Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: tvandy45 on September 02, 2023, 04:41:58 PM
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Yesterday was a day I will remember for the rest of my life. I stumbled into this buck by accident in may of 22 when I randomly set a camera in a spot that I thought looked good for elk. I go back and check and this whopper popped up. I put countless hours into finding his pattern, where he was bedded and it was completely sporadic. Finally a month out I thought I had him pegged, but he disappeared three days before the archery opener and popped up for a week in October and then disappeared again. A true ghost of the woods.
After drawing my multi season tag I vowed that it was this buck or no buck. His pattern was more predictable this year and by fate or divine intervention this past weeks rain made him comfortable enough to show himself in the daylight. I climb into my stand the morning of the opener and he didn’t show…here we go again I thought. As the day wore on and the temperatures cooled a smaller buck walked by with about 30 mins of shooting light left. He feeds along the trail for 5 mins or so and picks his head up, staring off to my right. That has to be him coming in I thought to myself trying to gain my composure. He’s staring in the direction that buck always comes from…10 mins left of light I see “the buck” emerge from the shadows at 15 yards right under my stand. Draw anchor breath fire, I watched the arrow pass through the cavity with a large pop as he crashes down the hill. I gave him 30 mins and let the nerves settle, climbed down from my stand, picked up his blood trail and found him 80 yards away. Shock and awe and more shock..grateful for this amazing animal but filled with remorse as it seems like a chapter in my hunting career came to a close. I’ll most likely never see a buck like this again let alone get an opportunity with my bow.
Im not a score guy and never have been but my taxidermist taped him out and gave me a firm smack on the back. I can follow up to this post for those who are interested in what it was.
Good luck to those chasing these ghosts this year! Enjoy every second of these amazing animals - they sure are special
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Nice job
Hes a dandy👍👍
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Wow! Dandy buck congrats
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WOWzza that is a dandy Blacktail :tup:
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Heck of a buck! Great job. Are you going to have it mounted with the velvet hanging off?
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Stud buck! Congrats
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Awesome!!! Congratulations and yes a shoulder mount with velvet hanging would be cool
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That is a dandy blacktail! Congratulations!
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Nicely done, easily make P&Y.👍
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You forgot dandy, Boss .300 winmag!
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He’s a keeper!
Great story thanks for sharing!
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Excellent buck! Congrats! :drool:
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The hanging velvet looks cool! Great job!
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EXCELLENT!!!!!
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Wow, congrats, awesome buck.
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Congratulations!!! Awesome blacktail!
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An absolute monster Blacktail with a bow.......
Amazing.
Thanks for sharing.
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Congratulations. Beautiful buck! impressive mass to him. What did your taxi tape him at? I'm gonna say 139. Probably way off
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Awesome!
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Congratulations on an awesome buck!
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Wow. September 2nd, and this throw down happens. Feeling the heat!
Congratulations, Sir. Very well done.
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Very nice!!!
Thanks for the write up and showing the dedication required with a big blacktail
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You definitely earned this beautiful buck. I admire your dedication. Well done! He'll look amazing on your wall.
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Most good blacktail hunters will be lucky to ever see a buck of that caliber, much less kill one with a bow. Sincere congratulations to you. :tup:
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Congratulations. Dandy blacktail
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Well done!
elksnout
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133 5/8 gross, 131 7/8 net
Like I said I don’t really care about score I know a special buck when I see one but it is cool to have that number as part of the story
Congratulations. Beautiful buck! impressive mass to him. What did your taxi tape him at? I'm gonna say 139. Probably way off
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Congrats 👏
Definitely a good one.
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Way to get after it nice job
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That’s a keeper, good work.
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WOW What a Blacktail! Nicely done and thanks for sharing. :tup:
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Thanks for sharing. That is a brute of a blacktail buck
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Beast!
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Good work :tup:
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I mean I guess it's okay if you like giant 4 points with eye guards and knarly bases. :tup: :drool:
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That's a great buck!
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Nice bt👍
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Beautiful beast. Congrats and thanks for sharing!
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What a hog, nice work!!
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That's a sweet buck any time of year! Loved your story and glad it worked out for you
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Yep, hard to beat that one with a bow. Dandy buck and congratulations!!
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That’s pretty dang awesome! Congrats!
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No wonder he was in the "elk hole"! What a great buck! Congratulations to you. What a great story to tell for so many years as he hangs in your life some place.
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Very Nice!
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Grats on a whopper! Dandy looking buck!
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Awesome buck!! Congratz :tup:
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130 to 135 great buck.
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Congratulations on a spectacular buck!!
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Trophy of many lifetimes right there! :tup:
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Fantastic buck and congratulations on a true trophy!
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Right on the money - 133 5/8 gross
130 to 135 great buck.
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Sweet buck :tup:
Downside is.... Now your season is over... :chuckle:
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The bonus of being done so early is that you have all the pre/peak/post rut to scout and locate a future target buck. Congrats on a beautiful buck, targeting a mature blacktail pre rut is quite the feat.
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What an awesome Blacktail! Congrats.
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Motivation for every bt hunter..awesome.. question? How much bigger was he compared to last year?
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Great buck man! Congrats!!
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I have never even seen a black tail buck that big in person! Great hunt, you deserve it. You might as well retire as champion after a monster like that!
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The only bummer is he isn't in his fall coat, but I suppose you'll probably be able to get over that lol fantastic buck. Thank you for sharing him with us.
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Dandy buck! Congrats.
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That's a whopper. Good for you!
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Congrats, thanks for the story. Good reminder that scouting and hard work can pay off big time.
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What an awesome buck! Big blacktail like that are the trophy of trophies in my opinion.
Don't give up on killing more big ones though. Once you find a big one, and go through the motions of figuring him out and killing him, you will not only be able to do it again, but it will become an obsession. This is likely just the first of many to come because you won't be satisfied unless you're tracking down the next big one and trying to figure him out.
Once again, great work!
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WOW! Awesome buck, congrats!
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:kneel: WOW Thats a doozy.. Congrats man.. Beauty of a blacky
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Appreciate all of the kind words everyone! I've been a blacktail hunter my entire life but havent harvested one for 3 or so years and sort of lost interest. I will say the obsession is back and its never leaving again.
Also i'm a terrible picture taker so attached are a few closeups that do him a better justice. i'm still in disbelief, truly a magnificent buck
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Congrats on a fine Buck! Love those thick bases.
Also congrats on the Oregon Elk, your having quite the early season! Hopefully you have some more tags in your pocket!
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I've been an off an on blacktail hunter for the last decade or so. I've seen two that compared to this buck, didn't kill either of them. Should have! But didn't. I'll leave it at that :chuckle:
The main reason I say don't discount your ability to kill another big one, is because you showed the patience and discipline to do it the first time, you can and will do it again. The first time I killed a big mule deer, I told myself I'd never kill another one that big, there was just no way. Then the next year I did it again, and then 2 years later I did it again with an even bigger buck. What I learned about myself through some introspection was that my hunting methods and mentality had changed, and I was almost subconsciously putting myself into the areas and situations where I was likely to find a big buck again, as opposed to just killing another deer. You will do the same, it's in your blood now.
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That thing's a hoss
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What an awesome critter! Congrats!
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:tup:
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Awesome buck!
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That would be a new world record bye a 1/2” if it was a Sitka Blacktail 😂 Definitely a deer for the books!
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Great blacktail !! Eye guards and cheese grater bases doesn’t get any better … oh ya the mass too
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Definately a nice BT.
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Great Blacktail and definitely post it to the years-long big blacktail thread. It’s a post that deserves to stay alive and your buck is one of the great ones 👍
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Love how symmetrical he is, the eye guards are awesome. Shooter all day long. Congrats, now you can spend the rest of the season looking for next years conquest