Post by: earnhtyl000 on July 17, 2014, 12:51:58 PM
Post by: headshot5 on July 17, 2014, 01:01:54 PM
Post by: YoterHunter on July 17, 2014, 02:31:16 PM
Post by: tonymiller7 on July 17, 2014, 02:33:16 PM
Post by: REHJWA on July 17, 2014, 02:44:34 PM
Post by: MLBowhunting on July 17, 2014, 02:45:23 PM
Post by: Tbob on July 17, 2014, 06:30:59 PM
Post by: Hunterman on July 17, 2014, 06:45:01 PM
Hunterman(Tony)
Post by: Bobvernon2 on July 28, 2014, 09:14:32 AM
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Post by: hollymaster on July 28, 2014, 01:09:05 PM
Blacktails arent that small once you get past spikes and forkies.
Leave those for me. It's like veil. :drool: :drool:
Post by: dscubame on July 28, 2014, 01:10:15 PM
The Columbian Blacktail's Size
Blacktail deer on average are smaller than their Whitetail and Mule deer cousins. Here in north western California a 150-160 pound buck (live weight) is considered large. California Blacktail bucks occasionally approach 200 pounds, but from my experience, it's a rare occurrence. Years ago I killed a huge bodied forked horn in San Joaquin county that tipped the scales at 171 pounds field dressed. To date this is the largest Columbian Blacktail buck I have ever personally witnessed.
Although I have limited personal experience with Oregon Blacktail I am told they are slightly larger in body size than California bucks. Washington on the other hand produces some extremely large bodied Blacktails. If my experience with this web site is any indication, it appears that bucks weighing 175 lb. field dressed are not that uncommon in the "Evergreen state".
Antler size in Blacktails runs contrary to what one might expect and is an often debated topic among Blacktail hunters. In the Columbian Blacktail, body size appears to have little relationship to horn size. This is generally not the situation with Whitetail and Mule deer. In their case, body size and antler size are usually closely related. As a rule of thumb, both get larger as you travel north. The larger the bucks body the larger it's antlers. This is very evident when you compare a Florida Whitetail to a Michigan Whitetail, or a Desert Mule Deer to a Canadian Mule Deer.
In the case of the Columbian Blacktail, as mentioned above, this circumstance does not seem to apply. California is the southern most state in the Columbian Blacktails range, yet it has produced more B&C Blacktails than Oregon or Washington. One would think that the opposite would be true but the record books state the fact clearly. The largest antlered Columbian Blacktail are found in the southern portion of their range. Even though California and Oregon produce more record class Blacktails than Washington, Washington state holds many incredible Blacktail bucks. Their heavy dark horns, and large body size, give them a truly unique appearance. Not to mention, the current world record Columbian comes from Washington state.
Many hunters look at the field photos section of BlacktailCountry.com and are amazed at the size that Columbian Blacktails are capable of attaining. A few have even gone as far a accusing me of posting photos of Mule Deer. If in doubt, please take a look at these numbers which were gathered from Boone and Crockett’s Records of North American Deer and Elk, and decide for yourself.
Ironically, even though most Blacktails hunters readily agree that there are areas known for producing large Mule Deer, such as the Paunsaguant, the "Arizona strip", Mexico, and the "Grande Mesa" in Colorado, many refuse to believe that the same holds true for Blacktail. Instead they claim that the Blacktails that come out of northern California and southern Oregon are not true Columbian's, but rather Mule Deer crosses. In most cases their reasoning is simple. They can't be Blacktails because they have never seen a buck with antlers that large in their hunting area. The truth of the matter is that good ''genetics'' and ''nutrition'' also apply to antler growth in Blacktails.
Post by: jackelope on July 28, 2014, 01:14:39 PM
There are extremes on either side. Look at the size of this e-wa monster buck. Got to be at least 100 pounds
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F14%2F07%2F29%2Fneremypa.jpg&hash=284c65544cc73c644719be644e8b2fad8e37844b)