDHasty on November 05, 2015, 08:34:57 PM
Post by: fishnfur on November 05, 2015, 09:47:24 PM