Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: JasonG on November 03, 2019, 09:10:08 AM
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I finally did it after two years of hunting hard and not seeing a single legal deer . I finally was able to put my hands on a beautiful blacktail buck . I let my son take school off last Wednesday to join me on the hunt. I was not feeling very confident about having him go again only to be disappointed to not even see a deer. I had hunted the day before on good sign and put in a solid 12 hour day of hiking, still hunting, rattling, bleating...zero. I knew there were deer in the area and was definitely determined to find one . That morning we headed out going steep and deep to get in areas that seemed to be holding deer. As you all know the temps were in the mid 20s in the mornings last week so it was a chilly one . The dry conditions made it almost impossible to move quietly through the woods. We spent the morning moving calling, rattling, and nothing. I decided to try another area that I had scouted a little lower in elevation so we headed down around 10 am. After getting to the cut we glassed, rattled etc.... nothing. It was getting later and we just weren’t seeing anything the self doubt began to creep in again as it had in the past. I was trying to make the best of it and enjoy the time with my son . We decided to start to head down to the car and hunt on the way back . I had kinda given up for the morning but was already thinking about a different area for a evening hunt . We were being loud and chatting. As we got closer to the gate my son says DAD!!! Buck!!! There was a large buck coming out of the timber and walking down the road !! Right towards us . We froze . He was confident and didn’t seem to care that we were there at first . I couldn’t take a frontal shot so I waited to see if he was turning to head into the cut . Sure enough he started to pick up the pace . I literally ran into the cut , crashing through blackberries and slash. The buck stopped to look at what the noise was. I dropped down and aimed quickly Boom !! Smoke show the muzzle barked and I couldn’t see anything!! The smoke cleared my son was up the hill still I turned to him he yelled I had hit him. I didn’t see the deer at first but he had gone about 20 yards and was laying there. I thought holy smokes I just killed my first deer !! But them he just stood up and started walking away . I knew that he was hit but I couldn’t tell how bad. I quickly reloaded the muzzleloader ( as fast as I could) my hands were shaking pretty bad and I think I got half the powder in . The buck stopped and looked really out of it . I shot again and he just dropped. I just wanted to make sure he was not going to suffer. I waited a few minutes and then walked up to him. I had soooo many different emotions coursing through my mind . I’m still trying to put this into words. My son ran down the hill . He was so excited. I looked at the bullet holes right next to each other behind the shoulder. After getting him gutted which was a task that I had never done either I found the heart was grazed by the bullet! It was unreal !! I want to thank everyone on here that has helped me and responded to all me questions and given me words of encouragement!!
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More pics
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Sorry trying to put these on one post
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Good lord Jasong, that is a heck of a first buck!!! Really cool your son was with you. Congrats!!!!
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Awsome! That’s a heck of a first black tail!!
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Great deer let alone first. Awesome.
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Thank you !! I have more pics I’m having issues with them loading🙁
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this is awesome :tup:
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Wat to stick with it, and that’s a hell of a first blackie buck.👍
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:tup:
Awesome
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"I quickly reloaded the muzzleloader ( as fast as I could) my hands were shaking pretty bad and I think I got half the powder in."
:chuckle:
Congratulations!
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Congratulations!
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That’s great!
Congrats!!! :tup:
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Wow. Very nice (first) deer.
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Right on ! Solid buck for sure ! See you just never know when it’ll happen
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GREAT first deer; and a really nice BT buck to boot. A huge congrats :tup:
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Very cool congrats
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That's a heck of a 10th buck, let alone your 1st. Topping that is going to be tough. Enjoy those memories with your son. Very cool.
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Fantastic story, and an amazing buck. Also a lesson to be learned. Sometimes the most effective method of hunting is to stop hunting!
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Great job Jason! That's a suberb buck. I have a feeling we will be seeing a great many success threads from you going forward.
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Hell of a first deer, congrats!
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Thank you everyone!! I would have been happy with a spike!
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That’s not a nice first buck.
It is a nice buck. Period.
Fantastic that you were able to harvest it with your son.
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congrats
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Great buck. No matter 1st or 100th that's a great BT.
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Great buck. Awesome experience
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Great first buck, congrats!!
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Very Nice! Congrats!! More Pic's Please
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Very nice I bet you feel very proud and that is a great buck, Thank you for your sharing your hunt. :tup:
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Congratulations on a hard earned buck. Your perseverance paid off.
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Congrats on the buck and the memories it provided you and your son!
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Dandy first buck!
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Congratulations on a beautiful buck, brother! You guys worked so hard and I am so happy for you and your boy. You've done so well and made him very proud, I'm certain.
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Great buck, great story. Good times all around!
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Definitely a shooter buck :tup:
Way to break the ice and get that first buck out of the way :tup:
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Congrats. Great buck and great story. Happy you were able to
Share it with your boy. That’s what memories are made of. Thanks for sharing.
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I think you're hooked.
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Way to go! That's awesome, congratulations! :tup:
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Great buck, Congrats and what an awesome thing to have your son with you
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Over achiever. Don't you know you're supposed to get a spike or little forkie for your first deer? ;)
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God is good and hard work pays off. Congratulations on a beautiful buck and your first deer. Your hooked for life now, great job!
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Nice Buck and Awesome Story, really glad you were able to share the experience with your son. I'd probably run through blackberries for that buck too! :tup:
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So after all those questions and self doubt, it really just came down to being out in the woods, in just the right place at just the right time when the buck walked by. That is often the most important part of hunting - just staying out there and trying. I wouldn't call it luck. That is what you call it when the deer jumps in the back of your rig and dies right there. Persistence perhaps is often the most important part of hunting success.
Gorgeous deer dude! Glad you got it done with your son in tow. Memories for a lifetime! Congratulations!
Keep working on your woodsmanship skills before next season rolls around. Get out during the rut or during late buck season and try to find more bucks while they are moving. That will give you more confidence for next year. Start next year's scouting during the winter and throughout the following seasons.
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Luck is being there when he is there as he might be lucky enough to not be there.
